The SEC’s role should be to guide innovation, not stifle it. Pierce voiced her concern over the SEC’s lack of meaningful action in the crypto space—and whether this will ultimately come back to haunt it. She asserted that the SEC is paralyzed with indecision, and this could hurt the cryptocurrency space in the long run.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is willing to approve an ether futures contract, a senior official has told CoinDesk. The CFTC, which oversees derivatives markets in the U.S., has already allowed bitcoin futures markets to launch. Now the regulator is willing to oversee a similar product for ether, currently the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

$7 trillion investment firm Fidelity will reportedly roll out bitcoin trading for institutional clients in the coming weeks, according to Bloomberg. Citing a source who asked to remain anonymous, the publication revealed Fidelity’s cryptocurrency-focused spin-off, Fidelity Digital Assets, would be adding to the existing range of services. The source said the trading side will go live for Fidelity’s users in as little as a few weeks and will primarily target large-volume traders.

As part of a plan to digitize assets, Switzerland's stock exchange may issue its own tokens. Top executive Thomas Zeeb says tokens may eventually replace stocks and bonds. He discusses the role cryptocurrencies play… and what hurdles may have to be overcome along the way.

Financial institutions and exchanges from all over the world are preparing for all types of assets to be tokenized… including Switzerland’s premier stock exchange, SIX. The new opportunities for investors will be mind boggling...

The currency.com platform allows for global investors to use BTC and ETH to actively trade over 150 instruments, including securities, commodities, indices, and shares. This number is expected to grow to 4,000 as development continues. The platform can be accessed in a variety of ways, ranging from web based clients to both IOS and Android apps.

In 2018, blockchain-based IoT security protocol Atonomi made headlines after securing $25 million in funding via an ICO. Since that time, the project has seen little development and the value of its token has dropped by 99%. Atonomi’s failure to register with the local authorities, combined with the lack of transparency regarding development, could result in a huge downfall for the firm.

The Blueshares STO provides prospective investors with tokenized traditional equity participation shares of Interprom Mining AG. The token/share ratio is 1:1, and investments are accepted both in fiat and cryptocurrencies: Euro, Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether. The token sale is expected to start May 6.

Utility tokens versus security tokens: what’s the difference? According to Polymath’s chief product officer Thomas Borrel, the future lies with security tokens because they make the most sense as a financial instrument. And tokenizing equity is just the tip of the iceberg.

Serena Williams, one of the world’s most successful tennis players of all time, announced her VC firm Serena Ventures—which was secretly founded in 2014. She revealed in an Instagram post that she is an investor in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. Some of Serena Ventures’ other investments include startups in areas such as fitness, clothing, food, and women’s health and community.

tZERO Chairman Patrick Byrne informed investors that the investment involving both Makara Capital and GSR Capital had missed its deadline. The $100 million raise was agreed upon in February and expected to close by mid-April. According to Byrne, tZERO is “not under any exclusivity with Makara or GSR and has retained advisors to pursue parallel alternatives.”

Widespread digitization of property in the massive $217 trillion real estate market could be transformative for the global economy. Property rights can be hard to prove in developing nations, where ownership can suddenly change hands unbeknownst to a home’s tenants. The immutable nature of blockchains guarantees property ownership, and token flexibility could potentially liquidate capital locked up in a home.