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Indian cryptocurrency investment platform Mudrex has unveiled plans to provide access to U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for investors within the world’s most populous country. Serving Indian institutional investorsThis initiative, as disclosed by CEO and co-founder Edul Patel in discussion with local media, marks a particularly significant milestone for Indian institutional investors who previously lacked direct access to spot Bitcoin ETFs, which were predominantly available to retail investors through U.S. stock investing firms. In its initial phase, Mudrex intends to list the top four BTC ETFs from prominent entities including BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton. While eleven BTC ETF products currently exist in the United States, most commentators agree that there will be a consolidation with the majority unlikely to survive in the long run. Mudrex will ensure compliance by being registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of India. The company already provides clients with access to a diverse selection of over 350 cryptocurrencies and crypto baskets, coupled with the provision of actionable insights to help clients reach investment decisions effectively. Patel outlined the rationale behind the product offering, stating:“Seeing the increasing demand for Bitcoin spot ETFs and user requests on our platform in the past few months, we have decided to launch it for Indian investors.”Photo by rupixen on UnsplashPurchased under Liberalized Remittance SchemeMudrex ensures actual transactions are processed through broker partners in the U.S., while its Indian subsidiary facilitates the spot Bitcoin ETF service. This development unfolds amidst a nuanced regulatory environment in India, where regulatory bodies such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Finance Ministry's Intelligence Unit hold varying stances on cryptocurrency. While the RBI remains cautious about crypto, the Finance Ministry's Intelligence Unit has registered numerous Indian crypto service providers and imposed rigorous taxation policies. Patel expanded on the alignment of spot Bitcoin ETFs with the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS), a framework that simplifies overseas investments for Indian investors. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prescribes a limit of $250,000 per year for overseas investments by Indians under the LRS. In line with that, Mudrex is facilitating a minimum investment of $5,000 and a maximum of $250,000. Accessing spot Bitcoin ETFs through Mudrex under the LRS framework offers a more tax-efficient avenue compared to domestic crypto exchanges in India. Among Mudrex's clientele, comprising approximately 350 institutions, Patel reveals that around 20 have initiated the process of joining the platform for spot BTC ETF investments. With an anticipated average ticket size of $110,000, this demonstrates a growing appetite among institutional investors for exposure to Bitcoin ETFs facilitated through Mudrex's platform. This move by Mudrex is interesting when contrasted with recent comments made by RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, who suggested that the central bank wasn’t in favor of the offering of such products in India despite the decision by the U.S. authorities to permit spot Bitcoin ETFs. Hong Kong is working towards the approval of such products while hoping to get out in front of the competition by being the first to launch a similar Ethereum-based product. Meanwhile, the London Stock Exchange announced on March 11 that it intends to commence accepting applications for Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded notes (ETN).

Internet-only Kbank offers virtual accounts for fractional art investorsKbank, a neobank based in South Korea, announced on Tuesday (local time) a new service for its customers interested in art investment. According to a report by local news outlet Newsis, Kbank has introduced virtual accounts for clients investing in securities that allow fractional ownership of artworks. These virtual account numbers will mirror the mobile phone numbers of securities subscribers, making them easy to remember and use. Subscribers will utilize these accounts to deposit funds for placing bids on fractional shares of art pieces.Photo by Precondo CA on UnsplashYayoi Kusama’s pumpkinThis unique bidding event, a first in the nation, is scheduled to run until Dec. 22. It will feature “Pumpkin,” a 2001 artwork by renowned Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama. Artnguide, a platform operated by Yeolmae Company, is managing the event. Yeolmae Company has secured regulatory approval to issue security tokens backed by the artwork.Total of 12,320 sharesThe event offers a total of 12,320 shares, with each share having a par value of KRW 100,000, which is approximately $77. An individual participant in this event is allowed to place bids for a maximum of 300 shares.In the Korean crypto market, Kbank is well-known for providing banking services to Upbit, the nation’s largest fiat-to-crypto exchange. In Korea, legal regulations mandate that any virtual asset service provider offering trading in Korean won must secure bank accounts from a local bank.Kbank’s recent initiative highlights the internet-only bank’s active engagement in the blockchain industry. Presently, Kbank provides its virtual account services to 16 companies, and it is focused on expanding its partnership base. Looking ahead, the bank plans to diversify its financial offerings, exploring innovative approaches like security token offerings to broaden its services in the evolving financial landscape.

BitMEX Chalks Up Two New Perp Contract ListingsSeychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange and derivative trading platform BitMEX announced recently that it has added perpetual contracts relative to two additional digital assets.A perpetual contract is a crypto futures contract without an expiry date. Just like with a more conventional futures contract, a perpetual contract is a derivative product, deriving its value from the underlying crypto asset.$SUI tokenTaking to Twitter, the company outlined that it has added perpetual contracts for the $SUI token. The contracts will be available in $SUI/USD and SUI/USDT pairings. Leverage relative to the contracts is being made available up to a maximum of 50x.$SUI is the native token of the Sui blockchain platform. Sui is a layer one blockchain which launched earlier this week. It’s a smart contract platform maintained via a network of permissionless validators. The blockchain network claims to offer a scalable network with ultra low latency. Such low latency can enable diverse use cases such as retail point of sale payment systems and gaming.The contract allows users to post bitcoin as collateral, earning or losing in bitcoin as the SUI/USD rate changes. Maximum risk limit is set at 50 bitcoin. Meanwhile maker and taker fees have been set for the product at 0.02% and 0.075% respectively. A base initial margin of 2% applies while base maintenance margin of 1% applies.$PEPE tokenOn Wednesday, BitMEX also launched perpetual contract products relative to the $PEPE token at 04:00 UTC. There are two listings, PEPE/USD and PEPE/USDT. Pepe coin is a meme token project, inspired by the Pepe the Frog meme. The origins of the cartoon character stem from the Boy’s Club comic in 2005. It later became an internet meme, and later still it was adopted as a meme within the crypto space.The token itself was launched in April, sky rocketing to a $502 million market capitalization since then, representing a 2,100% rise in the token’s unit price since its launch.As in the case of the $SUI token, $PEPE is also available to trade on BitMEX with leverage as high as 50x. In an interview with one crypto news publication, a representative of BitMEX commented on the launch as follows:“PEPE needs a Perp! Perpetual Contracts are the most traded product in crypto and offer all investors taking a long or short position on tokens with better liquidity and fewer network risks. At BitMEX, we offer Tether-margined and Bitcoin-margined perpetual contracts. We are proud to be the inventor of the Perpetual Swap and have long been a leading trading venue for crypto derivatives, offering uncompromised security, a reliable platform, and deep liquidity — as professional traders deserve.”Many commentators in the crypto space have repeatedly pointed to the high risks involved with leverage. In this instance 50x leverage is incredibly high risk, making the product suitable only for those traders that fully and thoroughly understand the risk that comes with such leveraged trading.Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash