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BNP Paribas Launches Six BTC, ETH ETNs for French Retail Clients

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Crypto Breaking News

BNP Paribas is expanding its investment lineup in France by launching six crypto-linked exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that track the prices of Bitcoin and Ether. The regulated notes will be available to retail clients from Monday through standard securities accounts and Hello bank!, the group’s digital platform, with a potential extension to wealth-management clients outside France in the future.

According to the bank, these ETNs provide a regulated way to gain exposure to crypto price movements without owning the underlying assets. They are described as carrying issuer credit risk (if BNP Paribas were to fail, investors could lose money), but offer no tracking error and certain tax advantages compared with direct crypto ownership. The move underscores BNP Paribas’ broader push into digital assets and its ongoing exploration of blockchain-enabled finance.

Key takeaways

  • BNP Paribas launches six crypto-linked ETNs in France, tracking BTC and ETH, accessible via standard securities accounts and Hello bank!.
  • ETNs provide regulated crypto price exposure without direct asset ownership, but entail issuer credit risk and potential tax advantages relative to holding crypto directly.
  • The rollout aligns with BNP Paribas’ broader digital-asset strategy, including past milestones in tokenization and blockchain collaborations.
  • European adoption of crypto-linked ETNs is accelerating, with ING Germany expanding its lineup and the UK reintroducing crypto ETNs to retail investors after regulatory changes.

A regulated path to crypto exposure

The six ETNs are indexed to Bitcoin and Ether, offering investors a way to track the digital assets’ price movements without custodying the coins themselves. BNP Paribas stated the notes will be available from Monday via standard securities accounts and Hello bank!, and the offering is open to individual investors, entrepreneurs, private banking clients and Hello bank! users. The bank indicated the rollout could later extend to wealth-management clients outside France.

BNP Paribas framed the products as a regulated gateway to crypto exposure, contrasting with direct purchases from crypto exchanges. While ETNs carry issuer credit risk—a default by the issuer could impact principal—the notes are described as having no tracking error and certain tax advantages compared with holding crypto directly, according to the issuer’s description.

BNP Paribas’s broader digital-asset push

The launch sits within BNP Paribas’ broader strategy to integrate digital assets into its operations. In 2024, the bank arranged and placed Slovenia’s first digital sovereign bond, marking the European Union’s debut in blockchain-based government debt issuance. The move signaled a continued push into tokenization and blockchain-enabled finance across public and private markets.

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BNP Paribas has also deepened its participation in the Canton ecosystem. The bank joined the Canton Foundation, alongside HSBC, to govern the Canton Network—a blockchain-focused initiative aimed at institutional finance and real-world asset tokenization. In parallel, BNP Paribas Asset Management supported Digital Asset’s Canton-driven initiatives and, more recently, launched a tokenized share class of a money-market fund on the Ethereum blockchain to explore fund tokenization using public infrastructure. The bank’s broader activity in tokenization extends from public networks to earlier private blockchain issuances in Luxembourg.

Europe’s growing appetite for crypto ETNs

The appetite for crypto-linked ETNs is broadening across Europe. In Germany, ING began adding new products from Bitwise and VanEck to its investment lineup, expanding access to regulated notes that provide crypto exposure through traditional channels. In the United Kingdom, crypto ETNs re-entered the retail market in October 2025 after the Financial Conduct Authority reversed a ban it had imposed in 2021, signaling a shift toward regulated access for retail investors.

As major banks expand regulated crypto offerings and public-blockchain pilots, observers are watching how these products scale beyond domestic markets and how evolving regulatory guidance shapes investor protections, tax treatment, and product design. The path forward will likely hinge on issuer risk management, cross-border distribution, and the degree to which traditional financial infrastructure can accommodate evolving crypto assets at scale.

Keep an eye on whether BNP Paribas expands the ETN rollout beyond France, how European regulators refine rules around crypto-linked notes, and what these developments imply for wider adoption of regulated crypto access across the region.

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Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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Crypto World

World assets sells $65M WLD as token hits fresh pressure

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World assets sells $65M WLD as token hits fresh pressure

World Foundation disclosed that its token issuance unit, World Assets, completed $65 million in over-the-counter sales of WLD tokens. 

Summary

  • World Assets sold 239 million WLD tokens for $65 million at about $0.2719 per token.
  • WLD traded near $0.27 after hitting a record low of $0.2444 earlier during Saturday session.
  • A July 2026 unlock will cover 52.5% of supply, equal to 169% of float currently.

The update came as WLD traded near its recent low and as the market watched future token supply.

World Assets said it sold WLD tokens to four counterparties over the past week. The first settlement took place on March 20, and the average sale price came to about $0.2719 per token.

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That pricing means the sales covered roughly 239 million WLD tokens in total. World Foundation also said $25 million worth of the sold tokens carry a six-month lockup period, while the remaining settlements will move through a designated World Assets multisig wallet.

According to the disclosure, World Assets will use the proceeds for core operations, research and development, orb manufacturing, and ecosystem development. The statement gave the market a clearer view of how the foundation plans to use the newly raised funds.

The disclosure followed on-chain data flagged by Lookonchain on March 21. The analytics firm tracked a transfer of 117 million WLD tokens, valued at about $39 million, to Binance and FalconX, with about $35 million in USDC received in return. That transaction appears to match part of the broader OTC activity later disclosed by the foundation.

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In addition, the latest sales came at a much lower price than earlier WLD funding rounds. In May 2025, the project raised $135 million through a WLD sale to backers including Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto, at a time when WLD traded near $1.13.

Earlier, in April 2024, the then-named Worldcoin Foundation said it planned to sell between 0.5 million and 1.5 million WLD per week through private placements to institutional trading firms. At that time, WLD traded near $5.43, which places the new average sale price far below earlier levels.

Market watches price pressure and future token supply

WLD traded near $0.27 at publication time after falling to an all-time low of $0.2444 earlier Saturday. The token is down about 97% from its March 2024 peak near $11.82. Its market cap stood near $850 million, while its fully diluted valuation was about $2.7 billion.

The market is also watching a large token unlock scheduled to begin on July 23, 2026, according to DefiLlama data. The event covers about 52.5% of the total 10 billion WLD supply and equals roughly 169% of the current float. 

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Eightco Holdings, which launched a WLD treasury in September 2025, held 277 million WLD as of March 20.

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

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Ethereum May Get ‘Flipped’ in 2026 Without Bitcoin’s Involvement

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Ethereum May Get 'Flipped' in 2026 Without Bitcoin's Involvement

Ether’s (ETH) grip on the cryptocurrency market’s number-two spot is weakening, not because it is getting any closer to overtaking Bitcoin (BTC), but because the stablecoin economy is booming.

Key takeaways:

Ethereum’s No. 2 ranking at risk in 2026

In the past five years, Ether has vastly underperformed its top competitors for the no. 2 spot, primarily Tether’s stablecoin USDT (USDT).

On a five-year rolling basis, ETH’s market capitalization grew by roughly 11.75% to around $240 billion.

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ETH/USD five-year market cap performance vs. USDT, XRP, and USDC. Source: TradingView

In comparison, USDT, the third-largest cryptocurrency, grew 622.50% in the same period, with its market cap reaching over $184 billion. Even XRP (XRP) and USD Coin (USDC) have outperformed Ether’s growth.

As a result, more traders are betting on Ethereum’s flippening in 2026.

On Polymarket’s betting platform, for instance, over 59% of punters placed bets in favor of Ether losing the number-two spot in 2026. These odds were just 17% at the year’s beginning.

Ethereum flipped in 2026 contract. Source: Polymarket

Why has Ethereum lagged behind Tether?

Ethereum and Tether grow differently because one is crypto, the other is fiat.

Ethereum’s market value depends largely on ETH’s price rising, and that has been difficult to sustain in 2026 as crypto markets come under pressure from macro headwinds such as US tariffs, the US and Israel vs. Iran war, and fading expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

That weakness has also been reflected in institutional demand. US spot Ethereum ETFs saw assets under management fall by about 65%, dropping to $11.76 billion in March from $31.86 billion in October last year, underscoring how the appetite for ETH has decreased over the past few months.

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US spot Ethereum ETF balances. Source: Glassnode

Tether, by contrast, grows when capital flows into stablecoins and investors buy “crypto dollars.” That tends to happen when traders want safety, liquidity, or flexibility instead of exposure to volatile assets like ETH.

Related: AI and stablecoins are winning despite 2026 crypto market slump

The total stablecoin market is now worth $310 billion, compared to around $5 billion in 2020, with Tether’s share at 58%.

Stablecoin market capitalization. Source: MacroMicro.ME

Demand for this kind of “dry powder,” capital parked in a dollar-pegged asset while investors wait for better crypto entry points, usually stays firm during risk-off periods.

Ethereum needs a stronger risk appetite to lift ETH’s price, while Tether benefits when investors turn defensive. That helps explain why ETH market cap growth has lagged behind USDT despite remaining one of crypto’s core infrastructure assets.

Can the ETH price fall further in 2026?

From a technical perspective, Ether faces risks of further price declines in 2026.

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As of Sunday, it was trading inside what appears to be a “bear flag” pattern, which increases the odds of resolving to the downside, given the price breaks decisively below the structure’s lower trendline.

ETH/USD three-day price chart. Source: TradingView

ETH price risks falling toward the flag’s measured downside target at around $1,250 by June if the breakdown below the lower trend line persists.