According to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the top 10,000 individual investors in Bitcoin control about one-third of the cryptocurrency in circulation. Despite the growing popularity of Bitcoin, its ownership is still concentrated in just a few hands, the Time reported. Usually, it is difficult to determine the concentration of…

Mastercard Inc. and crypto firm Bakkt Holdings Inc. partnered to enable cryptocurrency card payments. Banks will be able to issue debit or credit cards that let people pay with Bitcoin and earn cryptocurrency as rewards. According to the WSJ, the companies announced the partnership to make it easier for banks, financial-technology firms, and merchants to…

DeFi, built on blockchain and legacy financial systems, is on the verge of clashing in one of the most tumultuous battles in economic history, writes Alex Shipp on Cointelegraph. On the opening day of Messari Mainnet 2021, New York City’s long-awaited first crypto conference since the start of COVID-19, reports came blazing in via a…

Nigeria launched on Monday a digital currency (eNaira), the central bank said, months after it barred banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in cryptocurrencies. Nigeria joins 14 other countries now in the pilot stages with their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), including China, South Korea, and Sweden, with a total…

Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue, enables customers to buy Bitcoin at dozens of its U.S. stores. The retail giant is offering Bitcoin through 200 of its Coinstar ATMs in partnership with crypto firm Coinme. This service can be extended if Bitcoin value and consumption continue to rise. Coinstar has more than 20,000 ATMs…

The US Treasury Department is reportedly allowing the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to take the lead in regulating stablecoins, including Tether and USD Coin. A highly anticipated report expected to be published later this week will state that the SEC will have significant authority over stablecoins. A few people familiar with the matter…