One week in review:
Oct. 19–25 We've selected the hottest materials of the past week for you to stay up to date with the latest crypto news: | | #1. PayPal to offer crypto payments starting in 2021 | | | When rumors started circulating in June that PayPal was planning to launch a crypto service, the fintech giant was tight-lipped. But this week, PayPal was ready to show its hand, confirming that it will allow its 346 million active accounts to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. | | | It isn't an exaggeration to say that this is a huge deal for the mainstream adoption of digital assets. This will introduce large numbers of everyday consumers to crypto for the first time. Announcing the news, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said digital currencies offer "clear advantages" when it comes to financial inclusion, payment speeds and enabling governments to distribute funds to citizens quickly. | | #2. Bitcoin blasts through $13,000 following PayPal's entrance into crypto | | | Unsurprisingly, PayPal's big news served as dynamite for Bitcoin. The world's biggest cryptocurrency smashed through $13,000 on Wednesday, gaining more than $1,000. That's only the third time that BTC has hit this level since its record high in 2017. | | | Other cryptocurrencies that PayPal's going to support also enjoyed chunky gains on Wednesday. ETH was up 8%, BCH surged 9%, and LTC rose by a whopping 15%. | | #3. PayPal rumored to be eyeing acquisition of crypto custodian BitGo | | | PayPal has partnered with Paxos to deliver the service, and it has obtained a conditional cryptocurrency license from the New York State Department of Financial Services. On Friday, reports from Bloomberg suggested that PayPal is looking to acquire a crypto asset custody firm, adding that the fintech giant is currently in talks with BitGo, which helps investors store digital assets securely. | | | Meltem Demirors, the chief security officer of the crypto asset manager CoinShares, has predicted that PayPal will seek to launch a stablecoin "in the next six to 12 months." This would be a sting in the tail for Facebook, given how PayPal left its embattled Libra project. | | #4. Prediction of the Week Bitcoin price rise to $500,000 is inevitable, Winklevoss twins say | | | Unsurprisingly, the Winklevoss twins were brimming with enthusiasm in the wake of PayPal's announcement. Tyler Winklevoss tweeted: "PayPal is an important bridge between the mainland and the island of crypto. The diaspora from legacy finance is happening and this is the kind of infrastructure that will help make that happen. Soon there will b a flippening and crypto will b the mainland & fiat the island." | | | This week, the twins doubled down on their prediction that Bitcoin will eventually hit $500,000, telling podcast host Peter McCormack that it's a matter of when, not if. | | #5. FUD of the Week First ransomware attack in 2020 election hits voting infrastructure in Georgia | | | A ransomware attack targeting the government systems of Georgia's Hall County impacted key voting infrastructure, it has been revealed. "Critical systems" within its networks were affected, and CNN says the incident may be the first ransomware attack in the 2020 election. | | | Officials said the county's voter signature database and voting precinct map were heavily impacted by the hack but stressed that the voting process for citizens is unaffected. Brett Callow, from the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, told Cointelegraph: "There is a very real risk that they may shake voter confidence in the integrity of the vote, especially as confidence may already be quite low." | | #6. FUD of the Week Filecoin creator denies strike allegations | | | The creator of the blockchain-based data storage platform Filecoin has dismissed allegations that miners of its token have gone on strike as "nonsense." Refuting the claims, Juan Benet claimed on Twitter: "What is happening is that miners are growing slower than before launch. This is in great part because the network is no longer subsidizing their pledge and fee costs — fees cost real money now, and miners need to match growth rate to token flow." | | | It had been reported that five of the largest Filecoin miners turned off thousands of rigs to protest the blockchain's economic model, which means that miners are required to stake FIL as collateral when producing a block. The problem is that many miners are apparently coming up short in the number of tokens needed. | | Feel free to explore the most important news with Hodler's Digest:
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