TokenPost reporter
Mark Jason Alcala
Stories by Mark Jason Alcala
- Crypto exchange Coinbase beats estimates and posts $1.9B Q2 revenue as monthly transacting users spikes by 44%
The crypto exchange announced a net income of $1.6 billion and an adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 billion for the second quarter.
· Business
- Grayscale believes it’s only a matter of time before the SEC approves a Bitcoin ETF
Grayscale Investments views the statement made by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler as a positive development.
· Regulation
- South Korean banks report a steep rise in crypto transaction fees in the second quarter of 2021
Three South Korean banks that entered into partnerships with crypto exchanges raked in a total of 16.9 billion won (around $14.71 million) in transaction fees generated from such arrangements for the second quarter.
· Business
- Indonesia’s crypto platform Pinto raises $35M to expand its team and product offerings
Pintu crypto app downloads rose by 3.5 times through organic growth and the platform’s active users increase by 4 times during the first half of 2021.
· Business
- U.S. theater chain AMC plans to add Bitcoin, Apple Pay, and Google Pay as payment options
AMC Entertainment Holdings announced plans to accept Bitcoin payments by the end of the year.
· Business
- Crypto analysts eye Bitcoin reaching $100K or higher
A number of crypto experts now believe that BTC’s price has the potential to go to $100,000 or higher.
· Insights & Views
- Bitcoin's climb above $46K could signal crypto is back into bullish territory
A crypto analyst believes that BTC and ETH will likely resume their upward trajectory and predicted Bitcoin's price could potentially soar to $100K.
· Insights & Views
- Binance.US CEO quits just as crypto exchange faces increased regulatory scrutiny
Brian Brooks, Binance.US’s CEO and a former regulator, announced his departure from the company citing “differences over strategic direction.”
· Business
- Mi Store Portugal’s decision to accept Bitcoin, Ether, other cryptos unrelated to Xiaomi
Xiaomi explained that the Portuguese retailer is a third-party authorized partner, which operates independently from the Chinese smartphone manufacturer.
· Business
- JPMorgan offers access to a new Bitcoin fund for private banking clients
Starting on August 5, JPMorgan’s financial advisors were allowed to accept placements from private bank clients into the new Bitcoin fund created by the crypto firm New York Digital Investment Group.
· Business
- Fashion group Philipp Plein to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, other cryptos
Global fashion label, the Philipp Plein Group, is set to become the first major fashion brand to accept crypto as payments including BTC and ETH.
· Business
- CFTC commissioner says crypto is a commodity and should not be regulated by the SEC
CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz declared that cryptocurrencies are commodities and should fall under CFTC’s jurisdiction just as securities should be regulated by the SEC.
· Regulation
- Fidelity acquires 7.4% stake in Bitcoin mining firm Marathon
Through four of its index funds, Fidelity bought shares of the BTC mining firm worth $20 million which was completed on July 22, 2021.
· Business
- Uruguay senator wants crypto payments legalized in the country
Unlike El Salvador’s case, the bill is not proposing the use of any crypto such as Bitcoin as legal tender.
· Regulation
- Bitcoin bull Anthony Pompliano believes Square’s value could rise by 5x with Afterpay purchase
Pompliano said that it all depends on how the company harnesses the combined potential of both businesses.
· Business
- Crypto for mortgage payments proposed in Spain
The proposed bill will allow homeowners to use crypto for paying their mortgages while allowing the real estate sector to use their own crypto to invest in mortgage pools.
· Regulation
- Crypto firms can now advertise in Google as its new policy takes into effect
The tech giant revised its policies in June to allow crypto ads but advertisements on initial coin offerings (ICO) are still banned from the platform.
· Business
- Majority of American consumers considering using crypto as payment in the future
Consumers are interested in crypto's possible enhanced privacy and security features compared to credit card or bank account-based payments.
· Insights & Views
- Crypto exchange CoinJar partners with Mastercard to allow users to pay in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP
As a fully-featured Mastercard, CoinJar Card users can use crypto to make payments for purchases wherever Mastercard is accepted.
· Business
- Crypto mining firm Marathon acquires 30K Bitcoin miners to boost hashrate to 13.3 EH/s
Fully deployed and operational, this translates to a capacity of around 13.3 EH/s, which is around 12 percent of the Bitcoin network’s total hash rate as of August 1, 2021, which is around 109 EH/s.
· Business
- Michael Saylor remains very bullish on Bitcoin long term
Saylor said that holding Bitcoin for the long term is the highest-upside, lowest-risk strategy MicroStrategy can pursue.
· Insights & Views
- 11 crypto exchanges in South Korea might not get regulatory approval
Industry sources claim that it will be impossible for these crypto exchanges to get the FSC’s approval for the continued operations of their businesses in the country.
· Regulation
- Crypto exchange CoinDCX plans to raise $100-120M in a financing round that would value it at more than $1B
The upcoming round will value the crypto exchange CoinDCX at more than $1 billion, making the company the first unicorn crypto exchange in India.
· Business
- The advantages of El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender
Bank of America pointed out that the country’s decision to make Bitcoin legal tender could lower down remittance costs, the digitization of finance could promote inclusion in the financial system, give its citizens mo…
· Insights & Views
- Crypto just another payment method, says FinCEN’s Michele Korver
While critics have argued about crypto’s potential use in criminal activities, Michele Korver ultimately views digital currencies as just another means of payment.
· Regulation
- PayPal to introduce crypto trading service to users in the U.K.
The payments giant is getting ready to expand its crypto trading services internationally.
· Business
- MicroStrategy to continue Bitcoin buying despite its impairment loss of $689.6 million on BTC holdings in Q2
CEO Michael Sayler said in its second-quarter earnings announcement that MicroStrategy will continue investing in its digital asset strategy.
· Business
- Bitcoin mining firm Genesis Digital Assets raises $125M as it targets a capacity of over 1 gigawatt by 2023
The crypto mining firm will use the capital to purchase equipment and build new data centers in the United States and the nordic region.
· Business
- Number of crypto users doubled to 221M in just 4 months
While crypto users surged, Bitcoin and Ethereum's market shares continued to decline.
· Insights & Views
- Israel’s crypto community opposes proposed bill requiring holders with $61K or more in digital currencies to file a report
The Israeli Bitcoin Association (IBA) pointed out that other assets are not subject to such reporting requirements.
· Regulation
- Vontobel reveals some clients have crypto exposure and that blockchain would significantly impact global finance
Vontobel CEO Zeno Staub said that the firm believes that the "underlying technology is actually more important than certain types of applications."
· Business
- Crypto and CBDC could be the answer for reaching the unbanked or underbanked, says Senator Warren
The senator said that perhaps private digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) might be the solution that could reach the unbanked and underbanked.
· Insights & Views
- Paypal’s crypto super app wallet is expected to roll out in the coming months for U.S. users
The payments giant's super app wallet will introduce enhanced features including additional crypto capabilities.
· Business
- Japan’s SBI Remit uses Ripple’s ODL service to provide cheaper remittances to the Philippines
At around 10.5 percent, Japan has one of the highest remittance costs in the world and is almost twice the average cost (5.92 percent) of all the member countries of the G8.
· Business
- 41% of Russians do not want to receive their salaries in the digital ruble, says survey
The survey revealed that 11 percent said that they were ready to receive digital ruble for the salaries.
· Regulation
- Horizon Kinetics recommends crypto and real estate to beat fiat devaluation
Horizon’s co-founder Peter Doyle warned of the coming currency debasement due to rising debt levels, which accelerated during the pandemic.
· Insights & Views
- Bitcoin mining difficulty to rise in 2022 as Chinese miners come back online
Bitcoin mining difficulty will rise due to the expansion of mining facilities by North American firms as well as the return of Chinese crypto miners via the use of overseas hosting sites.
· Business
- Bitcoin mining firm Stronghold files for $100M IPO, plans to increase capacity to 5,300 PH/s by December 2022
Stronghold said that part of the proceeds of this offering will be used to buy 27,900 miners to boost its total hash rate capacity to 3,000 PH/s by December 2021 and to over 5,300 PH/s by December 2022.
· Business
- Crypto exchange Robinhood to introduce a feature called “price volatility protection”
Depending on the fluctuations in a digital currency’s price, this feature would modify certain crypto orders.
· Business
- Kazakhstan to officially recognize crypto trading by allowing investors to open bank accounts for crypto transactions
Kazakhstan contributes between six to eight percent of the world’s mining volume, becoming the third-largest source of newly-minted digital currencies such as Bitcoin in the world.
· Regulation