Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.<\/p>\n
A lesser-known British cryptocurrency company just made a move that could signal a major shift in how institutional investors view digital assets\u2014and it\u2019s happening at a time when traditional finance is cautiously warming up to blockchain technology.<\/p>\n
KR1<\/strong> announced<\/a> on Oct. 28 that it plans to uplist from the Aquis Stock Exchange to the London Stock Exchange. The move is intended to boost visibility and attract a broader investor base, but the timing suggests something larger is at play.<\/p>\n Don’t Miss:<\/strong><\/p>\n KR1\u2019s decision comes as decentralized blockchain companies have gained a strong foothold in the global financial system and drawn significant interest from institutional investors. Translation: the days of crypto being dismissed as internet play money are fading fast, and companies operating in this space are positioning themselves to capitalize on that legitimacy.<\/p>\n The company isn\u2019t just looking to switch exchanges\u2014it\u2019s also establishing a placing program to issue new shares, which would fund an expansion of its staking operations, according<\/a> to Reuters. Staking involves validating transactions on blockchain networks in exchange for rewards, essentially allowing investors to earn passive income on their crypto holdings. It\u2019s a business model that\u2019s becoming increasingly attractive as blockchain networks mature and offer more stable returns.<\/p>\n Trending: Wall Street’s $12B Real Estate Manager Is Opening Its Doors to Individual Investors \u2014 Without the Crowdfunding Middlemen<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n This move also highlights Britain\u2019s aggressive push to become a global crypto hub. The UK, which has one of the fastest-growing<\/a> crypto markets, has been revising regulations and positioning itself as a hub for the maturing sector. While the U.S. continues to grapple with regulatory uncertainty<\/a>\u2014bouncing between encouraging innovation and cracking down on enforcement\u2014the UK is taking a more measured approach that could attract capital fleeing less friendly jurisdictions.<\/p>\n KR1\u2019s uplisting to the main market would put it alongside traditional financial institutions and established corporations, a symbolic win for the crypto industry. It\u2019s also a practical one: main market listings typically come with higher liquidity, greater analyst coverage, and access to a deeper pool of institutional capital.<\/p>\n See Also: <\/strong>If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it<\/strong><\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n The planned move isn’t finalized yet. KR1’s migration still depends on the Financial Conduct Authority’s approval of its prospectus, as well as a shareholder vote. While the FCA has recently moved to clarify crypto regulations\u2014making approval appear likely\u2014the timing remains unclear, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n KR1\u2019s move is a bellwether for how traditional stock exchanges will accommodate crypto-focused companies going forward. If successful, it could pave the way for other digital asset firms to follow suit, further bridging the gap between traditional finance and the crypto economy.<\/p>\n The broader question is whether institutional investors are truly ready to allocate serious capital to crypto companies beyond the household names like Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN<\/a>) or Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR<\/a>). KR1\u2019s bet is that they are\u2014and that London is the place to make that case.<\/p>\n Read Next: 7 Million Gamers Already Trust Gameflip With Their Digital Assets \u2014 Now You Can Own a Stake in the Platform<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Image: Shutterstock<\/strong><\/p>\n This article British Crypto Firm KR1 Eyes London Main Stock Market\u2014A Sign That Institutional Money Is Finally Ready To Pile In<\/a> originally appeared on Benzinga.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556435,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[53565,748,44703,393,4884,73050,177714,257,3097,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-556434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-blockchain-technology","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-digital-assets","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-institutional-investors","14":"tag-kr1","15":"tag-london","16":"tag-london-stock-exchange","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115511959184587005","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}