[Comparative to Zaobao] PayPal hopes to become the central bank's digital currency distribution tool and will expand cryptographic services to Venmo and the UK; Bank of New York Mellon will provide cryptocurrency services to its asset management customers; the US judicial department has launched an investigation into Robinhood and Reddit

Blockchain news you need to know every morning:

[PayPal wants to become the central bank's digital currency distribution tool and will expand cryptographic services to Venmo and the UK]

Payments giant PayPal wants to be the central bank's digital currency distribution tool, and its crypto services will also expand to the Venmo platform and the UK. CEO Dan Schulman made this statement on Thursday's PayPal Investor Day, where he proposed the vision that PayPal's digital wallet would be a tool for the central bank to issue central bank digital currencies to consumers with different income levels. He mentioned, “Imagine how many digital wallets we will have in the next two, three, or five years. We are the perfect complement to the form of digital currency distributed by the central bank and government.”

[Bank of New York Mellon to Offer Cryptocurrency Services to Its Asset Management Customers]

The nation's oldest bank is entering the cryptocurrency sector in a big way. Bank of New York Mellon said on Thursday that it would hold and transfer bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its asset management clients, the Wall Street Journal reported. Over time, Bank of New York Mellon will allow these digital assets to enter and hold the same platforms other traditional assets use. The bank is already in discussions with customers to include digital currencies. Roman Regelman, CEO of Bank of New York Mellon Asset Services and Digital Business, said, “Digital assets are becoming part of the mainstream.” This is a huge step for Wall Street banks, which were previously reluctant to directly touch the crypto market due to concerns about regulatory, legal, and stability risks. But as the price of Bitcoin and other digital assets continues to rise, cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly popular with asset managers, hedge funds, and other institutional investors.

[The US Department of Justice has launched an investigation into Robinhood and Reddit]

According to the Wall Street Journal, the US Department of Justice and the San Francisco District Attorney's Office have investigated broker Robinhood and social media platform Reddit to obtain information on trading activities. GameStop shares soared from about $20 to $483 in two weeks in January, according to a previous report by “Comparative”. Since then, the stock has dropped to around $50. A large group of bullish individual traders persuaded each other to buy stocks on Reddit and squeezed hedge funds that bet that the share price would fall, which contributed to the rise in stock prices. Many agencies have announced they are investigating market manipulation issues. Just this morning, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) halted all trading of SpectraScience shares. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is also reviewing similar transactions.

[Uber CEO: The company will accept Bitcoin payments if needed]

Tech company Uber is considering accepting Bitcoin payments. The company's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that if there is interest and demand, the company will accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as forms of payment. However, Uber is not currently considering investing in Bitcoin as part of its finances. He said, “We had this discussion before, but it was quickly rejected. We want to keep our cash safe; we don't engage in speculative business.”

[The overall rise in the crypto market, Bitcoin and Ethereum rebounded slightly]

The overall crypto market has shown an upward trend over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin regained the $47,000 mark from yesterday's decline, then fell again to $46,000, and Ethereum rose marginally. The current total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market is $1,441,655,232,511, and the 24-hour trading volume is $299,554,118,574. Bitcoin accounts for 60.52% of the market. In the past 24 hours, 18 of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization have risen, and 82 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization have risen. The overall cryptocurrency market is trending upward. The top 3 increases were Creditcoin (65.53%), Bridge Oracle (47.97%), and Nano (46.74%). The top 3 declines were: Avalanche (-19.72%), PancakeSwap (-13.04%), and Terra (-8.54%).

[Wall Street Journal: Financial Executives Are Unwilling to Invest or Handle Bitcoin Because of Volatility]

After automaker Tesla revealed that it had purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin this week, financial executives at many companies began to pay close attention to Bitcoin. The Wall Street Journal published an article on Thursday that the chief financial officers of many companies are still hesitating. Some have pointed out that Bitcoin's price fluctuation is likely to have a negative impact on their balance sheets, and question whether Bitcoin's actual use is worth the risk. Others have pointed out that the company's investment policy prohibits them from holding digital assets. Verizon treasurer Matthew Ellis said that the fluctuation in the price of Bitcoin makes it difficult to manage. He pointed out, “One risk is that it introduces volatility into balance sheets and the day-to-day operations of the business.” He also said that Verizon currently has no plans to use Bitcoin for payments, as this will add more complexity to the business.

[Report: Listed crypto mining companies are becoming important players in the industry]

A recent report released by Elwood Asset Management shows that publicly traded cryptocurrency mining companies are growing from relatively small scale in the industry to significant industry players. The report analyzed listed mining companies such as Argo Blockchain, Hive Blockchain, Marathon Patent Group, Riot Blockchain, and Bit Digital in detail. Over the past two cryptocurrency ups and downs, they raised around $800 million, which enabled them to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy new mining equipment and set up large-scale Bitcoin mining farms. The report mentioned that Marathon Patent Group “will establish itself as the largest listed cryptocurrency mining company in mid-2021,” followed by Riot Blockchains and Give Blockchain, which are also closely following suit to increase production capacity.

Author Amy Liu

This article is from Bitpush.News. The source must be indicated for reprinting.