BitClout, a crypto social network, will launch out of beta this week

BitClout, a crypto social network, will launch out of beta this week

BitClout, a crypto social network that allows participants to buy and sell tokens based on people’s reputations, will launch out of beta this week. It is centered around possibilities to invest in a measure of individuals’ credibility and recognition.

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PayPal in talks to acquire crypto custody firm as it expands digital asset capabilities

PayPal in talks to acquire crypto custody firm as it expands digital asset capabilities

PayPal is reportedly planning to buy crypto custody firm Curv, at a price tag of between $200M and $500M, several news outlets reported.

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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase files to go public

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase files to go public

Coinbase just filed its paperwork to go public through a direct listing, becoming the first cryptocurrency exchange that will list on the Nasdaq.

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Bitcoin transactions drive Cash App activity as Square expands crypto business

Bitcoin transactions drive Cash App activity as Square expands crypto business

While gross payment volume and net revenue fell short of expectations, Square, in its fourth-quarter earnings report, said Cash App monthly users grew to 36 million in December, or 50% year-over-year.

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Richmond Fed appoints bitcoin advocate Sunayna Tuteja as chief innovation officer

Richmond Fed appoints bitcoin advocate Sunayna Tuteja as chief innovation officer

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has appointed Sunayna Tuteja, TD Ameritrade’s former head of digital assets and distributed ledger technology, as its chief innovation officer.

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Central bank-backed digital currencies gather momentum in The Bahamas and Sweden

Central bank-backed digital currencies gather momentum in The Bahamas and Sweden

A week after Canada’s central bank confirmed that its plans for a central bank-backed digital currency (CBDC) have accelerated during the pandemic, government-backed digital currencies cleared hurdles in two other markets.

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Pandemic pushes Canada to accelerate government-backed digital currency efforts

Pandemic pushes Canada to accelerate government-backed digital currency efforts

As consumers transact digitally en masse during the pandemic, Canada’s central bank is accelerating its central bank-backed digital currency (CBDC) efforts.

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Tesla invests $1.5B in bitcoin and plans to accept bitcoin payments

Tesla invests $1.5B in bitcoin and plans to accept bitcoin payments

Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk has been tweeting in support of bitcoin and dogecoin, confirmed on Monday, Feb. 8 that the company has invested $1.5B in bitcoin and will accept the cryptocurrency as a payment method in the future.

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PayPal boosts new unit focusing on crypto and digital currencies

PayPal boosts new unit focusing on crypto and digital currencies

PayPal, which launched capabilities to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies last October, said it’s seeing strong crypto transactional activity and plans to grow a recently-launched unit dedicated to the rollout of these offerings.

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Visa taps challenger bank First Boulevard for crypto API pilot

Visa taps challenger bank First Boulevard for crypto API pilot

Visa this week inked a partnership with First Boulevard, a challenger bank aimed at the Black community, to allow First Boulevard to pilot Visa’s new suite of crypto APIs.

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Ripple responds to SEC lawsuit as XRP rises and falls after coordinated buys

Ripple responds to SEC lawsuit as XRP rises and falls after coordinated buys

Ripple, the company behind cryptocurrency XRP, has formally responded to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit filed in December that alleged that the company conducted a $1.3B unregistered securities offering.

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Around 20% of bitcoin is locked in ‘stranded wallets’

Around 20% of bitcoin is locked in ‘stranded wallets’

The New York Times reports that German-born programmer Stefan Thomas is sitting on a bitcoin fortune worth $200M, but can’t access it because he can’t remember the password to his digital wallet.

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Fall of Parler a boon for crypto-friendly social platforms Gab and DLive

Fall of Parler a boon for crypto-friendly social platforms Gab and DLive

With the suspension of President Trump’s Twitter account, many users are moving to other platforms. This week, Parler, a forum popular among conservative activists, went dark after Amazon Web Services severed links with it following the Capitol riot.

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Quontic Bank launches Bitcoin rewards checking account

Quontic Bank launches Bitcoin rewards checking account

In a holiday season that’s seeing Bitcoin’s value rise, a New York-based community bank is allowing customers to earn Bitcoin rewards through a traditional checking account.

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Northern Trust and Standard Chartered partner on crypto custody solution

Northern Trust and Standard Chartered partner on crypto custody solution

Standard Chartered Ventures, the innovation unit of Standard Chartered, is partnering with asset servicer Northern Trust to launch Zodia Custody, a crypto custody business.

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