A blockchain marketplace app is taking on the likes of eBay, Amazon and Depop — and is vowing to give back to buyers and sellers alike. Curate is designed to deliver an all-in-one experience for online shopping. As well as supporting credit and debit cards and transactions via PayPal, purchases can also be made using Bitcoin, Ether and Curate tokens. One of the project’s main goals is to deliver a fairer deal to merchants who are dealing with razor-thin profit margins. Through Curate, a flat 4% commission will be charged on sales — far less than the fees charged by …

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has said the company is working towards increasing its cryptocurrency trading service. In a fireside chat posted on the broker’s YouTube account on Thursday, Tenev discussed plans to upscale its workforce and add more crypto trading pairs. Detailing the ongoing plans, the Robinhood chief remarked: “As much as people are bugging me on that on social media, I'm bugging our crypto team and our software engineers. We're going to try and get that done as fast as possible. And we'll see. We might add some new coins along the way.” In addition to increasing its crypto …

Groupe Casino, a 120-year-old retail company headquartered in France, will reportedly be launching a stablecoin pegged to the Euro. According to journalist Grégory Raymond, the French retail giant will be launching the stablecoin to use in its stores’ loyalty programs as well as for trading. Groupe Casino oversees more than 11,000 stores in France and Latin America. The coin has reportedly been developed using the Tezos protocol in partnership with crypto exchange Coinhouse, accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, stablecoin infrastructure provider Sceme, research and development firm Nomadic Labs, and financial services group Societe Generale. The new stablecoin, called the Lugh — named …

According to research by strategists at leading U.S investment bank, JPMorgan Chase, retail traders are flocking to buy Bitcoin from mainstream fintech firms. JPMorgan’s data suggests that retail investors have purchased more than 187,000 Bitcoin this quarter using PayPal and Square. Retail investors are even out-buying institutions, with JPMorgan’s analysts estimating institutions have purchased 173,000 BTC over the same period. JP Morgan has analyzed fund flows from retail platforms and institutional vehicles such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, as well as announcements from large funds on BTC purchases to inform its findings. Senior market analyst at Oanda Corp, Ed Moya, …

Shanghai’s New World City and New World Daimaru Department Store, and food caterer Taikang Food Store handled thousands of digital yuan transactions over the past weekend, Shanghai Daily reports. As part of the trial, the retailers featured digital yuan payments as part of a sales campaign in conjunction with International Women’s Day. Brand director of Shanghai New World Li Wei said that the firm reached out to commercial banks to offer discounts as part of the campaign. “We have worked to upgrade the digital payment module ahead of the trial program, and we believe it offered extra stimulus for shoppers …

Switzerland’s crypto boom has entered another dimension with retailers rolling out Bitcoin (BTC) vouchers and gift cards. According to Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger, Manor — the country’s largest department store chain — is already selling Bitcoin voucher cards in 59 of its branches. Meanwhile, the retail giant Valora will begin selling BTC gift cards in its kiosks across the country starting April 1. Dubbed “Cryptonow,” the Bitcoin vouchers are from the stables of Värdex Suisse, a cryptocurrency financial services firm. Värdex is also a subsidiary of major Swiss crypto exchange Bitcoin Suisse. According to Simon Grylka, head of operations at Värdex, …

IBM’s food-tracking blockchain technology will be used by the Carrefour multinational retail firm to track food supply lines from the farm to the store. An agreement between Majid Al Futtaim — the firm that operates Carrefour in the Middle East — and IBM will see the retail giant use the IBM Food Trust initially to track two food categories: chicken and microgreens. The IBM Food Trust is a blockchain-specific platform designed for the food industry, hosted on the IBM Cloud. Carrefour, which recorded $97 billion in revenue in 2019, will enable customers to scan QR codes on the products in …

With GameStop's stock more than doubling in price over the last two days, CNBC’s Jim Cramer is proposing the brick-and-mortar company change its business model to be more inclusive of cryptocurrencies. Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box today, the Mad Money host suggested that he had a plan to "justify the stock price" of GameStop. At the time of publication, the price of GME is $131.17 — an increase of more than 175% in the last 24 hours after weeks of sideways action. In addition to following the example of Tesla, which purchased $1.5 billion Bitcoin (BTC), Cramer proposed GameStop mimic …

A digital payment provider is bringing crypto payments to retailers and consumers through a suite of products — including a sleek, modern physical terminal. Lunu’s point-of-sale device comes in an array of skins and can process a plethora of cryptocurrencies as well as credit cards and contactless payments made using smartphones. Executives have positioned their company as an aspirational 21st-century brand that has art and social responsibility in its DNA — with a laser-like focus on design. The terminal is complemented by a cutting-edge processing service that delivers decentralized and competitive exchange rates — through its patented arbitrage system and …

Thailand’s booming cryptocurrency trading market is causing some concern for government officials. According to Bloomberg, Arkhom Termpittayapaisith — the country’s finance minister — has warned that the ongoing crypto speculative mania could have dire implications for Thailand’s capital market. The finance minister issued the warning while addressing a capital market conference on Thursday. As part of his remarks, Termpittayapaisith highlighted the massive surge in trading activity that saw crypto volume on Thailand’s regulated exchanges reach 65 billion baht (about $2.17 billion) in January. In December 2020, the total trading volume recorded was about 19 billion baht ($630 million) — roughly …

The CEO of a crypto-focused e-commerce platform says his company is determined to ensure digital assets can be spent by consumers — and aren’t just tools for speculation. Speaking in a Cointelegraph AMA session on YouTube, DeFi For You’s CEO Adam C. Chaplin set out his vision of taking on the likes of Amazon and eBay. His firm’s goal has been to create an environment where cryptocurrencies are easy to understand, paving the way for them to be used to buy and sell second-hand goods. Pawnbroking, a centuries-old financial practice, is another area where DeFi For You stands out. Chaplin …

The revolving door between traditional finance and the crypto space is well established. Now, executives from the luxury goods sector appear to be following in their steps. Ian Rogers, formerly the chief digital officer at LMVH, is taking on a new role as “chief experience officer” at Ledger, the well-known French crypto hardware and software maker. LMVH was formed in 1987 from the merger of high fashion house Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy, which itself formed from a merger of champagne maker Moët & Chandon and cognac producer Hennessey, back in 1971. The newly-created role of chief experience officer involves …