Arguably, the move is a very good one for PayPal. PayPal’s crypto play seems to have brought more users and higher transaction volumes to its platform. More users than ever before are moving to crypto, particularly younger people and millennials internationally. It has served PayPal well to get in there early.
This move was also great for Bitcoin. It certainly brought them media attention. It also helps the world see how Bitcoin – and crypto – can be made user-friendly and safe in a multitude of uses. It makes a statement to the world that Bitcoin is good, works and has use cases. PayPal’s acceptance of Bitcoin and crypto spells out in big letters to any critic claiming crypto is just for scams or crime that Bitcoin is ok.
Yet, in many ways, this move benefits PayPal more than it does Bitcoin. Bitcoin already has its users, anyone who really wanted to buy Bitcoin by now already will have done so. PayPal however has been rather static. Crypto is a new offering for its users and a new way to attract both more users and more transactions. There isn’t really a reason to check Paypal’s app on a daily or frequent basis, unless users are making a transaction. Accepting crypto means that the amount of times its users check the app – and its transaction volume – has gone up!
PayPal has around 350 million users and 26 million merchants. At the time PayPal started to accept Bitcoin transactions, in October last year, the market cap of PayPal – approximately $250 billion – was roughly the same as that of Bitcoin – approximately $240 billion. Now, PayPal’s has gone up to around $280 billion. Bitcoin, however, is currently hovering around $750 billion and has gone far past that previously. PayPal is, in many ways, replaceable. Sure, PayPal has many users and has first user advantage for the service it offers (and strong backers) but, in theory, PayPal could be replaced by another similar app with a better user experience, cooler marketing and a better brand to appeal to a bigger and younger audience. On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine that Bitcoin could ever be fully replaced. For sure, there are thousands of other cryptocurrencies, but they are simply not the same, for many reasons. Bitcoin has first mover advantage, is trust, safe, secure, has a great ecosystem of loyal (and highly skilled) supporters and developers, a big user base and is developing rapidly as well as other differentiating factors.
PayPal’s acceptance of Bitcoin and crypto spells out in big letters to any critic claiming crypto is just for scams or crime that Bitcoin is ok.
It’s not yet known how much Bitcoin and crypto holders will use PayPal to pay with Bitcoin. Generally, most Bitcoin holders want to hold on to the digital currency for the long term, in the belief that it will go up in value. Bitcoin tends to be seen as a nest egg rather than a spending pot.
PayPal’s public endorsement of Bitcoin is great. But it doesn’t change as much as one would think, either for Bitcoin, or PayPal, or traditional banking. Any merchant or user accepting Bitcoin via the app won’t actually receive Bitcoin. The digital currency will be converted in same time to their choice of fiat currency, meaning that as far as they’re concerned, they receive fiat. Had PayPal enabled its merchants to accept and hold money in Bitcoin, and to make other payments in Bitcoin, that might be a slightly different story.
PayPal has indicated they are keen to work closely with regulators and governments to ensure legal compliance in their crypto offering. This will also be true of the many other payment firms looking to accept crypto or already that have a crypto offering. This will potentially help regulators come up with ways to make it easier for other crypto related offerings to get regulated and thus be accepted and used in traditional finance. Other payments firms may also follow Paypal’s lead, making crypto the norm rather than the exception in the roster of offerings expected of traditional finance.
So is PayPal’s acceptance of Bitcoin likely to drastically change anything for traditional banking? No, probably not. The move helps win over some new users for PayPal, ups its transaction volume and increases visits to its app. This in turn could help PayPal come up with new ways to monetise its platform. It’s helped prove the legitimacy of Bitcoin, and more broadly crypto, and is another message to traditional finance that accepting crypto will become far more mainstream soon. Even if traditional banks start allowing their users to accept crypto transactions, most likely they will be cashed out into fiat in live time, just as is happening now with PayPal. Will this move be the one that makes traditional banks open up Bitcoin custody offerings to all their clients? No. Not yet, at least.
Crypto Wars: Faked Deaths, Missing Billions and Industry Disruption by Erica Stanford is published by Kogan Page, priced £14.99, available online and from all good bookshops.
In July, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its plans to launch a digital currency. In response to a rise in online payments and the potential threat that could come from others issuing a digital means of payment, the ECB has decided to press ahead with its own digital currency. This aims to help protect its monetary sovereignty by attempting to limit the use of rival means of payment.
This will not be a quick process. The next two years will be spent on design and tests, followed by a launch three years later. However, the announcement highlights that traditional fiat currency won’t be the sole payments method in years to come. Of course, this move does not mean the same will happen for the UK, but with Rishi Sunak and the Bank of England making warm noises about digital currencies, it’s unlikely the UK won’t follow suit.
Of course, there are many questions swirling around digital currencies – namely if they’ll be a digital version of cash, if they will eventually replace cash or just simplify cross-border payments – but the fact of the matter is cash appears to be becoming digital, meaning banks need to get ready, even if the day-to-day reality could be years away.
Taking a step back from this new development, it’s fair to say financial services was already in flux, with the pandemic turbo-charging many of these shifts. Previously, banks, building societies, pension providers and wealth management had defined roles within the market, and whilst there was some interaction between the providers, people had their pots of money and tended not to move them around. In short, loyalty mattered. But this, like many other aspects of financial services has now changed. New entrants are flooding the market and offering platforms that bring vendors together thanks to Open Banking enablement. Therefore, consumers are flooded with choice. It’s now simple to amalgamate pensions or to transfer ISAs to get a better rate. Plus, with digitalisation, self-service is now positively encouraged. One clear example being online brokerages disrupting the investment space and allowing consumers to own snippets of companies, instead of requiring payment for full shares. Consumers are used to a digital financial life – so why not extend this to currency?
The world is moving towards a more digitised way of life – and banking, payments, savings and investments are certainly part of this shift.
No matter where a company sits within financial services, it’s clear that if digital currencies become reality, firms will need to accept them, which throws up multiple issues. Integration with fiat currency is perhaps the most pressing. However, the growth of cryptocurrencies over the last five to ten years and their recent acceptance by large institutions, shows there’s a clear trend. Financial portfolios should no longer be cash, bonds or equities – a small exposure can be digital. For me, this coupled with the concept of digital Pounds, Euros, Dollars or Yen, signals it’s time for banks to start thinking at the very least what measures should be put in place to lay the foundations for adoption. Surely commercial entities could benefit from showing customers they’re ready to take action, and providing an alternative to investment platforms as a source and store of these assets?
But what’s required? Here are five key aspects which can help determine a starter strategy.
Like any fiat system, digital currencies would need to be considered critical national infrastructure – meaning uptime and defence are impenetrable 24/7, 365 days per year. Aside from this requirement, the new system would need to be protected from cyberattacks, whilst also handling high volumes of transactions. Systems should be able to process transactions immediately (or as instantaneously as possible) along with having strong privacy protections.
For banks looking to support and facilitate a lot of this traffic, leveraging blockchain seems the most logical choice, as the roles they will play in these transactions will be different to a normal transfer. Whilst money may well flow from one account to another, banks will also likely be responsible for updating the record of who owns which Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) balance. Of course, technicalities are still to be worked out as to how money will move around, but it’s likely the CBDC itself would be a cash-like claim on the central bank. This way, the central bank avoids the operational tasks of opening accounts and administering payments. Banks can continue to perform retail payment services, meaning there are no balance sheet concerns with private sector intermediaries. This in turn helps boost operational resilience, as this architecture allows the central bank to operate backup systems in case the private sector runs into technical outages.
The potential introduction of digital currencies will be a testing experience for many – especially while we don’t know if it will come to fruition, or how it will work. Inevitably that will lead to a lot of speculation. One thing is for sure though, it may well require an overhaul of technology to integrate it, which will have repercussions for the IT stack. Unfortunately, technology to support such initiatives are likely to be considered ‘new’ to the majority of existing financial service organisations.
It’s well known that many banks struggle with legacy technology. They are not alone in that and big names across other industries have the same problem. The problem the banks have is that they’ll be the ones facilitating most of the transactions, whereas other players (retailers, for example) will mostly be receiving them. Whilst I don’t believe integration won’t be a problem for newer neobanks, they are in a far stronger position than their older rivals. Now is the time to get on the front foot and start thinking about what transformation will be required to help set the traditional banks on the right path. This includes safeguards which have been a criticism of cryptocurrencies – how to implement anti-money laundering protections, so the same due diligence a traditional banking service provides is applicable to its digital twin.
The whole concept of digital currency is an interesting one, based on the fact they add an element of decentralised finance to the country’s monetary policy. Of course, they will need to comply with current protocols, but they’ll also challenge how these protocols work.
To enable peer-to-peer transactions, digital currencies will need to make use of centralised governance frameworks that are authoritarian in nature — i.e., controlled by a single body. However, centralised blockchains are slower. Decentralised solutions like distributed ledger technology could make transactions quicker and more streamlined. To achieve widespread adoption, transaction speeds need to be efficient (much like an online bank transfer) otherwise consumers will not want to switch.
Decentralisation would also enable individuals to own their own wallets (akin to cryptocurrencies) and have their own private keys to help bolster security. This can help avoid data breaches and reduces risk. If a hack were to occur, it would stop one, single large fund being stolen – just a single person’s funds. Whilst this is a terrible scenario, it would be catastrophic if one pot were accessed. It would undermine any faith in the system.
Simplifying cross border payments could provide benefits in terms of e-commerce, travel and the labour market. However, it will have significant requirements, such as aligning regulatory, supervisory and oversight frameworks, AML/CFT consistency, PvP adoption and payment system access. The eventual international adoption of digital currencies is also likely to proceed at different speeds in different jurisdictions, calling for interoperability with legacy payment arrangements. Whilst this sort of information will likely come from G20 discussions, banks need to start addressing how to facilitate this and how this can be achieved within the current stack.
Whilst not a technical point, banks will likely share responsibility with the Bank of England in communicating the launch of any digital currency and how it will work. Provision and service is a key differentiation. We also need to acknowledge that the recent volatility in cryptocurrencies may make consumers wary of adopting digital currencies, which impacts their adoption. Being able to clearly communicate how digital currencies will integrate with current offerings and the benefits of this early, will help with customer uptake and acquisition.
Although the adoption is still conceptual, thinking about potential customer provision and how it might be integrated into current platformification/product offerings can help with service design and ultimately, user experience.
The world is moving towards a more digitised way of life – and banking, payments, savings and investments are certainly part of this shift. Financial institutions have had to manage this evolution already, so in some ways, a digital currency is a logical next step. For it to survive, however, the necessary infrastructure must be present for it to thrive, which banks can provide if they put the necessary building blocks in place now. The change will not happen overnight, or potentially in the next five years, but to win the hearts and minds of customers, provision will need to be seamless – placing customers at the heart.
The move marks the first international of PayPal’s crypto product, which was first launched last October in the US. Its crypto feature allows customers to buy or sell bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, or litecoin with just £1. Additionally, customers are also able to track real-time crypto prices and access educational content on the market.
The extension of the service to the UK will rely on the New York regulated digital currency company Paxos and PayPal has confirmed that it has engaged with all relevant British regulators to launch its crypto service.
Despite ongoing concerns regarding crypto’s volatility, consumer protection and the potential for money laundering issues, many major companies including Tesla, Mastercard, and Facebook have been opening up to crypto in recent months. PayPal is one of the many large finance firms choosing to embrace the unregulated world of crypto. The move by the online payments giants comes as Bitcoin hit $50,000 on Sunday, reaching a more than 3-month high.
If you’ve only recently started to buy bitcoin, then you might be in net loss right now. Down nearly 50%, it once again proves that volatility can come even at the most bullish seasons.
Many investors claim that the current price does not reflect the condition of the market. They talk about manipulation from traders, FUD from influencers, and other issues we have seen so many times before. In this article, we take a critical look at the current landscape of the market, whether the price reflects reality, and what could cause the sustained and continuous drop in bitcoin’s value. Let’s delve in.
Over the past few weeks, Bitcoin has made front-page news once again, as it has now reached geopolitical significance. During the Bitcoin 2021 conference, we witnessed a rather emotional speech from Jack Mallers, founder of Strike, who made what many consider one of the most important announcements of the year. Nayib Bukkele, president of El Salvador, has been in contact with Jack, in order to set out a plan which would make Bitcoin legal tender in the country. Two days later, the bill was submitted and approved, setting a giant milestone in Bitcoin’s path to global currency status.
Shortly after the decision was made, El Salvador’s president changed his Twitter avatar, adding laser eyes, a symbol often used by Bitcoin maximalists who believe in the coin’s future. The move caused a domino effect, with many politicians across Latin America following his example. In just two days, many more countries seem to be ready to adopt the Bitcoin Standard.
The current price of bitcoin seems to be quite low given the bullish news. However, during this period of time, analysts have been tracking the movement of coins across the board, and came up with some interesting observations:
In short, the current price does not reflect the true value of bitcoin and the actual demand for the cryptocurrency.
So what are the reasons for the current low prices across the board? There are many potential explanations:
The latest point is the most important here, as it would expedite transactions made purely in bitcoin instead of cashing out to FIAT first. By doing this, the public would eventually start dealing in satoshis and move towards the Bitcoins standard even faster.
The move by AMC marks a union of two highly speculative assets. AMC recently became a meme stock star favoured by traders on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum, while bitcoin is rapidly becoming renowned for its volatility. In recent weeks, bitcoin’s price has swung dramatically, last trading around $46,000 following its fall below the $30,000 mark last month.
AMC’s adoption of bitcoin would allow customers to purchase movie tickets and concessions online using bitcoin for all AMC’s US cinemas. Aron has said that the cinema chain is simultaneously working on the code to begin accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay for online purchases.
As AMC shares jumped 5.3% in after-hours trading, investors celebrated. Bitcoin was also up 5.5% on Monday night from the previous day. While many remain wary of cryptocurrencies, they are quickly becoming more mainstream. Several companies are now exploring how to incorporate them into their businesses, with AMC being one of the latest to do so.
Bitcoin, blockchain, and other innovations are proving that they are capable of transforming the status quo, as well as advance digital currencies as a whole. This makes it a likely contender to completely replace traditional fiat currency, which in turn is putting governments in an awkward position.
The topic of digital currencies and regulations is a complicated one. Cryptocurrencies, by their nature, are freewheeling and not bound by country borders or a government’s agencies. However, this admirable nature introduces a predicament to policymakers who are accustomed to handling straightforward definitions for assets.
Regulation is one of the most important factors affecting the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The rise of this new form of finance has been halted whenever a government brings up its policies, with each country taking a different approach to crypto regulation.
Creating legislation that urges the adoption of trailblazing financial infrastructure could provide a sizeable benefit to economic competitiveness. However, granting too much freedom to people might put the integrity of the country’s paper money at serious risk.
A balance has yet to be established. Therefore major governments have different reactions to the emergence of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in their respective countries. These responses have ranged from hesitation and fear to genuine acceptance. Something that they can all agree on is that the choice should not be taken lightly.
Digital currencies are rapidly becoming more mainstream in Canadian finances. Now more than ever, investors are looking to buy cryptocurrency in Canada. Since becoming the first government to pass a national law on digital currencies, Canadian regulators have remained proactive in their approach towards crypto. They are cautiously optimistic and are trying to promote innovation while at the same time protecting the interests of investors.
In Canada, digital currencies are regulated under securities laws as part of the securities’ regulators directive of protecting the public. The Canada Revenue Agency characterises cryptocurrency as a commodity, and states using cryptocurrency to pay for goods or services should be treated similarly as a barter transaction. Because of cryptocurrency’s commodity treatment, it has consequently prohibited the unfavourable misreporting of taxes. With that said, the landscape is always evolving, meaning that regulators need to be up to date to keep crypto enthusiasts from looking at the U.S., Asia, or Europe as alternatives.
As is the case with other countries, America has a lot on the line and a lot to gain from the adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Interestingly, lawmakers have mostly opted not to acknowledge the budding trend and instead let it exist without much hullabaloo.
The United States Federal Government has not claimed the right to regulate cryptocurrencies exclusively yet. They are allowing individual states to figure out how their citizens can partake. New York, Nevada, Arizona, Vermont, and Maine, among other states, have introduced bills to their state senates thus far. They are primarily dealing with the appropriate use of smart contracts and blockchain ledgers for various tasks such as record-keeping.
Switzerland is embracing cryptocurrency in the same non-regulatory fashion as other European countries. The Swiss Federal Council affirms that while there is currently no need to regulate cryptocurrency, laws regarding the financial sector’s use of them are being put in place to establish their status as securities and taxability.
Government intervention can impact cryptocurrency prices in a handful of ways. First and foremost, governments can regulate the price of assets, like fiat currencies, through purchasing and selling activities in international markets.
Second, they can compress extreme enthusiasm for an asset class by attaching regulations to it. Specifically, ones that boost the cost of conducting business. A notable example of this tactic is the consideration of Bitcoin regulation from an array of states in the U.S. For cryptocurrency exchanges within their jurisdictions, most states need surety bonds. Alternatively, an equivalent amount in fiat currency.
Lastly, governments can make the asset rare by forcing certain controls on it. Take the case of gold as an example of this method. This precious metal has import restrictions in various countries. Each of these actions has the capacity to fail regarding Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The reason for this being that cryptocurrencies have decentralised ledgers that extend across multiple countries. Their regulation demands an organised effort from several economies, which might be a difficult task to complete. Especially given the different levels of fascination with cryptocurrencies, as well as their effect on national economies in diverse locations.
Overall, the total market capitalisation of cryptocurrency is quickly rising into the hundreds of billions. Because of this, the world’s governments have implied that they are willing to allow this revolution to transpire. With a few exceptions, their key strategy has been – and will continue to be for the time being – to watch from the sidelines.
There are a number of important things that you need to consider when you decide to make an investment in Bitcoin. It is important that you first do your research about cryptocurrency before you decide to put your money into it. Bitcoin may have made quite a few waves in the past decade, but it’s important that you don’t think of it as an investment vehicle. There are plenty of things to keep in mind before you decide to buy Bitcoin. Here are seven important things to know.
Have you looked at the past trends of how Bitcoin has evolved? You have to understand that research is critical before you decide to purchase Bitcoin. At the end of the day, it’s a cryptocurrency, so the first thing that you need to do is research its prospects and how cryptocurrencies have evolved over the past few years. It’s imperative that you do your research about the different cryptocurrencies that are in circulation, check the whitepaper, and then decide whether to put your money into it or not.
Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin is generally available from a number of different crypto exchanges. It is important for you to find a reputable and reliable crypto exchange from where you can buy the coin. Ideally, when it comes to investing in crypto, there are plenty of different exchanges from where you can buy it. When you are able to exchange your fiat currency with crypto, you have to make sure that you get a good rate too.
Another important thing that you need to consider is the maximum amount that you are willing to put in. You have to be very particular about the maximum amount of money that you decide to put in because there is a big chance that the values are likely to plummet in the future. It is important for you to make sure that you decide how much money to put into crypto. You need to understand that Bitcoin is obviously not as liquid as other currencies, so it’s going to be difficult for you to use Bitcoin freely.
One very important thing that you should know before you buy Bitcoin is that it is a decentralised currency. One of the biggest advantages that you get for buying this currency is that it can’t be seized by a central authority. They can’t be devalued either. The con of decentralisation is that there is no backing for the government, so the currency is actually quite volatile and liable to fluctuate in the future.
If you own Bitcoin and are looking to invest your money into different things, you should know that the number of options available to you will be limited. Most government organisations have repeatedly denied applications for funds that are operated using Bitcoin, and you won’t have many decent options available for investment. So, if you were thinking of putting your money into Bitcoin simply because you want to invest it in other places, this might not be such a good idea.
Volatility is not something that you would want when it comes to making a long-term investment. One of the main reasons why so many people tend to steer clear of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is simply because they tend to fluctuate and move around in value quite a bit. For instance, Bitcoin has been around since 2008, but it wasn’t until 2017 when the currency really rose in value.
By the end of 2017, one Bitcoin was retailing around the $20,000 mark. Many Bitcoin millionaires rose to the fore because of that, and it wasn’t long before people realised that there was quite a lot of money to be made. But then, the value of Bitcoin crashed rapidly, and it even went down all the way to $4,000 within a couple of years. As you can understand, this indicates major volatility, and it just means that you will have to be very particular about where you put your money.
You can easily buy Bitcoin online and transfer it to a crypto wallet with minimal hassle. Furthermore, you should know that the deals you make on crypto are simply traceable through a TRX ID and nothing else. No one will know who sent the money, and no one will know who received it. That is one of the main reasons why you have to be so particular about where you put your Bitcoin. It’s important that you choose a safe wallet.
New US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chief Gary Gensler took over the role in April and has since expressed that he wants to see more regulation of cryptocurrency in order to protect consumers. Gensler says that the nation has a duty to protect investors against fraud.
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade, has pinned bitcoin’s price drop on Gensler’s recent comments. Just before 9am in London, bitcoin was down 3.8% to $38,587. The drop saw a return to levels seen last Friday, before a weekend rally pushed bitcoin over the closely-watched figure of $40,000.
As he is one of the very few experts on cryptocurrencies amongst international financial regulators, Gensler had been marked as a potential booster for the industry by cryptocurrency enthusiasts. As such, the drop in bitcoin comes as a particular disappointment to many.
Over time, and certainly in the past year, with the drastic increase in value, cryptocurrency has changed in many people’s minds from a salacious method of money laundering to becoming a serious contender for investment. More and more novice investors are dipping their toes in the metaphoric water and even large brands (Starbucks, Amazon, PayPal, to name a few) are starting to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment. As more money is being converted into cryptocurrency, these types of assets are becoming more prevalent in insolvent estates. So, what does that mean for creditors of companies or bankrupts who have invested in cryptocurrency?
Because cryptocurrency is decentralised i.e., it’s not tied to a country’s currency, nor is it regulated — it is viewed as an easy method of defrauding people. However, that is not necessarily the case. All transactions are public knowledge, meaning ownership can be verified and traced. Because there isn’t one controlling body, everyone is accountable to everyone. This transparency is a security feature in itself as it is difficult to hide in plain sight, as it were.
There is, however, a hurdle of learning new terminologies and understanding a new process. As a result, many people shy away from dealing with it. This can seem daunting and is certainly a barrier to entry for some. However, it isn’t a reason to ignore what could potentially be an immensely fruitful asset pot. Professionals must now start to change their perspective on cryptocurrency, particularly in relation to company investments in insolvency estates, and adapt processes to enable us to deal with cryptocurrency more effectively. Gone are the days of solely dealing with traditional assets.
So, how should a cryptocurrency be dealt with in an insolvent estate?
First, how can we identify that the company has cryptocurrency? There are various indicators to look out for to help identify whether the estate may have a cryptocurrency, such as:
Once it becomes apparent that the company holds cryptocurrency as an investment, the insolvency practitioner (IP) will need to take steps to secure and preserve their investment. Just like with any other asset, the IP will need to act quickly to ensure the cryptocurrency is secured correctly. Identifying and locating the key is a critical step, but the IP shouldn’t assume that someone else doesn’t have a copy of the key. A prudent IP should transfer the cryptocurrency into a secure wallet of their own (on behalf of the estate) or to an agent. Under the new FCA legislation, cryptocurrency held on someone else’s behalf must be held by an approved agent, who could secure the assets properly, holding the assets offline and obtaining appropriate insurance.
However, what if it's discovered that the company entered into a cryptocurrency transaction, but the asset isn't held within its wallet? Just with the dissipation of physical assets or cash, the transfer of cryptocurrency away from the estate could be considered an antecedent transaction. Further investigation would be required, as with any other claim, to review whether the IP can substantiate a claim to an evidential standard to be successful in clawing back the assets for the benefit of the estate.
How can cryptocurrency be realised once it has been successfully recovered?
It is important to note that much like fiat currency, all exchanges have their own conversion rate. Because there is no interbank offer rate, there is no standard for what that conversion rate is. As we have seen in the last year, the rate has fluctuated drastically, much to the investors’ delight. In order to mitigate any criticisms and ensure the best price is being achieved for the asset, it would be prudent to compare exchanges and conversion rates. Alternatively, another option would be to place the cryptocurrency into an auction, which has an element of protection for the IP from any potential criticism as the value is simply the highest bid, rather than an exchange.
Given the increase in use and popularity of cryptocurrency, it is likely we will continue to see a huge investment shift towards it, particularly now with the backing of so many blue-chip companies. It is not the fraudsters’ friend, as it can sometimes be thought, and is traceable if you have the skills and know-how in dealing with it. IPs need to embrace the move toward cryptocurrency as a more prevalent asset class and look to expand their training and understanding of the toolkits available to them, whether that is through normal recovery action of an asset or the tracing of assets leading to a claim for the benefit of the estate.
The speculation was initially sparked by an Amazon job advert for a “Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead” based at its Seattle headquarters. The job posting stated the position would be based within Amazon’s Payment Acceptance & Experience Team, with the role involving innovating “on behalf of customers within the payments and financial systems of one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world.” This led some to suspect that the e-commerce giant was looking to accept cryptocurrencies in the near future.
The speculation caused bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to surge on Monday morning, with bitcoin up by 12% to $38,723 at around 8am in London. The surge marked bitcoin’s highest price in over a month.
Growing numbers of companies have already begun accepting digital currencies as payment. However, Amazon has firmly denied these rumours, stating that although the company is interested in the space, the current rumours surrounding the company’s cryptocurrencies plans are not true.
The figures come from the average forecast from 27 out of 42 experts surveyed by Finder. The UK comparison site polled 24 fintech specialists, including Coinmama CEO Sagi Bakshi, CoinFlip Founder and Chief Advisor Daniel Polotsky, and University of East London Senior Lecturer Dr Iwa Salami.
CoinFlip’s Daniel Polotsky gave forecasts in line with the panel average and anticipates that Ethereum will be worth $4,000 by the end of 2021 and, by 2030, will have skyrocketed to $64,000.
“Ethereum's price largely follows Bitcoin's halving cycles, although that relationship may begin to decouple as time goes on, and as Ethereum continues to develop use cases that Bitcoin cannot achieve. Then, its price may grow at a faster rate than Bitcoin's,” Polotsky said.
However, both Martin Fröhler, CEO of Morpher, and Pedro Febrero, RealFevr’s head of blockchain, expect Ethereum to top $10,000 by December 2021. “Ethereum has the potential to power the future global financial infrastructure”, Fröhler commented.
93% of the panellists said they believe Ethereum will one day become more frequently transacted than Bitcoin. Nearly half of the panellists (48%) predicted that this shift would occur before the end of 2022.
Online financial services giant PayPal has increased the amount of cryptocurrency users can purchase by five times, and is scrapping its annual purchase limit of $50,000. PayPal’s vice president has said that the changes will allow users to have greater choice and flexibility when purchasing cryptocurrency on PayPal’s platforms.
The financial services giant first began allowing users to purchase cryptocurrencies in October 2020, later adding the option to buy bitcoin via its mobile payment app, Venmo. There is a $1 dollar spending requirement on the product, which allows users to share crypto purchases via Venmo’s social feed.
When the move by PayPal was first announced, it was considered a substantial step in bringing digital assets to mainstream buyers. However, since April, bitcoin has lost around half of its value when it reached an all-time high of around $60,000. Despite El Salvador becoming the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender back in June, cryptocurrencies have recently faced substantial criticism and opposition, particularly from the Chinese government.
