Malta's regulator has begun issuing licenses to regulate the activity of several cryptocurrency exchanges and companies, while there is a strong global interest in learning about, adopting and investing in Bitcoin. These and more news in this practical daily summary so that you are always informed with the most recent events that occur within the crypto world.
📍 The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) is delivering the first licenses to companies and financial service providers with cryptocurrencies, who submitted their application in 2018. Crypto.com:, exchange and Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency Visa card provider, which provides financial services in Europe, the UK, the US and Singapore, is the first to receive its licenses from MFSA.
The Authority granted two financial licenses to the exchange; a Financial Institution License and a Class 3 Virtual Financial Assets License. With these licenses, Crypto.com can start offering different services. services to its clients, such as providing advice on investments and the purchase of cryptocurrencies, as well as safeguarding funds and offering OTC trading in a legal and authorized manner.
📍 The subsidiary of gazprombank in Switzerland began offering financial services with Bitcoin, and has already carried out the first client transactions under the approval of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. The entity had announced in late October that it would provide cryptocurrency services, including cryptocurrency accounts, investment management and digital asset custody, through a partnership with fintech company Avaloq and the digital security infrastructure provider METHACUS.
Gazprombank is the largest bank in the Russian Federation and is owned by the state-run Gazprom Corporation.
📍 Another banking giant that adopts Bitcoin to offer financial services is SBI VC Trade. The Japan-based entity announced the launch of its new cryptocurrency lending service, «VC TRADE LENDING", which will allow clients and users to lend or rent their cryptocurrencies to the bank, and earn interest at a rate of 1% with taxes included.
“VC TRADE LENDING is a service that allows clients to rent their crypto assets to us and receive usage fees according to the amount and period of crypto assets.”
Those who wish to lend their bitcoins to this entity must do so for a period of 84 days; in addition, the minimum loan amount is 0,1 BTC and the maximum is 5 BTC, according to the SBI statement. Likewise, the entity reports that it will soon expand its service and add more cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum (ETH) y Ripple (XRP).
📍 JPMorgan published a new report on markets, where it noted that Bitcoin is being increasingly adopted by institutional players, reports CoinDeskAccording to the report, during the third quarter of this year, Bitcoin purchases by institutional investors grew to more than $1,6 billion through Square's Cash app, compared to the second quarter of the year.
And although the JPMorgan analysts' report did not reveal the figures that Grayscale, the renowned digital asset management company, manages in Bitcoin, the company published that it has 500.000 BTC in its custody, which is valued at around $9,5 billion according to the current price of the cryptocurrency.
📍 Google TrendsGoogle Trends, the tool for measuring internet searches, shows a 32-point growth in global interest in Bitcoin. Last week, Google reported that searches for the cryptocurrency were at 66 points globally, a relatively low index despite the cryptocurrency's bullish rally. But now, as of press time, the Google Trends score shows a huge growth in interest in Bitcoin, similar to what was seen when it reached its all-time high in 2017.
Search interest for BTC is currently between 98 and XNUMX. 100 points. Global interest in Bitcoin was sparked when the value of Bitcoin surpassed $19.000 USD per unit, a value increasingly closer to its all-time high of $20.000 USD.
📍 At press time, Bitcoin (BTC)'s 2017 all-time high seems imminent. The market-leading cryptocurrency has a value of $19.360 USD, with a growth of more than 5% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin also boasts a market capitalization of more than $359 billion, breaking its all-time high again and ranking second among the 100 largest and most important banks in the world.
Source: Companies Market Cap
Continue reading: What is behind the recent rise in Bitcoin price?
