

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan told Blockworks that the reasoning behind its portfolio is based on “building roads, bridges and infrastructure that allows the crypto economy to thrive.”

Sonnenshein described himself as “steadfastly loyal to Barry Silbert and to the vision that he set out” to accelerate the development of a better financial system through the proliferation of digital assets and blockchain technology.

Diem is moving its operations to Washington, DC, and the Diem Payments Network will register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as a money services business.

“This is just the beginning for us,” said Sam Blond, Brex’s Chief Sales Officer. “We are bullish on this crypto space as a company and leadership team. Rewards are our first foray, but we will soon offer additional ways for customers to transact crypto more broadly on Brex.”

UBS would join its banking counterparts in the US, which are also looking to meet new and growing client demand for cryptocurrency exposure

Oil was once the only industry Shah ever knew. She grew up in Houston, Texas, and her parents worked in the oil industry. She earned a degree in petroleum engineering and took a job at Chevron after graduating. She stayed in oil until energy took a hit in 2015 and then began looking for an out.

The San Francisco-based startup sells subscription plans to creators for their NFT storefronts so they can engage with buyers directly rather than selling through larger marketplaces like Nifty Gateway or OpenSea.

Coin Metrics, the blockchain and cryptocurrency data company, said Wednesday it raised $15 million to expand operations in Europe and Asia and create new products.

The sports and cryptocurrency worlds have been moving closer towards each other for several months.

FIS is partnering with NYDIG to allow customers of its bank clients to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency through their bank accounts.

The Fed is one of several central banks around the world considering creating a CBDC, or central bank digital currency. The central banks of China, Europe and England already have plans in place to move forward with theirs.

As institutional interest and adoption of digital assets heats up, firms are looking to beef up their offerings with real-time data services (and justify their management fees).

The SoFi credit card comes with a 2% unlimited cash-back incentive that customers can now redeem for cryptocurrency credited directly to their SoFi Crypto account.

The SEC has historically postponed its decision on bitcoin ETFs as much as possible before ultimately rejecting them.

New York-based Paxos plans to use the funds to continue investing in its infrastructure, hire more people and add liquidity across the platform to “enhance the customer experience and increase utilization of its tokens.
Among Genesis’ top 100 largest clients by OTC volume traded, volume from corporates increased to more than 25% of total activity.

The fifth-largest bank in the US by assets is moving forward with its plans to invest in digital assets.

Rewards will be delivered immediately, rather than monthly as with most points or cash-back programs, and deposited into customers’ Gemini accounts automatically.

Adam Blumberg, cofounder at Interaxis, a digital assets education and training company for financial advisors and investors, suggested the bank may be calling it “actively” managed to justify some of the fees it charges, or will charge.

NYDIG will be able to support more bitcoin miners and leverage Arctos’ credit solutions for banks and insurance companies, which make up much of NYDIG’s clientele.

“We’re looking at digital currency and saying this is going to solve all our problems. What’s the difference between a digital dollar and a paper dollar? This system is still a system,” said Steven Van Metre from Atlas Financial Advisors.

Smaller banks keen to stay ahead on the digital assets trend could follow First Foundation’s lead and seek more partnerships through strategic investments like this one.

The development comes shortly after Tesla began accepting bitcoin payments, and when global household names like Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Venmo seek to bring digital assets onto their networks for consumer payments.

Anchorage raised $80 million in new funding in February. Following its new status as a “crypto bank,” Lee’s goals are now making sure its tools and processes “are able to—in a very streamlined fashion—be able to operate as a bank.”

“We haven’t been in a competitive environment because the dollar has been the world’s reserve currency,” said Dalio, the founder and co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, which manages about $150 billion.

Last week the company published higher than expected first quarter earnings that included $1.8 billion in revenue, $1.1 billion in adjusted EBITDA and $730 to $800 million in net income.
The fund raise, the first major external raise for ConsenSys, is a sign of increasing interest in DeFi protocols, which typically run on the Ethereum blockchain.

“The way that the crypto market works is different from a traditional space,” said Michael Shaulov, CEO and co-founder of Fireblocks.

Pure Digital plans to provide a high throughput OTC market for digital assets with physical delivery and bank custody

BNY Mellon’s director of digital assets and blockchain, Lory Kehoe, emphasized that regulation is critical for institutions and that there will always be a need to be “thoughtful and conscientious” in following the bank’s risk framework

The company, which has $3.1 trillion assets under management and $38.8 trillion in assets under custody, is lending its foreign exchange technology to a startup called Pure Digital

Investors should have greater visibility into what DeFi products are and what they do.

STX strengthens the Stacks 2.0 blockchain, which is building applications and smart contracts on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Cryptocurrency rewards cards are coming onto the market just as cryptocurrencies are becoming more mainstream.

Some funds will have indirect bitcoin exposure through cash settled futures or investments in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, while others might have no exposure to bitcoin.

In accepting cryptocurrencies, Visa and PayPal are getting the masses comfortable with the idea of digital assets, and also laying the groundwork to support a digital dollar and other central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) worldwide.

A spokesman for PayPal said in an emailed statement, “As we further develop our product offerings, we may determine it appropriate to hold certain balances of crypto for operational purposes. However, we are not yet at a point that we believe this is necessary.”
Last month BNY Mellon revealed it would soon custody bitcoin and other digital assets for asset managers the same way it handles their other more traditional holdings. This month it invested in Fireblocks, the Israeli digital assets infrastructure startup whose technology is underpinning BNY Mellon’s custody service.

The 7-year-old startup provides data and compliance software that helps detect and prevent cryptocurrency crime and money laundering.

Sovereign wealth funds, the investment arms of cash-rich nations, are coming for bitcoin as they look at new strategies to protect their interests after the last 18 months of global economic turmoil.

Lolli offers a browser extension that activates bitcoin rewards up to 30%, depending on the merchant, for online shopping purchases in the US and it’s currently beta testing that capability in a mobile shopping experience. The average reward is 7% bitcoin back.

Christine Sandler is bridging gaps between old and new finance one partnership at a time—with clients, other companies and her own colleagues.

“We wanted to make sure our customers understand we are here for the long run and we have a substantial amount of capital, systems and service up and running,” Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov told Blockworks.

Floating Point Group, a capital markets infrastructure firm focused on digital asset market opportunities, has launched a service for holders of Stacks tokens (STX).

Morgan Stanley’s three funds include two from Galaxy Digital and another joint effort between FS Investments and NYDIG

Bitcoin investment services firm NYDIG has appointed New York Life Chairman and CEO Ted Mathas to its Board of Directors. Mathas’ new role will focus on growing NYDIG’s investor and platform solutions businesses, “especially with respect to the development of a […]

JPMorgan Chase’s forthcoming crypto exposure basket may not be the crypto trading product some hope to see out of a major financial institution or give investors direct exposure to digital assets, but it’s still a big deal. The bank filed a […]

JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday filed a number of documents for a “Cryptocurrency Exposure Basket.” The basket includes 11 unequally weighted reference stocks including Microstrategy, Square, PayPal, CME Group, NYSE-parent Intercontinental Exchange, Overstock and Silvergate Capital (and does not include Tesla). These […]

Aker ASA, a 180-year-old Norwegian industrial holding company with ownership in oil and gas services companies, has created a unit dedicated to investing in bitcoin. The unit, called Seetee AS, is launching with about $58.6 million, will keep its liquid assets […]

As digital wallets begin to play an important role in the disbursement and movement of central bank-backed digital currencies (CBDCs), PayPal is still looking for ways to offer cryptocurrency custody services, including its recent acquisition of Curv. The deal is reportedly […]