Most Trustworthy Crypto Exchanges | Irrational Bitcoin 13F Exuberance

Supported by the U.S. financial regulatory and legal systems, Coinbase leads a contingent of seven American companies on our top 20 list. Coinbase has other things going for it, including a crypto custody business that has snagged as clients eight of the 11 newly allowed exchange-traded bitcoin funds. Having the trust of traditional-finance institutions is an important element in drawing new customers who want to be sure their assets are safe. Another important element in Coinbase’s favor is that it has custody of 44% of all the bitcoin and ether, the two dominant digital currencies, held by crypto exchanges.

Coinbase is followed on our list by two marketplaces that are not strictly speaking crypto exchanges at all: Chicago commodities market CME, which makes the list by dint of its global leadership in financial derivatives, and discount broker Robinhood, which gets high marks for low fees. Coinbase, by contrast, levies relatively heavy transaction costs, in part because of its compliance expenses, but that is working out for its shareholders. From the recent low on December 28, 2022, Coinbase stock is up 538%, crushing the double-digit gains of the major U.S. equity averages, more than three times as much as Robinhood and far outpacing the 304% of bitcoin.

Full report: The World’s Most Trustworthy Crypto Exchanges And Marketplaces     

Wagers are denominated in dollars, but users have to submit crypto. The usdc stablecoin is preferred, and there are workarounds for tether and ether. Polymarket essentially operates as an offshore betting platform out of the purview of U.S. regulations, which ban betting on elections.

Founders Fund, the venture capital firm founded by Thiel, was the lead investor in the latest fundraising round, Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan told CoinDesk. Forbes estimates Thiel’s net worth at $6.9 billion.

The final list of filers was unsurprisingly top-heavy with institutions that are likely to be traders more than long-term investors. The biggest was Millennium Management, an alternative-asset shop with $64 billion under management, $1.9 billion of it in bitcoin ETFs on March 31. It was followed by high-frequency trader Susquehanna International Group, with $1.3 billion. In common with many of the top filers, their investments were concentrated in the three biggest funds: BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which was previously organized as a closed-end investment that at times traded at a sharp discount to face value, something ETFs cannot do. Those three funds accounted for $8.3 billion of the ETF total.

One filer that might be taking a long-term view is the Wisconsin Investment Board, 11th on the list. It manages retirement funds and similar vehicles for the state, and was one of the few pension managers contacted in 2018 that said it would consider cryptocurrency investment. “We’re looking into it” a spokesperson said at the time. The agency has declined to comment on its 13F.

Earlier: It’s Disclosure Time For Hedge Funds: What Bitcoiners Should Know