Global securities market Nasdaq has decided to put on hold its plan to launch a crypto custody service for the time being. Due to the ongoing legal troubles between the US SEC and the crypto players operating there, Nasdaq has decided to take a breather. Launched in February 1971 as the first electronic exchange, Nasdaq has over 3,000 companies listed and has a market cap of $24.84 billion (roughly Rs. 2,03,513 crores). Its pivot into the digital assets sector could take crypto trading to the masses.
crypto sector The US is grappling with a lack of regulations and clarity on what practices are allowed and what are not for investors and crypto players.
During its Q2 results call, nasdaq Confirming the development, CEO Adena Friedman said, “This quarter, in light of the changing business and regulatory environment in the United States, we have made the decision to pause our launch of the US digital asset custodian business.”
In line with this decision, Nasdaq is currently halting all efforts to obtain all the licenses it needs to operate. crypto custody service, In the coming days and months, Nasdaq will continue to monitor the crypto market, especially since there are a lot of changes in the pipeline set to be made by US lawmakers.
For example, this week, the Nasdaq focuses on upcoming tech firm earnings and jobless claims announcements due on July 20. Another big event looms on the horizon: the Federal Reserve’s decision on raising interest rates, which is still about two weeks away. According to the CME Fedwatch tool, 96 percent of market sentiment is confident of an imminent rate hike of 0.25 percent, which could negatively impact investor sentiment.
While Nasdaq’s crypto-related plans are blocked for the time being, it is eyeing to enter the crypto sector from September 2022. Bitcoin And ether These were the assets for which Nasdaq wanted to provide a custody service, but this may change in the future.
The platform was looking to launch its crypto custody service by the end of July this year. In the first week of July, the Nasdaq refined again An application by BlackRock with the US securities regulator to list an exchange-traded fund that will reflect the price of bitcoin to add additional details.
Back in 2018, the Nasdaq did expressed interest Also launching a crypto exchange.
Nasdaq is an acronym that originally stood for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations.