Ether may ‘struggle’ in 2025, SOL ETF odds rise, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Dec. 29 – Jan. 4  

American stock exchange Nasdaq has filed an application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list and trade shares of the VanEck Avalanche Trust, a proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to offer indirect exposure to the AVAX token.The filing, signed by Nasdaq’s executive vice president and chief legal officer John Zecca, requests approval to list and trade shares of the VanEck Avalanche ETF under the company’s Rule 5711(d), which governs the trading of commodity-based trust shares. If approved, the VanEck Avalanche ETF would allow investors to gain exposure to the Avalanche (AVAX) price without directly holding them. The ETF would hold the tokens and track their price, allowing investors to profit from the token’s performance without needing crypto wallets or using digital asset trading platforms. According to the filing, asset manager VanEck Digital Assets will sponsor the trust, while a third-party custodian will hold all the Avalanche tokens on the trust’s behalf. Excerpt of Nasdaq’s Avalanche ETF listing application. Source: NasdaqRelated: XRP ETF: Here are the funds awaiting SEC approval so farVanEck joins Avalanche ETF raceThe filing follows VanEck’s efforts to register a spot Avalanche ETF in the US. On March 10, the asset manager registered the crypto investment product as a trust corporate service company in Delaware. The application marks the fourth standalone crypto ETF product submitted by VanEck, alongside its Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) ETF products. In 2024, VanEck filed for a spot Solana ETF, becoming one of the first issuers to file for a SOL-based ETF. On March 14, VanEck’s formal application for the Avalanche ETF was shared publicly via social media, signaling the firm’s commitment to the product.Grayscale Investments is also pursuing an AVAX-backed ETF. On March 28, Nasdaq applied to list Grayscale’s Avalanche ETF. The product would be a conversion of a close-ended AVAX fund launched by the asset manager in August 2024.  Despite the interest in exchange-traded products based on AVAX, the token suffered massive losses in 2025 as the broader crypto markets saw a downturn. On April 10, the AVAX token traded at $18, which is 56% less than its January high of $41. Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple and industry with no crypto legal precedent set

Escalating trade tensions and renewed uncertainty in global markets are driving investors toward alternative assets, including Bitcoin and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), as concerns mount over the long-term stability of the financial system.Global trade tensions continue pressuring investor sentiment despite US President Donald Trump announcing a 90-day pause on higher reciprocal tariffs on April 9, reverting the tariffs to the 10% baseline for most countries.At the same time, Trump escalated his tariffs on Chinese goods from 104% to 125%, the Financial Times reported on April 9.“President Trump’s tariff escalation marks a significant inflection point for global markets,” a move that signals “more than a trade disagreement,” said Teddy Pornprinya, co-founder of Plume, a layer-1 blockchain focused on tokenized real-world assets. He added:“It exposes deeper fractures in the global monetary system.”With both the US and China facing what he described as unsustainable debt levels, Pornprinya warned of increased reliance on inflationary tools, including the potential depreciation of the Chinese yuan.“These dynamics will test the resilience of every asset class” and inspire greater adoption for tokenized credit and private yield products that “aren’t exposed to sovereign devaluation games,” he said.Related: Bitcoin ETFs lose $326M amid ‘evolving’ dynamic with TradFi marketsThe tariff fears led tokenized gold trading volume to surge to a two-year high this week, topping $1 billion for the first time since the US banking crisis in 2023, Cointelegraph reported on April 10.Top tokenized gold assets, trading volume. Source: CoinGecko, Cex.ioOnchain real-world assets (RWAs) also surpassed the $20 billion all-time high on April 9, with tokenized private credit representing the lion’s share, or $12.7 billion of total RWA value, according to data from RWA.xyz.RWA global market dashboard. Source: RWA.xyzSome industry watchers said that Bitcoin’s lack of upside momentum may drive RWAs to a $50 billion all-time high before the end of 2025, as their increased liquidity will help RWAs attract a significant share of the $450 trillion global asset market.Related: Bitcoin’s safe-haven appeal grows during trade war uncertaintyTariffs are “US bargaining tool,” not lasting policy shiftDespite investor concerns, analysts at crypto exchange Bitfinex said the tariff hike may not represent a long-term policy shift.“We believe, however, that the threat of tariffs by the current US administration is a negotiating tool to be used to persuade other countries to lower tariffs on American manufactured goods and services and are unlikely to become permanent policy,” they told Cointelegraph.Source: Raoul PalRaoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor, also said that the tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China.The tone of the negotiations may dictate the recovery of global risk assets, including the crypto market which has a 70% chance to bottom by June 2025 before recovering, Nansen analysts predicted.Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29

Austrian fintech unicorn Bitpanda has secured its third license under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, further expanding its regulatory footprint across the bloc.Bitpanda on April 10 announced receiving a new MiCA license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA), its third after approvals from regulators in Germany and Malta.Its latest approval marks “another step toward building the most regulated crypto platform in Europe,” the exchange said in an announcement on X.Source: BitpandaMiCA, which took full effect on Dec. 30, 2024, is designed to provide a harmonized legal framework for crypto asset service providers (CASPs) across the EU. Despite this goal, Bitpanda’s pursuit of multiple licenses raises questions about how consistently MiCA is being interpreted and enforced across the bloc.Bitpanda’s MiCA collection storyVienna-headquartered Bitpanda was one of the first crypto asset service providers (CASP) to receive a MiCA license after the framework entered into full force on Dec. 30, 2024.Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) was the first regulator to issue a MiCA license for Bitpanda, the firm announced on Jan. 23.According to Bitpanda’s announcement on LinkedIn, it subsequently secured another MiCA license from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).Related: Malta regulator fines OKX crypto exchange $1.2M for past AML breaches“Following yesterday’s announcement of our first MiCAR license, this second license sends a clear message: Bitpanda is setting the standard as Europe’s most secure and well-regulated crypto platform,” the company wrote.Bitpanda announced receiving a MiCA license from the MFSA in a LinkedIn post. Source: LinkedIn posting date extractorAt the time of publication, none of the relevant regulators — Austria’s FMA, Germany’s BaFin, or Malta’s MFSA — maintain publicly available registries showing which firms have received MiCA licenses.Data from Austria’s Financial Market Authority on Bitpanda’s licensing. Source: FMAAccording to Austria’s FMA records, Bitpanda currently holds four different approvals in Austria and Germany for entities including Bitpanda Asset Management GmbH, Bitpanda Financial Services GmbH, Bitpanda GmbH and Bitpanda Payments GmbH.Does MiCA provide for multiple licenses in EU states?Proposed in 2020, the MiCA framework is designed to set comprehensive regulations for CASPs across the EU, creating “uniform EU market rules for crypto-assets,” according to a key MiCA regulator, the European Securities and Markets Authority.Despite MiCA’s aim to harmonize crypto regulation across the EU, Bitpanda’s pursuit of multiple licenses suggests regulatory inconsistencies may still exist among member states.Cointelegraph approached Bitpanda for comment regarding its approach to securing multiple MiCA licenses but did not receive a response at the time of publication.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025