“Mastercard announced today it will enhance its card program for cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges, making it simpler for partners to convert cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency. Working with Evolve Bank & Trust and Paxos Trust Company , the leading blockchain infrastructure and regulated stablecoin issuance platform, and Circle, a global financial technology firm and the principal operator of the USD Coin (USDC), a dollar digital currency or stablecoin, Mastercard and its partners will test this new capability to enable more banks and crypto companies to offer a card option to people wanting to spend their digital assets anywhere Mastercard is accepted.”

“PayPal is upping the amount of cryptocurrency users can purchase by five times. PayPal’s users can now buy $100,000 worth of bitcoin and other digital assets per week, up from a previous limit of $20,000. The company is also scrapping its annual purchase limit of $50,000.”

“The Metropolitan Police — the force that oversees the Greater London region — said Tuesday it was the largest amount of cryptocurrency ever seized by police in the U.K., adding it was also believed to be one of the largest ever seizures of cryptocurrency globally.   The cryptocurrency was discovered on Saturday after the Met’s Economic Crime Command received intelligence relating to the transfer of criminal assets.”

“Trading volumes at major cryptocurrency exchanges fell by more than 40% in June, research showed on Monday, with a regulatory crackdown in China and lower volatility among the factors depressing activity. Spot trading volumes fell 42.7% to $2.7 trillion, with derivative volumes down 40.7% to $3.2 trillion, London-based researcher CryptoCompare’s data showed.”

“Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, froze for over an hour just as the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plunged. Mr. Singhal and others, who had made leveraged bets on their rise, were locked out. As losses steepened, the exchange seized their margin collateral and liquidated their holdings . Mr. Singhal said he lost his $50,000 plus $24,000 he had made in previous trades. Binance traders around the world have been trying to get their money back. But unlike a more traditional investment platform, Binance is largely unregulated and has no headquarters, making it difficult, the traders say, to figure out whom to petition.”

“U.K. bank Barclays said Monday it is blocking customers from using their debit and credit cards to make payments to crypto exchange Binance… The decision follows shortly after the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that Binance was not allowed to conduct any regulated activities in the country.”

“Traders are garnering juicy returns by lending out cryptocurrencies as the fast-growing field of decentralised finance throws up new but highly risky opportunities to make money. The number of consumer-oriented platforms offering yields on crypto balances has grown rapidly, with annual interest rates ranging about 7 to 12 per cent for various coins such as bitcoin and “stablecoins” including tether. Traders can chase even higher rates through “yield farming”, the practice of scouring the world of decentralised finance — or DeFi — for the best yields available from more obscure projects and coins. These shortlived opportunities can advertise interest rates as high as several thousand per cent to pull in digital cash.”

“RocketFuel (OTC: RKFL) (“RocketFuel” or the “Company”), a global provider of crypto payment solutions, today announced what it believes to be the industry’s first “Price Settlement Guarantee,” which allows merchants to always receive deposits equal to the listed price of goods sold without ever being affected by crypto-to-fiat exchange rate fluctuations. With RocketFuel, merchants can now fully capitalize on their sales without having to worry about rejecting orders due to a lower value of final settlements.”

“Cryptocurrency company Circle has announced that it plans to launch a new API for companies using Circle accounts to manage crypto assets — and in particular USDC stablecoins. The new API will let companies access decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols starting with Compound lending pools. Circle is better known as one of the founding members of the Centre consortium with Coinbase. Along with other crypto partners , they have issued USD Coin (USDC), a popular stablecoin.”

“As interest grows in cryptocurrency, financial-services providers are taking note. The latest is Fiserv Inc., which announced on Thursday that financial institutions it works with will be able to allow their customers to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin via their bank accounts. The capability is enabled via an integration between Fiserv and NYDIG, a Bitcoin technology and financial-services company. Fiserv says the service means banks and credit unions will be able “to meet growing mainstream interest in Bitcoin , retain and grow their customer base, and increase non-interest income opportunities.””

“A new study by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority has indicated a significant increase in cryptocurrency ownership in the country. On Thursday, the FCA published the results of a consumer survey which found that 2.3 million adults in the U.K. now hold crypto assets, up from 1.9 million last year. Alongside the increasing number of crypto investors, the study also identified a surge in ownership volumes, with median holdings rising to 300 British pounds ($420) from 260 pounds ($370) in 2020.”

“BlockFi, a wealth management and trading firm for cryptocurrency holders, is raising new funding just three months after its last round. It’s the latest sign that VC interest in cryptocurrency, supercharged by Coinbase’s direct listing two months ago, is overriding a recent steep retreat in crypto prices. The four-year-old startup is in late-stage talks with new and existing investors to raise several hundred million dollars at a valuation near $5 billion, according to two people familiar with the deal talks.”

“Alphabet Inc. ’s Google, the world’s largest digital advertising seller, will let companies offering cryptocurrency wallets run ads beginning in August. In 2018, Google barred ads for cryptocurrencies and related products, following a similar move from Facebook Inc. But Google soon peeled back that restriction for digital currency exchanges. Starting in August, Google will let wallets run ads on search, YouTube and other properties as long as they go through the company’s certification process. Google is making the change “in order to better match existing FinCEN regulations and requirements,” a spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement. In a blog post , Google specified that the ad ban still exists for initial coin offerings and services that aggregate or compare issuers of cryptocurrencies.”

“BlockFi, the crypto lending and trading business, mistakenly deposited large amounts of crypto to user accounts. The payments were associated with a promotion they were running, in which users would receive bonuses in USD stablecoins.   The promotion was intended to be “paid out in one lump sum in GUSD” according to their website. Instead, some accounts were paid the amount denominated in Bitcoin, with some receiving over 700 BTC (worth >$28,000,000 at current prices).”

“China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading. Under the ban, such institutions, including banks and online payments channels, must not offer clients any service involving cryptocurrency, such as registration, trading, clearing and settlement, three industry bodies said in a joint statement on Tuesday…China has banned crypto exchanges and initial coin offerings but has not barred individuals from holding cryptocurrencies.”

“Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company, today announced the integration of Taurus SA (“Taurus”), the Swiss digital asset and blockchain infrastructure fintech, with Temenos Transact, the next generation core banking software. Following a thorough landscape review and evaluation process, Temenos selected Taurus as a partner to deliver simplified access to digital assets for its banking clients. Taurus recently received a securities firm license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to operate the first independent regulated marketplace for digital assets in the world.”

“A federal court in the United States has authorized the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to serve a “John Doe Summons” on the crypto exchange Kraken, seeking identities of U.S. taxpayers who have used cryptocurrency, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday. The IRS is seeking information about taxpayers who conducted at least $20,000 worth of transactions in cryptocurrency from 2016 to 2020, the DOJ said in a statement.”

“EBay Inc (EBAY.O) is open to the possibility of accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment in the future and is looking at ways to get non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its platform, the company said on Monday. A growing number of companies have begun to accept virtual currencies as a form of payment, taking an asset class that had been shunned by major financial institutions a few years ago, a step closer to becoming mainstream.”