Source: https://exploringtheblock.com/pawtocol-ceo-karim-quazzani-on-new-to-the-street/

A Nebraska state senator has proposed new crypto-friendly legislation which could see his state become the next regulatory safe haven for FinTech firms.

Sworn in just two weeks ago, Republican Mike Flood today introduced the Transactions in Digital Assets Act and Adopt the Nebraska Financial Innovation Act to the state’s 107th Legislature.

The two bills lay out guidelines for state banks to be able to custody digital assets in addition to creating financial institutions dealing in digital assets for which Nebraska would provide “charter, operation, supervision, and regulation”. The measures would also give local courts the jurisdiction to hear claims “in both law and equity relating to digital assets.”

The proposed legislation will likely move to committee before a general file in the state legislature, where Republican lawmakers currently outnumber Democrats almost two-to-one, 32 to 17.

The proposed bills also aim to address the problem of major banks in the United States discriminating against businesses and individual customers using crypto.

“The rapid innovation of blockchain and digital ledger technology, including the growing use of virtual currency and other digital assets, has resulted in many blockchain innovators and consumers being unable to access secure and reliable banking services, hampering development of blockchain services and products in the marketplace,” states the second bill.

“Many financial institutions in Nebraska and across the United States [refuse] to provide banking services to blockchain innovators and customers and also [refuse] to accept deposits in United States currency obtained from the sale of virtual currency or other digital assets.”

Flood, who previously served as a member and speaker of the Nebraska Legislature until 2013, said he planned to introduce bills intended to make his district a FinTech hub. In a meeting of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce’s Governmental Affairs Committee last Wednesday, the state senator described cryptocurrency as a market with “great opportunity” for Nebraska.

“This is the future,” said Flood. “To be on the cutting edge of [crypto], I think, is good for us. We need to be a leader in FinTech. We in Norfolk have as much right to this new market as any other place in America.”

Under the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, state laws can often be independent of, or even contradictory to federal laws. One example of this in the crypto space is exchanges such as Binance U.S. having to go state by state to legally make its services available to U.S. residents.

Last July, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that federally chartered banks would be allowed to provide custody services for cryptocurrency. Though the measures Flood proposed would not be needed for federally chartered banks in Nebraska, the proposals seemingly attempt to extend this benefit to state-chartered banks.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/nebraska-senator-introduces-bills-to-allow-state-banks-to-custody-crypto

A new report from crypto fund provider CoinShares has indicated that some institutional investors have been realizing profits during BTC’s recent consolidation.

CoinShares’ weekly digital asset flows report identifies $85 million in outflows from institutional crypto products this past week, asserting the data suggests “some investors are continuing to take profits after [BTC’s] strong price appreciation.”

The report noted the rising (trade-weighted) U.S. dollar, stating the USD index “is typically inversely correlated to Bitcoin prices,” and could explain why some investors are taking profits at the current levels.

The firm also identified modest outflows from Ethereum-derived investment products, with $3 million leaving the markets.

Despite the profit-taking, institutional inflows remain strong, with $359 million flooded into crypto investment products this week. Institutions still appear almost single-mindedly focused on BTC, with Bitcoin products representing all but 1% of the week’s total capital flows.

CoinShares notes that crypto inflows have returned to their pre-Christmas levels, following the 97% drop over three weeks seen after the holiday break. Daily volumes are currently up more than 450% year-over-year.

Institutional products currently represent 6% of combined Bitcoin volume — down from 14% at the start of the month.

Much has been lately of the growing institutional appetites for crypto, with major global companies recently filling their treasuries with BTC.

After hosting more than 11 million BTC worth of futures trade in 2020, Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced last month that it plans to launch cash-settled Ethereum futures contracts in early February, pending regulatory approval.

On Jan. 20, Ninepoint Partners filed its final prospectus for a Bitcoin Trust conditionally approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/some-institutional-investors-taking-profit-as-bitcoin-retraces