Kategorie: Crypto News

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Robinhood acquires credit card startup X1

  • Robinhood has seen some decline in monthly active users.
  • Its crypto trading business revenue has also declined following the recent crypto price decline.
  • The X1 acquisition will help Robinhood diversify and broaden its product offerings to entice a larger market.

The well-known cryptocurrency and stock trading app Robinhood plans to expand its product line by purchasing credit card startup X1. The $95 million deal will give Robinhood a new source of income and strengthen its ties with current users.

With the help of the income-based credit card from X1 and special options like rewards, a risk-free trial, and one-time use cards, Robinhood hopes to improve the ecosystem of its financial services.

Robinhood success in diversifying its business portfolio

Robinhood has made significant progress in diversifying its business portfolio as part of its ongoing efforts to grow outside of its primary trading platform and the acquisition of credit card fintech X1 is a significant step in this direction.

X1 joins several other firms that Robinhood has acquired, including MarketSnacks, Cove Markets, Binc, Say, and Ziglu. The acquisitions are geared towards helping Robinhood realize its goal of offering a full range of financial services.

By entering the credit card market, Robinhood hopes to increase its revenue and strengthen its ties to its sizable user base. The company understands the value of diversification to maintain long-term growth in light of the decline in monthly active users and revenue decline in its crypto trading business. The company’s strategy of broadening its product offerings and enticing a larger market is consistent with this acquisition.

About Credit Card startup X1

The credit card fintech X1 that Robinhood is buying has drawn a lot of interest from the financial technology community. The startup boasted an impressive waiting list of 500,000 people eager to get its credit card in 2022. This demand highlights the market’s appetite for cutting-edge credit card solutions and points to X1’s potential for expansion.

A wide range of customers can access credit using the income-based credit card that X1 offers by using it in accordance with their income levels. Additionally, X1 sets itself apart with functions like rewards, free trial cards, and single-use credit cards. These special offers give cardholders more flexibility and convenience, which improves their overall financial experience.

X1 received $62 million from well-known VC firms like Craft Ventures, Soma Capital, and FPV in recent funding rounds showing that investors have a lot of faith in the startup’s mission and prospects for success. Furthermore, the involvement of Wesley Chan, an investor in both X1 and Robinhood, emphasizes the similarities and shared commitment to innovation between the two businesses in the financial services industry.

The post Robinhood acquires credit card startup X1 appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Anastasia Amoroso: Bitcoin is like a ‘high-flying, high-beta tech stock’

  • Anastasia Amoroso explains why bitcoin has been on a tear recently.
  • She sees the world’s largest cryptocurrency as a tech asset.
  • Bitcoin is currently up roughly 80% versus the start of the year.

Bitcoin has been on a tear ever since the Federal Reserve skipped a rate hike for the first time since March 2022.

Anastasia Amoroso shares her view on BTC

Another potential reason why the cryptocurrency has been in favour recently is because the central bank is now closer to the end of its cycle that typically tends to draw interest into the risk-on assets.

Most importantly, the recent strength is a proof that crypto as an ecosystem has stood the test of time, as per Anastasia Amoroso – the Chief Investment Strategist at iCapital.

“The fact that institutional investors are still stepping into the space and bitcoin tells you that this is an asset class that is most likely here to stay.”

Earlier this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell also agreed that cryptocurrencies seem to have some staying power (read more).

Anastasia Amoroso sees bitcoin as a tech asset

Bitcoin has gained sharply even though the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission sued both Binance and Coinbase this month.

Part of the reason may be because neither of those lawsuits categorized it as a security. If anything, investing in Bitcoin is more akin to adding a high-flying tech stock to your portfolio, added Amoroso on Yahoo Finance Live.

There’s a technological aspect to bitcoin. But there’s also volatility that is associated with it that is much more in line with a high-flying, high-beta tech stock than anything else.

She also dubbed the recent regulatory crackdown a net positive for the crypto market in the long run on Thursday.

The post Anastasia Amoroso: Bitcoin is like a ‘high-flying, high-beta tech stock’ appeared first on CoinJournal.

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CACEIS Bank secures France’s first crypto custody licence

  • CACEIS Bank is the asset servicing unit of Crédit Agricole and Santander.
  • The company is registered as a Digital Assets Service Provider by France’s Financial Markets Authority.
  • The approval allows CACEIS Bank to offer crypto custody services in a regulated environment.

One of the biggest crypto news today is that CACEIS Bank, the French banking entity of European banking giants Crédit Agricole and Santander, has been granted the first digital assets custody licence in France.

The asset servicing provider, with €4.6 trillion ($5.1 trillion) in assets under custody, secured the Digital Assets Service Provider (DASP) registration from the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), France’s markets regulator. Details on the AMF website shows that CACEIS received the PSAN nod on June 20.

According to a press release published on Thursday, the licence now means it can offer its digital asset custody services to the growing number of investment management firms and institutional investors. PSAN is CACEIS’ first milestone in the quest to provide innovative crypto custody products.

“In practical terms, we will provide secure storage for our clients’ private digital keys leveraging state-of-the-art technology,” Arnaud Misset, CACEIS’ Chief Digital Officer said.

Major financial institutions embrace crypto

CACEIS Bank’s registration adds to the French regulators’ approval of crypto related services for finance giants, including Societe Generale’s Forge and AXA Investment Managers.

It comes as several global financial institutions embrace crypto, with US-based behemoth BlackRock sparking the influx with its spot Bitcoin ETF filing. The growing list now includes Fidelity Investments, Deutsche Bank, Vanguard, WisdomTree, Invesco, and Schwab.

The French giant’s regulatory milestone also comes amid a greater push for regulatory clarity, with the European Union’s MiCA currently the most comprehensive and expected to come into effect in 2024. The UK is in the final stages of passing its Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB), which was this week voted through by the UK parliament’s Upper chamber, the House of Lords.

In the US, the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has recently intensified its crackdown with lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase. However, with focus on the industry, experts are optimistic clarity will soon follow.

The post CACEIS Bank secures France’s first crypto custody licence appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Algorand boosts network speed with key protocol upgrade

  • Algorand’s latest protocol upgrade has cut block time from 3.8 seconds to 3.3 seconds.
  • It is the PoS network’s largest decrease in block time by percentage and comes as blockchains look to boost performance amid competition.
  • ALGO, the native Algorand token, rose to near $0.13 before trading slightly lower on Thursday afternoon.

Algorand has released a new upgrade that sees the protocol’s block time significantly reduced and thereby boosting the network’s performance.

The proof-of-stake network announced the new upgrade had gone live on mainnet on Thursday. It noted that network speed had improved by more than 10%, with a block time of 3.3 seconds unleashed to cut network speed from the previous 3.8 seconds. Its Algorand’s largest block time reduction percentage-wise.

Notably, Algorand maintains its instant transaction finality, the protocol upgrade announcement noted. Today’s upgrade makes application development on the PoS network faster and cost-efficient.

The native token ALGO rose nearly 5% following the news to trade near $0.13. However, it traded around $0.125 at the time of writing, about 1.5% higher in the past 24 hours.

Cardano and BNB Chain also introduced upgrades

Algorand’s block time reduction comes amid similar upgrades across the ecosystem as blockchains look to tap into the growing developer ecosystem.

Early this week, Cardano introduced upgrade 8.1.1 that aimed at speeding up network processes during epoch transitions for better performance. BNB Chain’s Luban hard fork, introduced last month, also sought to improve network speed and security.

For Algorand, the latest upgrade introduced other enhancements such as Simulate, a tool that allows developers to simulate smart contracts and test for bugs and other issues before deploying on the mainnet. Another tool is Conduit, which allows for flexible and affordable access to data.

“We are hyper focused on Algorand providing the best tech for developers to engage with and end users to experience,” Paul Riegle, Chief Product Officer at Algorand, said. 

According to him, the new capabilities means developers can quickly build and deploy higher quality dApps to the market, leveraging faster, efficient testing and customised data sets.

The post Algorand boosts network speed with key protocol upgrade appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Binance Brazil is being investigated for suspected pyramid schemes

  • Binance has been under fire from regulators in the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, and now Brazil.
  • Binance.US and its legal team have, however, alleged that the SEC issued misleading statements in the lawsuit.
  • Besides pyramid schemes, Binance is also being investigated for helping customers get around a restriction on crypto derivatives investments in Brazil.

On June 21, Brazilian Deputy Alfredo Gaspar called for Guilherme Haddad, the head of Binance Brazil, to appear before the legislative arm of the Brazilian government as part of an investigation into possible pyramid schemes in the country.

The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) is expected to decide whether to allow or deny Gaspar’s request of having Haddad appear before Parliament, on June 27. Depending on the results of the vote, Haddad might be required to appear before the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies.

Gaspar’s request to parliament read:

“We can deduce that Binance is entirely imbricated with the motivation of this CPI and it becomes fundamental to understand its performance in the country, its relationship with B Fintech (its official representative), as well as its connection with companies that are judicially liable for harming Brazilian consumers.”

International regulatory pressure mounts on Binance

Brazil is calling for investigations into Binance as the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world battles increasing international regulatory pressure. Regulators in the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, and now Brazil have all unleashed their wrath on Binance.

According to Gaspar, Binance assisted Brazilian pyramid schemes by transferring assets on March 11, 2023, when “the So Paulo Justice blocked R$ 500 thousand reais in Binance for a suspected pyramid.” He emphasized the significance of comprehending Binance’s activities, its connection to B Fintech, and any potential ties to businesses currently involved in legal disputes that harm consumers in Brazil.

Brazilian regulatory authorities claimed that Binance is under intense regulatory scrutiny worldwide as a result of “the company’s failure to respond to the regulation imposed by each country,” which is why they are proposing the summons.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office and Federal Police are also looking into Binance’s operations in Brazil for possibly helping customers get around a restriction on cryptocurrency derivatives investments.

The post Binance Brazil is being investigated for suspected pyramid schemes appeared first on CoinJournal.