Crypto going mainstream? Visa, banks hop in as Bitcoin nears $60K
Visa, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase are among the financial behemoths that recently flip-flopped bestowed their blessing on crypto as Bitcoin plods toward $60,000.
Visa allows crypto payment settlements: Visa CEO Al Kelly had to eat his words this week as Visa announced it’s planning to launch a pilot program to allow the use of USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar, to settle transactions with Visa over the Ethereum blockchain. The program is in partnership with Crypto.com.
In 2018, Kelly said crypto wasn’t a threat and that ‘if we have to go there, we’ll go there.’ Welp, here we are.
“The announcement today marks a major milestone in our ability to address the needs of fintechs managing their business in a stablecoin or cryptocurrency, and it’s really an extension of what we do every day, securely facilitating payments in all different currencies all across the world.” —Jack Forestell, Visa executive vice president and chief product officer.
Does this matter? If people want to invest in crypto, they don't need these institutions. While their moves are a glaring about-face, these institutions’ support for crypto will further fuel adoption and likely boost its value.
Morgan Staley embraces Bitcoin, kinda: Morgan Stanley announced via a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it will allow some mutual funds to invest “indirectly” in Bitcoin through cash-settled Bitcoin futures and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. Morgan Staley noted it’s a risky move, as funds will be exposed to prospective regulatory changes, high volatility, fraud, theft, manipulation, and possible technical glitches on crypto marketplaces.
Alternatives for futures, options: You don't have to go through Morgan Stanley to invest in Bitcoin futures. While it's extremely risky, there are a variety of services that offer futures and options trading, including LedgerX, Kraken, TD Ameritrade, and
J.P. Morgan Chase normalization: Bitcoin’s erratic price jumps have kept institutional investors away from the crypto market. However, J.P. Morgan Chase now sees that Bitcoin’s relative price stabilization will help normalize the asset for other huge investors and banks. Bloomberg reports that the 3-month realized volatility for Bitcoin dropped to 86 percent after hovering above 90 percent in February. The 6-month volatility has stabilized around 73 percent.
“These tentative signs of Bitcoin volatility normalization are encouraging. In our opinion, a potential normalization of Bitcoin volatility from here would likely help to reinvigorate the institutional interest going forward.” —Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, Managing Director at J.P. Morgan
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PayPal’s crypto checkout: On March 30, PayPal announced the launch of Checkout with Crypto, a new feature that turns crypto assets into a country’s fiat currency to buy products or services from 29 million merchants. PayPal already allowed all users in the U.S. to directly buy, hold and sell crypto.
"As the use of digital payments and digital currencies accelerates, the introduction of Checkout with Crypto continues our focus on driving mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies while continuing to offer PayPal customers choice and flexibility in the ways they can pay using the PayPal wallet. Enabling cryptocurrencies to make purchases at businesses around the world is the next chapter in driving the ubiquity and mass acceptance of digital currencies." —Dan Schulman, PayPal CEO
Fidelity ETF: Fidelity Investments is planning to offer its own Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, though it still must receive SEC approval. The company’s S-1 filing with the SEC states it plans to fund the ETF Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust. An ETF is a group of securities you buy or sell through a brokerage on a stock exchange.
Bitcoin eyes record-high: Visa’s news helped boost Bitcoin’s value by about 4.5 percent to a one-week high and is hovering around $59,500 per token. Aside from a few quick dips, the coin has remained above $55,000 a coin for about 4 weeks. Bitcoin smashed its previous record-high on March 13 when a single token topped $61,750.
What’s next? Crypto’s momentum is beyond doubt. As more financial behemoths enter the space, the FOMO from other industries, investors, and casual observers will only continue to grow. Bitcoins gains in the last year — a growth of more 750 percent — has rallied optimism that a single coin could one day top $1 million.
What’s an indie hacker to do? Hold on for dear life.
