Crypto Market Conditions That Fueled FTX, Bankman-Fried, No Longer Hold: Galaxy Digital

• New crypto exchanges have been designed to address the lack of custody that contributed to the FTX collapse, the report said.

• Spot bitcoin ETFs offer the same investor protections as equities and reduce the incentive to move to unregulated offshore exchanges.

• There has also been a push for better regulatory frameworks and self-regulatory practices within the industry, Galaxy said.

The cryptocurrency market has changed since the collapse of FTX and the conditions that enabled the rise of the exchange’s founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, no longer hold, financial services firm Galaxy Digital (GLXY) said in a research report on Friday.

New exchanges have emerged that allow users to self-custody their cryptocurrencies, and these platforms have been designed to “address the lack of custody and transparency that contributed to the FTX collapse by ensuring users maintain direct control over their digital assets,” analyst Lucas Tcheyan wrote.

Exchanges that don’t provide self-custody have started publishing proof of reserve audits as evidence they possess the client assets they claim to, the report said.

Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison last week after being found guilty on seven fraud and conspiracy charges related to FTX’s collapse.

The launch of spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is also a game changer. In a “critical step forward, U.S. users finally have access to a regulated bitcoin ETF that affords them the same investor protections they’d get buying equities and further reduces their incentive to move to unregulated offshore exchanges,” Tcheyan wrote.

There has also been a push for better regulatory frameworks and self-regulatory practices within the cryptocurrency industry, Galaxy noted.

Despite these positive steps forward, the crypto market “remains fraught with challenges” and “priority must be placed on addressing and rectifying the harmful practices that have marred the industry’s reputation in the past,” the report added.