Institutional financial services firms continue to integrate blockchain into their business models. Earlier this week, Forbes reported that a 129-year-old global asset management firm based in Chicago recently began offering fund administration services to three "mainstream hedge funds" that are "diversifying their portfolios with cryptocurrency investments." The same firm has also begun implementing a blockchain solution based on Hyperledger Fabric to settle private equities transactions, and recently filed two blockchain patents. According to Cointelegraph, the same firm is exploring launching a cryptocurrency custody service.

In related news, a recent transaction took place in which, for the first time, two institutional traders swapped a position in the CME bitcoin futures market for an equivalent amount of the "physical asset" of bitcoin. This type of transaction is common in commodities trading, but now appears to be possible with bitcoin as the underlying commodity. And in international news, the Bank of Canada recently published a working paper analyzing the potential benefits of a "central bank digital currency" (CBDC). According to the paper, "[t]he welfare gains of introducing a CBDC are estimated at up to 0.64% for Canada."

Fintech startups also continue to see increased adoption of blockchain. The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase recently announced that it is now offering deposits and withdrawals denominated in the British pound. Square, the mobile payments firm, recently announced that its revenue from bitcoin sales reached $37 million in the second quarter of 2018. According to a recent article in Fortune, Bitmain – the world's largest cryptocurrency mining company – earned approximately $1 billion in net profits in the first quarter of 2018. And in Switzerland, the online bank Swissquote reportedly experienced a 44 percent increase in profits in the first half of 2018, as a result of its new service offering bitcoin trading accounts for its clients.

For more information on recent trends in blockchain adoption, see the following:

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