Mediaboss Marketing

Use of emerging alternative payment platforms, such as Apple Pay or Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, can alter consumer credit card behavior and consequently impact our interchange fee income.

So says Horizon Bancorp which provides a broad range of banking services through its bank subsidiary, Horizon Bank.

They have $7.9 billion in assets and $5.9 billion in deposits with this regional bank being the first to explicitly state that bitcoin is a risk to their profits.

The increasing use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies and/or stable coin and the possible impact these alternative currencies may have on deposit disintermediation and income derived from payment systems, is one of the risks, uncertainties, and factors that could cause Horizons actual results to vary materially, the bank says, as well as:

Potential loss of fee income, including interchange fees, as new and emerging alternative payment platforms (e.g., Apple Pay or Bitcoin) take a greater market share of the payment systems.

Of course the banks loss is the publics gain as they benefit from lower fees or from diversifying deposit risks, but allegedly some regulators are intervening against this market competition and innovation which benefits the taxpayer.

Barney Frank, the former congressman and architect of the landmark Dodd-Frank banking regulations who also sits on the board of Signature bank, which was closed last week by the Department of Financial Services in New York (DFS), accuses the latter of closing the bank for no good reason as it was not insolvent, but to send a crypto message.

Why did they react so harshly to what they said was our inability to give them the sufficient data? I believe it was probably to send the message that even though we were doing crypto stuff responsibly, they dont want banks doing crypto.

DFS has denied the accusation, claiming there was a crisis of confidence in the banks leadership, but if the bank was indeed solvent, closing in does raise questions.

In addition the admission by Horizon bank now finally provides evidence of bias, which law makers and the elected will hopefully bear in mind when they are lobbied, both through the media and in private, against what they see as their competitor: crypto.

Where bankers as individuals are concerned however the story has been changing and considerably, with many of them embracing the new frontier.

Yet some bankers, like Jamie Dimon or Warren Buffet, remain viciously biased towards the entire crypto space with some regulators too often not bothering to hide their bias.

A bias no different than Blockbusters towards Netflix, with here too lower fees, diversification of risk and other features, including ease of global access, benefiting the public.

Read the original post:

Bitcoin a Risk to Profits Says Bank - Trustnodes

(Kitco News) - The U.S. is the undisputed leader when it comes to the number of Bitcoin automated teller machines (ATMs), with 32,591 machines installed throughout the country, but a recent study conducted by Tradingbrowser indicates that cryptocurrency and Bitcoin ATM adoption is highest in countries that lack a developed financial infrastructure.

Countries that have high rates of unbanked populations also have higher rates of cryptocurrency adoption due to high cash payments and Bitcoin ATMs, Daniel Larsson, senior editor at Tradingbrowser, wrote. If the projection of installed Bitcoin ATMs continues, these unbanked countries could see exponential growth in adoption.

A total of 14 countries were included in the study, which gathered information related to the number of Bitcoin ATMs installed, cash payments, unbaked population, cryptocurrency ownership, cryptocurrency ownership percentage, and the total population in order to compare adoption rates.

It all boils down to how the population is connected to cash payments and bank accounts, Larsson said.

The countries that were found to have the highest rate of crypto adoption had the highest rates of unbanked populations and were also the most promising locations to install ATMs and promote adoption.

Countries with a high rate of cash payments and unbanked population. Source: Tradingbrowser

Out of the countries surveyed, Mexico had the largest percentage of its population unbanked at 60%, and it also ranks third in terms of the number of Bitcoin ATMs installed, with 46. Only Romania and Hong Kong currently host more ATMs than Mexico. A total of 3.4% of Mexican citizens currently own cryptocurrency, which is nearly triple the adoption rate of more advanced nations like Norway and Denmark.

In South Africa, 31% of the population is unbanked, the country has 21 Bitcoin ATMs, and 10% of its population owns some form of cryptocurrency.

When those numbers are compared to countries whose unbanked population is smaller, the differences become clear.

Countries with a low rate of cash payments and unbanked population. Source: Tradingbrowser

The differences are especially stark in nordic countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, which have the lowest percentage of cash payments (1-2%) while nearly 100% of their populations are connected to the traditional banking system.

Countries where cash payments range from 1-2% and unbanked populations from 0% to 1% including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and New Zealand have no Bitcoin ATMs installed. These countries also have a much lower adoption rate, Larsson observed.

We can draw many conclusions based on these findings but the most significant driver for the high adoption rates in highly unbanked nations is the number of Bitcoin ATMs that have been installed, Larsson said. In many cases, cryptocurrency is proving to be a viable option where Bitcoin ATMs have been installed.

In areas with no established banking infrastructure, the ability to use ATMs to trade cryptocurrency for cash, or from cash to cryptocurrency, is a feature that is impossible without access to traditional banking or credit cards.

Based on these findings, Larsson speculates that the reason crypto ownership is lower in countries with an established financial infrastructure has to do with the fact that there is no need for the population in these countries to use cryptocurrencies.

The one exception in the study was Hong Kong, which has a highly developed financial system and is considered to be a financial hub and testing ground for Chinese policymakers. Hong Kong ranked second overall in the number of Bitcoin ATMs installed, with 147, while Romania came in first with 156.

The high rate of cash payments and Bitcoin ATMs in developing countries shows a growth of alternative financing solutions such as Bitcoin which provides a fast, secure, and efficient way to transact outside the traditional banking system, Larsson said. Its safe to say that more Bitcoin ATMs are likely going to be installed in highly unbanked countries as the positive trend toward cryptocurrencies continues.

While Bitcoin ATMs are not solely responsible for driving adoption in unbanked regions of the world, there is clearly a correlation, Larsson said. The study shows that cash and Bitcoin ATMs are the two main factors driving the adoption of cryptocurrencies right now and its obvious which parts of the world are in the drivers seat.

It remains to be seen how the trend will progress moving forward, especially amid the spreading banking contagion that is now hitting banks in Europe, including Credit Suisse.

Only time will tell whether the trend of these ATMs and the adoption of cryptocurrency will continue in countries where cash is currently king, Larsson said. Until then, we can not look past the obvious which is that right now, unbanked countries are beating cashless countries in the race to full cryptocurrency adoption.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

Read more:

Crypto and Bitcoin ATM adoption is highest in countries with large ... - Kitco NEWS

What is in the news these days is the Feds action to support the banking system that is severely in crisis, though this is only supporting Bitcoin.

The banking crisis with the failure of four major US banks, and others at risk. Has forced the Fed and the government to take unprecedented measures, and this indirectly brings new life to Bitcoin as well.

As also reported by Watcher Guru on Twitter with the following tweet:

JUST IN: $2 trillion could be injected into the US banking system by the Federal Reserves emergency loan program, JPMorgan says.

The Feds emergency lending consists of the ability of distressed banks to access $2 trillion in liquidity at least, JPMorgan explains.

The aftermath of the collapse of the various Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate, etc. has sunk the entire banking industry and fear is spreading like wildfire.

Many banks do not have their accounts in order and are not as solid as Silicon Valley Bank was, for example, although it also went bankrupt.

For the investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co, the program put in place by the Fed and the US government is massive.

Available funds constitute the largest economic intervention ever put in place ($2 trillion) and are only meant to buffer the crisis with an injection of liquidity.

The plan has been under consideration well before the recent industry failures but now its rushed launch was necessary to avert the collapse of the US economy.

The operation will make it unnecessary to sell loss-making securities so banks can survive.

JPMorgan has stated that the Bank Term Funding Program will be sufficient to put the accounts of the entire banking system in order except for the 5 largest investment banks.

Whether or not to use the plan is in strong doubt since it would involve untying the state with a noose around its neck.

The amount allocated on balance is equal to the amount of total existing bank bonds.

For Nikolaos Panigirtzoglous strategy team:

Utilization of the Feds Bank Term Funding Program is likely to be high.

The largest US banks, along with those subject to intervention by the Fed and government, hold $3 trillion in bank reserves.

There have been rumors for a few days now that the Fed no longer intends to raise rates by 50 basis points. There has even been talk of a rate standby.

This news, combined with the banking crisis, has led to, among other things. A drop in the yield on bots of 60 basis points in just one week.

The combination of the banking crisis and the idea of a rate standby is bringing a boost to Bitcoin. Which is up 20% in just four days.

Today Bitcoin stands at $24829 and is up 1.89% in the 24 hours.

Should Bitcoin succeed in breaking through $26.000 then the $30.000 target would be in its grasp.

Lack of confidence and losses by investors in the banking sector have brought liquidity to the crypto sector and especially to Bitcoin.

It is curious (I am being sarcastic) how the currency that was created to counter and give an alternative to the banking system as we know it appreciates in a phase of crisis in the latter.

Visit link:

US Fed to the rescue of banks as Bitcoin soars - The Cryptonomist

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) about Bitcoin stemming from the collapse of a single bank contributed to its downward trend earlier this week.

Yet, the failure of yet another bank may have reversed the publics opinion and brought back support for the king coin. However, Bitcoin may have been affected differently by the Silicon Valley bank run that triggered a drop in USDC.

Read Bitcoin (BTC) Price Prediction 2023-24

The California Financial Institutions Control Board closed Silicon Valley Bank, a significant bank for startups with venture capital backing. It was the first bank insured by the FDIC to go bankrupt in 2023.

The California regulator has designated the FDIC as the receiver to safeguard insured savings, although the reason for the shutdown is unknown. SVB, one of the 20 largest banks in the U.S. by total assets, financed several startups focusing on cryptocurrencies.

Peoples reactions to the SVB failure suggest uncertainty is the current prevalent mood. The process of withdrawing assets for customers with $250,000 or more has sparked discussions based on a thread by Mark Cuban (an American businessman) and the following comments.

In addition, Circle announced in a statement that over $3 billion of its $40 billion was held by SVB. Another negative reaction has been the flight of USDC holders exchanging their holdings for other stablecoins and Bitcoin.

According to Santiment statistics, the accumulation of whales and sharks continued despite the FUD that was caused by the Silvergate crash.

As of this writing, addresses with 10-10,000 BTC had risen to over 67%. Looking at the data, it is clear that on 11 March, there was an upswing in whale and shark accumulation, coinciding with the time that USDC was experiencing a capital flight.

In addition, the volume metric on Santiment revealed some intriguing actions. By 9 a.m. UTC on March 11, BTC volume had already reached 45 billion, and by 17:00 UTC, it had reached 35 billion.

This volume is notable because it is the highest Bitcoin has seen since December. There is little doubt that this is a sign of a rise in business activity. There were more than 39 billion as of this writing.

Even if the amount of trades has increased, most tokens have left exchanges. More and more Bitcoin (BTC) holders are moving their coins off exchanges because of the continuing swap with USDC.

CryptoQuants Netflow measure shows that on 10 March, more BTC left the system than entered; this trend persisted as of this writing.

Looking at the spot price of BTC/USDC at the time of writing, we can see that BTC has increased in value by more than 11% on a daily timeframe. At the time of writing, one Bitcoin was worth roughly $22,600 at the current USDC exchange rate.

Yet, on a daily timeframe, the BTC/USD spot price showed that it had lost almost 1% of its value, trading at around $19,900 and $20,000.

Is your portfolio green? Check out the Bitcoin Profit Calculator

A possible indicator of the degree of interdependence between conventional finance and cryptocurrency is the publics reaction to the SVB failure, which was focused on Bitcoin and stablecoins.

Even so, Bitcoin showed that, despite its volatility, it could be a viable alternative store of wealth.

Read the original post:

Bitcoin: Fall of Silicon Valley Bank might be a silver lining for BTC, heres why - AMBCrypto News

Digital financial assets (DFAs) for a total exceeding $26 million have been issued in Russia in the past year. This new market has been developing since it was regulated in 2021 and the countrys monetary authority started licensing issuers in the following year.

Less than a year since Central Bank of Russia (CBR)-approved entities began issuing digital financial assets, these have issued DFAs for 2 billion rubles (over $26 million). The data was announced by Ekaterina Frolovicheva, general director of the tokenization service Atomyze.

Speaking at a round table in the Digital Financial Assets New Tool for Attracting Liquidity Public Chamber, Frolovicheva explained that the first DFA issuer was added to Bank of Russias register on Feb. 3, 2022, but the issuing of DFAs started several months later.

Quoted by the Tass news agency, she also noted that the unique features of DFAs make them extremely attractive and that demand is on the rise. For example, hybrid digital rights combine the properties of digital financial assets and utilitarian digital rights, simultaneously certifying a monetary claim and right to demand the transfer of an asset.

Stablecoins, when not intended for settlements, as well as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can be issued as hybrid digital rights in the Russian Federation. Thats possible under the law On Digital Financial Assets which went into force in January 2021. However, the country has yet to regulate operations with decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

Atomyze is one of the platforms authorized by the CBR to issue DFAs, alongside the fintech company Lighthouse, as well as Sberbank and Alfa-Bank, Russias largest state-owned and private bank, respectively. Another entity was recently licensed Distributed Registry Systems, which operates the Masterchain blockchain platform.

Russians will soon be able to invest in DFAs along with other instruments, such as stocks and bonds, while avoiding the risks associated with traditional instruments and bypassing financial market intermediaries, commented Maxim Trofimov, CEO of a company called Digital Assets.

Do you expect the digital assets market to continue to expand in Russia? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchenss quote: Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do. Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Read more here:

Digital Assets Worth 2 Billion Rubles Issued in Russia in Less Than ... - Bitcoin News