PayPal for crypto gets FCA approval ?; Struggling Binance… ??; Another crypto bank (sort of) ??

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Last week (9-14 August) was another super hot and interesting week in Blockchain & Cryptocurrency space.?We will look at?PayPal for crypto getting approved by the UK's financial regulator, struggling Binance, Circle becoming a crypto bank, and other interesting news and developments.

Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in the financial technology sector last week. Let’s connect the dots.

PayPal for crypto gets FCA approval ?

Ramp ???UK crypto payments infrastructure startup?Ramp?has become the 8th crypto firm to secure registration with the country’s financial-services watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The PayPal for Crypto ???Ramp is the first on-ramp service to be certified by the FCA. Branding itself as the "PayPal for crypto," Ramp offers a software development kit to companies wishing to offer crypto-enabled services, removing the need to integrate with third-party exchanges.

Solid backing ???The firm has?raised?$10M in June in a seed funding round led by NFX and Galaxy Digital.

?? THE TAKEAWAY

Bringing the best of both worlds? ???Adopting capabilities in both regulatory compliance and financial technological innovation, Ramp wants everyone to enjoy the benefits of a decentralized financial ecosystem. Given they have managed to get the FCA approval first in their niche, it’s definitely worthwhile to keep an eye on them.?

Struggling Binance… ??

The news ???Brian Brooks, the head of U.S. operations for cryptocurrency exchange Binance has quit after only three months in the position. He confirmed this in his tweet.

Top player ???Brooks brought a sterling resume to the position, having served as the federal government's acting controller of the currency under President Donald Trump and as chief legal officer at Coinbase. There were huge expectations that Brooks’ appointment might be critical for Binance in changing direction and strengthening its leadership position in the global crypto market.

The struggles ??♂??Brian Brooks is leaving Binance as it faces numerous regulatory headaches in other parts of the world. Binance.com has faced intense scrutiny this year from regulators in the UK, Germany, Japan, and Hong Kong, among others, over concerns around lax consumer protection and anti-money laundering practices. It appears that there are some strong internal disagreements as to how things should be run.

?? THE TAKEAWAY

When stakes are high, vision becomes supercritical.?It is now clear that the vision Brian Brooks had for Binance US didn’t align with the one of Binance.com. Given all the regulatory pressure the crypto exchange is facing right now, compliance and aligned leadership are important than ever before. And it’s definitely lacking right now. A lot. It will hence be very interesting to see how Binance will evolve and move forward while facing the current struggles.?

Another crypto bank (sort of) ??

IPO & a Bank ???On the verge of going public, USD Coin (USDC) creator?Circle?is seeking status as a national digital currency bank, which would operate under the oversight, rules, and guidance of the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the FDIC.??

Wait, but why? ???As a full-reserve national commercial bank,?Circle?will not lend out its customers’ deposits, rather all customer deposits will be backed by USDC and will be able to be withdrawn at any time.

USDC is a digital stablecoin pegged to the US Dollar and runs on several crypto blockchains, including Ethereum and Stellar and there is now more than $27.5B of it in circulation.

?? THE TAKEAWAY

A few pivots ???Circle is one of the few FinTechs that have changed their course since inception. The app started off its life as a peer-to-peer payment network before shifting to a payment provider and is now one of the more prominent crypto trading platforms in the US (it has acquired crypto exchange Poloniex in 2018). It’s clear that Circle believes in the future of crypto and digital dollar (especially USDC) and obviously wants to be at the core of it all. If they get the approval and execute on it, it might be a very interesting building block for a more efficient, safer, and more resilient financial system. I’d watch them closely.?

Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds??

• Music on the blockchain ???Audius?– a music streaming platform that runs on the Ethereum blockchain – hit a major milestone as 5 million people a month now use the platform to stream music, making it one of the largest consumer applications on any blockchain.?Over 100,000 artists use the platform, including acts such as deadmau5 and Skrillex.
• Luxury Crypto ???Philipp Plein has become the first major fashion brand to accept crypto payments. The retailer will accept 15 cryptocurrencies for both online and in-store purchases.
• SEC wants to control crypto ???U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman?Gary Gensler?announced that he won’t take a hands-off approach to?regulate the crypto markets, citing the need for investor protection.
• BOK & CBDC ?????The?Bank of Korea (BOK) ?has revealed plans to initiate its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot by the end of August 2021. The first phase of the pilot, set to conclude in December 2021, will focus on research and testing of the basic functions of the CBDC, such as creating issuance and redemption of the digital won alongside secret keys and wallet functionality, Fintech Global cited to Regulation Asia.

Money Moves??

• Indexing protocol?Nakji Network?raises $8.8M in SAFT funding.
• Digital currency trading platform?FalconX?hit a valuation of $3.75B for its latest funding round — a more than fivefold increase in five months.

Continue reading by subscribing to?Linas's Newsletter.?You will receive fresh news about FinTech, and Blockchain & Crypto with hot takeaways every day.

P.S.?You might enjoy my earlier pieces as well:

???The Perfect Pitch Deck: How Coinbase Raised Seed Capital and Began Journey Towards $100B Worth Public Company

???Cutting Through the Noise: Bitcoin Fundamentals & Why it Was Created

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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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