United States-bases stablecoin operator Paxos has raised $142 million in fresh funding from investors including PayPal and Mithril Capital. The stablecoin issuer announced the news on Thursday. U.S. investment firm Declaration Partners, backed by billionaire David M. Rubenstein, led the funding round with other participants including RIT Capital Partners plc., Ken Moelis, Alua Capital, and Senator Investment Group. Previous Paxos backers like RFE Ventures and Liberty City Ventures also invested in the funding round. With the close of the $142 million Series C round, Paxos has now raised over $240 million from investors and backers. Commenting on the development, Paxos …

Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent volatile price corrections might conjure up images of the 2017 crash in your mind, or maybe even the crash caused by COVID-19 back in March of this year. But the fact that Bitcoin has reached $20,000 for the first time in history is not a reason to sound the alarm. Despite the fact that the price of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency is up more than 225% this year, the current bull run we’re living through is unlike the Bitcoin mania we saw back in 2017. Far from it. There are four key reasons for this: Institutional …

PayPal’s stock reached record highs on Monday, capping off a strong period of outperformance relative to the Nasdaq and broader U.S. stock market. Since Nov. 12, the technology-focused Nasdaq has gained around 6.5%. The broad S&P 500 Index of large-cap stocks is up 3.5% over the same period. Although PayPal’s foray into crypto isn’t the only catalyst behind its vast outperformance, the merchant processor is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing adoption of digital assets. Some analysts have even speculated that a higher Bitcoin (BTC) price could have a positive effect on PayPal’s prospects. There is also evidence that the …

Humans, being only human, tend to hang on to their cherished beliefs — even in the face of overwhelming contradiction. That’s why recantations — that is, public acts of refuting a previously held opinion — are so rare. This year, however, has presented several notable changes of heart where Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies were concerned — abetted, perhaps, by BTC’s climb to record price levels. Here are eight of the year’s more memorable turnarounds. Nouriel Roubini, economist Crypto’s most ferocious critic recanted in 2020. Roubini, an NYU professor of economics who gained fame by predicting the 2007–2009 housing bubble, …

Stablecoin creator and crypto services provider Paxos filed an application to open a national bank on Wednesday. If approved, the pioneering Paxos General Trust will be headquartered in New York, licensed to hold cryptocurrencies and execute the duties of a regular trust bank. According to a blog post on the Paxos website, being granted a national trust bank charter from the U.S. government would broaden both the range of services offered by the company and the geographic area to which it can offer services: “Our mission is to modernize financial market infrastructure and enable the movement of any asset, any …

Shapeshift CEO Erik Voorhees has drawn a metaphorical line in the financial sand, stating that every asset manager should understand Bitcoin now based on its astonishing rate of return. Voorhees made the comments while retweeting data shared by analytics platform Messari co-founder Dan McArdle that shows Bitcoin has dramatically outperformed everything over the last decade. While gold has returned a 32% profit and the S&P 500 has tripled investors’ money, Bitcoin has posted an incredible 7,837,884% gain in ten years. Looking across its 10-year life, Voorhees believes Bitcoin is “vastly superior to any other investment.” He said that: “One could …

Blackrock CEO Larry Fink says Bitcoin (BTC) is on his company’s radar following the cryptocurrency’s rapid appreciation over the past few months. Speaking Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations alongside former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, Fink reportedly said: “Bitcoin has caught the attention and the imagination of many people. Still untested, pretty small relative to other markets.” He then added: “Can it evolve into a global market? Possibly.” Fink isn’t the only BlackRock executive touting Bitcoin’s potential value. Last month, the company's chief investment officer, Rick Rieder, told CNBC that not only is Bitcoin “here to stay” …

There is no other way for the cryptocurrency industry to thrive without working hand in hand with regulators, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman believes. On Wednesday, Schulman joined the Web Summit online conference to discuss the cashless era of the global financial industry with Squawk Box host Andrew Ross Sorkin. As part of the discussion, Schulman addressed issues related to cryptocurrency regulation, calling on the industry to closely collaborate with financial authorities to bring more utility to crypto. “There is only one way to approach this, and that is working hand in hand with regulators,” he argued. Schulman went on to …

A PayPal user reports their account has been restricted after they traded crypto too frequently using the platform. According to U.S.-based Reddit user u/TheCoolDoc, PayPal sent them a message stating it had permanently limited their account “due to potential risk.” The user said they had made at least 10 crypto transactions within a week, purchasing during dips and selling when the price was high, and PayPal had asked for an explanation for each transaction. “The system flagged my account thinking I was selling items worth $10,000 in one week when I hadn't done so in the last 6 years I’ve …

PayPal’s chief executive believes cryptocurrencies are on the verge of mainstream adoption as more businesses and consumers flock to “digital payments and digital forms of currency.” In an interview with CNBC, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital forms of payments. PayPal wants to be at the forefront of the ongoing digital transformation. Schulman said the “use of cash has declined precipitously” amid the pandemic, adding that “40 to 70% of consumers no longer want to handle cash.” PayPal is not just making it easier for people to buy and hold cryptocurrencies; the …

PayPal’s entry into the cryptocurrency market could be having a dramatic impact on the Bitcoin (BTC) price. In a newly published report, crypto investment firm Pantera Capital says a Bitcoin shortage is at the heart of the recent price surge and that the majority of newly minted BTC is being scooped up by PayPal. PayPal’s new crypto service is “already having a huge impact,” Pantera claims, adding that the payment merchant is snatching up roughly 70% of all the new BTC in circulation. Citing itBit data, Pantera claims: “When PayPal went live, volume started exploding. The increase in itBit volume …

There are both bearish and bullish scenarios for Bitcoin in the foreseeable future. The bear cases surround two key data points: rising BTC deposits from whales to exchanges and BTC’s lack of retests of crucial support levels. The bull cases are based on HODLer activity, address activity, the market capitalization gap between BTC and gold, and the favorable technical structure of Bitcoin. Bitcoin surpassing $18,500 is critical for its near-term price cycle. There were large sell orders right above $18,500, which acted as a strong resistance area. In prior attempts to break past $18,500, BTC dropped substantially within a short …