Crypto cycles arenโt for the faint-hearted. As the industry continues to evolve from the cypherpunks into the mainstream, we can expect a lot of growing pains. The dumpster fire that was 2022 may have scared off many companies interested in exploring the sector. Case in point: Visa and Mastercardโs embrace of crypto may have hit a snag thanks to the bear market and unclear regulations.
According to a new report by 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 Visaโs crypto division, wasnโt pleased with the report, reassuring the market that Visa is very much committed to seeing through its crypto ambitions.
This weekโs Crypto Biz explores the latest reports around Visa and Mastercard, Jack Dorseyโs decentralized Twitter alternative, and Goldman Sachsโ apparent need for more digital asset professionals.
Breaking: Visa and Mastercard halt new crypto partnerships โ 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 Feb. 28 report by Reuters. The companies are hesitant to launch new crypto partnerships following high-profile bankruptcies in the sector, like FTX, BlockFi, Celsius, Voyager, Genesis etc. โRecent high-profile failures in the crypto sector are an important reminder that we have a long way to go before crypto becomes a part of mainstream payments and financial services,โ a Visa spokesperson said. However, Visaโs crypto head later clarified that the company continues to โpartner with crypto companies to improve fiat on and off-ramps.โ
1/ This story is inaccurate as it pertains to Visa, hereโs the reality https://t.co/oAEaj7MsX0
โ Cuy Sheffield (@cuysheffield) February 28, 2023
Jack Dorseyโs decentralized Twitter rival enters app store
Jack Dorsey is embracing decentralized social networks with the private beta launch of Bluesky โ a so-called decentralized Twitter alternative. Bluesky hit Appleโs app store as an invite-only app, allowing key persons to try out the new platform. An early peek at Bluesky reveals an interface that very much resembles Twitter. The major difference between the two is that Bluesky claims to be โdecentralized,โ which means it operates on independently run servers rather than centralized servers controlled by a single entity. Itโs 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 โWeb5โ powered by Bitcoin.
Goldman Sachs still open to crypto hires amid massive 3,200 staff cut
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 Goldmanโs digital asset lead Matthew McDermott, the bank remains โhugely positiveโ on exploring blockchain applications, which may require more hires. Goldman Sachsโ digital asset unit currently has 70 people and likely wonโt be affected by the bankโs job cuts. It feels like only yesterday that Goldman Sachs was hyper-critical of crypto. Now, itโs fully embracing the sector and its innovative potential.
Coinbase CEO reiterates that โstakingโ products arenโt securities
Last week, Crypto Biz told you that Coinbase has a lot at stake. This week, CEO Brian Armstrong reiterated that Coinbaseโs staking products do not constitute securities and should not fall under the United States Securities and Exchange Commissionโs (SEC) enforcement action. โ[We] really just are providing a service that passes through those coins to help them participate in staking, which is a decentralized protocol,โ he said, referring to the exchangeโs staking products. The SEC has already thrown the book at crypto exchange Kraken for its staking services. Will the regulator buy Coinbaseโs argument? Only time will tell.
WATCH: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong joins Bloomberg TV afterย the biggest US cryptocurrency exchange posted a $557 million loss and saw revenue tumble 75% in the fourth quarter https://t.co/zEfQ0mSMe0 https://t.co/dJAkxCtft8
โ Bloomberg Markets (@markets) March 1, 2023
Before you go: Is Binance in trouble?
Itโs hard to get positive mainstream coverage of crypto these days. This week, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao responded to a scathing article about his exchangeโs business practices. Meanwhile, the Solana network experienced yet another outage. This weekโs Market Report breaks down the FUD around Binance, and discusses whatโs potentially in store for Solana. You can watch the full replay below:
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