What Crypto’s Big Week Means for Your Wallet
Amanda Heckman|April 3, 2021
Coming soon to a checkout counter near you…
Cash, credit… or crypto?
In all corners of the economy, crypto had another big week.
From big bank adoption to payment options (and even burritos), crypto took a huge leap forward in proving it’s here to stay.
Online payments juggernaut PayPal announced this week that its users can now use crypto in their PayPal wallet for purchases. In the coming months, the option will be available across the company’s 29 million merchants.
Called “Checkout with Crypto,” the service has no transaction fees… and supports Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. (One type of crypto per purchase, please.)
“This is the first time you can seamlessly use cryptocurrencies in the same way as a credit card or a debit card inside your PayPal wallet,” said President and CEO Dan Schulman.
“We think it is a transitional point where cryptocurrencies move from being predominantly an asset class that you buy, hold or sell to now becoming a legitimate funding source to make transactions in the real world at millions of merchants,” Schulman said.
It’s the natural – and exciting – next step in PayPal’s adoption of crypto.
And the company’s moving fast. After all, it was only in December that it enabled folks to buy, sell and hold crypto in their accounts.
As we’ve said, it’s clear PayPal has its eye on the future and wants to be at the center of the crypto revolution.
Everywhere Visa Is Accepted?
Elsewhere in the payments world, Visa announced this week that it has accepted its first-ever payment in crypto.
In a pilot program, Visa can now settle transactions in crypto – specifically a stablecoin called USD Coin (USDC).
(Stablecoins are cryptos that are backed by another asset, like the dollar or gold. This helps reduce price volatility.)
As the name implies, USDC is tied to the U.S. dollar. And through Visa’s partnership with crypto.com, a cardholder can use crypto for payments… while on the back end, Visa will settle the payment with USDC… instead of having to convert the crypto to dollars.
This is a big development in the process of making crypto transactions not just possible, but also easier, cheaper and more efficient…
Another huge hurdle to crypto’s widespread adoption… sailed over.
Go Big
And we’re not done yet. Far from it.
The big banks, too, are going… well… big.
On the heels of Morgan Stanley announcing it will offer crypto exposure to its wealthy clients, Goldman Sachs is also pushing deeper into the space, saying that it’s looking to offer a “full spectrum” of cryptocurrency investments to its private wealth clients within the next few months.
And the news gets better for average investors… Last week, brokerage house Fidelity announced it filed for its first Bitcoin ETF.
Called the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, the fund will track the performance of Bitcoin as measured by the Fidelity Bitcoin Index.
If approved by the SEC, the fund could be the first cryptocurrency ETF listed on a major U.S. exchange.
It’ll be an “easy” way to invest in Bitcoin.
But easy is rarely best. For details on what we think is the biggest opportunity in cryptos RIGHT NOW… you need to check this out.
On Thursday, Andy’s Alpha Money Flow subscribers took gains after his latest crypto recommendation doubled in less than a week.
That’s just the latest in a string of winners since he launched his crypto portfolio in December.
But his favorite play is still within his price range. It trades for just a bit more than $1.
You can get the details on his favorite crypto to own in 2021 right here.
