In a Twitter Spaces discussion with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and listeners, former Department of State official Anja Manuel cautioned that the US’s ability to enforce sanctions on “bad actors” like Iran or North Korea could be threatened if it fails to maintain its leadership in financial innovation and payments. According to Manuel, the US’s status as one of the largest global leaders in payments enables it to enforce sanctions on countries and entities that are deemed to be a threat to national security. However, China seems to be catching up in mobile payments, both in sophistication and scale. If China’s payments solutions gain a dominant foothold in the developing world, enforcing sanctions could become significantly more challenging.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department enforces US sanctions, including sanctions on crypto wallets related to Russian nationals and groups’ involvement in the war on Ukraine. Manuel acknowledged that sanctions generally work in a world of traditional banks and responsible blockchain firms, but they are less effective when financial technology firms are available to individuals looking to circumvent restrictions.
There are several reasons why maintaining US dominance in financial innovation and payments is essential for national security. First, the ability to enforce sanctions against countries deemed to be a threat to national security is critical. Sanctions are a key tool in deterring countries from pursuing policies that threaten US interests. Second, financial innovation and payments are critical for US economic growth. The US’s ability to innovate and create new technologies has been a key driver of economic growth for decades.
The US government has historically played a significant role in fostering innovation and supporting the growth of new technologies. However, there are concerns that the US is losing ground to other countries, particularly China. China has made significant investments in technology and innovation and has developed a reputation as a global leader in several areas, including mobile payments.
To maintain its leadership in financial innovation and payments, the US must continue to support the growth of new technologies and create an environment that fosters innovation. This will require a significant investment in research and development, as well as regulatory frameworks that support the growth of new technologies while also protecting consumers and national security.
In conclusion, the US’s ability to maintain its leadership in financial innovation and payments is critical to its national security. If the US loses ground to other countries, particularly China, enforcing sanctions and deterring countries from pursuing policies that threaten US interests could become much more challenging. The US must continue to invest in research and development and create regulatory frameworks that support innovation while also protecting national security.
The Cash App business section of Jack Dorsey’s payment startup, Block Inc., reported Bitcoin (BTC) revenue of $1.83 billion in the fourth quarter, which is a 7% decrease from the same period last year.
Block attributed the reduction in Bitcoin income to the decline in the price of BTC during the year, which was reported in its quarterly and full-year results on February 23. Bitcoin’s price dropped by nearly 65 percent throughout the course of 2022.
Due to the decrease in sales, Cash App’s Bitcoin gross profit decreased by 25% year-on-year, coming in at $35 million for the quarter. This was the lowest quarterly total since the company began reporting Bitcoin earnings.
Block’s Cash App is an application for processing payments made using mobile phones. On October 25th, functionality for transactions made via the Bitcoin Lightning Network was enabled to Cash App. It does this by offering Bitcoin sales to its consumers via the app, which brings in money.
In the entire year of 2022, Cash App made $7.11 billion in Bitcoin revenue and $156 million in Bitcoin gross profit, representing decreases of 29% and 28%, respectively, when compared to 2021’s figures.
In the meanwhile, Block Inc. reported a significantly increased net loss for the quarter, coming in at $114 million. This is compared to a loss of $77 million in 2021. When compared to the same period of the previous year, its adjusted profits before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose to $281 million, or a 53% rise. The aggregate amount of revenue during the period was $4.65 billion.
Following the release of the results report, the after-hours trading of Block’s shares resulted in a significant price increase.
The increase in the company’s gross profit, which was up 40% in Q4 compared to the same period the previous year and also above expert estimates, has been ascribed by some analysts to the surge in revenue.
A recent research conducted by Decta brought to light the significance of integrated financial elements in the modern world of fintech. According to the findings of the survey, some significant drivers for a seamless customer experience are the increasing use of online purchasing and digital payment methods.
Embedded finance is a novel method of software distribution that collaborates with suppliers of financial infrastructure to include financial services into the ecosystems of goods that are already on the market. Banking, lending, insurance, payments, and branded credit cards are some of the most frequent types of integrated financial solutions.
According to the findings of the survey, the most important factors that contribute to a positive experience when making purchases online are the ease with which payments can be made and the number of different payment methods that are available. The primary cause of an unpleasant shopping experience is the absence of a chosen payment option or difficulty during the checkout process. Almost 49 percent of respondents said that they would probably quit shopping if they ran across these difficulties.
One of the most important aspects of embedded finance is the ability to provide personalized offers, which are highly appreciated and may be improved by concentrating on certain demographics. For instance, 54 percent of American consumers favored integrated add-ons such as finance and insurance. Members from Generation X were the most happy with personal offers, whilst participants from Generation Z and Baby Boomer rated the offers they received a lower grade.
Other favored integrated features that gained the approval of the respondents include loyalty benefits, seamless payments, and same-page checkouts.
The research gives insights into client targeting and acquisition as cryptocurrency firms are steadily seeking to incorporate embedded financial elements, such as crypto-based credit cards or loans. The use of blockchain technology has been investigated by crypto companies as a means of assisting traditional businesses in the implementation of loyalty incentives and integrated financial services.
During the most recent bull market, the bitcoin ecosystem was able to benefit from increased investment from institutional investors. As a result of conventional hedge funds and some of the largest firms in the Fortune 500 jumping on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, we are starting to see widespread acceptance of cryptocurrencies.
However, there is still a significant distance to go with the primary goal of making cryptocurrency usable on a daily basis by retail customers. The research conducted on embedded finance may be able to assist crypto firms in taking a hint from the mainstream and putting it into practice with crypto-linked goods in order to provide a superior experience for their customers.
Sand Dollar CBDC has continued to advance its usage and started addressing the issue of user authentication.
SunCash, a financial institution authorized to provide Sand Dollars in the Bahamas, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with PopID Inc software company to allow holders of the Bahamian Sand Dollar to use PopID’s PopPay platform to authenticate themselves.
It is the first time in history that consumers can now use the PopPay face verification platform to buy goods and services with a CBDC (central bank digital currency).
Bahamian citizens can now link their SunCash wallets to PopPay to enable face pay transactions using their Sand Dollars, a central bank digital currency in the Bahamas.
This will allow consumers to spend Sand Dollars at merchants (businesses) accepting SunCash payments using their faces for authentication.
Likewise, various local and global brands accepting digital Sand Dollars through the SunCash platform will be authenticated by PopPay.
PopPay’s technology allows merchants to verify customers’ identities with a facial scan. The technology links any payment method, including digital currencies, direct bank transfers, and debit/card cards, to the user’s unique facial characteristics.
Reports show that SunCash has over 55,000 active wallet holders, one-seventh of the population of the Bahamas, and more than 1,000 merchants accept the wallet.
Desmond Pyfrom, CEO of SunCash, talked about the development and said: “PopPay’s cutting edge technology provides a more consumer-friendly, seamless, and secure experience for SunCash’s users. With the integration of the PopPay platform into the SunCash App, Bahamian consumers can now quickly, efficiently, and safely use the digital Sand Dollar to purchase food and other products even if the consumer does not have a functional smartphone or an internet connection.”
Digitizing Retail Payments
Private digital currencies are storming financial markets, and as a result have prompted central banks globally to create their own, legally-backed digital tokens.
The Central Bank of The Bahamas issued the Sand Dollar– a digital iteration of the Bahamian Dollar, in October 2020.
With Sand Dollar, local consumers can receive and make payments electronically from a digital wallet using either their smartphones or a physical payment card they can manage via merchants across the nation.
Residents can open digital currency accounts, store the CBDC in an e-wallet approved by the central bank and use it for payments. The records collected during daily operations, like income and spending information, can support applications for micro-loans.
An IMF FinTech report showed that in late 2021, the number of active Sand Dollar wallets was about 20,000 in a population of about 400,000.
Image source: Shutterstock
The cryptocurrency ecosystem has come a long way since the launch of Bitcoin (BTC) and in the last few years smart contracts have revolutionized the industry. With that said, there is still plenty of progress to be made when it comes to integrating blockchain technology to peer-to-peer, business to business and business to consumer payment systems.
Alchemy Pay aims to further the adoption of cryptocurrencies through its hybrid payments system and in the last week its ACH token gained 77% to trade at $0.0625 on Feb. 9.
Three reasons for the uptick in ACH price include the cross-chain launch of ACH on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), multiple new exchange listings that have helped expand access to the token and the integration of Alchemy Pay with multiple blockchain projects across the ecosystem.
The most significant development for the Alchemy Pay protocol was its launch on the Binance Smart Chain at the end of January.
$ACH is live on the Binance Smart Chain!
ACH (BEP-20) staking campaign to earn $STORE announced soon!
Get your ACH ready (refer to comments):
1. Cross-chain via @MultichainOrg
2. Swap via @PancakeSwapBSC Contract Address: 0xbc7d6b50616989655afd682fb42743507003056d pic.twitter.com/DLJNguOd9f
— Alchemy Pay | $ACH (@AlchemyPay) January 30, 2022
Aside from allowing for cheaper transactions for ACH users, the cross-chain integration also helped increase the pool of available investors in ACH through the listing of tokens on BSC-based decentralized exchanges like PancakeSwap.
Alchemy Pay also partnered with Bit.Store to conduct an airdrop of the project’s STORE token as a way to reward community members and encourage future collaborations.
A second factor helping boost the momentum in the price of ACH has been its listing on multiple exchanges, including Binance on Jan. 10.
#Binance will list @AlchemyPay $ACH and @Immutable $IMX https://t.co/smkEblDzRP
— Binance (@binance) January 10, 2022
Other notable exchange listings over the past month include WazirX, CoinEx Global, MEXC Global, ONUS Finance, Tokocrypto and XT Exchange.
Several exchanges, including Binance, have also introduced high-yielding staking products to help attract liquidity and Gate recently added a 3X leveraged ACH instrument.
Related: Cointelegraph Research: Valuing a crypto payment token
A third development that has solidified support for ACH has been the integration of Alchemy Pay with multiple blockchain networks and this should speed up the launch of fiat payments.
Networks and protocols that have integrated Alchemy Pay since mid-December include IoTeX, Avalanche, Polygon, Algorand, NIUM, MakerDAO and SimpleHold.
VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for ACH on Feb. 8, prior to the recent price rise.
The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historical and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.
As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for ACH spiked into the green and reached a high of 74 on Feb. 8, around four hours before the price increased 55.5% over the next day.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
Apple announced plans to launch Tap to Pay for iPhone, a new feature that effectively turns the smartphone into a point of sale (POS) device for businesses and merchants. So, what’s in it for crypto?
The announcement explains that with Tap to Pay, iPhone-owning merchants receive contactless payments by using their mobile devices as a POS machine thanks to the NFC technology.
According to Apple, the soon-to-be-launched Tap to Pay feature will extend support to “Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards and other digital wallets.” It basically means that, unless Apple places a direct barrier for it, customers who are using Coinbase Card, Crypto.com Visa Card or a similar payment card would be able to use their cryptocurrency holdings to make payments via Tap to Pay.
We just introduced Tap to Pay on iPhone, a great way for millions of small businesses to accept contactless payments right from their iPhone. It’s easy, secure, and will be coming out later this year. https://t.co/w6P6oS7grm
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 9, 2022
While Apple has announced Stripe, an Irish-American fintech, as the first platform to offer the Tap to Pay feature on iPhone, the company clarified that “additional payment platforms and apps will follow later this year.”
Back in Aug. 2021, major crypto exchange Coinbase integrated with Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing users to purchase crypto assets on its platform. As Cointelegraph reported, the move allowed the United States-based customers to purchase crypto using bank-issued debit and credit cards via a mainstream payments platform, Apple Pay.
In June 2021, Coinbase launched Coinbase Card, enabling users to spend cryptocurrencies across mainstream avenues:
“Coinbase will automatically convert all cryptocurrency to US Dollars and transfer the funds to your Coinbase Card (less conversion fees) for use in purchases and ATM withdrawals.”
Following suit, crypto exchange Crypto.com launched a similar offering named Crypto.com Visa Card, which can be added to Apple Pay and other major digital wallets. Apple said in the announcement:
“Tap to Pay on iPhone will work with contactless credit and debit cards from leading payment networks, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa.”
Considering Coinbase’s capability to convert a user’s crypto holdings to fiat in real-time for payments, Apple Pay users will be able to use iPhone’s Tap to Pay feature to make crypto payments across mainstream merchants and businesses.
While Apple Pay will, most probably, not allow direct purchase of goods and services via Bitcoin (BTC), it will convert the user’s crypto holdings to match the dollar amount requested by the merchant’s POS machine to make the purchase.
Let’s also not forget that in Nov. 2021, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the personal purchase of cryptocurrencies as “part of a diversified portfolio” while highlighting no immediate plans to accept crypto as a means of payment for Apple products.
Apple intends to roll out the Tap to Pay feature on Apple Stores, iPhone XS and later devices.
Related: Bitcoin Lightning Network goes live on Cash App
Cash App, a mobile payment service developed and owned by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Block, announced compatibility with the Bitcoin Lightning Network for BTC transfers.
Lightning Network is now available on Cash App. It’s the fastest, free way to pay anyone in bitcoin.
Buy tacos, tip your favorite Twitter comedian, or send a friend money abroad—anywhere that accepts lightning. pic.twitter.com/65TXSJ6yL6
— Cash App (@CashApp) February 7, 2022
With the launch of the new feature, Cash App users can make faster BTC transactions across mainstream businesses. As Cointelegraph reported, the company has made the feature available everywhere in the United States apart from New York.
PayPal confirmed on Jan. 8 it is “exploring a stablecoin” that could be called PayPal Coin after a developer found evidence of such a stablecoin within the source code of the company’s iPhone app.
PayPal senior vice president of crypto and digital currencies Jose Fernandez da Ponte said at the time that if the company plans to move forward with the stablecoin, it will do so while working closely with relevant regulators — an approach that could help the fintech firm avoid the wrath of United States senators that doomed Meta’s Diem cryptocurrency project.
The company has clarified that the source code found on its iPhone app was developed in an internal hackathon. When Cointelegraph contacted PayPal to learn more, a spokesperson confirmed the previous reporting but did not offer any additional commentary.
The potential impact of a PayPal stablecoin in payments overall and in the cryptocurrency industry is hard to estimate, and while some experts see the firm’s move as an extremely positive one for the space, others believe the stablecoin would be more of the same.
It’s clear that a traditional finance company moving into the cryptocurrency sector and launching its own stablecoin differs from a crypto-native firm launching a stablecoin. Traditional finance companies serve users who aren’t necessarily already dealing with cryptocurrency wallets or the volatility in this space.
PayPal itself has well over 350 million active users and already lets users in the U.S. and United Kingdom buy, sell and hold Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) while enabling payments in these crypto assets. While it’s unclear how many of PayPal’s users have paid with cryptocurrency, it’s well-known that stablecoins are mostly a tool used to trade and take advantage of opportunities in the decentralized finance space.
PayPal further pushing into the cryptocurrency industry through the launch of a stablecoin could see other traditional banking and payments companies explore blockchain technology more, according to Marwan Forzley, CEO of online payments platform Veem. Forzley told Cointelegraph that stablecoins will “likely become a part of the global payment scheme,” as moving money in a secure environment with on- and off-ramps with different applications “is a major need of small businesses.” Forzley added:
“PayPal Coin could fuel general interest in payments overall. Consumers and small businesses alike are looking for a safe and reliable alternative to traditional currencies and payment networks.”
Max Galka, CEO of blockchain search engine Elementus, seemed to agree with Forzley’s assessment, noting that with globally recognized platforms such as PayPal supporting cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are immediately put in a “trusted realm for a large swath of the population.”
To Galka, PayPal launching its own stablecoin would “definitely open up cryptocurrency to more people” who “have not had the inclination to really figure out this niche space.” Galka told Cointelegraph:
“Right now, there aren’t that many well-established, trusted organizations in this space where trust is such a critical component. PayPal would be one of the first major financial companies to embrace crypto.”
He said it’s a “very natural fit for PayPal to develop a stablecoin,” as the move puts the firm “squarely on the map as a cryptocurrency company,” which could boost its other cryptocurrency offerings, while the trust people have in the firm could see PayPal Coin “serve a lot of additional purposes from what traditional stablecoins can offer by using that [trust] as their payment rails.”
Arbel Arif, founder and CEO of crypto marketplace Shopping.io, told Cointelegraph he applauds PayPal’s move into the crypto sectors and added that having “big players enhancing the e-commerce crypto transactions brings us a step closer to the new era of commercial trading.”
Speaking to Cointelegraph Tim Frost, founder and CEO of wealth management platform Yield App, said that cryptocurrency payments are “finding their way into the mainstream” as a “number of companies now allow digital asset owners to pay with digital currencies using standard Visa or Mastercard.”
To Frost, whether or not PayPal launching its own stablecoin would jumpstart a transition to a more cryptocurrency payment-focused world isn’t clear, although he does believe it has the potential to do so.
Not everyone agreed that PayPal Coin could be revolutionary, however. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Rytis Bieliauskas, chief technology officer of cryptocurrency payment gateway CoinGate, said he does not see how a PayPal stablecoin is “fundamentally different from what PayPal already does,” assuming it’s “centrally controlled” and has its value guaranteed by the firm.
Bieliauskas added that it’s “interesting to see that PayPal wishes to use crypto as a positive PR move,” which, to him, suggests the public now sees cryptocurrencies as something positive, rather than negative.
While PayPal made it clear it would be working with relevant regulators on its stablecoin if and when it moves forward with the project, it will still have to overcome regulatory challenges because of the scope of its business.
That’s according to Eli Taranto, chief business development officer at EQIBank — a licensed digital bank working with corporations and high-net-worth individuals. Taranto told Cointelegraph that PayPal’s geographical footprint will see it face “worldwide regulatory issues” when it comes to crypto, which will “be quite interesting and a necessary challenge.”
To Taranto, PayPal’s revenue coming from transactions means it will “have to connect as many tokens and chains as possible, building faster, better, fully automated cross-chain instruments along the way.” He added:
“This may eventually serve as a catalyst for mass adaptation of crypto and give the crypto processing industry a boost, as venture capital will begin to flow to this relatively new sector.”
Taranto said that if PayPal manages to appease regulators, it will affect other institutions, which will “see it as a sign that a path to global regulatory compliance has been created.”
Stablecoin issuers have notably not only faced scrutiny from regulators, as the cryptocurrency community often pressures them to be as transparent as possible about the backing of their stablecoins. Launching a stablecoin will see PayPal deal with heightened scrutiny, so it’s worth asking, What’s in it for them?
Ultimately, PayPal issuing its own stablecoin is an improvement to its bottom line. Caleb Silver, editor-in-chief at financial information portal Investopedia, pointed out that in the third quarter of 2021, transaction-related expenses cost PayPal $2.7 billion according to its most recent quarterly filing.
The use of a high transaction throughput blockchain like Solana could see PayPal save a very significant amount in transaction-related expenses. The firm currently does not allow users to buy or sell Solana (SOL) on its platform, and on which blockchain it would deploy its stablecoin is unclear.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Jerald David, president of digital asset investment firm Arca, said PayPal is “uniquely positioned to adopt cryptocurrencies due to their captive client audience and because this potential product offering is an enhancement to their existing core business.” David added:
“By marrying the efficiencies of blockchain technology with their existing business model, they can help instill and solidify the confidence of individuals and small businesses in the digital asset industry.”
To Arca’s president, it’s likely that if people are going to end up adopting digital assets one day, they’ll be doing so through a third party that has earned their trust, just like PayPal.
What’s known about PayPal’s stablecoin plans is very little. Steve Moser, the developer who found PayPal Coin’s code on the company’s iPhone app, revealed later on that PayPal had references to stablecoins linked to the pound and euro within the application, suggesting PayPal would launch various stablecoins linked to different fiat currencies.
What if PayPal Coin is something separate from Paypal’s USD stable coin? What if PayPal was also working on stable coins for the Pound and the Euro? #PayPalCoin $PYPL $PYPLUSD https://t.co/vyBmMCmp7f pic.twitter.com/qRJ0IrbBBJ
— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) January 10, 2022
Shortly after PayPal Coin started making headlines, however, PayPal removed images for its euro- and pound-linked stablecoins. A reference to Neo within the code stayed, suggesting it may also be on the firm’s radar.
The real impact a PayPal Coin may have will depend on the company’s implementation of the stablecoin. While it has the potential to ingrain crypto into traditional payment systems, it also has the potential to be “just another” stablecoin. The best-case scenario is seemingly one crypto enthusiasts dreamed about years ago, before Bitcoin traded in five-figure territory, which shows just how far we’ve come in only a few years.
Price action in the crypto market has not been for the faint of heart over the past 48-hours and it’s clear that volatility following Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether’s (ETH) breakouts to new all-time highs.
While the top two cryptocurrencies fight to hold key support levels, the altcoin market has seen a handful of tokens post double-digit gains on Nov. 5 and Cointelegraph Markets Pro’s altseason indicator suggests the current market conditions line up with previous altseason price moves.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were XYO Network (XYO), Crypto.com Coin (CRO) and Wrapped NXM (WNXM).
The XYO Network is a blockchain-based geospatial oracle network that taps into decentralized devices that anonymously collect, validate and record data on the XYO blockchain.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, market conditions for XYO have been favorable for some time.
The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historical and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.
As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for XYO began to pick up on Nov. 2 and reached a high of 77 around four hours before the price surged 103% over the next two days.
The spike in price of XYO comes as the token was listed on the Crypto.com app and a liquidity mining pool was launced on Gate where depositors can earn a 543.22% return on their investment.
CRO is the native token of the Crypto.com ecosystem and users can stake CRO alongside other cryptocurrencies on its app to earn rewards, as well and utilize their holdings to make everyday purchases via the Crypto.com Pay mobile payments app.
VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for CRO on Nov. 3, prior to the recent price rise.
As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for CRO began to pick up on Nov. 3 and reached a high of 76 around two hours before the price increased 64% over the next two days.
The strengthening momentum for CRO comes following the token’s Nov. 3 listing on Coinbase and the signing of a multi-year contract with esports tournament host Twitch Rivals.
Related: Cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com to debut UFC NFTs
WNXM is the wrapped version of the NXM governance token for the Nexus Mutual protocol. Nexus Mutual is a decentralized insurance protocol on the Ethereum network that offers users the ability to take out cover on smart contracts through the use of its native NXM token.
VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for CRO on Nov. 4, prior to the recent price rise.
As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for CRO began to pick up on Nov. 3 and reached a high of 74 on Nov. 4, around one hour before the price spiked 47% over the next day.
The jump in the price of WNXM comes following the launch of a new shield mining campaign for the Premia Finance (PREMIA) project and the platform’s progress toward launching Nexus V2 which will enable the fund to pay out on partial claims.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.702 trillion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 42.6%.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
The blockchain ecosystem has evolved significantly over the past decade as smart contract capabilities have moved the industry from being a simple medium of exchange to a bustling ecosystem full of decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFT).
One project that has benefited from the increased capabilities of blockchain technology and the recent launch of smart contracts on Cardano is COTI (COTI), an enterprise-grade fintech platform focused on helping organizations create their own payment solutions and digitize any form of currency as a way to facilitate decentralized payments.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since bottoming out at a low of $0.0884 on July 20, the price of COTI has rallied 652% to reach a new all-time high at $0.6665 on Sept. 25 as its 24-hour trading volume surged to a record $917 million.
Three reasons for the steady rally in COTI include its launch of the Djed stablecoin on the Cardano network, a series of exchange listings and the launch of COTI’s NFT game which appears to be bringing new users to its ecosystem.
COTI recently announced that its platform would be the official issuer of the Djed stablecoin on the Cardano network and the price continued its upward move on that news.
Stablecoins have emerged as one of the key components of the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole and for decentralized finance, in particular, because they provide sufficient liquidity for the market and create a safe haven during times of volatility.
Aside from its DeFi applications, the Djed can also be used to pay transaction fees on the Cardano network as a way to help prevent high gas fees and make the cost of conducting transactions more predictable.
A second factor behind COTI’s price growth is the token’s listing on several large exchanges, including Coinbase, the most active U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange.
This announcement kicked off a series of exchange listings for COTI, including being added to Huobi, Crypto.com, the decentralized exchange 1inch and Celsius, which is an all-in-one banking and financial services platform.
To go along with these exchange listings, the team at COTI also revealed that it has started the process of inviting beta testers to apply for the COTI bank account and debit card for final testing before the full launch of the protocol’s banking solution.
Related: Coinbase users can choose to deposit paychecks directly to accounts
A third factor helping to boost the value and activity within the COTI ecosystem is the project’s ongoing NFT activities, including the COTI NFT Game and the network’s future plan to help support NFTs on Cardano.
NFTs have been one of the hottest sectors in the cryptocurrency ecosystem throughout 2021 and protocols that offer a lower fee environment have seen increased activity in recent months.
VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for COTI on Sept. 21, prior to the recent price rise.
The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historical and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.
As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for COTI climbed into the green zone on Sept. 21 and reached a high of 77 around ten hours before the price increased 135% over the next five days.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
