Prev.
Americans can buy Bitcoin with PayPal
The PayPal company announced a few days ago that it would soon launch its cryptocurrencies services… well here we go! At least for the Americans. Indeed, we learned on Thursday, November 12 that the online payment giant was allowing its eligible customers in the United States to buy or sell Bitcoin and other cryptos. Trading is limited to $20,000 per week for now, double the amount initially announced. Dan Schulman, PayPal’s CEO, said, “The shift to digital currency forms was inevitable. There are obvious benefits in terms of financial inclusion; efficiency and speed,” he said. PayPal’s cryptos services for the rest of the world are obviously eagerly awaited and are expected to be available in early 2021, along with cryptos payments on the Venmo application. It should be remembered that PayPal has 346 million active accounts, as many people will be within a click of Bitcoin in the coming weeks.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) exceeds $16,000, a first since January 2018
From week to week, Bitcoin continues its irresistible rise. On Thursday, November 12, the most famous cryptocurrencies surpassed US$16,100, a first since January 2018. So the Bull Run continues for the BTC, and nothing seems to stop it. According to renowned analyst Matt Hougan, the last few weeks have marked a real turning point in the adoption of Bitcoin. According to him, the fact that PayPal is accepting Bitcoin or that the investment bank JP Morgan is finally recognizing its potential will mean that the mother of cryptocurrencies will finally enter a zone of more massive adoption. Will Bitcoin surpass its historical high of December 2017, which was almost $20,000? Answer in the coming weeks, which promise to be exciting to follow.
The U.S. Central Bank is still very hesitant about its digital dollar
While some countries such as China and Japan seem very well positioned to launch their digital state currency soon, the United States does not yet seem to be fully convinced. This is what emerges from an in-depth study carried out by two economists at the Fed, the central bank of the United States. According to their conclusions, digital currencies for central banks do not offer a miracle solution in their view and leave many questions unanswered. This is not a definitive no to the issuance of a digital dollar, but let’s just say that the Fed is not expected to make any concrete moves on the issue for some time yet. Major issues related to the digital dollar include security, fairness, inclusion, interoperability and resilience.
Russia would consider imprisoning citizens who do not declare their income in Bitcoin
We learned this week that the Russian Ministry of Finance may soon impose prison sentences on individuals who own cryptocurrencies but do not declare them to the tax authorities. For Maria Stankevich of the EXMO crypto exchange, the Ministry has the wrong target. “We don’t see any criminal liability for those in Moscow who make large transactions with dirty cryptocurrencies. In fact, what the government is trying to do is to prosecute citizens instead of creating strong regulations that would keep bad market players under control”. As is often said, business as usual in Russia…
Biden chooses a crypto expert as advisor
We end with a news item about Joe Biden, the American president-elect. Gary Gensler, who is the former president of the CFTC, the federal agency responsible for regulating the stock exchanges, will join the Democrat’s team on January 20th. Gary will be responsible for overseeing investment banks and financial markets. For the cryptocurrency community, this seems like good news since the man teaches blockchain and digital currency at MIT and has testified before Congress on cryptocurrencies, including deferring comparisons to Ponzi schemes. The 63-year-old politician seems to be convinced of the ability of the crypto industry to transform traditional finance. It remains to be seen how this will translate into political decisions and actions.