El Salvador makes Bitcoin payments voluntary in $1.4B IMF loan deal

December 19, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

El Salvador’s struck a loan deal with the IMF and will make Bitcoin acceptance voluntary and roll back government involvement in Bitcoin-related projects.

Update Dec. 19, 5:45 am UTC: This article has been updated to add a response from El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office.

El Salvador is set to make merchant acceptance of Bitcoin voluntary, unwind its involvement in its little-used Chivo wallet and make public sector engagement of Bitcoin-related economic activity “confined” as part of a $1.4 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund.

The Central American nation will get $1.4 billion from the IMF over the next 40 months after El Salvador agreed to measures aimed at dropping its debt-to-GDP ratio, the global lender said in a Dec. 18 statement.

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Crypto.com to launch Mastercard-powered card in Bahrain

December 4, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Bahrain

The new offering will be available across all Crypto.com card tiers with up to 8% rewards on spending.

Mastercard announced on Dec. 4 that it had issued a license to Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com to begin offering its pre-paid payments card services on the Mastercard network in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, beginning with Bahrain in January of 2025.

According to a blog post from Mastercard, once issued, cardholders will be able to fund their accounts via the Crypto.com app using e-money wallets or third party-issued credit and debit cards.

The card will be offered across all five Crypto.com card tiers, including its top-level “Black Obsidian” offering, with rewards of up to 8% and card payouts in US dollars.

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MoonPay boosts self-custodial crypto spending with new solution

November 13, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

MoonPay Balance will support deposits and withdrawals in euros and British pounds, with future plans to expand to the US.

Cryptocurrency infrastructure firm MoonPay is moving to improve self-custodial spending by introducing a new payment solution allowing users to hold and spend fiat balances.

On Nov. 13, MoonPay officially introduced MoonPay Balance, a new payment tool enabling users to store and spend fiat balances on MoonPay and use it as an entry point to interact with decentralized finance (DeFi).

The new solution empowers users to spend balances through MoonPay’s direct integration with non-custodial or self-custodial wallets like MetaMask, Phantom and Bitcoin.com, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

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Crypto use more common among US underbanked, FDIC report says

November 13, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Banking

Underbanked households more commonly used crypto than those with full banking access, an FDIC survey said.

The use of crypto in the United States in 2023 was more common in “underbanked” households than in those that were fully banked, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) revealed.

The FDIC’s Nov. 12 report surveyed about 60,000 households, finding that 6.2% of underbanked households used crypto, compared with 4.8% of those with full banking access.

The underbanked are those who have a bank account but also use nonbank financial services like payday loans and check cashing. Around 14.2% of US households, about 19 million, were considered underbanked last year.

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Alchemy Pay expands US compliance with four new state licenses

November 8, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Alchemy Pay

Alchemy Pay’s new MTL licenses in Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wyoming bring its total to eight US state licenses.

Cryptocurrency payment gateway Alchemy Pay is growing compliance in the United States by obtaining new licenses in four US states.

Alchemy Pay has secured four new US money transmitter licenses (MTLs) in Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wyoming, the firm announced to Cointelegraph on Nov. 8.

The new licenses bring Alchemy Pay’s total to eight US state licenses, according to data from the Nationwide Multi-State Licensing System and Registry.

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Stablecoin Issuer Tether’s USDT Potentially Seeing Rise in Adoption in Sanctioned Countries: Report

November 3, 2024 The Daily Hodl

Africa

The world’s largest stablecoin by market cap is reportedly potentially seeing a rise in adoption amongst sanctioned nations. Citing data from market intelligence platform Chainalysis, Bloomberg reports that stablecoin issuer Tether’s USDT is seeing increased usage at time zones correlated with major cities in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, including sanctioned nations such […]

The post Stablecoin Issuer Tether’s USDT Potentially Seeing Rise in Adoption in Sanctioned Countries: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

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Coinbase Announces Partnership With Payments Giant Visa for Real Time Account Funding

October 30, 2024 The Daily Hodl

Banks

Top US crypto exchange Coinbase is announcing a partnership with credit card giant Visa for real-time account-to-account transactions. In a new press release, the payments titan says the collaboration will allow customers in the US and EU to use eligible Visa debit cards to instantly deposit funds into their Coinbase accounts, bridging the gap between […]

The post Coinbase Announces Partnership With Payments Giant Visa for Real Time Account Funding appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

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Fireblocks launches $1M grant program to boost PYUSD developer adoption

October 24, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Fireblocks launches M grant program to boost PYUSD developer adoption

Coin Telegraph

As part of the program, developers can apply for up to $60,000 in grant funding to support their projects.

Digital assets management platform Fireblocks has announced the launch of a $1 million grant program for companies building blockchain-based projects using the PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin.

Qualifying projects will be eligible for up to $60,000 in grants as part of the program, which was extended on Oct. 24 after an extensive beta period with payment companies KoraPay and Bridge.

“Our pilot has already shown the transformative impact PYUSD can have, and we look forward to seeing businesses create real-world use cases that take advantage of what stablecoins can offer,” said Ran Goldi, the senior vice president of payments and networks at Fireblocks, in an announcement.

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Global Finance Faces a Shift as Mbridge Digital Currency Platform Challenges US Dollar

October 24, 2024 Bitcoin.com

Asean

The People’s Bank of China emphasized the Mbridge platform’s role in improving cross-border payments through the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), aiming to reduce inefficiencies and avoid new barriers. The platform, which targets underserved regions like ASEAN, could reshape global finance and challenge the U.S. dollar’s dominance while requiring careful coordination to maintain […]

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Metallicus secures FedNow transaction certification

October 22, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

The partnership was originally announced in mid-2023 ahead of the launch of FedNow.

Digital banking network Metallicus announced the completion of its testing and certification phase and the launch of its services on the United States Federal Reserve’s FedNow instant payments platform.

The Oct. 22 announcement comes more than a year after the Fed announced Metal Blockchain’s integration with FedNow, highlighting the lengthy certification process as the central bank purportedly aims to onboard thousands of financial institutions over time.

Per Don Berk, the chief operating officer of Metallicus:

Payments

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