PayPal Adds More Cryptos, Wall Street Supports Bitcoin, and China Stops Mining? Those stories and more this week in crypto.
Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal, said in an interview that the company’s crypto forays will go beyond offerings for bitcoin, which are designed to drive digital currency purchases. PayPal’s crypto unit is currently experimenting with smart contracts and testing Ethereum and other blockchains. The fintech firm is also said to be in the process of buying crypto-custody firm Curv to align with the company’s digital currency strategy.
The money bigwig Goldman Sachs has opened a new trading desk for cryptocurrencies. Efforts initially began a few years ago but stalled after the 2018 crash. BTC’s sudden resurgence appears to have restored the bank’s confidence in digital assets.
Another financial giant, Citibank, released a report praising Bitcoin. While the document recognizes risks like volatility and price fluctuations, the report states that the positives of crypto seriously outweigh the negatives, and that digital assets will be at the center of some of the major changes that will take place over the next few years.
CBOE Global Markets Inc. applies for approval for the first crypto-based ETF in the USA. The company has filed a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in hopes of receiving a long-awaited green light. This is the company’s third attempt, already made in 2017 and 2019.
After seeing the success of the world’s first Bitcoin-based Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in Canada, Evolve Funds is now looking to go further. The company has filed the required documents with the country’s securities regulator and is currently awaiting approval to offer future ETFs based in Ethereum.
China’s Inner Mongolia – a region known for its numerous bitcoin and crypto mining operations and low energy prices – will place high limits on all projects that use large amounts of electricity. This includes bitcoin mining companies that have to conduct their business elsewhere by mid-April this year. The region names a new law to limit pollution and pollution as the main reason for the closure.
Meerkat Finance, an income farming project for the Binance Smart Chain, reportedly got away with more than $ 31 million in a brave hack. The hackers changed ownership of the smart contract address and withdrew the funds soon after. Their website and social media channel are all down, suggesting that the creators have pulled a carpet.
The American basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks, is now accepting payments for tickets and goods in Dogecoin through the cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay. According to the Dallas Mavericks, the decision is purely consumer-driven and aims to leverage cryptocurrencies to “expand business opportunities, reduce high fees, and increase payment transparency and efficiency.”
This is exactly what happened in Crypto this week. Until next week.
