July 2 (Cointime) - Matthew Hougan of Bitwise has stated that only a few of the many contenders seeking approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a spot bitcoin ETF will be successful. Hougan explained that ETFs are generally a "winner take most" market, with the first firm to market usually attracting the most assets under management. Second-to-market ETFs have a more difficult time competing, as they are competing with a larger and more liquid fund. Financial market titans Fidelity and BlackRock have filed alongside smaller brands like Valkyrie Investments, WisdomTree, and Invesco, and there is a possibility that the agency could greenlight all the recent funds that filed to level the playing field.

June 30 (Cointime) - Bitcoin experienced a 2.36% increase from June 23 to June 30, reaching US$30,802 at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Hong Kong, while Ether rose by 0.55% to US$1,890 over the week. Fidelity submitted its spot Bitcoin ETF application, indicating a growing interest in cryptocurrencies among institutional investors. Binance faced issues in Europe and had to change its euro banking partner after Paysafe Payment Solutions stopped offering euro payment support for the exchange.

June 30 (Cointime) - According to sources, the Nasdaq and Cboe exchanges were informed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that recent filings for spot bitcoin ETF funds from BlackRock and Fidelity were inadequate in terms of clarity and comprehensiveness.

June 29 (Cointime) - Fidelity has resubmitted paperwork for its Wise Bitcoin Trust, a spot bitcoin ETF, following similar filings from BlackRock's iShares unit, Invesco, and WisdomTree.

June 29 (Cointime) - Bitcoin and Ether experienced gains on Thursday in Hong Kong trading, as investor optimism remained high. Fidelity's upcoming submission of its own spot Bitcoin ETF application is viewed as a significant step towards legitimizing cryptocurrencies.

June 27 (Cointime) - Fidelity, a major asset management company, is reportedly preparing to file for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), following in the footsteps of BlackRock. Other asset managers, including Invesco, WisdomTree, and Bitwise, have also filed for similar products since BlackRock's filing in June.

June 22 (Cointime) - Nao Kitazawa, the former CEO of Coinbase Japan, has been hired as a venture partner by Eight Roads Ventures, a Fidelity-backed investment firm with assets worth over $11 billion. Kitazawa left Coinbase Japan in February of this year after working at the company for nearly five years.

According to a Financial Times report, institutional investors are showing interest in the crypto market but may prefer to do business with new corporate consortiums or established brands like Fidelity that are building their own crypto infrastructure. The report suggests that institutional investors want to stick with Wall Street players whose names they know and that aren't tainted by scandals that have plagued the crypto industry. The report also claims that traditional finance companies are adopting business models that will put big investors more at ease. However, some experts believe that the idea that Wall Street will capture the lion's share of the crypto market still feels premature.

Jurrien Timmer, global macro director at Fidelity Investments, has compared the boom-bust cycle of crypto assets to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. He believes that, as with the tech bubble, some digital assets will rise while others will die.

Fidelity International's Managing Director for Europe, Christian Staub, has stated that the investment giant intends to remain a part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. However, due to the volatility and nascent nature of bitcoin, the firm will not encourage people to buy it.