Paxos Trust Company gained approval from New York regulators to launch the first regulated, gold-backed digital token (PAXG). And later this month, it’ll debut a “stablecoin” pegged to the U.S. dollar (BUSD). BUSD was jointly developed by global cryptocurrency exchange Binance and Paxos and will be available on Paxos’ platform.

The Intercontinental Exchange’s young subsidiary Bakkt announced it had acquired a New York state trust charter… clearing the way for the company to begin offering its highly anticipated physically settled bitcoin futures contracts. The company intends to launch its products on September 23. Bakkt intends to offer two types of contracts: daily and monthly.

Franklin Templeton plans to tokenize a new fund that will leverage the Stellar blockchain to track shares. It won’t involve any cryptocurrencies, but Franklin Templeton plans to create a mobile app to help users with tokenized investments...

Elwood Asset Management—owned by British billionaire and Brevan Howard founder Alan Howard—is planning a $1 billion venture into the crypto hedge fund space. CEO Bin Ren said venture will aim to steer investors toward a selection of vetted crypto funds that have passed robust due diligence so market participants can avoid risks associated with the emerging sector.

Bakkt’s Bitcoin futures are on schedule to launch on September 23, coinciding with a technical pivotal point on BTC’s daily chart. Bakkt, a subsidiary of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), was recently granted approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for crypto-settled Bitcoin futures. These contracts give institutions exposure to Bitcoin while acting as a tool for more sophisticated trading strategies.

As of August 26, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has signed a three-party memorandum of understanding to transition to distributed ledger technology (DLT). The major exchange expects to be utilizing DLT by the spring of 2021. The ASX currently manages AU$2 trillion in registered equities and features an average of AU$5 billion processed each day.

Closed societies may start to take the lead in crypto development. According to Forbes, China has developed a state-backed cryptocurrency known as DC/EP (digital currency/electronic payments) that could be unveiled in November. The responsibility of distributing the cryptocurrency will fall on some of China’s biggest banks. The launch could be scheduled for November 11, the Chinese equivalent of Black Friday.

Gemini, the crypto exchange co-founded by the Winklevoss twins, announced its partnership with payments platform Silvergate Exchange Network. Through the network, Gemini’s institutional clients can transact in U.S. dollars “24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year,” according to a statement made August 27.

Securitize recently announced its success in becoming a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered transfer agent. The approval enables the firm to legally track the ownership changes of securities, which typically costs around $150 per transfer. Securitize says it’ll do the transfers for free. [Securitize is a firm that enables the issuance and management of digital securities, including the Curzio Equity Owners (CEO) digital asset.]

Ravencoin will be joining Bitcoin and Ethereum among the cryptocurrencies supported by the tZERO cryptocurrency wallet and trading app. The app was launched in June and allows users to buy, sell, and hold crypto assets. Ravencoin is an open source cryptocurrency aiming to enable instant payments, build and support security tokens, gift cards, fiat currency, and more.

The World Bank recently completed the second round of its blockchain-based crowdfunding campaign, securing $33.8 million from a variety of investors. The news showcases the rising involvement of major financial institutions in the space. World Bank funding head Andrea Dore praised the innovative atmosphere surrounding the project… and stressed the importance of creating sustainable development goals in the sector.

Binance US is proceeding rapidly in its efforts to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. The exchange is currently evaluating 30 potential coins to be listed on its U.S.-based platform, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and stablecoins like USDC and PAX, as well as Binance’s own token BNB. The official public launch date for the U.S. platform is yet to be decided.

On August 12, Overstock opened up trading on its security token market tZERO to retail investors. While the platform went live in January, only accredited investors have been allowed to trade on it until now… But the one year lock-up period for its 2018 STO has passed. To boost trading activity on tZERO, Overstock announced a plan to issue digital shares as a form of dividend to all its shareholders.

MERJ is a recently launched exchange, clearing agency, and registry in full compliance with the Seychelles Financial Services Authority. It announced the official listing of its own tokenized security… and is in discussion with several companies planning to list their tokenized shares on its exchange.

Libra is being hyped as “Facebook’s bitcoin,” but it’s really a proposal for a global payments system controlled by a small and exclusive club of private firms. Politicians and regulators have attacked Libra, citing concerns about it being a cryptocurrency… But it’s essentially a prepaid digital token, “minted” when people put up state-issued currencies to buy it.

RISE Wealth Technologies is developing machine learning and artificial intelligence led trading strategies… allowing retail investors to manage crypto portfolios and analyzing the performance of cryptocurrencies and stock markets. Now the FinTech startup is looking to raise $120 million through an STO. If successful, it would be the largest European STO to date.

Walmart has applied for a cryptocurrency patent that bears some similarities to the Libra token proposed by Facebook. The filing suggests the proposed coin could help provide finance for those with limited access to banking services—most likely an effort to appeal to the public (and regulators).

Securitize, a firm that enables the issuance and management digital securities, announced its tenth on-chain digital asset: Curzio Equity Owners (CEO). The token represents an equity stake in our investment research publishing firm, Curzio Research. We’re not alone… In the past quarter, Securitize forged partnerships with 17 companies to securitize their assets, with details forthcoming.