Swiss-based digital fund manager Amun launched 21 Shares Short Bitcoin (SBTC) this week, a first-of-its-kind digital asset-based Exchange Traded Product (ETP) that reportedly allows investors an easy method for capturing falling price movements of bitcoin through a traditional broker or bank. According to reports, the product is compliant with Swiss regulations and launched on the Swiss Stock Exchange. In another development from Europe, officials in Liechtenstein have approved AARGOS Global Real Estate Fund as an alternative investment fund. The company reportedly makes available a fully regulated, tokenized real estate portfolio, with each token representing one share in the fund.

Asian cryptocurrency trading platform Zipmex was granted a digital asset exchange license this week from Thailand's securities regulator. The company is now classified as a financial institution in the country and must comply with AML reporting obligations. The availability of this license is somewhat new, with its introduction part of the country's regulatory framework for digital assets that went into effect in 2018.

Canada's securities administrator issued guidance last week to assist in the determination of whether certain digital assets are securities subject to regulation. The guidance notes that such regulations might apply to digital assets traded on exchange platforms because although the token itself may be correctly categorized as a commodity, the underlying right to the token might¬ constitute a security when such a right is not settled in real time.

The World Economic Forum shared insights this week gathered from researchers, policymakers and international organizations and announced its central bank digital currency (CBDC) Policy-Maker Toolkit. The toolkit is designed to help central banks assess whether CBDC is a strategic fit for their economy and help them access methods of evaluation, design and deployment. A key goal of the toolkit is to help provide common groundwork "to support stable, efficient and inclusive global economic systems."

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