Crypto Currents: Franklin executes tokenized buyout as CoinShares hits Nasdaq

Traditional finance is no longer observing the digital asset economy from a distance, it is writing checks in it, listing on Nasdaq alongside it, and building payment rails directly into it. The unifying thread across today’s news is institutional commitment: to crypto infrastructure, to on-chain settlement, and to U.S. market access. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with “Crypto Currents,” daily from The Fly. Join us at 2 PM ET for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio.

LEGACY ASSET MANAGERS MOVE DEEPER INTO CRYPTO VIA ACQUISITION AND NASDAQ LISTING: The $1.7T asset manager Franklin Resources According to a company press release, Franklin has agreed to acquire 250 Digital, the active crypto arm recently spun off from CoinFund, using BENJI tokens, blockchain-based shares of Franklin’s own money fund, as payment consideration, forming a new “Franklin Crypto” division and marking the first on-chain M&A settlement in traditional asset management. On the same day, Europe’s largest digital asset manager, CoinShares (CSHR), began trading on the Nasdaq following the completion of its $1.2B SPAC merger. With $6B in assets under management and a 34% share of the European ETP market, CoinShares now competes on the same exchange as BlackRock BITCOIN PAYMENTS FOR FOUR MILLION MERCHANTS: Mainstream merchant adoption received a massive boost as Block Simply Wall St analyzes how Block has auto-enabled bitcoin (BTC-USD) payments for approximately 4M U.S. merchants. This material operational development, coupled with CEO Jack Dorsey’s public push to replace certain middle management layers with artificial intelligence, marks a significant shift in the investment story for Block shareholders.

SPOT FUND FLOWS AND ETP DISTRIBUTION SIGNAL INSTITUTIONAL PRODUCT DEMAND: Institutional demand for spot products showed renewed strength to start Q2. KuCoin Flash reports that U.S. spot funds saw $117.5M in net inflows for bitcoin and $31.2M for ether (ETH-USD) today, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, which recorded $98.42M in new capital, a constructive demand signal for equities with heavy sector exposure, such as Coinbase DEFT“>(DEFT) has appointed Jacob Lindberg as chief revenue officer of its Valour subsidiary to lead Nordic and European ETP expansion, a complementary signal that appetite for regulated crypto exposure products is deepening across both sides of the Atlantic.

MINING OPERATOR REDOMICILIATION AND MICRO-CAP COMPLIANCE PRESSURE: Major mining operators are evolving their corporate structures to better serve U.S. investors. Bitfarms has completed its redomiciliation from Canada to Delaware and rebranded as Keel Infrastructure Corp., with shares expected to begin trading under the new ticker KEEL on April 6, aligning the company closer to U.S. capital markets and GAAP reporting as it expands its data center strategy. At the micro-cap end of the sector, compliance risk is surfacing as Cango received a notice from the NYSE stating it is not in compliance with continued listing standards after its average share price fell below $1.00, giving the company a six-month cure period to rectify the deficiency.

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin was trading at $68,813.65, while ether was trading at $2,134.30, according to price data from TipRanks.