The Blockchain Education Alliance launched by blockchain accelerator MouseBelt has gained several noteworthy new members. Ashlie Meredith, the university program director for MouseBelt Blockchain Accelerator, told Cointelegraph on Feb. 11 that the new members include payment processing behemoth Mastercard, the innovation arm of major crypto exchange Binance, Binance X, Ripple's accelerator Xpring and cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin. Smart contract platform NEO, internet-of-things startup IoTeX, blockchain security firm Quantstamp and big data blockchain service Constellation Labs also joined the alliance. According to its official website, the Blockchain Education Alliance aims to support education “to ensure students receive the skills, connections, and knowledge …

Coming every Sunday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link. Top Stories This Week Bitcoin price hits $10,000 for the first time in 2020 We’re back in business! Bitcoin has reached five figures for the first time since last October. According to Coin360, BTC is up by more than 40% year to date — 8.3% over the past week. Champagne corks will also be flying in the Ether community, …

Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga explained his concerns about Libra in a Feb. 3 interview with the Financial Times. He bashed Libra for its lack of transparency while arguing that national payment systems are “really stupid.” Mastercard was one of the founding members of the Libra association, along with Visa, PayPal and Stripe. All four left in Oct. 2019 with no proper explanation, though rumors indicated fear of running afoul of regulators. Stepping on governmental toes Compliance appears to have been the primary cause for the sudden decision. The Libra association’s key members reportedly refused to commit to “not do anything …

Major global cryptocurrency exchange Binance now allows users to buy crypto directly through Visa credit and debit cards. In a Dec. 26 announcement, Binance said that its users are able to directly purchase four cryptocurrencies after binding their accounts to Visa cards issued within the European Economic Area. Binance users can buy four cryptocurrencies with euros or pounds Once the Visa card is linked, users can buy four cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP and Binance’s native token Binance Coin (BNB) with euros or British pounds. According to the announcement, Binance plans to add support for Mastercard and additional …

A payment platform is offering a new prepaid card that can be used at ATMs, stores and websites worldwide — and topped up via bank transfers or cryptocurrency. Embily is the brainchild of Singaporean company Blockchain International Group. Co-branded with Mastercard and UnionPay, card owners can top up using a plethora of digital currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. Crypto is automatically converted into cash, giving the user freedom to make withdrawals at cash machines and make purchases at any point of sale terminal. The company adds it is focused on supplying business-to-business solutions to customers worldwide. The team says …

According to new data from marketing analysis firm SEMRush, Bitcoin (BTC) is the third-most preferred online payment method in Italy. Bitcoin comes in third place On Oct. 31, the Italian news outlet La Stampa reported that the Boston-based marketing analysis company, it was stated that in the list of the most used methods of online payment systems in Italy, Bitcoin comes in a strong, third place, just behind PayPal and the Italian reloadable prepaid card service PostePay. The data further revealed that Italians use Bitcoin for shopping online more widely than traditional credit cards, such as Visa, Mastercard or American …

Topco Associates, the largest American retail food group purchasing organization, will pilot Mastercard’s blockchain tech in its operations. According to a press release on Oct. 27, Topco will test a traceability platform developed by logistics firm Envisible. The Wholechain platform is based on Mastercard’s blockchain-based Provenance Solution. Topco will use the platform to trace the provenance of produce, meat and seafood. Blockchain provides transparency for food supply chains Blockchain technology has found widespread application in the food industry with multiple high-profile companies. Major American retailer Walmart began using blockchain tech to track Indian shrimp supply chains earlier this month. This …

Cryptocurrency-friendly internet banking app Revolut plans to launch in the United States later this year, the company has confirmed. Mastercard joins Visa support for Revolut In a press release on Oct. 22, Revolut said its expanding partnership with Mastercard would allow it to enter the U.S. market by the end of 2019. United Kingdom-based Revolut has offered consumers both Visa and Mastercard spending since its launch in 2015. In 2017, it began offering the exchange of three cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC). This later increased to five with the addition of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and XRP. Unlike …

The head of Facebook's Calibra has claimed that the recent withdrawal of the seven companies from the Libra Association has no impact on the project. Dropouts will still be able to work with Libra In an interview with Yahoo Finance on Oct. 15, Calibra’s David Marcus argued that Facebook’s cryptocurrency project is “absolutely not” in jeopardy after PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, eBay, Mercado Pago and Booking quit the Libra Association. Marcus emphasized that companies outside the formal association will still be able to offer services on the platform: “One thing that is not well understood is that you don’t need …

Coinbase CEO has criticized United States’ senators for asking Stripe, Mastercard and Visa to leave Facebook’s crypto project Libra. “Something feels very un-American about this” After U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Sherrod Brown apparently pressured the payment giants to leave Libra, Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of major U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase, called the action “un-American” in a tweet on Oct. 13. Armstrong wrote: “Something feels very un-american about this. Two senators writing to Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe to ask them to withdraw from Libra.” Senators’ letter pushes payment giants to leave Libra On Oct. 8, senators Schatz and Brown …

Visa, EBay, Stripe and Mastercard have all announced that they are dropping out of Facebook’s Libra Association and its associated stablecoin project. Four companies abandon ship On Oct. 11, Bloomberg reported that Ebay, Stripe and Mastercard had decided to drop out of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project. Within minutes, Visa said it had also decided not to join the Libra Association, according to The Block. The news comes one week after payment processor PayPal announced its withdrawal from the Libra stablecoin project as regulators continue to scrutinize the project. The companies have expressed respect for Facebook’s vision and claim to see …

Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Stripe are reportedly unsure whether they wish to become paid-up participants in Facebook’s Libra digital currency. According to a Bloomberg article on Oct. 2 — citing “people familiar with the matter” — the four payment giants have reservations about the social network’s project. Sources: Facebook “oversold” regulator support The companies formed part of the cohort which originally said they wished to act as nodes for Libra, subject to a fee of $10 million. Libra has since faced a major backlash from regulators worldwide and the four now share concerns their own reputations could suffer. According to …