By Marcus Soterio, analyst A publicly listed digital asset broker GlobalBlock (TSXV: Block).
While Bitcoin has been volatile this week, nearing $21,300, institutional demand is ‘massive’ according to Bitstamp. In an interview published on Monday, Bitstamp Global CEO Jean-Baptiste Graftieux said, “Many institutional companies are looking to make their first move into crypto, as they say to their own institutional clients.”
The CEO commented on the regulation, “Most states and countries are looking to regulate crypto. The key risk here is making sure the rules are smart and have a level playing field.
He pointed out how a crypto service provider looking to do business in Europe must register as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) with each country and each country has its own requirements.
But the introduction of the EU Commission’s MCA (Marketing in Crypto-assets) proposal, which will be implemented in the next 1-2 years, means that there will be one country where you can set up your activity as MCA compliant. And then carry out these activities in other European countries. This will help provide a comprehensive framework for the crypto industry in Europe.
Mastercard is partnering with Binance to launch a crypto prepaid card in Argentina, working on how crypto’s seed could become global mass adoption. Mastercard’s CEO said this will allow people to spend crypto at more than 90,000,000 stores. When you use this card, crypto is converted to fiat currency in real time when you buy, and cardholders get 8% crypto cashback on all purchases.
MasterCard’s plans to integrate cryptocurrency could be an eye-opener for competitors like Visa, which could follow in MasterCard’s footsteps to lead the payments industry.