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Grayscale has incorporated six more trusts, tied to Polkadot (DOT), Aave (AAVE), Monero (XMR), Cardano (ADA), Cosmos (ATOM), and EOS.IO (EOS). All the six trusts were formed Wednesday by Delaware Trust Company, Grayscale's "statutory trustee." The new trust formations come a week after Grayscale incorporated [six more trusts, including those tied to Chainlink (LINK) and Tezos (XTZ) tokens]. However, trust formations do not mean the firm will launch these products.

Grayscale bought 40,000 Bitcoin (BTC) between January 13 and 29, around $1.36 billion worth in 16 days according to Glassnode. That compares to 26,000 BTC that have been mined into existence since the start of the year.

Hedge funds on CME are short on Bitcoin futures for more than $1 billion. They have been increasing their short positions since October when the BTC price started climbing. As data provider Skew has previously shared, these leveraged funds, while short on CME Bitcoin futures, are likely to be long on Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) trying to collect the Grayscale premium and the CME futures basis. Interestingly, for the first time ever, the GBTC premium, the difference between the market price of bitcoin and the implied price by GBTC, has gone negative today. This premium has been dropping ever since December 22nd, 2020, when it was above 40%.

Bitwise Asset Management, a provider of cryptocurrency index funds, is seeking regulatory approval that would enable it to publicly trade shares of its bitcoin fund on an over-the-counter (OTC) marketplace. The company has filed a 211 form with the U.S.'s Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for the Bitwise Bitcoin Fund. Aiming to compete with the likes of Grayscale Investments, the firm plans shares of its fund to be publicly traded on the New York-based OTCQX marketplace. Fidelity Investments would oversee the custodianship of the fund's bitcoin assets. The fund will offer a 1.5% expense ratio, which is lower than Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) at 2.0%.

NYDIG is a fund management firm that operates as the crypto-facing subsidiary of Stone Ridge Holdings Group LLC. The company provides an avenue for large investors to improve their crypto exposure. Last year, it helped facilitate the purchase of $100 million by MassMutual, the Massachusetts-based insurance giant. NYDIG currently has $6 billion assets under management, and the firm has seen enough institutional investors' commitment to push the figure past the $25 billion mark.

Institutional investors still face a conundrum when deciding how to hold their crypto assets in custody, according to the results of an informal poll done by crypto-exchange operator Gemini.

Fidelity is ramping up its cryptocurrency custody business, hoping to profit from the scarcity of big, regulated institutions in the chaotic world of digital assets, according to Abigail Johnson, the investment group's chief executive.

The Bitcoin Rich List, or the number of addresses holding more than 1,000 BTC, has swelled in the past 12 months, possibly reflecting an influx of high-net-worth investors. The metric has registered growth of 30% since September 2018.

ICE subsidiary Bakkt will provide custody services for institutional clients. Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital and Tagomi have already signed on as initial customers for Bakkt Warehouse.

Fidelity has been granted a trust licence to offer trading and custody of bitcoin by the NY State Department of Financial Services, as the asset management group continues to woo cautious institutional investors into digital assets."

Grayscale Investments filed a Registration Statement on Form 10 with the U.S. SEC on behalf of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. If the SEC deems the Form 10 filing effective, the Trust's shares would be registered under the Exchange Act of 1934, potentially making it the first crypto-asset investment vehicle to become a reporting company. The shares are already publicly traded on an over-the-counter market, but reporting company status would improve transparency and liquidity for shareholders, which could potentially attract investors who are currently restricted from participating in any investment vehicles that aren't SEC-regulated reporting companies.

Nearly 70 crypto-focused hedge funds that mostly cater to pensions, family offices and wealthy individuals closed this year. The number of new fund launched is less than half the amount started in 2018.

Dozens of crypto funds, almost 70, have closed this year, a mainstream media outlet reported. And while the startling number reveals the influx of institutional investors into the crypto space might not be happening at a fast pace, it's also worth noting that crypto fund launches are projected to reach 140 by the end of the year.

Kookmin and Atomics Lab will develop digital asset custody services that combine Atomics Lab technology and KB Kookmin Bank's internal control infrastructure and information protection technologie

Reinsurer Aon has lined up a panel of insurers to provide cryptocurrency coverage for clients of Metaco, a digital asset custody technology firm. This group of mostly European insurers will offer a crime insurance product to institutions using Metaco's SILO solution for so-called hot and cold (online and offline) wallets.

Signature Bank will be linking its Signet payments platform to Prime Trust's multi-asset settlement platform, creating a new service offering "real-time" settlements for digital asset trades. The service will allow institutional clients from both companies to make payments directly to one another at any time, without third parties or transaction fees.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is now buying up about 21 percent of newly mined BTC monthly suggesting increasing demand from Wall Street.

The crypto custodial service industry is booming. Institutional investors now have a way into the market and can pick from a multitude of solutions that allow them to secure crypto assets in a safe, secure, trusted, regulated way.

Grayscale Investments, which lets accredited investors own Bitcoin and other coins via its funds, said it took in $608 million last year, surpassing the total amount raised the previous six years. The majority of the inflows -- about 71% -- came from institutions like hedge funds, up from 66% in 2018, according to Grayscale.

It's possible that Bitcoin might fix Microstrategy. But it might also destroy it. Microstrategy is taking a massive unhedged long position on a highly volatile speculative asset, and its CEO and chairman is spending all his time talking up that asset's price. When the next Bitcoin crash happens, as it inevitably will despite Saylor's rhetoric, what assets will be left to repay those who have just bought $650m of newly-issued debt?