Appold Market Watch - Week ending 27 June 2025
Market Update & Industry News - Week ending 27 June 2025
🔷 The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has ordered loan mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider digital assets in single-family mortgage loan risk assessments, potentially allowing borrowers to use digital asset investments to qualify for home loans. The FHFA stated that the directive was meant to align with the Trump Administration’s broader vision for digital assets.
Appold view: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee over half of all U.S. mortgages, so this order by the FHFA is significant. However, the directive is light on detail, without specifying what digital assets they should consider.
🔷 A New York judge has denied a joint request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs for a settlement that would slash Ripple’s civil penalty from $125 million to $50 million and dissolve the permanent injunction that prohibits Ripple from violating securities laws in the future. The penalties were issued after a 2023 court ruling that Ripple had previously violated securities laws in its institutional XRP offerings.
Appold view:: This highlights a conflict between the recent shift in the SEC's stance on digital assets and the judicial system. Ripple and the SEC argued that recent SEC enforcement policy shifts justified a settlement. However, the judge noted that in Ripple’s case, a court had already found a violation of federal securities laws, which justified the original penalties.
🔷 Kraken has secured a license from the Central Bank of Ireland under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The license will allow Kraken to offer regulated services and engage directly with clients in all 30 European Economic Area member states.
Appold view: While several of Kraken Digital Asset Exchange’s rivals already have MiCA licences, including Coinbase through Luxembourg and Gemini, OKX, and Crypto.com through Malta, Kraken is the first major digital asset platform to receive authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland, which may give it an edge in winning consumer trust due to the regulator's better perceived reputation.
🔷 The Government of Hong Kong announced plans for a forthcoming regulatory digital asset framework for custodians, exchanges, and stablecoins, to be overseen by the Securities and Futures Commission. Authorities will also assess legal structures supporting real-world asset tokenisation, including bond issuances and transactions.
Appold view: Hong Kong hasn’t seen Singapore’s success in attracting digital asset companies, so the Government will hope that greater regulatory clarity will help attract more entrepreneurship and take companies away from Singapore due to their recent negative stance on the industry.
#Marketwatch #Blockchain #Investments
