Appold Market Watch - Week ending 16 May 2025

Market Update & Industry News - Week ending 16 May 2025

🔷 NASDAQ-listed exchange Coinbase publicly disclosed a hack following an insider-assisted data breach. Coinbase revealed that hackers had stolen internal documents and customer account data with the help of compromised overseas employees who had access to the exchange's data.

Appold view: This incident risks severe reputational damage to Coinbase and raises serious questions about how the exchange manages operational resilience and users’ private data.

🔷 BitGo received approval from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, enabling it to offer institutional custody services across the EU. BitGo has established its EU headquarters in Frankfurt and is registered in several member countries.

Appold view: Bitgo's EU-wide approval strengthens its position and increases its credibility and trust perception among European institutions considering entering the digital asset sector. 

🔷 Standard Chartered has partnered with FalconX to enhance digital asset services for institutional investors, utilising its banking infrastructure and foreign exchange capabilities. The initiative begins in Singapore, with expansion plans for Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S. This collaboration marks FalconX's first with a major bank, amidst rising institutional interest in digital asset markets.

Appold view: This partnership is indicative of the growing integration between traditional finance and digital assets. Standard Chartered is no stranger to the digital asset space, having continued to scale its digital asset operations across custody and trading in recent years.

🔷 The Ethereum Foundation has announced the ‘Trillion Dollar Security Initiative’ to enhance the network's security across technological layers, enabling it to secure institutional and sovereign-level assets. The initiative will involve three phases: assessing current security, implementing improvements, and refining security communication.

Appold view: With security being paramount within the blockchain industry, this move is strategically crucial to Ethereum’s future expansion and integration with institutional finance.

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