BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, launched a Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) on multiple European stock exchanges.

The iShares Bitcoin ETP began trading on March 25 on Xetra, Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Paris, according to BlackRock’s product page. The launch follows the success of its iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund (ETF), which dominates the US market with $50.7 billion of assets under management, accounting for about 2.73% of the total Bitcoin (BTC) supply.

Stephen Wundke, director of strategy and revenue at crypto investment firm Algoz, told Cointelegraph that “the availability of the iShares Bitcoin ETP may not have the same reaction across Europe” as it saw in the US:

“Quality investment products through regulated asset managers have been more available throughout Europe than in the US, and secondly, Bitcoin is also more easily purchased. […] However, the ability for traditional family offices across Europe to hold a small percentage of their asset base in ‘digital gold’ is no doubt a good thing. […] Just don’t expect $60 billion of purchases in the first quarter.”

Product details and fee structure

The new ETP trades under the IB1T ticker on Xetra and Euronext Paris, while on Euronext Amsterdam it uses BTCN. Bloomberg previously reported that the company was preparing to launch the new product, which followed the firm’s launch of a Bitcoin ETF on CBOE Canada.

BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETP specifics. Source: BlackRock

According to Bloomberg, the product launched with a temporary fee waiver of 10 basis points, which decreases the expense ratio to 0.15% until the end of 2025. Europe’s top crypto ETP is the CoinShares Physical Bitcoin ETP, which currently charges 0.25%, making BlackRock’s offering considerably cheaper while the waiver is in place.

“There is no doubt BlackRock’s aggressive fee structure was designed to keep competitors out of the market and question the commitment of any new entrants,” Wundke said.

Wundke added that “this type of competition is good for investors and ultimately good for digital currencies,” highlighting that players in the market will have to compete to provide the best offering to investors.

Related: ‘Successful’ ETH ETF less perfect without staking — BlackRock

iShares expanding to Europe

This is BlackRock’s first issuance of a crypto ETP outside of North America. Manuela Sperandeo, BlackRock’s head of Europe and Middle East iShares Product, told Bloomberg:

“[This launch] reflects what really could be seen as a tipping point in the industry — the combination of established demand from retail investors with more professionals now really getting into the fold.”

Related: Bitcoin ETFs log first net inflows in weeks, while Ether outflows continue

Ajay Dhingra, head of research at decentralized exchange aggregator Unizen, told Cointelegraph that the move reflects BlackRock’s confidence in the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation framework:

“From Trump to Biden and now Trump again, US digital asset policy has been largely inconsistent. In contrast, the EU has steadily embraced compliant blockchain adoption — offering the regulatory stability companies are looking for.”

A recent BlackRock earnings report showed that the firm managed over $11.55 trillion on average during the fourth quarter of 2024. Other than the top Bitcoin ETF, the firm also launched its Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF — the top Ether (ETH) ETF, with $3.46 billion in assets under management.

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Memecoin launchpad Pump.fun’s new decentralized exchange (DEX), PumpSwap, has surpassed a cumulative trading volume of over $1 billion just one week after its launch, according to blockchain analytics platform Dune.

On March 19, Pump.fun launched its own Solana DEX to create a “frictionless environment” for memecoin trading. Memecoins launched on Pump.fun previously needed to migrate into the Solana DEX Raydium after bootstrapping liquidity, making the trading platform the most popular DEX in Solana. 

The Pump.fun team said these migrations slowed token momentum and introduced “needless complexity” for new users. With the new DEX, the project said migrations happen instantly and for free. 

A week after launch, PumpSwap reached a cumulative volume of more than $1 billion. A Dune Analytics dashboard by onchain analyst Adam_Tehc showed that PumpSwap had an all-time trading volume of $1.1 billion in its first seven days. 

PumpSwap DEX lifetime trading volume reaches. Source: Dune Analytics

PumpSwap exceeds $1.1 billion in trading volume 

During its first day, the platform had a modest trading volume of about $50 million. On March 24, the volume spiked eight times, recording over $425 million in trading volume. 

Daily swaps on the platform peaked on March 24, recording 4.2 million transactions. The DEX’s cumulative number of swaps surpassed 11 million, while the number of active users has reached over 388,000, according to the data. 

The data also showed that the fees on the PumpSwap protocol exceeded $2.1 million, while liquidity provider fees exceeded $540,000. According to the Dune Dashboard’s creator, PumpSwap’s $1 million daily fees generated on March 24 are already “on par” with Pump.fun. 

Source: Adam_tehc

PumpSwap’s launch follows news that Raydium plans to create its own memecoin launchpad, LaunchLab. The latest movements within the ecosystem shift the dynamics between Pump.fun and Raydium, turning the two Solana projects from partners into competitors. 

Related: Dubai regulator says memecoins must adhere to regulations

Pump.fun launches DEX amid memecoin decline

Pump.fun launching a new business comes as the Solana memecoin frenzy began to lose steam. Solscan data shows that Solana’s daily token-minting peaked at 95,578 on Jan. 26. Since then, the daily mints declined, bottoming at 26,298 mints on March 22. 

In addition, successful new listings from tokens created at Pump.fun declined. Dune Analytics data showed that the daily number of tokens completing Pump.fun’s “bonding curve,” a requirement for DEX listing, dropped from highs of almost 1,200 on Jan. 23 and 24 to 149 on March 20. 

The memecoin decline also affected Solana’s weekly revenue. On March 11, the network’s weekly revenue dropped to $4 million from its high of $55.3 million in mid-January, at the height of the memecoin frenzy. This represents a 93% drop in the blockchain’s total weekly revenue. 

Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge

Members of Arbitrum’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) are discussing a potential clawback of funds allocated to build a gaming ecosystem on the network, citing a lack of progress and transparency. 

On March 24, DAO member Nathan van der Heyden submitted a proposal calling for the recovery of unused funds allocated to the Arbitrum Gaming Catalyst Program (GCP). The program, launched in 2024, aimed to position Arbitrum as a leading platform for onchain gaming development.

Van der Hayden said that the GCP was approved when projections were “exceptionally optimistic.” He added that this had “proved unsustainable.”  

“We must wind down GCP activities and secure all possible funds in order to safeguard the DAO’s funds and restore investor confidence in the ability of this DAO to allocate capital,” van der Heyden wrote in the governance forum post.

The community member also said the GCP had been reluctant to document its activities and that the program was not delivering on its promises. 

Source: Nathan van der Heyden

Arbitrum proposal splits DAO sentiment 

Another DAO member seconded the proposal, saying the community must secure what is left of the funds:

“The DAO should step in now and secure what is there and then think about a good and meaningful way of going forward.” 

While many others agreed to an immediate clawback of the funds, some said it may be counterproductive. One DAO member said that while the motivation may be valid, they favored a more constructive approach.

“The desire to protect DAO funds and ensure transparency is valid, but immediately resorting to a complete clawback seems overly harsh and potentially counterproductive,” they wrote. 

The DAO member suggested phased clawbacks instead of immediately taking the program’s funding back and proposed flexible reporting standards to allow a more streamlined approach for the GCP. 

Arbitrum token declined 81% since the GCP launch 

The GCP was introduced on March 12, 2024, as a way to fuel the growth of Web3 gaming within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

It allocated about 225 Arbitrum (ARB) tokens worth roughly $468 million. The funds went to investing in promising studios and games for network development and establishing Arbitrum as a leader for onchain gaming. 

However, the program coincided with a $2.2 billion token unlock, which may have caused the token’s price to drop. By June 2024, the tokens allocated to the program were only worth about $215 million, more than 50% less than their original value. 

At the time of writing, ARB tokens are trading at $0.38, 81% down from its price during the GCP launch. 

Arbitrum token’s decline since the GCP launch. Source: CoinGecko

Another project has also begun implementing a plan to navigate the bearish market. On March 14, ZKsync sunset its liquidity rewards program ZKsync Ignite, saying that current market conditions had influenced the decision to end the program. 

Related: Axie Infinity teases new Web3 game as NFT outlook turns positive

Broader decline Web3 gaming funding 

The Arbitrum DAO proposal also comes amid a decline in Web3 gaming investments. Toshiyuki Otsuka, the founder of GameFi platform Snpit, told Cointelegraph that factors like market volatility and oversaturation of low-quality projects are slowing investment in Web3 gaming. 

“Many investors are taking a more cautious approach, waiting to see which projects can demonstrate long-term viability before committing capital,” Otsuka said. 

Otsuka added that the speculative rush of the past few years has given way to a more sustainable investment landscape for Web3 gaming, where only the most promising players are able to secure funding. 

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