BoA eyes crypto future ??; Crypto ATMs on the rise ??; Goldman goes DeFi? ??
Linas Beliūnas
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Last week (26-31 July) was another interesting week in the?Blockchain & Cryptocurrency?space.?Bank of America?is bullish on crypto;?crypto ATMs are blooming while?Goldman?goes DeFi?, and other super interesting news and developments.
Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in the world of Blockchain & Crypto this week. Let’s connect the dots.
BoA eyes crypto future ??
What’s the catch? ???It appears that?Bank of America (BoA)?was a leading strategic investor in?Paxos’?recent?$300 million Series D round.
Oak HC/FT?led the funding round, which also included PayPal Ventures and Mithril Capital, among others.
USP ?? Paxos?provides cryptocurrency brokerage service, asset tokenization services, and settlement services. Bank of America?joined?the Paxos Settlement Service earlier this year. The platform uses blockchain technology to achieve the same-day settlement of stock trades.
THE TAKEAWAY
It’s not about Paxos - it’s about BoA here.?As stated in the headline, this development is more about Bank of America rather than Paxos. The fact that the second-largest bank in the world by market capitalization is showing interest in the future of blockchain and cryptocurrency, is a huge thing. One can remember that the BoA also opened?bitcoin futures trading?for select clients earlier in the month. The crypto game is only getting started! ??
Crypto ATMs on the rise ??
Huge growth ???The number of crypto ATMs installed globally has increased by more than 70% to 24,030 this year. The growth compares with a jump of almost 120% for all 2020, according to?data?from Coin ATM Radar.
There’s still room for growth ???The 10,037 machines installed so far in 2021 already exceed the 7,620 added in 2020, with 5 months of the year still remaining. I’m pretty sure there will be a new yearly record soon.
Spread out & one leader ???Crypto ATMs are to be found in 75 different countries, according to?Coin ATM Radar, over 21,000 of them in the U.S. The ATMs are operated by more than 600 different companies, of which?Bitcoin Depot?is the leader with a market share of 15.8%.
THE TAKEAWAY
If there’s the demand… ??♂??The growth in crypto ATMs as well as 600 different providers indicated that there’s definitely a demand for them. On the other hand, it’s a lucrative business. In exchange for the ability to buy bitcoin with paper money, these firms typically charge fees in the high single digits, atop price premiums that can reach north of 20% over prices quoted on liquid trading venues.?But if there’s the demand… ??♂?
Goldman goes DeFi? ??
The news ???Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has recently filed an?application?with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would offer exposure to public companies in?decentralized finance?and blockchain around the globe.
The fund ???Sparse on details, the filing noted that the fund would invest at least 80% of its assets into companies that advance blockchain technology and the digitization of finance.
“The Goldman Sachs Innovate DeFi and Blockchain Equity ETF (the ‘Fund’) seeks to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the?Solactive Decentralized Finance and Blockchain Index?(the ‘Index’),” the filing said.
Global coverage ???The markets that Goldman would be picking from would include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.
THE TAKEAWAY
Hype ??♂??It appears that the ETF is composed of companies that have shown interest in blockchain technology, but has little to no relation to actual DeFi.?Nokia,?Facebook?and?Alphabet?are the top allocated equities in the proposed ETF. But it’s good marketing nevertheless!
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Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds??:
??Money Moves??
Quote of the Week/??Food for Thought??
Something to think about… ??
Graph of the Week
Stablecoins are blooming ??
Week in Brief
It appears that?Bank of America (BoA)?was a leading strategic investor in?Paxos’?recent?$300 million Series D round.
The number of crypto ATMs installed globally has increased by more than 70% to 24,030 this year.
Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has recently filed an?application?with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would offer exposure to public companies in?decentralized finance?and blockchain around the globe.
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About: I am?a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading the company's expansion into Europe, I'm an active member of the FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.
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