opinion

Crypto SWOT: Digital-asset prime brokerage firm FalconX has acquired Arbelos Markets, a derivatives startup

Kitco Media
By Frank E Holmes
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Crypto SWOT: Digital-asset prime brokerage firm FalconX has acquired Arbelos Markets, a derivatives startup teaser image

Strengths

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was XDC, rising 9.59%.
  • Bitcoin pushed above $100,000 for the first time in two weeks as Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory was ratified. The popular digital asset rose as much as 2.8% to $101,180 on Monday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

  • Digital-asset prime brokerage firm FalconX has acquired Arbelos Markets, a derivatives startup launched in 2023 by two crypto industry veterans. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed, writes Bloomberg.  

Weaknesses

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performing for the week was RUNE, down 32.01%.
  • Investors yanked a net $333 million from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) on Thursday, the most withdrawn from the record-breaking fund since its launch, according to Bloomberg.  
  • Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon pleaded not guilty to U.S. fraud charges tied to the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin. Kwon entered his pleas Thursday before a U.S. judge in Manhattan, writes Bloomberg. 

Opportunities

  • The crypto trading and liquidity-providing firm GSR obtained approval from the UK’s financial industry regulator. The move gives GSR Markets UK Limited the green light to operate as a registered crypto asset business and to conduct, among other services, crypto trading for UK-based clients, writes Bloomberg.  
  • The Winklevoss twins’ Gemini Trust Co’s crypto exchange has made a slew of senior appointments in Europe as it seeks to grow its presence in the region this year under the bloc’s new regulatory regime, reports Bloomberg.  
  • Crypto prices are rising once again with many of the alternatives to Bitcoin outperforming on Thursday as investors expand their holdings at the start of the new year. Heading into the new year, market participants have started to diversify their exposure by allocating capital to representations of more speculative narratives, according to Chris Newhouse on a report published by Bloomberg.  

Threats

  • The Winklevoss twins’ Gemini Trust cryptocurrency exchange agreed to pay $5 million to end a commodity futures trading commission lawsuit, claiming it misled the derivatives regulator in a bid to launch the first U.S.-regulated Bitcoin futures contract, according to Bloomberg.  
  • Terraform’s Do Kwon will face a 2026 trial in New York on a U.S. fraud charge for the collapse of the TerraUSD stable coin in 2022. The U.S. district judge Paul Engelmayer scheduled the trial for January 26, 2026, writes Bloomberg.  
  • Bitcoin’s march back above $100,000 didn’t last too long. The token slid the most in more than two weeks on Tuesday, shows Bloomberg, joining a retreat in the U.S. stocks as fresh economic data sent Treasury yields soaring on Tuesday and Friday.
Kitco Media

Frank E Holmes

Frank Holmes is CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors, Inc., a boutique investment advisory firm based in San Antonio that manages domestic and offshore funds specializing in the natural resources and emerging markets sectors. The company’s no-load mutual funds include the Global Resources Fund (ticker PSPFX), the World Precious Minerals Fund (UNWPX) and the Gold Shares Fund (USERX).

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