08 February, 2021
- Ernst & Young Partners with Blockchain Projects to Expand Blockchain Services in China
- Visa to Pilot New System to Enable Banks Seamlessly Integrate Crypto Features
- PayPal to Launch New Cryptocurrency Business Unit in Effort to Update its Financial System
- Japanese Financial Giant SBI Expands Cryptocurrency Lending Service to XRP
Ernst & Young Partners with Blockchain Projects to Expand Blockchain Services in China
To expand blockchain deployment in China, Ernst & Young (EY), a multinational professional services network, is partnering with leading blockchain projects like BSN and FISCO BCOS.
EY will launch its blockchain products on the Ethereum blockchain and Blockchain Open Source platform, powered by the Tencent-backed Financial Blockchain Shenzhen Consortium, or FISCO in a Feb. 5 statement.
Via the Chinese national blockchain project, the Blockchain-based Service Network, EY will directly sell its two blockchain applications, EY Blockchain Analyzer and EY OpsChain. The two products, designed for professional interaction via private and public blockchains, will be available to consumers in China, believed to be one of the largest markets for blockchain technology and across the Asia-Pacific region, with the EY OpsChain launching first.
By offering both FISCO BCOS and Ethereum, EY professionals will be able to connect their clients to the global blockchain.
The project at present is pending approval from the strict Chinese regulatory bodies. However, Yifan He, BSN Development Association Executive Director, cited “an IT system in China to access public chain nodes outside China is not illegal,” – Suggesting confidence in the project’s success.
Source | Cointelegraph
Visa to Pilot New System to Enable Banks Seamlessly Integrate Crypto Features
On Wednesday, Visa announced a collaboration with First Boulevard; a digital neo-bank focused on supporting the Black community, the first to pilot the latest suite of crypto APIs from Visa. With Visa’s API, banks can offer a plethora of crypto services to its customers, including the buying and selling of Bitcoin.
Further, a Visa debit card will be launched by First Boulevard. Visa’s Chief Product Officer, Jack Forestell added,
“With this pilot program, we want to extend the value of Visa to our neobank and financial institution clients by providing an easy bridge to crypto assets and blockchain networks.”, “We set out to make Visa the bridge between digital currencies and our global network of 70 million merchants and today we are the leading network for crypto wallets with 35 crypto platforms choosing to issue with Visa.”
Source | Bitcoin.com
PayPal to Launch New Cryptocurrency Business Unit in Effort to Update its Financial System
Paypal’s Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Schulman, recognizes that its current financial system is outdated, explaining,
“We all know the current financial system is antiquated, and we can envision a future where transactions are completed in seconds, not days; a future where transactions should be less expensive to complete; and a future that enables all people to be part of the digital economy, not just the affluent. We are significantly investing in our new crypto, blockchain, and digital currencies business unit in order to help shape this more inclusive future.”
The announcement came after Paypal announced its plan in October last year to allow customers to use crypto as a payment method across its 29 million merchants worldwide. Schulman further added that the firm expects to launch its first global market soon.
Source | Bitcoin.com
Japanese Financial Giant SBI Expands Cryptocurrency Lending Service to XRP
SBI is stepping up its crypto game. After announcing its partnership with SMFG for a 2022 digital securities exchange launch, news of a Ripple (XRP) lending enablement followed.
Via its cryptocurrency-related subsidiary, SBI VC Exchange, Japanese financial services company SBI Group has allowed XRP lending. According to SBI,
“VC Trade Lending is a service that allows customers to rent out their crypto assets to the company and receive interest rewards according to the quantity and duration of the crypto assets,”
SBI VC Exchange Lending customers can now gain interest by depositing their XRP holdings between 1,000 and 100,000 XRP for a lending term of up to 84 days.
Even with XRP facing ongoing legal issues regarding its securities’ legitimacy, XRP is believed by Japanese financial regulators that it does not fall into the Securities category.
Source | Cointelegraph
