• Bitcoin’s rebound above $80,000 proved short-lived as Thursday’s technology-stock sell-off spread across risk assets. More than $1.1bn of bullish crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, while US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $430m of net outflows, combining forced selling with weaker investment demand.
• Ether underperformed Bitcoin by 3.3% over the week, reversing the previous week’s relative resilience. Falling overall market capitalisation alongside higher Bitcoin dominance showed that Bitcoin retained a larger share of a contracting market.

NYSE selects Avalanche technology for tokenised securities settlement

• NYSE selected Avalanche technology as the core settlement ledger for its planned tokenised securities platform. The proposed venue would support round-the-clock trading and settlement, subject to regulatory approval.
• NYSE will operate its own custom blockchain using Avalanche technology, allowing it to control participation and meet regulatory requirements. The selection adds a major exchange operator to the institutions building dedicated infrastructure for blockchain-based securities.

Amundi launches tokenised share class of €22.8bn equity index fund

• European asset manager, Amundi, launched a tokenised share class of its Core STOXX Europe 600 index fund on public Ethereum, working with CACEIS. The development extends its tokenisation programme beyond cash management into broad European equity exposure.
• The share class remains integrated into the fund’s existing operating model, with CACEIS providing tokenisation infrastructure and asset-servicing capabilities. The fund also remains available through traditional investment channels.

Schroders brings emerging market bond strategy to Solana

• Schroders partnered with Centrifuge to bring its emerging-market bond strategy to Solana, marking the asset manager’s first deployment on the network.
• Investors can hold tokenised shares in a feeder fund investing in the underlying Schroders bond fund, with values tracking its net asset value. The structure extends blockchain-based fund distribution beyond the money market products that have dominated early institutional activity.

PNC pilots USDC payments for corporate and institutional clients

• One of USA’s largest institutions, PNC, introduced a limited pilot allowing eligible corporate and institutional clients to receive USDC payments on Ethereum through Coinbase infrastructure. Incoming stablecoins are automatically converted one-for-one into dollars and deposited into designated PNC accounts.
• The service connects stablecoin payments with the bank’s existing treasury-management offering, giving businesses another route to receive cross-border payments while holding their resulting balances within the banking system.

Bitget launches external custody network for exchange trading

• Bitget launched its Open Custody Network, connecting participating banks and independent custodians with its exchange infrastructure. Eligible users can access trading while keeping underlying assets with their chosen external provider.
• The crypto echange’s network uses asset mirroring to support spot, margin and futures trading. Separating asset custody from exchange execution gives market makers and investment managers another mechanism for managing custody concentration while deploying trading capital.

This weekly financial roundup is for informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or legal advice. Information is taken from public sources and Nickel takes no responsibility for its veracity. The information was sourced around the time of publication but may become out of date, even over short periods of time. Consult a professional before acting.