HUMBL Inc (HMBL)

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Digital currency continues to explode in adoption into the mainstream .....

Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre discloses treasury bitcoin buy

MercadoLibre, the Latin American e-commerce and fintech company, said in a Wednesday regulatory filing that it now holds bitcoin on its balance sheet.

Per a press statement announcing its first-quarter results for 2021, the firm said that "[a]s part of our treasury strategy this quarter we purchased $7.8 million in bitcoin, a digital asset that we are disclosing within our indefinite-lived intangible assets."

The exact timing of the purchase is unclear, though the financial results cover the first quarter ending March 31, 2021.

By doing so, the firm becomes the latest publicly-traded company to add bitcoin to its balance sheet. Others include automaker Tesla and payments firm Square.

MercadoLibre, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker MEDI, has a market capitalization of more than $76 billion.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/103930/latin-american-e-commerce-giant-mercadolibre-discloses-treasury-bitcoin-buy?utm_source=coinbase&utm_medium=

FIS and NYDIG announce bid to help banks offer bitcoin to their customers


Fintech firm FIS and NYDIG, the bitcoin-focused subsidiary of investment firm Stone Ridge, have partnered on a new service offering that lets banks offer bitcoin capabilities to their customers.

According to a Wednesday press statement, NYDIG will manage the bitcoin transactions side of the offering while FIS, via its Digital One Mobile tool, will offer the digital experience element.

NYDIG will manage the bitcoin transactions and the FIS Digital One Mobile tool to offer the digital experience to banks. Customers will be able to see and manage their bitcoin holdings along with their checking and savings accounts, according to the companies.

“While bitcoin adoption is increasing, an accessibility and credibility gap remains for too many who want to buy, sell and hold,” said Robert Gutmann, co-founder and CEO of NYDIG, in a statement. “Our partnership with FIS, and their core banking clients, bridges this gap.”

Along with this partnership, FIS announced that it invested through its venture arm an undisclosed amount to NYDIG, which recently secured funding from First Foundation in addition to its $300 million raised in March and April.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/103864/fis-nydig-partnership-lets-banks-offer-bitcoin-services-to-customers?utm_source=coinbase&utm_medium=rss

Mastercard Survey: Two-Thirds of Millennials Increasingly Open to Using Crypto

A Mastercard survey has shown that most millennials are eager to use and learn about cryptocurrencies.

By Scott Chipolina
Mastercard’s New Payments Index survey has found that cryptocurrencies have gained ground, while millennials are “primed” to jump into the industry, with two-thirds (67%) more open to using crypto than they were a year ago.

“As global interest in cryptocurrencies as a payment method continues to accelerate, four in 10 people across North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific say they plan to use cryptocurrency in the next year,” the survey, which was conducted across 18 markets around the world, found.

There's still some way to go in educating millennials about crypto, though. Per the survey, 77% of millennials are interested in learning more about crypto, while 75% of millennials agreed that they would use cryptocurrencies if they understood them better.

But cryptocurrencies are not the only digital innovation catching the eyes of consumers. Mastercard’s survey found that other technologies, like biometrics and QR codes, are taking hold too.

Broader findings

Over 90% of Mastercard customers are considering using a form of emerging payments technology.

According to Mastercard, the increased interest in these technologies has been fuelled by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“As the world went into pandemic lockdown in 2020, consumers shifted their spending habits to embrace contactless tap-and-go payments and online shopping,” the statement said, adding that, “adoption of new payment technologies is rising, and consumer appetite for new, fast and flexible digital experiences continues to grow.”

Mastercard’s survey also found that over 90% of consumers will consider using “at least one” emerging payment method.

What’s more, almost two-thirds of consumers—63% to be exact—have already tried a new payment method. These consumers said they would not have made this step under “normal circumstances,” but the COVID-19 pandemic has “galvanized people to try flexible new payment options to get what they want, when they want it.”

The Mastercard survey also found that over half of consumers would avoid businesses that did not support any kind of electronic payment system. “The pandemic made us think differently, partly out of necessity,” added Craig Vosburg, chief product officer at Mastercard.

https://decrypt.co/69948/mastercard-survey-crypto-gaining-ground-and-millennials-jumping-in?&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=feed&utm_source=coinbase