Kategorie: Crypto Markets

Daily headlines and news about crypto markets.

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Wirex partners with Visa and extends crypto card program to 40+ countries

  • The partnership agreement makes Wirex a global partner of Visa.
  • It will also allow Wirex to expand its crypto card services to more countries around the world.
  • The agreement also allows Wirex to offer crypto card services to UK and APAC markets.

London-based digital payment company Wirex has announced that it has reached a long-term service agreement with Visa. The move is a great milestone for Wirex because it will allow the company to reach customers in new markets including the UK and APAC markets.

Most importantly, Wirex offers cryptocurrency-linked card services and becoming a global partner of Visa will allow it to reach customers in more than 40 countries around the world.

Wirex was the first company to introduce crypto-card services to the mainstream audience back in 2015, at the time in partnership with Visa. In 2020 it went ahead to become a principal member of Visa in Europe.

In 2022, Wirex raised $15 million in its Series B funding round.

More payment options for Visa customers

The core objective of Visa’s partnership with Wirex is to introduce more crypto-linked payment methods for more markets around the world.

Commenting on the partnership the head of digital partnerships at Visa in the Asia Pacific region, Mat Wood, said:

“Currencies with our network of banks and merchants. We’re excited that Wirex is expanding their focus on Asia Pacific, making it easy and seamless for people to spend their crypto balance at the millions of merchants that accept Visa in the region.”

Wirex customers will be able to use their cryptocurrency assets to make payments at about 80 million locations where Visa is accepted around the world. In addition to being able to make crypto payments, the customers will receive 8% cashback instantly.

After inking this particular global partnership, Wirex now has its eyes set on finalizing another card partnership related to Australia within the next coming weeks.

The post Wirex partners with Visa and extends crypto card program to 40+ countries appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Interactive Brokers just launched crypto trading in Hong Kong

  • IBKR partnered with OSL to launch crypto trading in Hong Kong.
  • Hong Kong is committed to expanding in the crypto space.
  • Interactive Brokers shares are currently up over 20% for the year.

Interactive Brokers Group Inc is in the green this morning after revealing plans of launching crypto trading in Hong Kong.

Interactive Brokers partnered with OSL Digital Securities

Residents of Hong Kong with more than $1.0 million in investable assets if they’re individuals, and over $6.0 million in investable assets if they’re institutions, will now be able to trade cryptocurrency on the IBKR platform.

The Nasdaq-listed firm partnered with OSL Digital Securities to extend its crypto trading services to Hong Kong. In the press release, David Friedland – Head of Asia-Pacific at Interactive Brokers said:

Investor demand for digital assets continues to grow in Hong Kong and we’re pleased to introduce cryptocurrency to address the trading objectives of clients in this important market.

Last month, Interactive Brokers reported record profit for its fourth financial quarter. Shares of the global brokerage are up more than 20% for the year at writing.

Hong Kong is committed to expanding in the crypto space

The announcement creates a unified platform for investors to trade cryptocurrency and a multitude of other assets, including stocks, futures, options, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, and event contracts.

They will no longer have to switch between different platforms and exchanges to overview the full breadth of their investment portfolio.

Eligible clients will benefit from our low costs and the ability to trade crypto alongside many other global products from a single unified platform.

The crypto news arrives only a month after the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong – Paul Chan said the local government was open to collaborating with crypto and fintech startups this year. In December, Hong Kong passed legislation to license virtual asset service providers as well.

The post Interactive Brokers just launched crypto trading in Hong Kong appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Bitcoin, stocks react to hotter-than-expected CPI data

  • Bitcoin price was trading sideways after hitting highs of $22,300, with major US indexes also down.
  • The markets’ reaction comes after hotter-than-expected inflation data for the first month of 2023.
  • US CPI rose 0.5% over the month and 6.5% year-over-year.

Bitcoin was holding just above $22,000 at around 11:00 am ET, with the flagship cryptocurrency having swung from highs of $22,300 as the broader crypto market mirrored Wall Street following Tuesday’s US inflation data.

Across crypto, Ethereum first ticked closer to $1,570 across major exchanges, rising as much as 5% before the upside cooled to see ETH trade near $1,540 at the time of writing. A similar picture held for Binance Coin, with BNB nearing $300 with about 3.5% in gains before shedding some of the gains.

The action across US stocks also had the major indexes in the green premarket, before broader reaction to consumer price data released on Tuesday saw the major indexes trade lower.

The S&P 500 rose nearly 0.7% but had flipped negative after the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed inflation picked up over the past one month after consecutive months of declines. The S&P 500 was down 0.6% at the time of this report.

The outlook was similar for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite, which were down about 0.8% and 0.6% respectively.

Markets react to January CPI data

On Tuesday morning, the US government’s data on inflation showed consumer prices rose 0.5% in January and 6.4% over the past twelve months, higher than the forecast 6.2%. 

Even for the Core CPI, which leaves out the more volatile food and energy components, the readings were 0.4% in January and 5.6% year-over-year.

The data thus showed inflation had picked up in the first month of 2023, coming in hotter than economists expected, with Wall Street reacting lower on the news as investors weigh what this means for the Fed’s interest rates path. Market observers say this could point to a higher for longer path that the Fed has previously pointed out.

Tim Seymour, the CIO of Seymour Asset Management certainly thinks this could be on the cards now.

The post Bitcoin, stocks react to hotter-than-expected CPI data appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Binance withdrawals surge post SEC’s Paxos clampdown

  • The SEC issued a wells notice to Paxos concerning the issuance of Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin.
  • Shortly after, the NYDFS ordered Paxos to stop issuing BUSD.
  • While BUSD issuance stopped, Paxos is in charge of BUSD redemptions

Crypto exchange Binance has seen increased withdrawals over the past 24 hours as investors act on the recent allegation by the US SEC that Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin is a security. Data obtained from the blockchain intelligence platform Nansen indicate that net outflows from the exchange had hit $788 million in the past 24 hours.

This is the largest net outflow from Binance since December 17 when the exchange’s proof of reserves audit was pulled down from the website of Mazars auditor.

Binance has however come out to array fears saying that funds are safe and that it can handle any amount of withdrawals. The exchange said:

“We run a very simple business model — hold assets in custody and generate revenue from transaction fees.”

It all started with the US SEC issuing a wells notice to Paxos Trust Company stating that it was violating investor protection laws by issuing an unregistered security, the BUSD. Following the SEC’s action, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) ordered Paxos to halt the issuance of BUSD and Paxos immediately obeyed the orders.

Increased BUSD redemptions

As investors rush to withdraw their funds from Binance, the BUSD token redemptions have also surged. Data from Peckshield shows that over 342 million BUSD tokens have been burned in the past 24 hours.

Investors seem to be cashing out of the BUSD stablecoin as fears of the SEC escalating the issue and filing a lawsuit as is the case with Ripple’s XRP token gain traction.

The post Binance withdrawals surge post SEC’s Paxos clampdown appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Binance Coin extends losses as BNB dumps 10% amid negative news

  • Binance Coin price fell amid news around Paxos and its stablecoin BUSD
  • BNB traded to lows of $284, extending intraday declines from highs of $321 as uncertainty engulfed the stablecoin.
  • Paxos, which issues and handles BUSD redemptions, announced it had halted its relationship with Binance.

BNB, the native coin of the Binance exchange, has extended intraday losses to over 10% as price action continued to suffer from negative news.

BNB price dumps 10% amid BUSD reports

As we reported earlier, Binance Coin had dropped by nearly 6% in the morning as the market reacted to news surrounding Binance USD (BUSD), a stablecoin owned and issued by US regulated company Paxos Trust.

But BUSD is the main stablecoin in the Binance ecosystem and the news that Paxos had been ordered to stop issuing any new tokens triggered massive outflows. The negative sentiment increased as it emerged the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was suing Paxos, which later on in the day announced it had terminated its relationship with Binance regarding the brand’s link to BUSD.

Here’s a chart by one market analyst showing an earlier reaction to the news.

While Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced the exchange would continue to support the stablecoin, he did acknowledge there would be migrations to other stablecoins as result of the regulatory uncertainty.

The price action for BNB on Monday afternoon has thus seen the coin trade to lows of $284, with these level the lowest for Binance Coin since 18 January 2023. The coin currently trades around $286 according to data from CoinGecko.

Today’s losses have pushed the price -13% down on the seven day chart.

The post Binance Coin extends losses as BNB dumps 10% amid negative news appeared first on CoinJournal.