Mastercard

Bybit, the third most accessed crypto exchange, has today announced a partnership with payments giant Mastercard. This will allow users to spend their crypto with a Bybit credit card.  Amid all the bad news for crypto the sector continues to build out, and the latest partnership between the Bybit exchange and Mastercard is testament to the faith that is being put into the innovative crypto payments sector. The Bybit debit card, which is powered by the Mastercard network and issued by Moorwand, will enable users to off-ramp their crypto in order to use it to make purchases or take cash out of ATMs. The first customers to be eligible for the Bybit debit card will be those who are KYC and AML compliant and who are resident in the UK or other eligible countries in Europe. In a press release published earlier today, Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit said: "Bybit users will be able to access and manage their funds faster, more securely, and more conveniently. By launching Bybit Card, we are creating a full 360-degree journey for our users, offering next level reliability, products, and opportunities. We are confident that these innovative payment solutions will improve people's lives and are a step towards a brighter future for crypto and finance." Christian Rau, Senior Vice President, Fintech and Crypto, Mastercard Europe stated:  "Mastercard enables customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value — traditional or crypto — however they want, with the confidence that they are doing so safely and securely. With launches like this, we're excited to continue to innovate in payments by making digital assets more accessible across the ecosystem." Bybit launched its virtual card today, while physical cards will be mailed out to customers in April. To begin with, cryptocurrencies that can be used with the card will include: BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, and XRP, with others expected to be made available in the future. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

With Bitcoin at an interesting crossroads this week, it is imperative to look at all the contributing factors that could influence the market’s trajectory, especially the launch of a new Ethereum Layer-2 network. Let’s find out more.  Bitcoin  Bitcoin is facing fortress resistance made up of the 200 weekly MA and the last high reached in August 2022. Bitcoin saw a sell-off this week after it managed to touch resistance, resulting in traders wondering if the crypto has hit its top for now or if it will have another upward surge soon.  Ethereum Crypto exchange Coinbase announced the launch of Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network that is designed to be a low-cost, secure, developer-friendly environment. DeFi Following a partnership announcement with Microsoft, the DeFi protocol Ankr swiftly reached over $1.5 billion in 24-hour trading volume, with its token sailing past $0.06 in hours. Altcoins The Solana-themed retail storefronts called Solana Spaces have announced that they are closing their brick-and-mortar storefronts in New York City and Miami.  The Klaytn Foundation has unveiled its plans to introduce a new governance system to provide opportunities for community involvement on the Klaytn platform TON validators are set to vote on a proposal that could adjust the supply of Toncoin by freezing 1 billion tokens for the next 48 months before eventually unfreezing it.  Recently uncovered documents have claimed that the infamous Crypto Queen, i.e., Ruja Ignatova, has been dead for five years.  The Bank of England has published a technology working paper laying out its ideas for a future digital pound that will respect user privacy.  Business  Binance Australia has announced that it has closed the derivatives trading accounts of some wholesale investors in Australia.  Payments giant Mastercard has partnered with Immersive to allow users to make crypto payments in the digital, physical, and metaverse worlds. Ethereum Layer-2, scaling solution Polygon, has announced that it has laid off around 20% of its existing workforce as part of a wider company restructuring. Crypto hedge fund Galois Capital has been forced to shut down after it was revealed that half of its assets were trapped on the FTX crypto exchange.  Despite regulatory changes, the Huobi crypto exchange is relocating its Asia headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong.  Regulation The IMF put out a press release on Thursday detailing the points of a paper called “Elements of Effective Policies for Crypto Assets.” Dapper Labs could be forced to face a lawsuit filed by the SEC which alleges that the NBA Top Shots NFTs could be securities.  NFT Three Arrows Capital liquidator Teneo has announced that they would be selling the bankrupt firm’s prized NFTs to help recoup the over $3.6 billion owed to creditors.  The WazirX NFT marketplace, which was launched two years ago, has been shut down due to uncertain market conditions.  DWF Labs and a16z have taken the lead in a $13.8m token purchase from the treasury of blockchain gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG). Bored Ape NFT creators Yuga Labs had to remove the logo for Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) over intellectual property issues.  Web3 The music streaming service Spotify is working with different digital asset companies to test NFT-enabled playlists for token holders.  Polygon blockchain explorer PolygonScan recently went into a brief halt, caused by a sync error on the Polygon mainnet. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. 

Coinspeaker Australia Partners with Payment Giant Mastercard, Others to Test CBDC The RBA is set to explore various use cases for its central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC). Australia Partners with Payment Giant Mastercard, Others to Test CBDC