WAO ART #389

Value of digital assets held in Australian self-managed super funds surpasses $650 million. Crypto asset holdings in SMSFs quadrupled in just three years. Many Australians are looking to allocate a percentage of their retirement funds to cryptocurrencies.

BlackRock wants to add spot Bitcoin ETFs to its Global Fund. The asset manager filed a request with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The spot ETFs may include BlackRock's own iShares Bitcoin Trust and others. BlackRock's IBIT has been the most traded spot ETF since its debut in 2024.

Optimism Foundation launches $89M token sale. 19.5 million OP governance tokens are being sold to private buyers. Buyers can delegate tokens for governance votes, but tokens remain locked up. Tokens make up 30% of initial OP token supply and come from unallocated treasury.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched 'Project Ensemble', a wholesale central bank digital currency project. The project aims to develop the tokenisation market in Hong Kong. Initially, the project will focus on tokenised deposits issued by commercial banks and made available to the public.

Norwegian trio Scatec, Hydro Rein, and Equinor have completed a 531-MW solar plant in Brazil. The Mendubim solar farm is Scatec's second project in Brazil.The facility has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Alumina do Norte do Brasil. The project was estimated to cost BRL 1.6 billion.

The second edition of ETH Belgrade conference will take place from June 3rd to 5th, 2024. The conference will feature prominent speakers from the Web3 ecosystem, including representatives from Telos Foundation, Chainlink, Noble, Shell Protocol, and The Graph.

Nigeria's government is cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges in an attempt to halt the weakening value of the local currency, the naira. Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is halting operations in Nigeria's naira currency due to increased scrutiny from authorities.