Did crypto-winter scare away Visa and Mastercard?
Crypto cycles are not for the faint of heart. As the industry continues to evolve from cypherpunks to the mainstream, we can expect a lot of growing pains. The dunk fire of 2022 may have scared away many companies interested in exploring the sector. Case in point: Visa and Mastercard’s embrace of crypto may have hit a snag thanks to the bear market and unclear regulations.
According to a new report from Reuters, the credit card giants are halting the launch of certain crypto products until market conditions and the regulatory environment improve. Cuy Sheffield, who heads Visa’s crypto division, was not happy with the report, assuring the market that Visa is very keen to review its crypto ambitions.
This week’s Crypto Biz explores the latest reports surrounding Visa and Mastercard, Jack Dorsey’s decentralized Twitter alternative and Goldman Sachs’ apparent need for more digital asset professionals.
Breaking: Visa and Mastercard halt new crypto partnerships — Report
Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard will delay the launch of new crypto partnerships due to the bear market and murky regulatory conditions, according to a February 28 Reuters report. The companies are hesitant to launch new crypto partnerships after high-profile bankruptcies in the sector, such as FTX, BlockFi, Celsius, Voyager, Genesis, etc. “Recent high-profile failures in the crypto sector are an important reminder that we have a long way to go before crypto becomes a of mainstream payments and financial services, a Visa spokesperson said.However, Visa’s head of crypto later clarified that the company continues to “work with crypto companies to improve fiat on and offs.”
Jack Dorsey’s decentralized Twitter rival enters the app store
Jack Dorsey is embracing decentralized social networks with the private beta launch of Bluesky – a so-called decentralized Twitter alternative. Bluesky hit Apple’s app store as an invite-only app, allowing key people to try out the new platform. An early look at Bluesky reveals an interface very reminiscent of Twitter. The biggest difference between the two is that Bluesky claims to be “decentralized,” meaning it operates on independently operated servers rather than centralized servers controlled by a single entity. It’s not entirely clear if Bluesky will have Bitcoin (BTC) integration, something Dorsey feels very strongly about. In June 2022, Cointelegraph reported that Dorsey was building “Web5” powered by Bitcoin.
Goldman Sachs is still open for crypto hires due to a massive cut of 3,200 employees
Watch what they do, not what they say. Amid continued layoffs in the digital asset sector, multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs has not closed the door on hiring more crypto professionals. According to Goldman’s head of digital assets, Matthew McDermott, the bank remains “very positive” about exploring blockchain applications, which could require additional hires. Goldman Sachs’ digital assets unit currently has 70 people and is unlikely to be affected by the bank’s job cuts. It feels like just yesterday that Goldman Sachs was hypercritical of crypto. Now it fully embraces the sector and its innovative potential.
Coinbase CEO reiterates ‘staking’ products are not securities
Last week, Crypto Biz told you that Coinbase has a lot at stake. This week, CEO Brian Armstrong reiterated that Coinbase’s stake products do not constitute securities and should not fall under US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement. “[We] really just provides a service that passes through these coins to help them participate in staking, which is a decentralized protocol,” he said, referring to the exchange’s staking products. The SEC has already thrown the book at crypto exchange Kraken for its betting services. Will the regulator buy Coinbase’s argument? Only time will tell.
Before You Go: Is Binance in Trouble?
It’s hard to get positive mainstream coverage of crypto these days. This week, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao responded to a scathing article about the exchange’s business practices. Meanwhile, the Solana network experienced another outage. This week’s market report breaks down the FUD surrounding Binance, and discusses what’s potentially in store for Solana. You can watch the full replay below:
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