Taking payment in Ethereum brings in a gamut of advantages for both users and entrepreneurs. Transitioning to a blockchain-based ecosystem brings in a string of advantages for users as well as entrepreneurs. Here is a drop-down detailing why accepting payment in Ethereum works well for the customers of an enterprise: Additional payment option In a world that is fast adopting cryptocurrencies, providing customers with an additional payment option gives businesses an advantage over their competitors. Cryptocurrency gateways enable merchants to accept digital payments and receive the amount in fiat. Transparency A decentralized ecosystem is inherently transparent, giving customers more confidence while making the purchase. Crypto transactions get executed on a blockchain where they are writte...
Two executives at Wave Financial, an asset management firm providing bespoke strategies to high-net-worth individuals and entities, have reported seeing increased institutional demand for crypto products amid the bear market. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, Wave Financial’s head of business development Mike Jones said institutional investment in crypto could be driven by the high end of wealth management firms including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs looking for ways to allow their clients to get exposure to the space. Jones cited the example of BlackRock partnering with Coinbase on Aug. 4, a move that will give users of the asset manager’s institutional investment management platform Aladdin access to crypto trading...
James Hume, head of sales at Huobi Global, said that while some institutional investors have gotten “cold feet” over crypto, many with billions of dollars are exploring the space. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the European Blockchain Convention on Tuesday, Hume said that the crypto exchange had observed increasing interest from institutional investors within the last one to two years in entering the digital asset space. According to Hume, it took a long time for certain firms and hedge funds to “build teams, raise capital and understand the infrastructure” to participate in crypto, estimating that 20–30 firms with more than $1 billion could start trading within the year. “I think it’s a pretty exciting time,” said Hume. “A lot of the more speculative bets in crypto… Some have got a bit of c...
A YouTuber started traveling the world to see whether he could survive solely on Bitcoin as a means of payment. In the latest episode of Cointelegraph’s ‘Crypto Stories’ series, Paco from India explained how he started his journey from the city of Bengaluru and learned from the example of travel pioneers who came before him, including Nellie Bly, who circumnavigated the globe in the late 19th century in less than 73 days. Paco worked a variety of jobs before reading up on Bitcoin (BTC) and made a big decision. “This is 2021,” said Paco. “I will travel the world by using Bitcoin.” The YouTuber added: “When my journey started, I had zero dollars. I sold my furniture, got $200 of Bitcoin, and as soon as I started on day one, the first Bitcoin meetup we had in Bengaluru, one guy came and gave ...
Switzerland’s southern city of Lugano will host a blockchain- and cryptocurrency-focused school as part of a partnership between the local government and Tether (USDT). In a Thursday announcement, Tether and Lugano said they will be launching the Plan ₿ Summer School in an effort “to bring blockchain and crypto education to the masses.” The education center is part of Tether’s “Plan ₿” initiatives with the Swiss city, which have included making Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and the LVGA token legal tender in the area. @luganomycity @Tether_to @FranklinSwitz @USI_university announced today the launch of @LuganoPlanB Summer School, 3-16 July 2022. Apply now #Lugano @LuganoLivingLab https://t.co/PI0USZpA96 — Lugano (@luganomycity) May 19, 2022 According to the school’s website...
Multiverse Computing, a quantum computing firm with offices in Canada and Spain, has partnered with the Bank of Canada to run simulations on how the adoption of cryptocurrency might proceed as a payment method. In a Thursday announcement, Multiverse Computing said it used its equipment as part of a proof-of-concept project with the Bank of Canada to generate examples of how non-financial firms may end up adopting crypto. The quantum simulations used scenarios with 8 to 10 financial networks with more than 1.2 octillion possible configurations. According to the firm, it was “important to develop a deep understanding of interactions that can take place in payments networks” to understand how companies may adopt different forms of payments. The simulations suggested crypto payments may end up...
A new survey by polling agency Morning Consult found that fewer than one third of ordinary Americans have heard of DeFi compared with 77% of crypto owners. Considering that about 87% or 290.9 million Americans did not yet own crypto through 2021 according to Statista, awareness of decentralized finance (DeFi) among non-owners is limited to about 90 million Americans and still has a long way to go. Morning Consult’s survey also found that the level of awareness of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and Web3 is even lower at 30% and 21% of non-owners, respectively. The survey was conducted between Feb. 16 and 23 of this year. It included 4,404 United States-based adult respondents. Although discussion within the crypto industry often looks to highlight the rapid growth of the DeFi space ...
According to a new report published by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis on Monday, approximately 74%, or over $400 million USD, of ransomware revenue last year were funneled into high-risk wallet addresses that are likely to have been based in Russia. The report analyzed ransomware hacks throughout 2021 and determined their affiliation to Russia through three key characteristics: Traces of Russia-based cybercriminal organization Evil Corp being behind a given breach; the group has alleged ties to the Russian government. Ransomeware programmed only against victims of non-former-Soviet countries. Ransomware strains that share documents and announcements in the Russian language. In addition to the selection criteria, it appears that web traffic data confirms the vast majority of ext...
El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender, has relaunched its in-house Chivo wallet to address the existing challenges of BTC transfers locally. With AlphaPoint integration, the updated Chivo wallet is expected to carry out instantaneous low-fee Bitcoin transactions while fixing concerns related to stability and scalability. Within the first month of establishing BTC as a legal tender, President Nayib Bukele announced that Chivo wallet onboarded 2.1 million Salvadorans, which by the end of the year amasses 75% of the population. However, the mass adoption met with numerous roadblocks, including system issues and missing funds. Seeking a permanent solution for over 4 million BTC users, the government of El Salvador partnered with a white label infrastructure pr...
Back in October 2021, The Campanile Foundation (TCF), an auxiliary of the San Diego State University (SDSU), accepted its first crypto donation. Now, the university announced that it is welcoming digital currency donations in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). TCF chief financial officer David Fuhriman said one percent of the total crypto holdings would be withdrawn quarterly to fund campus activities that aim to discover how the university could interact with crypto, such as working on a system that permits broader digital transactions within the university. Meanwhile, the rest of the funds will be converted into BTC and will not be liquidated immediately, with hopes that the price will go up in the future and help more programs. SDSU accepted the university’s first cryptocu...
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla now accepts Dogecoin (DOGE) as payment for the company’s merchandise. DOGE-eligible products in the Tesla store can be purchased by sending DOGE to Tesla’s Dogecoin wallet. While it’s accepting DOGE, the firm also clarified that they are not taking any other crypto. The company states that it cannot detect other assets but DOGE on its website. The business tells customers that “non-Dogecoin digital assets sent to Tesla will not be returned to the purchaser.” Additionally, items purchased with DOGE “cannot be returned, exchanged or canceled.” Tesla considers all sales made through DOGE as final that cannot be exchanged for cash. Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 14, 2022 Dogecoin creator B...