Crypto cards have become a must-have for many crypto services. Hoping to reduce the risk of blocking transactions, companies have been looking again and again for reason why their customers should use “plastic.” But a crypto card is a placebo that does not solve the problems of either users or fintech companies — its only goal is to bring profit to payment systems and intermediaries. Crypto cards are not needed in the same way that special financial instruments are not needed to buy gold, oil, precious metals or any other resource. The word “cryptocurrency” — like “dollar” or “euro” — …

Stability? What stability? Bitcoin has burst through its ceiling, leapt 15% and is now tickling a new ceiling of $11,000. The new move has put Bitcoin’s actual price at around double the realized price. On Black Thursday, the realized price was higher than the actual price. So how much higher will Bitcoin go? Max Keiser expects the coin to reach $28,000… then push on up into six figures. As for who’s been creating the demand, a study from Cornerstone Advisors has found that 80 percent of this year’s crypto buyers are men with an average income of $130,000. And it’s …

On July 22, 2020, the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published a letter clarifying that national banks and federal savings associations can indeed take custody of cryptocurrency assets. In the letter, Bitcoin was also acknowledged as “the first widely-adopted cryptocurrency.” On the same date, VISA, one of the largest payment companies with access to over 61 million merchants globally, revealed plans to offer Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and XRP payments. These steps toward mainstream acceptance come at a fortuitous yet harrowing time for world economics. Unprecedented quantitative easing, a fiscal stimulus and private bailouts have all …

Leading global payment companies Mastercard and Visa have been making moves to accelerate the support of cryptocurrency payment processors by opening up new options for users around the world. Both companies made strong statements in support of the use of cryptocurrencies in July by announcing respective projects and collaborations that are driving the adoption of cryptocurrencies. The positive attitude toward cryptocurrency exchanges and payment platforms from the world’s largest traditional payment processors signals a shift in perception from the traditional financial space. Mastercard has been actively encouraging exchanges and payment service providers to enlist in its recently expanded cryptocurrency card …

At a time of unprecedented upheaval in the global tourism industry, blockchain-based travel booking service Travala and Swipe aim to boost crypto’s useability. Announced on July 24, Travala’s native token AVA will now be added to the Swipe wallet service and Visa card platform — reportedly making it spendable at 60 million merchants. AVA will also be supported by Samsung Pay, Google Pay and Apple Pay through Swipe’s integration with these services. In addition, the AVA token will be available to the 500,000 users of Swipe’s multi-asset digital wallet. The news follows shortly after Swipe’s acquisition by major crypto exchange …

A new class action lawsuit complaint against fintech startup Plaid has been filed with more plaintiffs alleging the company violated the data privacy of users. The new complaint filed on behalf of four new plaintiffs alleged that Plaid—which was bought by Visa for $5.3 billion this year—collected information on over 200 million distinct financial accounts who use services such as Venmo, Coinbase, Square’s Cash App and Stripe. The complaint states Plaid obtained “direct and full access to consumers’ personal financial banking information for Plaid’s own commercial purposes wholly unrelated to the consumers’ use of the apps.” It adds: “Plaid exploits …

Zap, the Lightning startup behind a non-custodial Bitcoin wallet, has raised $3.5 million in a seed round in April. As reported by Forbes on July 15, previously undiscovered filings by the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission revealed Zap raised $3.5 million in the April seed round with investors including Green Oaks Capital and Morgan Creek Digital, co-founded by Bitcoin bull Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano. What is Zap? A non-custodial wallet, Zap stands out from others by enabling users to instantly purchase Bitcoin (BTC) using a U.S. bank account via the Lightning Network. Zap CEO Jack Mallers is the grandson of Bill …

Binance’s CEO has just demonstrated the first use of Binance Card, a cryptocurrency debit card that was first announced by Binance in April 2020. In a July 10 tweet, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed that he is taking part in Binance Card beta testing, featuring transactions involving Binance’s native token, BNB. In the tweet, CZ noted that the beta test features “all real transactions” including Amazon’s audio store Audible, Uber alternative Grab, and a major e-commerce platform, Lazada. CZ also said that the BNB payments were completed directly from his Binance account, while merchants accepted the payment in fiat. “Binance …

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has completed its second acquisition in 2020. Both acquisitions appear to further indicate Binance’s interest in crypto debit card issuance. After acquiring the industry’s most popular website, CoinMarketCap, in April 2020, Binance has now acquired Swipe, a Philippines-headquartered firm focused on crypto-to-fiat Visa debit cards. Binance and Swipe officially announced the acquisition on July 6, claiming that the new collaboration will push “further mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies” by bringing the gap between fiat and digital assets. Binance and Swipe “will be working closely together to launch crypto debit cards” While the official announcements do …

Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDC, may just be one of the most important trends over the next decade claims Visa’s head of crypto. Cuy Sheffield, who runs credit card giant Visa’s crypto projects, tweeted that “as governments evaluate CBDC, the path they decide to take will have major implications for privacy, monetary sovereignty, geopolitics, and financial inclusion, as well as global adoption of crypto dollars and Bitcoin.” He said: “I'd argue that central bank digital currency (CBDC) is one of the most important trends for the future of money and payments over the next decade. Regardless of anyone's personal …

A source close to Plaid — the company that serves as a “data plumber” to Coinbase, Robin Hood, Square’s Cash App and many others — denied all allegations of the class-action complaint that was recently filed. The entire complaint hinges on the allegation that Plaid sells user data to the “highest bidder.” A Plaid spokesperson called this allegation “baseless." A money-making operation? A source close to Plaid’s legal team, speaking to Cointelegraph on the condition of anonymity, reaffirmed that the company has never sold user data in any shape or form. They also opined that this is just a “money-making …

June 25, a new class action was filed in California against fintech startup Plaid, which was acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion earlier this year. The plaintiffs allege that Plaid violated privacy and data protections by accumulating and monetizing financial transactions of millions of users. $5,000 per infraction The complaint alleges that the company accumulated this data by “data plumbing” popular services like Venmo, Stripe, Square’s Cash App and Robinhood. It purports that Plaid knew: “Every dollar you deposit or withdraw, every dollar you charge or pay to your credit card, and every dollar you put away for retirement, within …