E-commerce giant eBay has become the first in its industry to catch the non-fungible tokens (NFT) mania, as the company is now allowing the sale of NFTs on its platform.
According to Reuters on Tuesday (May 11, 2021), eBay said that it would enable the sale of NFTs for digital collectibles such as video clips, images, or trading cards on its marketplace.
Meanwhile, the ability to list and sell NFTs would be open only to whitelisted sellers. This could mean that the platform may have an authentication protocol for listing NFTs.
The latest development comes on the heels of a recent statement made by eBay CEO Jamie Iannone, who said that the company was exploring the NFT sector.
Commenting on the company’s upcoming plans, Jordan Sweetman, eBay’s senior vice president, and

Robinhood, a popular U.S. crypto brokerage app, announced that it recorded an almost six-fold increase in the number of users that traded cryptocurrency using its platform in Q1 2021.
In a blog post published on Thursday (April 8, 2021), Robinhood noted that 9.5 million users carried out crypto trading via the platform in the first quarter of 2021, signaling a spike from its Q4 2020 record of 1.7 million.
The company’s Q1 2021 record further shows the growing popularity of the crypto industry. In addition, Robinhood also noted growth in its cryptocurrency team, which had more than tripled since the start of the year.
According to the blog post, Robinhood Crypto was created to offer a simple, cheap, and efficient means of trading crypto. The platform supports seven crypto

Two suspects have been accused of stealing almost $500,000 from unsuspecting victims in fraudulent bitcoin transactions in Hong Kong.Fake It Till You Steal ItAccording to a report by the South China Morning Post on Tuesday (Mar. 23, 2021), the victims, aged 33 and 31, were deceived by two con artists in a fake bitcoin transaction. The cons who posed as bitcoin sellers managed to steal HK$3.85 million ($495,650) from the victims.The victims, who work at a money exchange company, went to a shop in Tin Hau to purchase bitcoin with the cash. Meanwhile, a middleman whose identity was not revealed connected the buyers to the fake bitcoin sellers.After handing over the cash to the fraudsters, one of the con artists left the shop with the funds, pretending to carry out some paperwork regarding the

While the cryptocurrency landscape in India is still faced with regulatory uncertainty, the government has directed that companies should disclose details of their crypto transactions and holdings.Possible Crypto Regulation for India?According to a document published on March 24, both public and private firms in India care to disclose details of their cryptocurrency activities during the financial year. The new rule follows an amendment made by the country’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs to Schedule III of the Companies Act, 2013.The details include profit or losses made on crypto investment or trading and cryptocurrency holdings as of reporting date. Companies are also to report advance payments made by clients with the aim of cryptocurrency investment or trading.Meanwhile, stakeholders

Major U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs has filed a prospectus with the U.S. Securities and exchange Commission (SEC) for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that could offer exposure to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.In a recent document filing, Goldman Sachs is seeking approval from the SEC to launch an ETF called the ARK Innovation ETF.According to the banking giant, the ETF would focus on companies that offer what it considers “disruptive innovation” while stating that it could offer exposure to bitcoin.An excerpt from the filing reads:“The ETF may have exposure to cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, indirectly through an investment in a grantor trust. The ETF’s exposure to cryptocurrency may change over time and, accordingly, such exposure may not always be represented in the ETF’s

Following the recent approval of QR Capital’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Brazillian company is looking to raise $90 million to buy the bitcoin needed before trading commences.Working Towards Acquiring BitcoinQR Capital made history after Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) approved its application for a Bitcoin ETF, becoming the first of such in Latin America. As reported by CryptoPotato, the 100% Bitcoin ETF would trade on the Sao Paulo stock exchange, B3, under the ticker QBTC 11.While trading is scheduled to commence in June 2021, the company behind the Bitcoin ETF stated that it was aiming to raise 500 million BRL ($90 million) to acquire bitcoin, according to a Forbes report.Meanwhile, Fernando Carvalho, founder, and CEO of QR Capital said the company was

Popular venture capitalist and Bitcoin bull Timothy “Tim” Draper predicted that major online streaming platform Netflix could be the next company to join the bitcoin buying bandwagon.Next Bitcoin Investor Could Be NetflixSpeaking in a recent episode of the Unstoppable Podcast, Tim Draper stated that Netflix could be the next in line to add bitcoin to its balance sheet. According to him, the company’s co-founder and co-CEO, Reed Hastings, makes Netflix a likely bitcoin investor. Draper buttressed his point, saying:“I think Reed Hastings is a very innovative guy and has a lot of creative thinking and I think he still controls the reins at Netflix. And so I think that might be the next big one to fall.”Meanwhile, the venture capitalist mentioned social media giant Facebook, as well as other

Money transfer giant MoneyGram is suspending its partnership deal with Ripple, following the ongoing legal battle between the latter and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).MoneyGram announced the news of the suspension in its Q4 and full-year 2020 financial results published on Monday (Feb. 22, 2021). As part of its Q1 2021 outlook, the company said:“In addition, the Company is not planning for any benefit from Ripple market development fees in the first quarter. Due to the uncertainty concerning their ongoing litigation with the SEC, the Company has suspended trading on Ripple’s platform. In the first quarter of 2020, the Company realized a net expense benefit of $12.1 million from Ripple market development fees.”MoneyGram and blockchain company Ripple struck a two-year

North America’s first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has seen impressive results on its first two days of trading, following its recent approval by Canada’s securities regulatory body.Purpose Bitcoin ETF started on a flying note shortly after it began trading on Thursday (Feb. 18, 2021) under the ticker symbol “BTCC” on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).Following its TSX debut, the fund has already accumulated $421 million in assets within the first two days of trading.According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF’s performance surpassed analysts’ estimates, adding that “if it were to keep up this pace, it will be the biggest ETF in Canada in 20 days.”STUNNING: The Canada Bitcoin ETF $BTCC already has collected $421m in assets first two days (crushing our

Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings revealed that it was planning to establish a joint cryptocurrency venture that would serve as one of the company’s key earners.SBI Expanding Crypto ServicesAccording to Reuters on Monday (Feb. 15, 2021), SBI’s founder and CEO, Yoshitaka Kitao, the company was discussing with international financial firms to set up the new crypto business. The latest development was part of SBI’s plans to expand its crypto business.The company has been active in the crypto industry since 2018. As reported by CryptoPotato back in December 2020, SBI acquired B2C2, a UK-based cryptocurrency liquidity provider. Prior to the B2C2 acquisition deal, the Japanese financial giant bought a local crypto exchange, Tao Tao. SBI also launched a crypto lending service in

Jim Bullard, President of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, has dismissed the value proposition of Bitcoin (BTC) based on some of the oft-quoted advantages claimed by BTC proponents.Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday, Bullard remarked that the Federal Reserve viewed Bitcoin as more of a rival to gold than an actual currency.According to Bullard, “For Fed policy, it is going to be a dollar economy and a dollar global economy as far as the eye can see.”For Bullard, the primacy of the U.S. dollar is not dependent on Bitcoin or gold, experiencing significant changes in price action.The St. Louis Fed President also remarked that Bitcoin was only one of the emerging digital currencies in the market.According to Bullard, a non-uniform currency regime is not desirable, arguing that people are already faced

Verge, a privacy-centric cryptocurrency, reportedly suffered an attempted 51% attack, causing a massive blockchain reorganization, which wiped off over six months of transactions.200 Days Worth of Verge Transactions Wiped OffThe issue was first revealed by Antoine Le Calvez, chief data engineer at blockchain research company Coin Metrics. Tweeting on February 15, Le Calvez noted that 0over 560,000 blocks were affected.Le Calvez’s colleague, Lucas Nuzzi, who is Coin Metrics’ network data product manager, also said that the block reorganization effectively erased 200 days worth of transactions on Verge. Nuzzi added that the incident was “likely the deepest reorg that has ever taken place in a “top 100” cryptocurrency.”The past 200 days worth of $XVG transaction history just vanished.This is

Uniswap (UNI) has become the first decentralized exchange (DEX) to reach $100 billion in cumulative trading volume as the appetite for the decentralized finance (DeFi) market continues to grow. Meanwhile, the UNI token recently set a new all-time high, with the platform now boasting about $4 billion in total value locked (TVL).Uniswap Crosses $100B LandmarkTweeting on Monday (Feb. 15, 2021), platform creator Hayden Adams revealed that Uniswap had surpassed $100 billion in cumulative trading volume. Uniswap is the first DEX to reach this milestone and is a further testament to the massive growth in DEX activity since the middle of 2020.🦄 @Uniswap just became the first decentralized trading platform to process over $100b in volume – an exciting milestone for DeFi 🚀

Credit card giant Mastercard said that it would soon start supporting crypto payments on its network later in the year.Mastercard’s Merchants Soon to Accept CryptoAccording to a blog post by Master card on Wednesday (Feb. 10, 2021), the company revealed that would support a select number of cryptocurrencies in 2021, adding that crypto was quickly becoming an important part of the payments sector.An excerpt from the announcement reads:“We are preparing right now for the future of crypto and payments, announcing that this year Mastercard will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on our network. This is a big change that will require a lot of work. We will be very thoughtful about which assets we support based on our principles for digital currencies, which focus on consumer

Robert Ophèle, chairman of France’s financial regulatory body, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), proposed a robust approach regarding cryptocurrecy regulations in order to encourage the growth and development of innovative projects.AMF Chairman Proposes Blockchain and DeFi Testing in Pilot RegimeSpeaking at the just concluded 5th Annual Conference Fintech and Regulation, Ophèle stated that with the continuous growth of the cryptocurrency sector, it was necessary for Europe to put in place appropriate regulatory policies.Back in September 2020, the European Commission proposed a new regulatory framework for crypto assets. The proposal included a pilot regime for markets willing to trade and settle using crypto transactions.The commission also introduced a policy called the Markets

BTC is becoming a popular feature on the balance sheets of publicly-listed American companies, with many firms committing a significant portion of their equivalent cash balance to the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.Apple Should Buy Bitcoin and Create Exchange PlatformAccording to a client note quoted by Bloomberg, RBC Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets has urged the iPhone maker to create a Bitcoin exchange platform and also acquire some of the popular cryptocurrency. As part of the note to investors, RBC Capital Markets argued that such an investment move would be savvier than getting into the electric vehicle (EV) market, adding:“The wallet initiative appears to be a clear multi-billion dollar opportunity for the firm (potential for well over $40 billion in annual

Following the news about Tesla’s billion-dollar investment in bitcoin, analysts reveal that the Elon Musk-led company invested around 15% of its net cash into the flagship cryptocurrency.As reported by CryptoPotato earlier today, Tesla made headlines across the crypto verse after it invested $1.5 billion into bitcoin, as revealed in a 10k form filing with the U.S. SEC.Meanwhile, David Lawant, a Research Analyst at Bitwise Asset Management, tweeting shortly after the bitcoin investment, noted that the company put in up to 15% of its cash equivalent in BTC.According to Lawant, the SEC filing showed that Tesla has $19.4 billion in gross cash or $9.8 billion in net cash.With the above figures, the Bitwise research analyst noted:“Using these figures as a reference, $1.5 billion in #Bitcoin

San Francisco-based crypto payments platform Metal Pay has applied for a national bank charter with the U.S. national bank regulator, which would enable the company to offer seamless cryptocurrency-related services.Metal Pay Eyes Full National Bank LicenseIn a tweet thread published on Thursday (Feb. 4, 2021), Metal Pay’s First Blockchain Bank and Trust (FBB&T) revealed that it intends to become a full national crypto bank following its application with the Office of the Comptroller for the Currency (OCC).We’re thrilled to announce that we have applied for a full national bank charter from the OCC, a monumental step for the entire cryptocurrency industry.This marks a turning point for how Americans will view cryptocurrency. We’ll explain why in this thread.[1/7]— Metal Pay (@metalpaysme)

Following the recent attack on the Yearn.Finance protocol, major U.S. dollar stablecoin company Tether froze $1.7 million worth of USDT stolen from the platform. Meanwhile, Bitfinex disclosed that it had made the last loan repayment to Tether.Tether Freeze Raises Centralization ConcernsTether CTO Paolo Ardoino announced the news of the USDT freeze via his Twitter handle on Friday (Feb. 5, 2021). The company’s action would subsequently prevent the hacker from spending the stolen funds.. @Tether_to just froze 1.7M USDt stolen as part of the hack of Yearn DAI v1 vault.More info here https://t.co/MjGScEucQB— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) February 5, 2021The news of the attack was first reported by the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol via Twitter on February 4, which revealed that Yearn’s

Digital asset management outfit Arca has secured $10 million in Series A funding as the company sets out to bootstrap its expansion in the emerging fintech scene. Crypto asset management firms are also seeing increasing inflows as investor appetite for digital assets continue to grow.RRE Ventures Leads $10M Arca Funding RoundArca announced the news of its $10 million Series A funding via a press release issued on Jan. 13. According to the press statement, RRE Ventures led the investment into the digital asset management firm. Apart from getting equity, some investors like RRE’s founder James Robinson will also take up advisory roles in the Arca board moving forward.For Arca, the company plans to leverage the funding received to create a robust infrastructure base while maintaining strict

​Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu officially announced his resignation in a signed statement published on Tuesday.An excerpt from Wu’s cryptographic message reads: “The disagreement between Micree and myself, the two co-founders of Bitmain, has been finally settled in an amicable and, more importantly, a constructive manner.”As part of the settlement, fellow co-founder and rival Micree Zhan bought out Wu’s ownership equity valued at $600 million.According to Wu’s statement, two-third of that sum ($400 million) was raised via a loan from the company. The development confirms earlier reports from news sources in China saying the Bitmain power tussle saga was close to its conclusion in an amicable settlement between the parties.The  Bitmain saga began in 2019, with the co-founders initially forced

India is looking towards adopting blockchain technology for remote voting. This comes despite the country’s stance against cryptocurrency trading.Blockchain Technology in India’s Voting ProcessAccording to The Wire, on Monday (Jan. 25, 2020), Sunil Arora, India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), announced the plans to use blockchain technology in a mock trial for remote voting. The exercise is aimed at finding an effective way to make the voting process easier for residents in far-flung cities.Speaking at the country’s National Voters’ Day, Arora revealed that the election commission was already carrying out research on the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for remote voting. Furthermore, as part of its efforts to utilize blockchain, the commission partnered with the Indian

Amid the renewed anti-Bitcoin remarks ascribed to mainstream finance stakeholders, reports have emerged showing banks in Australia working in cahoots with violent South American cocaine cartels. Despite aspersions to the contrary, the crypto market continues to account for an insignificant proportion of global financial crimes.Australian Banks Funelling Dirty Money for Drug CartelsAccording to the Australian Financial Review, banks in the country have reportedly laundered about 500 million Australian dollars (approx. $385 million) for South American drug cartels. The revelation is coming amid actions taken by law enforcement agencies in the country to disrupt the elaborate money-laundering scheme.Details from the investigation into the matter revealed that Australian banks helped move over

Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin bet appears to be far from over as his company MicroStrategy has acquired even more BTC despite the crypto price experiencing a significant retrace over the last couple of days.MicroStrategy has added more Bitcoin to its balance sheet according to an announcement issued on Friday (Jan. 22, 2021).MicroStrategy has purchased approximately 314 bitcoins for $10.0 million in cash in accordance with its Treasury Reserve Policy, at an average price of approximately $31,808 per bitcoin. We now hold approximately 70,784 bitcoins.https://t.co/zMJSH29bmC— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) January 22, 2021The business intelligence firm has acquired 314 BTC for $10 million increasing its Bitcoin holdings to over 70,784 “coins.”MicroStrategy’s announcement also revealed that it

​Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee, seems to have balanced her statements about Bitcoin and crypto, after her previous negative rhetoric about the emerging technology.Janet Yellen Acknowledges Crypto’s BenefitsIn a written response to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Thursday (Jan. 21, 2021), Yellen stated that cryptocurrencies had benefits that needed to be explored. Yellen added that the emerging technology had the potential to “improve the efficiency of the financial system.”While Yellen believed that Bitcoin and other crypto assets had attributes that could benefit the country, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Nominee noted that they were also used for money laundering activities and terrorist financing.An excerpt from Yellen’s statement reads:“I think

Analysts at JP Morgan have argued against Bitcoin’s (BTC) value proposition as a competitor to gold, saying the largest crypto by market capitalization is not a suitable hedge during periods of market uncertainty.Bitcoin is Least Reliable as a Hedge During Market CrunchesAccording to Bloomberg, JP Morgan strategists John Normand and Federico Manicardi have issued a report classifying Bitcoin more as a risk-on asset than as a hedge against market uncertainties. As part of their analysis, the due remarked that BTC was the “least reliable hedge” in periods of severe market drawdowns.Back in mid-March 2020, during the Black Thursday market crash, panic over the coronavirus pandemic saw a massive liquidation haze overcome the financial market. Bitcoin and cryptos, in general, were not excluded,

A Hong Kong woman has fallen victim to a gang of robbers after conducting a crypto transaction worth almost $450,000.Gang of Four Steal $450K From Hong Kong Crypto TraderAccording to a report by the South China Morning Post, a female crypto trader was held at knifepoint by a gang of thieves, who stole HK $3.5 million ($448,700) from the victim.As part of the robbery operation, one of the thieves posed as a prospective cryptocurrency buyer. The woman had earlier conducted different crypto transactions for the man, ranging between HK$600,000 and HK$700,000.Hong Kong authorities stated that the trader sold Tether (USDT) tokens to the man via her iPhone and was later lured to an office to receive payment in cash. Shortly after receiving the money, other members of the gang held the trader at

Blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis has tracked simultaneous Bitcoin (BTC) donations to wallets associated with right-wing extremist groups in the U.S., which might have helped fund the recent riot at the U.S. Capitol. The news marks yet another pivot towards pseudonymous money transfer means by alt-right groups in the U.S.Alt-Right Agitators Received $500K in Bitcoin Prior to US Capitol RiotPublishing its findings on Thursday (Jan. 14, 2021), Chainalysis revealed that several notable alt-right personalities who were present at the Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol received substantial Bitcoin donations.According to Chainalysis, a single donor funneled 18.15 BTC to addresses belonging to entities with right-leaning affiliations on Dec. 8, 2020. At the time, this figure was worth over

With the initial deadline for comments long expired, FinCEN has decided to extend the comment period for its proposed controversial crypto regulation for an additional 15 days.FinCen Sets New DeadlineThe Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an office of the U.S. Department of Treasury, announced the news of the extension via a press release on Thursday (Jan. 14, 2021). FinCEN’s earlier deadline was set on January 4, 2021.Following the different requests for extension, it appears that FinCEN would not be hasty to implement the proposed regulation. The extension is beneficial for the industry, as affected entities can have time to analyze the proposal. Since the initial comment period, the bureau has received thousands of comments and is ready to receive more feedback.An excerpt

The San-Francisco-based blockchain company Ripple may still have more issues to deal with, as one of its lead investors involved in the company’s Series C funding has filed a lawsuit following the U.S. SEC’s allegations.Ripple Gets Hit From the InsideAccording to Bloomberg, on Tuesday (Jan. 5, 2021), Tetragon Financial Group, an investment company based in the UK fled a complaint against Ripple on Monday in Delaware Chancery Court. Part of the lawsuit is looking to “enforce its contractual right to require Ripple to redeem” Series C preferred stock.Tetragon was the lead investor in Ripple’s $200 million Series C funding back in Dec. 2019. The funds raised were channeled towards upgrading the XRP Ledger and to expand the utility of the XRP token.The investment company also wants the court