The value of MicroStrategy’s massive Bitcoin (BTC) holdings has surpassed what most S&P 500 companies hold in their cash treasuries. The Nasdaq-listed enterprise software firm purchased an additional 5,050 Bitcoin for about $242.9 million, raising the value of its 114,042 BTC holdings to nearly $5.3 billion. That comes out to be higher than what 80% of non-financial S&P 500 companies hold in their cash coffers, as per data compiled by Bloomberg. Cash spending up among corporations MicroStrategy made buying Bitcoin its official corporate strategy in 2020, with its celebrated CEO, Michael Saylor, calling the move a defense against the U.S. …

The Cuban government is reportedly planning to recognize and regulate cryptocurrencies for payments. According to Aljazeera, the Caribbean nation’s central bank will establish rules for mainstreaming cryptocurrency transactions. Cuban authorities are also expected to distribute relevant licenses to businesses based on the crypto-related services they provide. Some sources claim that the move to allow cryptocurrency as a legal tender has been well received by Cuba’s tech-savvy population as the country had to temporarily stop accepting cash bank deposits in United States dollars, given tighter restrictions set by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Struggling economies, such as El Salvador, have also …

Blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), has already gained mainstream popularity, according to global finance executives polled by Big Four auditing firm Deloitte. According to Deloitte’s “2021 Global Blockchain Survey,” 81% of the financial services industry (FSI) executives believe that blockchain technology is “broadly scalable” and has achieved mainstream adoption. Released on Thursday, the report queried 1,280 FSI professionals based in Brazil, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. The survey covered general FSI cohort respondents who had “at least a general understanding” of blockchain …

Christie’s upscale building located in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, Midtown Manhattan. The organizers were exhibiting a 3D frame, which allows a hologram of oneself to be remotely projected elsewhere, and discussing how animated interactive collectible cards will change over time based on the real-life performance of the displayed athletes. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, Canadian artist Mad Dog Jones, head of global marketing at TikTok Nick Tran, co-creator of CryptoPunks Matt Hall, co-founder of Tezos Kathleen Breitman and president of TIME Keith Grossman — all movers and shakers in the art and tech space gathered (some of them virtually) …

Cash may be king when it comes to purchasing Bitcoin (BTC), as recent data states that there has been a spike in crypto ATM installations during 2021, showing a 71.3% increase from Jan. 1, 2021, until the time of reporting. Specifically speaking, there are currently over 24,000 crypto ATMs located across the globe. Data further suggests that crypto ATMs are being installed at a rate of about 52.3 machines per day. While growth is clearly underway for the cryptocurrency sector, the reason behind the surge in crypto ATMs may be due to a demand for using cash to buy Bitcoin. …

A Canada-based Bitcoin fund, operated by 3iQ Corp, has witnessed a dramatic decline in its BTC reserves since June. Literally named the Bitcoin Fund (QBTC:CN), the closed-end investment product, was holding around 24,000 BTC in its vaults in early June. However, as the monthly session progressed, the reserves first dropped to below 16,000 BTC in a dramatic, straight-line decline. Later, another massive withdrawal pushed the Bitcoin Fund's BTC reserves to around 13,000 BTC, according to on-chain data from South Korea-based analytics firm CryptoQuant. However, the withdrawals from the QBTC fund across June coincided with an inflow spike in 3iQ's exchange-traded …

Amid the ongoing regulatory uncertainty to cryptocurrencies in India, a high court in the country’s capital is taking action to regulate advertising by local crypto exchanges. The Delhi High Court has issued notices to local authorities and crypto firms in an effort to enforce guidelines for crypto exchanges advertising on national television, the New Indian Express reported Wednesday. The court is seeking responses from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, as well as major Indian crypto exchanges CoinDCX and WazirX, and aims to discuss the issue in August. According to the …

The Portland Trail Blazers, an American professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), is moving into the cryptocurrency industry with a new partnership. The NBA announced Thursday that the Trail Blazers has landed the league’s first jersey patch sponsorship program with StormX, a blockchain company allowing users to earn crypto rewards by completing micro-tasks or shopping at global partner stores online. Fresh, groundbreaking, revolutionary. We’re excited to announce we are joining forces with @stormxio, the first cryptocurrency jersey patch partner in the NBA! https://t.co/hAHDdMABDA pic.twitter.com/ZWpmp9k2wr — Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) July 1, 2021 As part of the …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a global financial institution owned by some of the world’s biggest central banks, is trying to dispel the theory that cryptocurrency ownership is linked to distrust in traditional finance. On Thursday, the BIS published a paper on the socioeconomic drivers of cryptocurrency investments in the United States. Employing representative data from the U.S. Survey of Consumer Payment Choice, BIS argued distrust in fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar has nothing to do with investor motivation to hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), stating: “Demand for cryptocurrencies is not driven by distrust in cash or …

Bitcoin has a good chance of becoming the world’s reserve currency, although we are “at least 10 years away from that,” said Dan Held, Kraken's head of growth, in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph. According to Held, the transition to "hyperbitcoinization" — a world where Bitcoin (BTC) is adopted by billions of users — starts with retail users, then institutional investors, and finally, governments getting involved. The permissionless nature of Bitcoin is the fundamental property that is leading this transition. “It’s true, free money. It’s money that no one can control other than you,” he pointed out. He said that …

Update: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that capital inflows into Grayscale Bitcoin Trust declined due to a lack of Wall Street interest. However, Seres Lu, vice president of Grayscale, updated Cointelegraph via email that the capital inflow stopped because the firm closed some of its trusts for administrative purposes. The article has been updated accordingly. There is a reason why Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) emerged as a benchmark to measure institutional interest in Bitcoin (BTC). Grayscale no longer the only option for investors The digital currency investment product was among the only ones that offered hedge funds, …

The mainstream-finance world has taken notable strides to incorporate various crypto assets. A new exchange-traded product (ETP) for Polkadot (DOT) recently surfaced on a mainstream exchange in Sweden. The Nordic Growth Market (NGM) is an equities market based in Sweden holding regulatory approval in the country, and serves participants from multiple countries. The NGM now hosts buying and selling for the DOT ETP, officially labeled as the “Valour Polkadot (DOT) SEK,” according to a public statement provided to Cointelegraph. The ETP is a product of Valour, a company that produces digital asset-based ETPs. The product went live on the exchange …