Bitcoin Interest On The Rise…
Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin specifically has been at the top of many headlines and newsfeeds as of lately. There has certainly been a sudden spark of interest in the value of Bitcoin. According to a report from Crypto.com, the total of global crypto users reached 106 million in January of 2021, showing significant growth over the past decade and even more so over the past year. Some people may just be following trends or looking to supplement their income, others perhaps, dissatisfied with the traditional banking system.
People Are Choosing Bitcoin More & More
There are now 1 one billion Bitcoin wallets of value, in existence. Furthermore, the estimated number of active daily Bitcoin wallet users has reached over 100 million. While pinning down the exact number of Bitcoin users is tricky, studies and surveys have been able to come up with these estimates, mostly based on the number of active Bitcoin wallets.
Seeing The Many Benefits Of Bitcoin, Big Brands Join In…
The Value Of Bitcoin Is Up!
A few companies have offered Bitcoin payment options for a while now, but most everyone waited at least a few years before they began integrating the untethered currency through their payment platforms.
Now that the word is getting out about the potential value of Bitcoin, more individuals and even more importantly, more corporations and companies are catching on. It’s a Bitcoin Revolution!
Goldman Sachs
The latest cryptocurrency news headlines are crawling with a HUGE announcement. The American multinational investment bank and financial services company, Goldman Sachs has filed a note. Filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange And Commission (SEC), in regards to the ARK Innovation ETF. This exchange-traded fund, also known as an ETF is capable of investing in bitcoin.
The Goldman Sachs note goes on to explain;
“The ETF may have exposure to cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, indirectly through an investment in a grantor trust. The ETF’s exposure to cryptocurrency may change over time and, accordingly, such exposure may not always be represented in the ETF’s portfolio.”
It is clear, that Goldman Sachs recognizes and accepts Bitcoin as an investment-grade asset and plans to treat it as such.
Major Credit Card Companies
Cryptocurrency has become more and more popular and now more than ever credit card companies are beginning to see the value of bitcoin. As more people begin using their major credit cards to purchase Bitcoin and the likes, both Visa and Mastercard, have begun integrating ways to work with secure, compliant forms of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin.
Visa
For Visa, being one of the ‘World’s Most Powerful Payment Methods” means keeping up with the times and staying on top of the market.
A statement on their Crypto specific site explains Visa’s cryptocurrency integration,
“The foundation of Visa was built on the electronic enablement of moving money. Today, money itself is evolving and our network and solutions are evolving with it. We’re focused on connecting our network of thousands of financial institutions, millions of merchants, and billions of consumers to new crypto and blockchain networks.”
Mastercard
As one can probably concur, Mastercard has showed up to the Bitcoin bash for the same reason as Visa, demand! The driving force for making the shift into the cryptocurrency world was due to the ever increasing use of credit cards to purchase Bitcoin and other forms of digital currency.
Like Visa, Mastercard plans to stick to the more secure, trusted and compliant cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.
“Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It’s about choice. Mastercard isn’t here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value – traditional or crypto – however they want. It should be your choice, it’s your money.”
Paypal
PayPal made it possible for 26 million merchants to transact in Bitcoin on their network in October of 2020.
PayPal CEO, Dan Schulman chimed in on the crypto conversation;
“The shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable, bringing with it clear advantages in terms of financial inclusion and access; efficiency, speed and resilience of the payments system; and the ability for governments to disburse funds to citizens quickly. Our global reach, digital payments expertise, two-sided network, and rigorous security and compliance controls provide us with the opportunity, and the responsibility, to help facilitate the understanding, redemption and interoperability of these new instruments of exchange.”
Partnering with Paxos Trust, the service was introduced to the U.S. market and select foreign markets. Now PayPal users can not only buy and sell but also hold a limited number of cryptocurrencies all from a mobile app.
Now…Tesla Has Arrived, Fashionably Late Or Just In Time?
Elon Musk of Tesla announced just days ago that he would now be accepting Bitcoin as payment for his futuristic cars. Musk took to his favorite platform, Twitter to go into greater detail about his exciting announcement.
It Looks Like This Guys Really ‘Gets’ The Value Of Bitcoin
“Tesla is using only internal & open source software & operates Bitcoin nodes directly. Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency”.
SOURCE
Simon Peters, Cryptoasset Analyst said this in emailed comments to Forbes.
“Tesla’s decision to both accept payment for its cars in bitcoin and hold that bitcoin on its balance sheet rather than convert it to dollars will likely build more momentum for the cryptoasset,”
SOURCE
All signs are go for Bitcoin and the future of crypto at TESLA. The website is now updated with its very own Bitcoin payment system. (US Only) Musk has announced on Twitter that he will be making the new Bitcoin payment system accessible to those outside of the United States, later this year.
Virgin Galactic Boosts The Value Of Bitcoin Into Space!
For those interested in the outrageous, Virgin Galactic Offers rides into outer space. Yes, for up to $250,000 the curious adventurer can blast off into an altitude of 50,000 to experience true weightlessness!
Payment options are set up so that you could also choose to pay for your trip “out of this world” with Bitcoin but you might try looking into the value of bitcoin before you make that call.
Twitch
Amazon owned, leading video streaming company, Twitch began accepting Bitcoin payments in 2014.
Since then, Twitch has become a major upholder of cryptocurrency. In fact, just last year, the game streaming service implemented a new incentive program, encouraging crypto payments. Subscribers are offered a 10% discount for using certain cryptocurrencies.
Shopify
When it comes to ecommerce platforms for merchants, Shopify operates one of the largest in existence. This company’s market capitalization alone is $149 billion.
Shopify, another early supporter of cryptocurrency, began accepting Bitcoin in 2013. Now, just years later Shopify has entered an agreement with Coinpayments adding an extensive network of payment gateways from credit cards reaching far and wide as well and expanding the platform to accept hundreds of altcoins.
Is Bitcoin The Way?
Conceptualized by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin is a unique, digital payment system which permits borderless financial transactions, without the interference of banks or governments. A combination of Blockchain technology and cryptographic techniques makes for a highly resistant currency, safe from attacks and fraud.
The above mentioned companies see the true value of Bitcoin and what it could potentially do for the future of finance and it is becoming increasingly more easy to see why. Want to learn more about Bitcoin and other altcoins?
