Payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) make up one of the biggest use case demands among consumers alongside long-term investment, according to new data. Pymnts, a major payments-focused publication, released Monday a report on consumer preferences regarding cryptocurrency payments. Dubbed “Cryptocurrency Payments Playbook: Cryptocurrencies Gain Momentum As A Payment Option,” the study analyzes a survey of over 8,000 consumers in the United States, including existing and former crypto holders, as well as crypto non-owners. Conducted in collaboration with crypto payment firm BitPay, the study found that crypto holders and non-owners are interested in crypto payments. As many as 93% of …

Women looking for a way to enter a male-dominated space like crypto and blockchain may be drawn in by nonfungible tokens, according to Women in Blockchain Talks founder and host Lavinia Osbourne. Though the ongoing pandemic has left people in many countries in financial trouble — whether by losing their jobs, being unable to physically go to banks, or other concerns — Osbourne told Cointelegraph the event may have pushed many women into crypto and blockchain once they were forced to move on from other careers. She said the recent surge and media coverage of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, had …

Global payments platform PayPal is looking toward the United Kingdom as the next market in which to expand its crypto trading services. According to the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, PayPal has done very well out of crypto trading for the period. CEO Dan Schulman stated that the U.K. is likely to be the next country where crypto trading is offered. “Yeah, well, we continue to be really pleased with the momentum we're seeing on crypto. […] We're going to launch, hopefully, maybe even next month in the U.K., open up trading there.” He stated that the company is …

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues restricting support for some of its trading services amid an ongoing regulatory crackdown. Binance officially announced Monday that the exchange would delist margin trading pairs for three fiat currencies: the euro, the Australian dollar and the British pound sterling. According to the announcement, Binance will suspend the mentioned fiat trading pairs on Aug. 10 and then switch to automatic settlement and cancel all related pending orders. The isolated margin trading pairs will have been entirely delisted from the exchange by Aug. 12. Binance Margin to Delist $AUD, $EUR & $GBP Pairshttps://t.co/gyBP8XzITI — Binance (@binance) July …

NatWest, a major United Kingdom-based retail and commercial bank, has blocked all credit and debit card payments to crypto exchange Binance until further notice, the bank confirmed to Cointelegraph on Thursday. "All credit and debit card transactions to Binance have been blocked. We have been limiting payments to Binance for a number of weeks," a spokesperson for NatWest said, adding that resuming Binance support will be continually under review. The representative said that the bank has seen a high level of cryptocurrency investment scams targeting its customers across retail and business banking, particularly through social media sites. "We’re temporarily reducing …

Crypto trading company Currency.com is joining CryptoUK, a self-regulatory trade association for the cryptocurrency industry in the United Kingdom. In a Thursday announcement, CryptoUK said the firm would become an executive member in the regulatory group alongside Binance.UK, Crypto.com, CryptoCompare, Electroneum, eToro, Ripple, BCB Group, Outlier Ventures, and Simmons & Simmons. Executive members are responsible for collaborating "to lead the association’s strategic direction" in addition to working with government policy makers in the U.K. to develop a regulatory framework for crypto. Currency.com said it planned “to drive greater dialogue and collaboration with regulators and policy makers” as a member of …

English Premier League stalwart Arsenal F.C. is launching a new fan token in partnership with Socios, giving its supporters the ability to influence club decisions and access team-related content. The partnership makes Socios the main digital meeting place for Arsenal’s fanbase, according to a Monday announcement from Chiliz, the exclusive blockchain of the Socios platform. By holding AFC Fan Tokens, Arsenal fans will have “countless engagement opportunities” with the club, Chiliz said, including “the chance to influence the club in a series of interactive polls across a variety of decisions every season.” No timetable was given for the launch of …

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) created an 11 million pound ($15.2 million) digital marketing campaign to warn citizens about the risks associated with crypto investments. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, made this known in a draft speech for the agency’s webinar titled “Our Role and Business Plan” delivered on Thursday. Detailing the FCA’s decision to create the campaign fund, Rathi stated that the U.K. regulator is concerned about the increasing adoption of crypto investment among the younger demographic. According to Rathi, “more people are seeing investment as entertainment” and that such irrational behavior may lead to …

Revolut, a major British banking app featuring cryptocurrency investment, has secured $800 million in a new funding round. The new investment round is led by Japanese financial giant SoftBank and United States hedge fund Tiger Global, which collectively hold around 5% in Revolut, CNBC reported Thursday. The round values Revolut at $33 billion, marking a sixfold increase from the company’s valuation of $5.5 billion in 2020. The newly secured funding will help Revolut continue international expansion as well as further improve marketing and product development, Revolut's chief financial officer, Mikko Salovaara, noted. The company is particularly focused on rolling out …

Binance customers in the United Kingdom are once again left without a fiat currency withdrawal option on Binance. According to Financial News on Tuesday, the crypto exchange giant sent emails to affected customers informing them of the problem. However, the exchange reportedly has not given any details as to the reason for the latest suspension of pounds sterling withdrawal but assured customers that it was working to resolve the situation. Back in June, Binance had temporarily suspended cash payouts via Faster Payouts amid warnings from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority about the exchange operating in the country without a license. …

The Bank of England (BoE)’s latest Financial Stability Report, released twice yearly, acknowledges that increased crypto trading action and price volatility in 2021 signal that the sector is harboring “potential pockets of exuberance.” The report notes that the top market cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), saw a sharp appreciation in value over the 12 months to April 2021 and that their subsequent drop by roughly 50% in May has left them “particularly volatile,” with prices skewed to the downside as of last month. When it comes to the risks all this poses for financial stability, however, the central bank …

Binance has faced a number of regulatory issues in recent weeks. Payments player Clear Junction has suspended activity with Binance after similar moves from Barclays and Santander. “Clear Junction can confirm that it will no longer be facilitating payments related to Binance,” Clear Junction said in a statement that was tweeted out by Adam Samson of the Financial Times on Monday. “The decision has been made following the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent announcement that Binance is not permitted to undertake any regulatory activity in the UK.” The Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, heads up regulatory overwatch of finance in the …