Last week, Mastercard (NYSE: MA) announced Wednesday it will support "select cryptocurrencies" directly on its network this year. Executive vice president Raj Dhamodharan wrote: "Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It's about choice. [...] But we are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value - traditional or crypto - however they want." Though the financial services giant did not give details about how customers will be able to use Bitcoin (BTC) and other coins, the firm outlined that when someone wants to buy an item with crypto, Mastercard's crypto partners will convert the crypto into fiat currency and then transmit it over Mastercard's network. The policy will allow more merchants to accept crypto payments and "cut out inefficiencies, letting both consumers and merchants avoid having to convert back and forth between crypto and traditional to make purchases." Mastercard noted that users have been purchasing crypto assets with their cards, and Mastercard's decision makes Bitcoin and crypto even more mainstream.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is seriously considering making an investment in Bitcoin, according to a Bloomberg report Saturday that cited familiar sources. Morgan Stanley's $150 billion Counterpoint Global investment unit is reportedly weighing a bet on Bitcoin, though any investment would need approval from both the firm and regulators. The Counterpoint Global investment unit manages nearly 20 funds. The investment bank already has an almost 11% stake in business intelligence company MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) which has been buying up crypto for months, but no direct exposure to crypto yet. Analysts at Morgan Stanley have said in a recent report that Bitcoin has potential to strongly compete with the U.S. dollar, but that the more investors hold it for price appreciation, the weaker its appeal for currency use becomes. Morgan Stanley did not comment on the report.
Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) is planning to roll out crypto custody services, joining the oldest US bank the Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK). The world's 21st largest bank said it aims to "ensure the safety and accessibility of assets for clients by offering an institutional-grade hot/cold storage solution with insurance-grade protection," without mentioning specific coins or tokens. The service would eventually provide clients with the ability to buy and sell digital assets via a partnership with prime brokers, issuers, and vetted exchanges. The German bank also said it will provide "value-added services such as taxation, valuation services and fund administration, lending, staking and voting, and provide an open-banking platform to allow onboarding of third-party providers." The new service would be marketed to asset managers, wealth managers, family offices, digital funds, and corporations, and it would take in revenue via fees for custody, tokenization, and trading. Deutsche noted its digital asset custody platform would debut in stages, aiming for a minimum viable product in 2021.
Crypto prices soared to $1.49 trillion this week, due to a slew of bullish news. For the majors, Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and multiple others skyrocketed. In the top 100, the biggest loser was Dogecoin (DOGE), down 11%. The biggest gainers were Ravencoin (RVN), up 186%, Lisk (LSK), up 148%, and BitTorrent (BTT), up 143%. Next week traders will watch if Bitcoin can breach the $50,000 level and make history.
The author owns a small amount of BTC.