Block News director Frank Chaparro provides an overview of what has happened to bitcoin in recent weeks.
Despite its critics, bitcoin has seen a rapid rise in 2021 as companies have embraced digital currency adoption, making their own investments. On Wednesday, the world’s largest cryptocurrency soared to more than $ 50,000.
Below is an overview of bitcoin’s FOX Business and the cryptocurrency industry’s biggest players:
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Square
Square announced Tuesday that it would invest $ 170 million more in bitcoin as the payment company “doubles” its commitment.
“Owing to our own bitcoin, our incentives are tailored to the skin in the game,” said Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square, during a conference call with analysts after the win. The company bought 3,318 bitcoins in the fourth quarter, or more than $ 51,200 per bitcoin, according to Reuters calculations.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ | SQUARE INC COM | 237.32 | -19.27 | -7.51% |
The move is based on the 4,709 bitcoins purchased in October 2020 for a total price of $ 50 million.
Square has been involved in the currency for years, and the Cash App, a payment service, has allowed users to trade it since 2018. The app had three million active bitcoin customers in 2020, with one million new users first buying the currency in January, the company said.
At Dorsey’s “other company” – Twitter – the social media giant has recently considered paying employees in cryptocurrencies if they prefer that form of payment.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWTR | TWITTER INC. | 71.92 | -1.25 | -1.71% |
“We thought a lot in advance about how we could pay employees if they asked for payment in bitcoin, how we could pay a seller if they ask for it [paid] in bitcoin and whether we should have bitcoin on our balance sheet when that happens, ” said Ned Segal, Twitter’s Chief Financial Officer. CNBC’s “Squawk Box”
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Tesla
Electric carmaker Tesla announced in a SEC filing earlier this month that it has invested $ 1.5 billion in bitcoin to “further diversify and maximize returns on its cash.” The company also said it expects to start accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for its cars in the “near future.”
“If fiat currency has negative real interest rates, only a fool wouldn’t look elsewhere,” CEO Elon Musk explained in a tweet. Bitcoin is almost as BS as fiat money. The keyword is “almost.”
Musk acknowledged that he was a “bitcoin supporter” when asked about his views on cryptocurrencies during a live-streamed interview on the popular audio chat app Club House on Feb. 1.
“Many friends of mine have tried to convince me to deal with bitcoin for a long time,” he added.
MicroStrategy
Musk’s decision to add bitcoin to Tesla’s balance sheet followed an exchange he had with Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy. In December, its mobile software / business intelligence firm said it had amassed more than $ 1.3 billion in cryptocurrency.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSTR | MICROSTRATEGY | 817.69 | +126.46 | + 18.29% |
Last week, MicroStrategy said it plans to use the proceeds from a $ 600 million convertible bond sale to increase its bitcoin holdings. The notes are scheduled to expire on February 15, 2027.
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Galaxy Holdings
Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Holdings has also become a major player in bitcoin. The asset management company, which focuses on digital currencies, announced during its third-quarter earnings report that it had $ 176.4 million in bitcoin as of September 30, including approximately $ 41.2 million in the hands of minority interests.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRPHF | GALAXY DIGITAL HOLDINGS | 13.7 | +1.04 | + 8.19% |
Former hedge fund Bigwig recently told Bloomberg that he predicts bitcoin will more than double to $ 100,000 by the end of this year.
I can
Mogo, a Canadian fintech company, is also participating in the promotion. The company announced plans in December to make an initial business investment of up to $ 1.5 million in bitcoin and that it would consider additional investments in 2021 as it monetizes its $ 17 million investment portfolio.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I CAN | MOGO INC. | 8.46 | +1.38 | + 19.49% |
The initial purchase represents approximately 1.5% of Mogo’s total assets at the end of the third quarter of 2020.
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Meanwhile, while not making direct investments in bitcoin, other companies have included cryptocurrencies in their services:
BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon, the oldest bank in the US, recently announced it would be the first global bank to create a “digital assets” service later in 2021.
“BNY Mellon is proud to be the first global bank to announce plans to provide an integrated digital asset service,” Roman Regelman, CEO of asset servicing and head of digital at BNY Mellon, said in a statement. “The growing customer demand for digital assets, the maturity of advanced solutions and improving regulatory clarity provide us with a great opportunity to expand our current service offering into this emerging area. We expect further evaluations and approvals to be pending. these innovative and industry design options later this year. “
MasterCard
Best known for its credit cards, the household name recently announced plans to start supporting certain cryptocurrencies later this year.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA | MASTERCARD INCORPORATED | 367.32 | +16.90 | + 4.82% |
“We are now preparing for the future of crypto and payments, and are announcing that Mastercard will support certain cryptocurrencies directly on our network this year,” the company said in a blog post. “This is a major change that will take a lot of work. We will be thinking very carefully about which assets we support based on our digital currency principles, which are focused on consumer protection and compliance.”
Black rock
In January, BlackRock disclosed in a SEC filing that it would add bitcoin as an eligible investment to two funds, BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities and BlackRock Global Allocation Fund Inc.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLK | BLACKROCK INC. | 712.10 | +8.94 | + 1.27% |
The world’s largest asset manager said the two aforementioned funds will only invest in cash-settled bitcoin futures traded on commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Silvergate
In December, digital currency-focused bank Silvergate announced in its fourth-quarter earnings report that its digital currency deposits had increased to $ 5 billion on December 31, 2020, from $ 2.1 billion on September 30.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AND | SILVERGATE CAPITAL CORP | 140.52 | +10.72 | + 8.26% |
The company’s internal Silvergate Exchange Network (“SEN”) processed 90,763 transactions in the fourth quarter of 2020, an increase of 33% from 68,361 transactions in the third quarter of 2020, and an increase of 530% compared to 14,400 transactions in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The company recently launched a new credit offering called SEN Leverage, which allows its customers to get loans in US dollars backed by bitcoin. Alan Lane, CEO of Silvergate, said the company expects supply demand to increase in the coming year. “
PayPal
In October, PayPal announced that it would introduce a service this year that would allow customers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies directly from their PayPal accounts.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PYPL | PAYPAL HOLDINGS INC. | 266.07 | +1.07 | + 0.40% |
“The shift to digital currencies is inevitable, bringing clear benefits in terms of financial inclusion and access; payment system efficiency, speed and resilience; and the ability for governments to quickly dispense money to citizens,” said PayPal. CEO Dan Schulman said in a press release. “Our global reach, our expertise in digital payments, our two-way network and stringent security and compliance controls give us the opportunity and responsibility to facilitate the understanding, exchange and interoperability of these new exchange tools.”
In addition to Bitcoin, PayPal’s service supports Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin directly in PayPal’s digital wallet. The service has already been rolled out in the United States and US territories, and the company plans to expand the service internationally in the first half of the year.