H100 signed a letter of intent to acquire two Bitcoin treasury companies and their BTC holdings, which could make it the second-largest Bitcoin treasury company in Europe. Sweden-listed health-tech and Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company H100 Group has entered into a letter of intent (LOI) with the shareholders of privately-held Norwegian Bitcoin companies Moonshot and Never Say Die to acquire all shares of the target companies in exchange for newly issued H100 stock. The proposed transaction would be completed with newly issued H100 shares and no cash consideration, a structure intended to preserve the sellers’ Bitcoin exposure while moving the assets into a larger listed vehicle, according to a Monday press release. A definitive agreement is expected by April 22, with closing targeted after H100’s annual general meeting. H100’s public materials currently show inconsistent AGM dates: its investor-relations calendar lists April 21, while a March 12 company notice referred to an AGM on May 21. Read more
The European Central Bank has launched Appia to guide Europe’s tokenized financial ecosystem anchored in central bank money, with early Pontes pilots planned for 2026. The European Central Bank (ECB) on Wednesday published its Appia roadmap, setting out a long-term plan for building tokenized wholesale financial markets in Europe anchored in central bank money. The roadmap is built around two linked initiatives. Pontes is the Eurosystem’s distributed ledger technology settlement solution, while Appia is the broader strategic framework for developing a future tokenized financial ecosystem. The ECB said Pontes is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2026. “With Appia, we are building a road from today’s financial system to tomorrow’s tokenized markets, firmly grounded in central bank money,” ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone said. Read more
The European Central Bank warns in a new working paper that as stablecoin adoption grows, deposits may leave banks, affecting lending and monetary policy transmission. The European Central Bank said increasing stablecoin use may pull money out of bank deposits and weaken the way monetary policy flows through to lending, according to a new ECB working paper. Growing adoption of stablecoins, which are digital assets often pegged to currencies such as the US dollar or euro, is expected to draw funds away from traditional bank deposits, the ECB said in its latest working paper series, “Stablecoins and Monetary Policy Transmission,” released Tuesday. “Our analysis shows that rising interest in stablecoins is linked to a measurable decline in retail bank deposits and a reduction in lending to firms,” ECB staff said, adding that stablecoins can reduce the amount of credit banks provide to the real economy. Read more
21Shares debuts the Strategy Yield ETP on Euronext Amsterdam on Thursday, giving Europe regulated access to Strategy’s preferred stock, which is heavily backed by Bitcoin. Crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) provider 21Shares has launched an investment product giving European investors access to a preferred stock issued by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public holder of Bitcoin. The asset manager will list its 21Shares Strategy Yield ETP under the ticker “STRC NA” on Euronext Amsterdam on Thursday, the company said Wednesday. The ETP is available to institutional and retail investors, offering a dividend backed by Strategy’s Bitcoin (BTC) treasury, which currently holds 717,722 BTC, valued at around $47 billion. With dividends set at a variable 11.25% annualized rate, the ETP represents one of the earliest structured, BTC-backed corporate securities available to European investors. Read more