Crypto
Visa and Tangem Unveil Combined Payment Card-Crypto Wallet
Switzerland-based cryptocurrency wallet maker Tangem AG has launched a payments partnership with Visa.
The collaboration, announced Friday (July 5), has resulted in a Visa payments card combined with a hardware wallet that lets Tangem users make payments using their crypto or stablecoin balances at merchants that accept Visa.
“We are delighted that Visa has chosen to partner with Tangem, one of the most reliable and secure solutions for personal cryptocurrency storage,” Andrey Kurennykh, co-founder and CEO of Tangem, said in a news release.
“Our users will get a two-in-one solution — the convenience of a regular bank card and the capabilities of a self-custodial crypto wallet, all in one card.”
Kurennykh added that the partnership will go a long way toward “bridging the gap between traditional banking and digital assets, making it easier for everyday users to navigate and leverage the benefits of both worlds.”
According to the release, the new solution differs from traditional custodial solutions, which rely on third-party entities to handle user funds. In this case, Tangem’s card embeds a private key within the chip and requires the physical card’s use for every transaction, making sure users are always in control of their assets.
The partnership is happening a moment when, as PYMNTS wrote earlier this week, the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector finds itself at a crucial juncture.
“It is the same critical juncture, or at least one strikingly similar, that the crypto and digital asset sector has always found itself at — a juncture where regulatory developments, interoperability and scalability, and institutional acceptance are at the forefront,” that report said.
The reason? Regulations, usability and acceptance are the three themes and trends observers believe will mold the future of Web3, a future that’s more than a decade in the works.
While the adoption of crypto as a mainstream payment mechanism has yet to displace more traditional methods in spite of the rise of digital transactions, crypto has still seen some success as a financial asset, that report argued.
One of the most pressing issues facing the space is a need for clear regulation to protect consumers, prevent fraud and drive institutional investment.
Taming the “Wild West” that is the crypto landscape remains a challenge, the report noted. This week began with the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing Silvergate Capital, once a favorite partner of the crypto industry, with a range of compliance failures.
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Crypto
Rumors are swirling about Venezuela holding $60 billion in Bitcoin—but crypto experts are skeptical | Fortune
Following the United States’ capture of Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, a report came out claiming that Venezuela had $60 billion stored in Bitcoin—leading to speculation that the U.S. could lay claim to cryptocurrency as well as oil. Despite numerous reports of the huge Venezuelan Bitcoin stash, however, a crypto forensic firm is skeptical of the claims.
The news of Venezuela’s Bitcoin holding began to bubble up last Saturday, the same day that Maduro was ousted. The digital publication Project Brazen reported that his regime could control $60 billion in the original cryptocurrency—but offered little in the way of proof.
“The article does not mention any addresses as a starting point, making it difficult to verify any of these speculated claims,” said Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at Nansen, about Project Brazen’s report.
Barthere is not the first person to express skepticism about the country’s purported crypto treasure trove. Mauricio di Bartolomeo, the Venezuelan co-founder of the financial services company Ledn, told Fortune on Wednesday that the level of the country’s corruption makes the figure hard to believe. He expanded his argument in an opinion piece he wrote for Coindesk.
Estimates of Venezuela’s crypto holdings vary wildly. Bitcointreasuries.net estimates that the country has $22 million worth of Bitcoin. That figure would make Venezuela the government entity with the ninth-most money tied up in the original cryptocurrency, just behind North Korea.
While the exact size of Venezuela’s Bitcoin wealth is unclear, the country has long been a player in crypto. Maduro introduced a token called the Petro in 2018, which was shuttered six years later. Its citizens have also turned to stablecoins as a way to fight their currency’s hyperinflation.
Trump has said that he will “run” Venezuela, and some have speculated that includes seizing the country’s Bitcoin holdings. Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence at Chainalysis, said he could not speak to the likelihood of such a seizure. He did, however, explain what gaining control of assets might look like.
A freezing of assets could occur through centralized services, he says. These services would get a court order for an exchange or an issuer like Tether or Circle who could blacklist an address. The second method is through physical seizure. The U.S. could get control of wallets, devices, and keys through compelled cooperation.
For now, there is unlikely to be a full and accurate account of Venezuela’s Bitcoin holdings until the political situation in the country becomes more stable.
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