Bitcoin nears all time high; HK exhibition showcases NFTs for good

Transcript

Bitcoin is back on our minds in the newsroom today.

Welcome to The Daily Forkast, October 18, 2021. I’m Justin Solomon of Forkast.News covering all things blockchain, filling in for Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau.

Bitcoin’s price edged closer to its all-time high over the weekend following news that a Bitcoin ETF is likely to be approved for trading in the U.S. this week.

Now let’s get you up to speed from Asia to the world.

First up, ProShares Trust submitted its Bitcoin futures ETF filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Friday night, indicating that it would start trading this week.

Forkast.News Lachlan Keller has more on what it means for investors.

The ProShares fund could start trading as soon as Monday U.S. time, with a second fund from Valkyrie chasing hot on its heels.

While the industry had been hoping for a physically backed Bitcoin ETF, the moves were significant enough to see Bitcoin’s price reach its highest level since the May crash. According to CoinGecko, it soared 9.5% in less than 24 hours, hitting US$62,688 on Saturday.

Both funds will trade on contracts offered on futures exchanges like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, rather than on the value of Bitcoin actually stored by the fund. Approval of a futures ETF first is no big surprise due to the higher degree of regulation surrounding it.

However, Canada has already approved both futures and physically backed Bitcoin ETFs and one expert told Forkast.News he expects the U.S to follow suit.

“It’s really important to give investors that choice in this market, even though we are seeing a futures based ETF approved in the U.S over the weekend. But I am really confident to say that there will be spot Bitcoin ETFs getting approved sooner than we think in the U.S”

Yew says a physically backed Bitcoin ETF would make more sense for those who wish to hedge against a black swan event, while a futures backed Bitcoin fund offers the benefit of custody risk being considerably lower. The choice depends on the kind of risk-reward investors are looking for.

For Forkast.News. I’m Lachlan Keller.

Meanwhile, a Hong Kong NFT exhibition is showcasing how the digital tokens can be used to promote good causes.

Forkast.News Danny Park went along to take a look.

The blockchain powered NFTs have taken the art world by storm, with some selling for millions of dollars. Today, the Impact NFT exhibition in Hong Kong brings you to a new combo of NFT art and sustainability awareness.

“We really want to bring this concept of creating impact through NFTs alongside the UN’s 17 SDGs together and thought why not showing this to Hong Kong in the world that really can showcase the physical with the digital and bring everyone that is involved from art collectors, investors closer, to see that there’s more they can do with NFTs and not just collecting nice visuals, but actually use it and measure our impact and create something that has more sustainable impact.”

For the exhibition, artists created NFTs for causing positive impact in their own unique ways.

“I was a ballet dancer, and my dream is to capture a sculpture from a dance performance. But today the real world doesn’t allow me to do it. So I work with new technologies like VR motion capture to create a sculpture that is resulting in a hologram right here.

NFT enthusiasts acknowledge that blockchain technology is effective in raising awareness.

“So I think just being able to harness the power of a blockchain for social good through NFT is just the perfect combination for it – just for impact, literally for impact.”

The Impact NFT exhibition is the first art exhibition in all of Asia to showcase NFTs as a force for good.

“Although the idea is obviously that this event is hopefully one of many, as I said earlier, the idea is to really show everyone who is interested in NFTs, not just individuals, but also brands, what you can do with NFTs”

For Forkast.News, I’m Danny Park in Hong Kong.

Finally, today, two of the world’s best known online game stores, Steam and Epic Games, have taken opposing views on blockchain games.

Forkast.News Monika Ghosh reports.

Video Games store Steam, which is run by developer and publisher Valve, has banned games which are “built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs”.

The rule, which was recently added to the list of items you cannot publish on the platform, was brought to light by NFT based game developers Space Pirate, who said the policy change was made because Valve does not allow the use of items that have real-world value in games.

In contrast, rival Epic Games says it is open to allowing blockchain based games on its marketplace. However, that is with some limitations – all games must comply with financial laws, disclose how blockchain is used in the game and have appropriate age ratings.

Epic’s move is a ray of hope for developers, however they need to bear in mind that its self-publishing platform is in closed beta, and the company decides who can join on a case-by-case basis.

For Forkast.News, I’m Monika Ghosh.

And that’s The Daily Forkast from our vantage point right here in Asia.

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For more visit Forkast.News, I’m Justin Solomon. Until next time.