“Stablecoins are expanding quickly, but to hear it from John Wu, president of the blockchain company Ava Labs, there’s still miles to go before this category of cryptocurrency — which ties its value to that of a government-issued currency — offshoot is widely used in the market. Avalanche, an Ava Labs blockchain platform that powers cryptocurrency transactions, is a new partner for Circle, the Boston-based cryptocurrency exchange and issuer of the USDC stablecoin. The two firms are attempting to make stablecoin payments accessible to a broader audience by making the underlying technology regulated, easier to understand and use, and applicable to a broader range of use cases.”

“The hottest spot in crypto right now is coins with prices that don’t move. Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies which peg their value to assets such as the U.S. dollar, have ballooned in size over the past few months as Bitcoin and other coins whipsaw. The total market capitalization of stablecoins currently stands around $180 billion , up from roughly $38 billion a year ago, Coin Metrics data compiled by The Block show. By comparison, the total crypto universe is largely stagnant over the past year.”

“Circle Internet Financial, LLC, a global internet finance firm that provides internet-based payments and financial infrastructure to businesses of all sizes, and the sole issuer of USD Coin (USDC), today announced the launch of the new Circle Account. Through the comprehensive portal, Circle Account allows business customers to deposit, withdraw, send, receive, store and allocate funds to invest in digital currency to implement their operations in the digital economy.”

“The financial system is undergoing fast-moving changes associated with digitalization and decentralization. Some of these innovations hold considerable promise to reduce transaction costs and frictions, increase competition, and improve financial inclusion, but there are also potential risks. With technology driving profound change, it is important we prepare for the financial system of the future and not limit our thinking to the financial system of today.”

“Payment processor PayPal has now excluded NFT transactions exceeding $10,000 from its seller protection program as the nascent industry becomes riffed with scams and frauds. Under the Seller Protection program, PayPal protects sellers’ transactions from chargebacks, reversals, and associated fees. The service, which is currently available for residents of the United States, covers mostly physical products. However, NFT transactions above $10,000 will be excluded from the protection program starting March 21, according to the company’s latest policy update.”

“Silvergate Capital (SI) is still planning on a full 2022 launch of its stablecoin but will first focus on regulatory clearance, and then a pilot program, said Chief Strategy Officer Ben Reynolds, speaking at the Canaccord Genuity Digital Assets Symposium. The company last month purchased technology and other assets from Diem, the ill-fated stablecoin project from Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook).Silvergate will seek to launch and grow its stablecoin project in similar fashion to its Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), Reynolds said. The SEN allows the bank’s digital currency and institutional investor clients to send U.S. dollars and euros 24/7 between their Silvergate accounts and the accounts of other Silvergate depositors.”

“Ahead of its launch in October, Fnality , the blockchain payment system owned by 15 financial institutions, executed a trial payment to settle a security issuance. Natwest acted as dealer and issuer for the pilot transaction, and Santander invested in the digital asset.  This proof of concept involved two separate blockchain networks, the Fnality Ecosystem Testnet for payments and the public Ethereum blockchain on which the digital security was issued. Both networks are Ethereum based.”