Residents of the United Kingdom will be the first people outside of the U.S. who are able to use PayPal for buying and selling crypto. According to journalist Carl Quintanilla, the payments platform is planning to expand its crypto offerings to the U.K. in the coming months. PayPal also plans to make crypto available for Venmo wallet holders before the end of Q2 2021. Other non-crypto services include expanding Venmo internationally before 2026 and a broader rollout of the app’s credit cards. * PAYPAL WILL ADD CRYPTO TO VENMO WALLETS IN FIRST HALF $PYPL (h/t @JohnSpall247) pic.twitter.com/ETsgKqXC6V — Carl Quintanilla …

Even though Tesla has made its way into the crypto market recently, it generated an immense amount of publicity surrounding the announcement. On Feb. 8, the car manufacturer caught the crypto world off-guard by committing a cool $1.5 billion into Bitcoin (BTC), as well as announcing that the company will soon be looking to accept payments in crypto. As a result of the news, BTC shot up to as high as $48,000 only to subsequently cool down and settle around the $44,500 region. In the wake of this development, it has also come to light that the above-stated surge was, …

Mastercard has announced plans to support cryptocurrencies in 2021, paving the way for its nearly one billion users to spend digital assets at more than 30 million merchants. The firm believes this may open merchants up to new customers and build loyalty with existing customers who are already migrating to digital assets over traditional fiat options. “It’s about choice. Mastercard isn’t here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value” While the global payments giant noted it is planning to support stablecoins due to their “reliability and security,” …

It seems to be the season of giving, and Bitcoin is doing just that, at least for its institutional backers, such as MicroStrategy, Galaxy Digital, Square and Marathon Patent Group, which got in somewhat early on the BTC gravy train. In this regard, PayPal revealed on Feb. 4 that its fourth-quarter profits for the year 2020 had increased by 200% as compared to the previous fiscal cycle, citing its two new offerings — i.e., a cryptocurrency tool and a “buy now pay later” feature — as being the primary drivers for its monumental growth. And even though PayPal did not …

After a limited buy/sell/hold crypto trading launch that "exceeded expectations," PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said on the company's Q4 earnings call today that the payments giant is ready to double down on cryptocurrencies. “We also saw an exceptional response from our crypto launch,” said PayPal CEO Dan Schulman. “[...] The volume of crypto traded on our platform greatly exceeded our expectations.” Schulman said that crypto would be accepted “as a funding source when [users] shop at any of our 29 million merchants” late first quarter, and that 2021 will feature an “extensive roadmap around crypto, blockchain and digital currencies.” Schulman …

Little by little, cryptocurrencies are becoming a bigger part of the financial ecosystem. Mainstream platforms such as PayPal are allowing users to buy and sell digital assets, Bitcoin is attracting favorable column inches in newspapers, and countries are unveiling regulatory frameworks that allow virtual currencies to thrive. But one startup argues that there’s a major hurdle that’s yet to be meaningfully addressed: Giving crypto enthusiasts a trusted marketplace where they can spend their coins freely. DeFi For You says it is building an e-commerce platform that’s based on the Binance Smart Chain where goods can be bought, sold, rented and …

Global payments provider PayPal has doubled its previous crypto volume record, with $242 million worth of digital assets changing hands on the platform during Jan. 11. According to crypto market data aggregator Nomics, yesterday’s trading dwarfed PayPal’s previous volume record of $129 million recorded on Jan. 6. Since Jan. 1, daily volume has increased by 950% from $22.8. With the spike in PayPal’s volume coming amid Bitcoin’s rally into new all-time highs, the U.S.-based payments firm appears to be gathering popularity among retail traders. Nuggets News’ Alex Saunders asserted the spike in PayPal’s volume is a likely sign of increasing …

When the Securities and Exchange Commission gave its blessing to social media platform IMVU to launch VCOIN, it was a major leap forward for acceptable scope of crypto applications. The implications for what sorts of projects the SEC considers a security are, in and of themselves, huge. But part of the appeal of VCOIN to the SEC is that, with its stable price and clear use case, IMVU has managed to demonstrate to the commission that the token is a means of making the platform a more lifelike digital world that is more fun to hang out in. For those …

United States regulators are continuing to fine-tune their tax reporting requirements for cryptocurrency users. A second draft of Form 1040 from the Internal Revenue Service for the 2020 tax season published online suggests that the agency will now require anyone who was engaged in any transaction involving cryptocurrency in 2020 will need to declare it: "If, in 2020, you engaged in any transaction involving virtual currency, check the ‘Yes’ box next to the question on virtual currency on page 1 of Form 1040 or 1040-SR." The draft guidance clarifies that transactions encompass "the receipt or transfer of virtual currency for …

The COVID-19 pandemic dominated the news in 2020, affecting myriad sectors — health, economics, social justice, politics and trade, as well as the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. As country after country locked down to halt the virus’s spread, governments seized upon stimulus payments to preserve economic life. While necessary, these measures raised the specter of global inflation. This, in turn, pushed many traditional investors and institutions to take a new look at cryptocurrencies as an alternate store of value, especially Bitcoin (BTC), the top crypto. Following a March 11 dip, BTC went on a tear, reaching record levels by year …

Enterprise blockchain started gaining traction in 2017 shortly after Bitcoin had reached its all-time high of nearly $20,000. Since then, enterprise blockchain has mainly been defined by private blockchain networks used by businesses for things such as supply chain management. The enterprise blockchain space has changed quite a bit since 2017. For instance, 2020 has brought in a number of enterprise blockchain use cases that leverage public networks rather than private ones. The COVID-19 pandemic has also driven many companies, both large and small, to use blockchain for guaranteeing proof-of-health or to revive tourism. Finally, some blockchain companies this year …

A crypto-focused freelancing site says it gives opportunities to thousands of people who may be unable to find work on more established platforms. AnyTask says talented individuals in some emerging economies have found it difficult to benefit from remote working opportunities on mainstream sites because they need to have access to a bank account. And in nations where millions live on less than $2 to $3 a day, commission fees of 20% mean it often isn’t viable to work on the likes of Upwork and Fiverr. But unlike rival services, AnyTask doesn’t charge freelancers any fees for their hard work …