Blockchain Bites: PayPal's Push, FATF's Rules and 'Overstated' Libra Fears

Yesterday, it came to light that crypto functionality may come to PayPal and Venmo.

If true, as substantiated by three anonymous sources and indicated by an open position for a senior blockchain research engineer, 325 million users would be able to buy and sell crypto.

"If it does happen, it has the potential to be the biggest crypto on-ramp ever," Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, told Blockchain Bites.

You're reading Blockchain Bites, the daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news, and why they're significant.

As CoinDesk First Mover reports, crypto has tracked traditional assets like the S&P 500, while also recording an approximately 30% gain year to date.

"Will PayPal give customers control to move their cryptos outside of PayPal? Will their fee model be friendly? Will they have a wide choice of crypto assets to buy and sell?".

Travel Rule & ComplianceING Bank has developed a protocol to assist with the Financial Action Task Force's Travel Rule requirement for crypto exchanges and firms dealing in digital assets, which has been backed by Standard Chartered Bank, Fidelity Digital Assets and BitGo, plus a gaggle of other familiar firms from the crypto space.

For one, Nischal Shetty, CEO of WazirX, said trading volume went up by 400% after the recent Supreme Court ruling - allowing banks to work with crypto firms - but that it could have been even better with clear guidelines from the RBI. Elsewhere, Berlin-based security token startup Neufund shut down its security token platform, citing regulatory uncertainty from Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.

BitMEX parent leads $3.5 million Series A for crypto options exchange Sparrow.

The Macro ContextSome of the smartest investors in the crypto space, including Ari Paul, Spencer Bogart and David Nage, share how they think the larger macro context is shaping interest in bitcoin and digital assets.