BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETP debuts on the London Stock Exchange as UK regulators ease rules on crypto-linked investment products. BlackRock launched a Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded product (ETP) in the United Kingdom following the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) decision to ease restrictions on crypto investment vehicles. On Monday, the asset manager’s website showed that the iShares Bitcoin ETP had been listed on the London Stock Exchange. According to the Sunday Times, the product, which is structured as a Bitcoin-linked security, will allow investors to buy fractions of Bitcoin (BTC) through units starting at about $11. The ETP is designed to mirror BTC prices while trading within a regulated framework, allowing investors to participate in the crypto market through traditional brokerage accounts. It allows UK-based retail investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly holding the asset or trading it on crypto exchanges. Read more
This marks the second major Amazon AWS outage since April, when “connectivity issues” created usability problems for at least eight large crypto exchanges. Update Oct. 20, 1:15 p.m. UTC: This article has been updated to include comments from Dr. Max Li, founder and CEO of OORT. Coinbase and Robinhood were among several major platforms distressed by an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center outage on Monday, underscoring the risks of relying on centralized cloud providers for critical financial infrastructure. Coinbase, the third-largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX) by trading volume, was hit by an AWS data center outage, which reported “increased error rates and latencies” for multiple AWS Services in the Northern Virginia region. Read more