The Crypto Roundup: 10 June 2024

Latest price and news from the crypto space

Latest price from our hand picked list of digital assets

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

Nearly 70 Cryptocurrency Hedge Funds Closed This Year, as Institutional Investors Stay Away
France to Test Its Own Central Bank Digital Currency in 2020
Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler Appointed as New U.S. Senator for Georgia

At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $7,337.74 (1.86 %) with a daily Top Tier volume of $2.73 billion. As for ether (ETH), it is trading at $146.07 (0.21 %) with a daily Top Tier volume of $439.48 mn. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index is currently tracking at 2,445.88 (1.37%).

Nearly 70 Cryptocurrency Hedge Funds Closed This Year, as Institutional Investors Stay Away

Data from the San Francisco-based Crypto Fund Research has shown that nearly 70 cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds that mostly catered to pensions, family offices, and wealthy individuals closed this year, while the number of new hedge funds being launched is less than half the amount of last year.

The data shows that region-wise, North America leads in the number of crypto fund closures with 28 shutting down this year. It was followed by Europe’s 23 closures, with Asia-Pacific coming in third at 14.

Spencer Bogart, a general partner at Blockchain Capital, was quoted as saying:

“To me, the fact that there is any institutional adoption for Bitcoin only 10 years into existence is a radical success and beyond what anyone could have imagined just 3 or 4 years ago.”

Bloomberg reports that the volatile nature of cryptocurrency prices and regulatory uncertainty has been keeping institutional investors away. Currently there are 804 cryptocurrency-focused funds, out of which 355 are hedge funds and 425 are venture capital funds.

France to Test Its Own Central Bank Digital Currency in 2020

The governor of France’s central bank, François Villeroy de Galhau, has claimed the country is looking to be the first to issue a digital currency, while speaking to the French regulator for banks and insurance, the ACPR.

He was quoted as saying:

“We intend to start experimenting quickly and launch a call for projects (for private sector players) by the end of the first quarter of 2020.”

The digital currency is set to initially be used between banks rather than by citizens, as according to Villeroy a digital currency for retail would require “special vigilance.” This “special vigilance” could include thresholds on amounts that can be transacted anonymously, for example.

Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler Appointed as New U.S. Senator for Georgia

The CEO of the International Exchange’s (ICE) cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform Bakkt, Kelly Loeffler, was officially appointed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to the U.S. Senate.

Loeffler is set to fill the seat of current Senator Johnny Isakson on January 1 ,2020. Isakson will retire by the end of the year due to health issues. The CEO of Bakkt has confirmed she will run in the next primary election so she can retain her seat beyond January 2021.

A press release from the Intercontinental Exchange notes that Loeffler will be stepping down from her role as Bakkt’s CEO before taking the oath of office. In her introductory remarks Loeffler noted she was “pro-Trump” and in favor of the Second Amendment and a border wall, but didn’t address cryptocurrencies.

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