Category: Payments

Categories
Blockchain Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Payments Tokens

NEAR Protocol Token Soars 48% in a Week After Listing on MoonPay

When payment solutions company MoonPay announced it was allowing its users to buy NEAR tokens worldwide, the price of NEAR Protocol skyrocketed 28 percent in 24 hours, with trading volume up more than 125 percent in the same period. Since then, the NEAR token has recorded an overall increase of 48 percent in a week.

NEAR is a development platform built on a sharded, proof-of-stake, layer-one blockchain that offers drastically lower transaction fees while maintaining high throughputs. The simple explanation for NEAR’s sudden boost is that MoonPay has a crypto trading app with around five million users.

By announcing its support for NEAR, MoonPay made the pool of potential investors that much deeper, which also explains NEAR’s increased trading volume. NEAR Protocol is further seeking to facilitate a shift to Web 3.0. With a daily transaction rate of 300,000 – just a fraction of its almost limitless capability – developers see a need for NEAR to transition to a more efficient system called Nightshade.

Phase one of the transition is scheduled to begin in early 2022, with phase two set to be implemented by the end of next year.

A String of Recent Announcements

In the first week of December, NEAR Foundation and WOO Network announced the completion of a US$5 million token swap to create a strategic partnership between ecosystems.

Last month, Ardana – Cardano’s growing stablecoin hub – also announced a strategic partnership with Near Protocol. It will allow for asset transfer between the two protocols in which Ardana will provide the bridging infrastructure:

Last week, altcoin MDT jumped more than 90 percent in a single day by breaking a rising wedge pattern with strong buying volume on multiple exchanges. Similarly, a week earlier IDEX surged more than 85 percent in 24 hours after listing on Huobi Exchange.

Categories
Blockchain Crypto News Facebook Payments Stablecoins

Meta’s Crypto Project Novi Begins WhatsApp Stablecoin Payments Trial

Novi, a new crypto wallet for sending digital payments through WhatsApp, is available now and being trialled for a limited number of people in the US. Transferring money to friends is now as easy as sending a text message and you can do it all within the WhatsApp chat app, instantly and with no fees.

Novi is a new way to send and receive money – instantly, securely, and with no fees. With Novi on WhatsApp, you can transfer money without ever leaving your WhatsApp chat.

novi.com/WhatsApp

Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s head of cryptocurrency and fintech at Novi, officially announced the rollout of Novi via Twitter on December 9:

Meta Fine-Tunes its Fintech Ambitions

It’s no secret that Meta head Mark Zuckerberg has huge ambitions for his company, formerly known as Facebook, to claim its space in the world of crypto and fintech. Facebook first launched its cryptocurrency project, Libra, in 2019. Then it was rebranded to Diem, a stablecoin to be pegged to the US dollar.

Despite facing opposition from regulatory parties who have concerns over giant tech companies entering the world of blockchain-based finance having too much power, Novi has partnered with stablecoin provider Paxos and is now live through WhatsApp.

Categories
Crypto Debit Cards Crypto Hardware Wallets Crypto News Payments

Ledger to Launch Debit Card Allowing Users to Use Crypto as Collateral

Hardware wallet maker Ledger is launching the Crypto Life card, a debit card that allows its users to spend crypto on goods and services or use it as collateral for cash purchases.

The ‘Crypto Life’ is Set for 2022

The new debit card was announced on December 9 during Op3n, Ledger’s biannual conference, and it’s set to debut in early 2022 for users in the UK, Germany and France, but those in the US will have to wait until the second quarter.

The Crypto Life (CL) card will carry out transactions using the Visa network. Users will be able to buy goods and services using the card, which is linked to Ledger Live, the desktop and mobile app that enables users to trade cryptocurrencies.

Funding the card is straightforward – users can top it up from the Ledger live app using a handful of coins such as BTC, ETH, USDT, and more. When it’s time to make a purchase, the funds are instantly converted to the fiat amount. Additionally, users can receive their paycheques using the card account and convert a percentage into BTC or ETH.

Users can also open a line of credit to spend on their card using crypto as collateral with rates going as low as zero percent. However, this feature depends on the region. US citizens won’t be able to take crypto loans due to regulatory issues in the country regarding crypto loans and transactions.

Moving to a Wider Audience

Ledger’s move comes as part of its plans to reach a wider audience. Rather than stick to making hardware wallets, it’s now following in the wake of Coinbase and other crypto companies by providing traditional banking services.

In August, Crypto News Australia reported that Ledger had enabled ETH staking directly form the Ledger Live wallet, thanks to a partnership with Lido, an ETH 2.0 liquid staking platform.

Categories
Australia CBDCs Crypto Exchange Payments Regulation

Treasury Moves to Consider Feasibility of CBDC and Crypto Legalisation Reforms

The Australian government is making strides in reforming consumer and business payments as well as building a framework for the regulation of the crypto market as innovations in payment technology rapidly increase.

The Rise of New Payment Technology

Australia has long been working on the possible implementation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and a year-long study by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has determined that a CBDC could be used by the wholesale market for the funding, settlement and repayment of a tokenised syndicated loan on Ethereum-based distributed ledger technology (DLT). Research will continue accordingly.

The report comes as the Australian government is in the process of overhauling its regulatory framework for payment systems for the first time in more than 20 years. The concern with emerging payment technologies – such as those provided by Ant Group Co or even Tether – is that a digital currency pegged to the US dollar could pose a threat to monetary regimes and add a new layer to cross-border payments.

If we do not reform the current framework, it will be Silicon Valley that determines the future of our payments system […] These are significant shifts which we need to be in front of.

Josh Frydenberg, Australian Federal Treasurer

According to the Australian Taxation Office, more than 800,000 Australians have made transactions with digital assets since 2018. Since the technology is available and people are using it, the country has also opted to broaden its payment laws to cover online transaction providers such as Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, as well as buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) providers like Afterpay Ltd. This would effectively end their run of operating without direct supervision.

Australia Leading Crypto Regulation

Leading up to the reform, in October an Australian Senate committee released a 12-point crypto reform plan to assist in the regulation of the growing digital asset ecosystem. Now full-scale crypto regulation is coming to Australia, and it includes licences for exchanges, laws for DAOs, action on de-banking and a review of tax settings.

The move to regulate digital assets is an important one with many factors to consider, but consultation and discussion are essential first steps with the support of key individuals in government positions.

Categories
Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Payments

Croatia’s Top Food Retailer ‘Konzum’ Introduces Crypto Payments

Konzum, the largest food retailer in Croatia, has partnered with local fintech Electrocoin, integrating its PayCek system to introduce cryptocurrency payments. 

The news was first reported by Reuters, noting that the retailer is popular among tourists visiting Croatia. They will now be able to pay for goods and services with up to nine different cryptos by simply scanning a QR code from their preferred wallet.

Cryptocurrency owners can buy and pay for groceries, hygiene and household items and other products from the rich offer of our online store with more than 12,000 products.

Kozum statement (translated)

Konzum board member Uroš Kalinić described the partnership with Electrocoin as another investment in emerging technologies. “We are proud to be leaders in another area that is rapidly developing and dictating the future,” he said.

Crypto Payments Going Global

Paying with cryptocurrrencies may not be a feature that every business allows or even likes, but with the fast-paced adoption of cryptos by large institutions, including El Salvador, several other entities have begun to accept crypto as a form of payment.

There are now numerous businesses accepting bitcoin, ether, or other forms of crypto. Six months ago in Australia, auction house Lloyds started accepting major crypto assets as payment for collectors’ or sports cars, calling the attention of crypto traders who also happen to be car enthusiasts.

Even charities in Australia and worldwide, such as Blockchain Philanthropy Foundation and Backpack Bed, are accepting crypto as a means of donation.

Categories
Blockchain Industries Payments

Square Rebrands to ‘Block’ Amid Broader Push into Crypto

Jack Dorsey’s digital payments firm Square has rebranded as a symbol of its growth and continued movement into the blockchain industry.

On December 1, Square said it would be changing its name to ‘Block’. According to the announcement, the rebadge is a symbol of its continued growth and will act as an umbrella term for the various services created since its inception in 2009.

Block is a new name, but our purpose of economic empowerment remains the same. No matter how we grow or change, we will continue to build tools to help increase access to the economy.

Jack Dorsey, Block CEO and co-founder

The legal name “Square, Inc” is expected to be legally changed to “Block, Inc” around December 10, once all applicable legal requirements have been satisfied.

The Square’s new name has various associated meanings for the business. According to the announcement, the name Block represents “building blocks, neighbourhood blocks and their local businesses, communities coming together at block parties full of music, a blockchain, a section of code, and obstacles to overcome”.

The company has already expanded its crypto services to Australia with its A$39 billion purchase of Afterpay to make bitcoin purchases on a “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) basis. 

Dorsey Moving Further into Crypto

Square’s name change follows Dorsey stepping down as Twitter CEO late last month, with many believing he now wants to spend more time working on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

The Square rebadge announcement also mentions blockchain technology and further reveals that Square’s subsidiary, Square Crypto, will also change its name.

As a result of the name change, Square Crypto, a separate initiative of the company dedicated to advancing Bitcoin, will change its name to Spiral.

Block press release

Spiral and TBD are two initiatives under the Block umbrella that focus entirely on Bitcoin. Spiral is dedicated to building and funding “open-source projects aimed at making bitcoin the planet’s preferred currency”, while TBD is currently focused on developing a decentralised bitcoin exchange to “build bridges between the fiat and cryptocurrency worlds”.

Categories
Crypto News Payments Regulation Tokens

SHIB Soars 30% on Kraken Listing Despite Competitors’ Regulatory Concerns

Mercurial memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB) shot up 31.4 percent in a day after this week’s listing by crypto exchange Kraken to reach its highest mark since November 19.

After launching on Coinbase in mid-September, Brazilian exchange NovaDAX listed SHIB a month later with Gemini, Binance and Indian exchange CoinDCX following suit in November. SHIB has also been integrated by crypto payments service CoinGate, allowing users, merchants, traders and gift card shoppers to accept, buy, trade or spend the token.

Another positive sign for SHIB is its adoption by major tech e-retailer Newegg as a means of payment on its platform.

Whale Grabs Another 24.8 Billion Tokens, Now Holds $59m in SHIB

Soon after the announcement of SHIB’s Kraken listing, an anonymous crypto whale using the alias Gimli increased his holdings by 24.8 billion tokens, worth over US$1 million at the time of the purchase, to a total of US$59 million in SHIB.

Kraken has also clarified that SHIB will be tradeable against the euro and the US dollar with a minimum of 50,000 SHIB (US$2.48) required to open an order.

Kraken Defies Competitors’ Regulatory Concerns

Kraken’s decision to list SHIB stands in stark contrast to other digital asset exchanges, such as Robinhood, that have avoided listing altcoins like SHIB over regulatory concerns.

With 93 assets in total, Kraken is considered one of the least conservative exchanges. (Coinbase supports 51 assets and Robinhood only supports seven.) Other exchanges have been hesitant to list the so-called Dogecoin-killer over regulatory concerns, despite increasing pressure from their users.

On November 26 SHIB surpassed 1 million holders, despite trading 50 percent below its all-time high. Hedge fund manager Michael Burry has publicly questioned the token’s worth. Burry, founder of private investment firm Scion Asset Management and famous for forecasting the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, described the SHIB token as “pointless” in an October 9 tweet.

Categories
Crypto News Payments Ripple Stablecoins

Small Island Nation Palau Partners With Ripple on Eco-Friendly Digital Currency

The Republic of Palau, an archipelago of 500-plus islands and part of the Micronesia region in the western Pacific Ocean, is partnering with digital payment network Ripple to develop its own digital currency.

Palau Wants a Stablecoin, Not a CBDC

According to an announcement by Ripple on November 23, the partnership will focus on developing strategies for cross-border payments, resulting in the creation of the world’s first government-backed national stablecoin.

Ripple has experience building global payment systems and has made provision to implement its new stablecoin during 2022, looking to assist the country from a technical, business, design and policy perspective.

As part of our commitment to lead in financial innovation and technologies, we are delighted to partner with Ripple. The first phase of the partnership will focus on a cross-border payments strategy and exploring options to create a national digital currency, providing the citizens of Palau with greater financial access.

Surangel Whipps Jr, Palau’s President

Interestingly, Palau has elected to create its own digital currency rather than a CBDC. One of the primary reasons for doing so is that the island nation has committed to being carbon-neutral and was apparently attracted to XRP on the basis of it being carbon-neutral and 120,000 times more energy-efficient than proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, it saw XRP as offering advantages over PoW with regards to scalability, speed and reduced costs.

We are excited to be working with Palau to achieve its financial and climate-related goals. We have a wonderful opportunity to bring together our technology and experience with the unique characteristics of Palau to make a real economic and social impact for the country.

James Wallis, VP, central bank engagements, Ripple

Despite its gaining a lot of positive attention, some have questioned the value of the partnership:

Ripple Moves Forward Despite SEC Case

Recently, Ripple joined Bhutan’s Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) to test retail, cross-border, and wholesale CBDC payment systems for a digital Ngultrum. And despite an ongoing battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple has plans to go public and provide support for nations issuing CBDCs.

Evidently, Ripple still has some obstacles to overcome in the near term. Notwithstanding, its recent actions suggest the company remains largely uninhibited in its push towards global adoption.

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Crypto News Payments Perth Sports

Perth Heat Becomes World’s First Sports Team to Embrace a Bitcoin Standard

Stealing a march on its American counterparts, Australian Baseball League club the Perth Heat has become the first professional sports organisation in the world to fully embrace Bitcoin for payment acceptance and payroll for both staff and players.

Although Dutch team PSV Eindhoven and English club Southampton FC both signed deals earlier this year to allow football sponsorships to be paid in bitcoin, this is the first time any sports club anywhere has fully adopted the Bitcoin standard.

As part of this sports world exclusive, Perth Heat will:

  • pay players and staff in bitcoin;
  • accept bitcoin payments for sponsorships, merchandise and ballpark concessions; and
  • HODL bitcoin on the club’s balance sheet.

In partnership with bitcoin payments processor OpenNode, the Perth Heat is setting Bitcoin as its new standard for payments and payouts, powered by the Lightning Network.

Perth Heat CEO Steven Nelkovski. Source: abc.net.au

According to Perth Heat CEO Steven Nelkovski, the club looks forward to “setting the bar” for how much value a sports organisation can bring to a community in the bitcoin age.

We hope our adoption of a Bitcoin standard will inspire others to embrace a monetary system that demands value creation to thrive. The players and organisational staff have fully embraced the opportunities that being paid in bitcoin can provide.

Steven Nelkovski, CEO, Perth Heat

‘The Future of Money Lives on the Bitcoin Blockchain’

Patrick O’Sullivan, the club’s chief bitcoin officer, says Perth Heat is embracing the reality that the future of money and corporate treasuries will live on the Bitcoin blockchain.

We believe the world has begun to recognise the power of sound money principles and are determined to lead from the front. This is not a one-off purchase to hedge against future uncertainties or inflationary pressures.

Patrick O’Sullivan, chief bitcoin officer, Perth Heat

Possibilities for the club are limited only by imagination. In addition to treasury appreciation, Perth Heat will be ideally positioned to secure better players and deals in the future, outpacing its competitors. The game theory aspects of bitcoin adoption will also, perhaps inevitably, lead other sports clubs to follow its example.

Categories
Crypto News Cryptocurrencies DeFi Payments Stablecoins

RBA Discusses Future of Payments in Australia and Cryptocurrency ‘Risks’

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has discussed the need to regulate stablecoin usage in the application of DeFi for payments, and also noted the “considerable risks” associated with meme coins during its November monetary policy meeting.

In the meeting’s minutes, the RBA acknowledged innovations such as distributed-ledger and smart contracts could change the face of the financial sector but that it would likely rely on the use of stablecoins or CBDCs rather than cryptocurrencies. The RBA said:

… if stablecoins were to be used widely, they should be subject to regulation that ensured they were safe for users and promoted financial stability.

Reserve Bank of Australia members

In considering the future of digital assets in payment, the RBA hit out at cryptocurrencies, which it described as having “numerous shortcomings as stores of value or means of payment”. 

The central bank said the risks and speculative nature of crypto investment was especially obvious when it came to “meme coins”, and noted warnings that investors caught up in the recent boom could experience large losses. 

Crypto Risks a Focus Even As Regulators Explore CBDCs

Australia’s financial regulators continue to warn investors about cryptocurrencies, even as they tentatively consider the possibilities of CBDCs. 

In August, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) reiterated its warning for Aussies to be wary of investing in unlicensed companies – that is, companies that do not hold an Australian financial services (AFS) licence or an Australian market licence (AML).

The RBA also used its November meeting to express its support for CBDC-related initiatives including developing a proof-of-concept of a wholesale CBDC in 2019 and the recently completed Project Atom, which explored the potential use of a central bank CBDC using distributed ledger technology in collaboration with blockchain company ConsenSys.

In addition, the RBA recently advertised it was seeking to hire people for a new cross-disciplinary “CBDC Research Team” to support the evolution of payments in Australia.