The Month in Crypto — January 19

CBOE withdraw ETF application, Bakkt raise $182.5M, Fidelity to launch bitcoin custody service.

The News

• CBOE withdrew their bitcoin ETF application citing delays caused by the US government shutdown. cnbc
• Fidelity, the asset management giant, announced they will launch a bitcoin custody service in March. bloomberg
• A much-anticipated update to increase scalability on the ethereum blockchain was postponed after a security flaw was detected. ethereumworldnews
• tZero, the blockchain subsidiary of Overstock launched a security token platform. financemagnates
• The New Zealand crypto exchange, Cryptopia, was hacked twice this month, with an unconfirmed amount stolen. ethereumworldnews

Capital

• Bakkt, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by the operator of the NYSE, raised $182.5M from a series of institutional investors including Microsoft. techcrunch
• NASDAQ led a $20M round in Symbiont, a blockchain company looking at issuing security tokens. financemagnates
• Billionaire Mike Novogratz is raising a $250M credit fund to help crypto businesses struggling in the bear market. ccn

Adoption

• HSBC settled $250 billion in forex trades using blockchain technology in 2018. cio
• Ford commenced a pilot to track cobalt using blockchain technology built by IBM to ensure the cobalt is ethically sourced. forbes
• ING Bank have signed a five-year licensing deal with the blockchain consortium R3 to use their enterprise blockchain for a series of different services. coindesk
• Ethereum start-up Consensys partnered with AMD to build a cloud computing blockchain infrastructure. consensys

Market:

Despite some respite at the start of the month, the bear market has continued with bitcoin and ethereum falling 10% and 22% respectively. The overall market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies fell 11%. Bitcoin finished the month with a global average of $3,460 USD and ethereum closed at $107 USD.