| Here is a look at the hits from today's Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter: - Mastercard's partnership with crypto payment service provider MoonPay,
- The massive decline in the market cap of the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin,
- A newly-passed bill that would allow law enforcement agencies in the U.K. to seize crypto assets used in criminal activities, and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. bank by assets, has announced that its blockchain-based JPM Coin handles $1B worth of transactions every day on average. The bank's global head of payments, Takis Georgakopoulos, pointed out that they plan to expand JPM Coin's usage further. More: - JPM Coin allows JPMorgan's institutional clients to move dollars and euros between their various accounts within the bank using a private blockchain network.
- Besides, the system processes payments instantly, differently from transactions on traditional payment rails that typically process payments only during business hours.
- The project was launched in 2019 to offer an alternative payment system on blockchain.
- The bank also recently announced that it started working on another blockchain-based digital deposit token that would be used to easily send money to clients of other banks to speed up cross-border payments and settlements.
- Georgakopoulos said the next step for the company's digital tokens would be to make them suitable for retail usage so that retail customers can also benefit from the same efficiency.
Zoom Out: - JPMorgan has launched many high-profile projects so far to bring blockchain technology to traditional finance, becoming one of the few companies that managed to put some of these projects to commercial use among its rivals.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: Binance's stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD), retreated to as low as $2B in market cap. The figure represents a 90% decline from the token's all-time high of $23.49B in November 2022. The plummet in BUSD's market cap steadily accelerated after Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, announced that it would gradually halt support for the stablecoin by February 2024 on Aug. 31. Since the announcement alone, the cryptocurrency's market cap showed a 32% decline. Relevance: On the other hand, Binance's decision to stop supporting BUSD followed the issuer Paxos' announcement that it halted minting the token as of Feb. 21, 2023. Paxos had to stop the issuance of the stablecoin after facing several legal challenges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the U.S. The regulators ordered Paxos to mint new BUSD tokens, labeling the stablecoin as an unregistered derivative and securities product. At the time, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) also said BUSD would slowly wind down over time. Brands that should care: The wind-down process for BUSD caused an increase in the market cap of another stablecoin, First Digital USD (FDUSD). At the time of the phase-out announcement, Binance asked users to convert their funds in BUSD into other available stablecoins on the platform. The exchange also started offering incentives for users seeking to shift their BUSD funds into the FDUSD stablecoin. The incentives caused a jump in FDUSD's market cap and trading volume, increasing its popularity. | | | |
| 3 | | Payment processing giant Mastercard has recently entered into a new partnership with crypto payment service provider MoonPay. The collaboration was announced by the two companies at the Money20/20 event in Las Vegas. More: - As part of the partnership, Mastercard will benefit from MoonPay's entire Web3 portfolio.
- MoonPay will also be able to integrate Mastercard products and solutions into its services to increase compliance and trust across the Web3 industry.
- Besides, the firm will work on incorporating Mastercard's tool into its payment solutions.
- The move came several days after a recent presentation from Mastercard revealed the company's plans to partner with self-custody crypto wallet manufacturers like MetaMask and Ledger to jointly issue a payment card dedicated to their products.
Zoom Out: - Mastercard is the second-largest payment processing company behind Visa.
- Over the last years, the firm has also partnered with many other crypto-related firms, including Bitso, Gemini, Binance, Ripple, Consensys, Fireblocks, and Fluency, to make crypto mainstream.
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| 4 | | U.K. lawmakers have recently passed new legislation dubbed the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill that allows law enforcement agencies in the country to seize and freeze crypto assets used in illegal activities. King Charles III is expected to sign the bill soon, putting the legislation into force. More: - The ultimate approval came shortly after both the upper and the lower chamber of Parliament agreed on a final version of the bill.
- The bill was first introduced in September 2022.
- However, since its introduction, the act saw some amendments extending its scope to cover terrorism.
- The legislation mainly aims to expand the law enforcement authorities' ability to crack down on the use of crypto in criminal activities, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, and scams.
- Some provisions in the bill authorize local agencies to seize crypto assets used in crime without a conviction since some individuals could avoid conviction by remaining remote.
Zoom Out: - In June, King Charles III also officially approved another legislation dubbed the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB) that recognizes crypto as a regulated activity.
- The act has given the Treasury, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Bank of England (BoE), and Payments Systems Regulator the authority to introduce and enforce regulations regarding the crypto industry.
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| 5 | | Input Output, the firm behind the Cardano blockchain network, has hired two former executives of the Algorand blockchain. The two former Algorand executives will jointly lead the company's new stablecoin-focused venture. More: - The hired executives include the former Algorand CEO Sean Ford and the rival blockchain's former head of operations, David Markley.
- Ford will serve as CEO of Input Output's new stablecoin company.
- Markley, on the other hand, will support Ford as the firm's chief operating officer (COO).
- Input Output has yet to disclose the name of its new stablecoin firm.
- The company's CEO, Charles Hoskinson, pointed out that the new firm aims to develop stablecoins and other payment solutions that would help the blockchain industry realize its mission and fully protect its values.
- Sean Ford also said he is excited to create the next generation of stablecoins.
Zoom Out: - Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to another reference asset, mostly a fiat currency.
- Customers generally use these assets to trade with different cryptocurrencies without converting their funds back into fiat currencies.
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| 6 | | Solana Labs, the nonprofit organization aimed at supporting the growth of the Solana blockchain network, has launched a new incubator program for blockchain startups. The program aims to convince startup founders to select Solana to build their Web3 projects. More: - Solana Labs' product manager, Emon Motamedi, said incubator programs are critical to the success of startups in the Web3 space.
- Motamedi also added that blockchain startups face a much more difficult journey than traditional tech startups since the space is still young and developing.
- The organization has yet to disclose how much it would invest in its incubator program.
- However, the project will offer guidance, advice on engineering, go-to-market strategies, fundraising, and exposure to venture capital (VC) firms for blockchain-focused startups.
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- Blockchain analysis firm Elliptic has stated that there is no evidence that Palestinian militant group Hamas raised crypto donations to fund its attacks against Israel.
- Lawyers for the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), have revealed that the ex-executive decided to testify in his criminal trial.
- The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the U.K.'s financial market regulator, has disclosed that crypto firms have already violated its new rules for crypto promotions at least 221 times since the regulations came into force.
- Stablecoin issuer Circle has partnered with Taiwan's second-largest convenience store chain, FamilyMart.
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 | Staff Writer | | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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