• Mastercard partners with crypto payment firm MoonPay for Web3 services
Global payment giant Mastercard continues exploring cryptocurrency benefits through a new collaboration with crypto payment platform MoonPay.
MoonPay officially announced on Oct. 25 a partnership with Mastercard aiming to jointly explore how Web3 tools can improve experiential marketing or find new ways to connect with Mastercard’s consumers.
The firm also took to X (formerly Twitter) to report that MoonPay’s enterprise president, Keith Grossman, and Mastercard’s chief marketing and communications officer, Raja Rajamannar, announced the collaboration at Money20/20 in Las Vegas.
• AllianceBernstein calls bitcoin a ‘safe haven asset,’ more attractive than gold
Asset management firm AllianceBernstein put out a memo last Monday not so subtly hyping bitcoin over gold, calling the cryptocurrency a “safe haven asset.”
AllianceBernstein (AB) analysts highlight that aside from Bitcoin’s inherent value stemming from its limited supply of 21 million coins — referred to as its “hard money properties” — the asset’s returns are undeniable.
“Since its inception, Bitcoin has consistently outperformed gold,” AB analysts wrote in the Oct. 16 note. “Over [the] last 3 years, Gold has been flat, while Bitcoin is up 150% (despite the 60% drawdown in 2022).”
And over the last five years, they wrote, bitcoin had five times better returns than gold.
• BlackRock’s IBTC back on DTCC after vanishing early Tuesday
BlackRock’s proposed iShares Bitcoin ETF, with the ticker IBTC, is back on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation website after vanishing early Tuesday.
IBTC originally appeared on the DTCC website on Monday, sending bitcoin rallying. Late Monday, bitcoin briefly topped $35,000 before falling back around $33,000.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas commented on X, saying that BlackRock’s listing was “notable” due to BlackRock not only being the first to list on DTCC, but also leading “the charge on these logistics (seeder, ticker, dtcc).”
After IBTC disappeared from the DTCC website, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart speculated that the US Securities and Exchange Commission “made a call to BlackRock.”
When Blockworks reached out to both the SEC and BlackRock about IBTC’s status on the DTCC website, both declined to comment.
• Ledger hardware wallet rolls out cloud-based private key recovery tool
Hardware wallet firm Ledger is rolling out its cloud-based private key recovery solution despite facing significant criticism from the crypto community.
Ledger Recover, an ID-based private key recovery service for the Ledger hardware wallet, is launching on Oct. 24, the firm officially announced on X (formerly Twitter). The release comes in conjunction with Ledger finalizing the open-source code for the Ledger Recover on GitHub.
Provided by blockchain protection platform Coincover, Ledger’s seed phrase recovery solution is a paid subscription service allowing users to back up their Secret Recovery Phrase (SRP). SRP is a unique list of 24 words that backs up the private keys and gives users access to their crypto assets.
• Bitcoin restarting 2023 uptrend after 26% Uptober BTC price gains — Research
As it hit $35,200 this week, Bitcoin eclipsed various key trendlines, which had previously acted as support for months.
These included various moving averages (MA), among them the 200-week simple MA at $28,400 — the classic “beark market” support line.
“A cluster of long-term simple moving averages of price are located around $28k, and have provided market resistance through September and October,” Glassnode noted.
• Solana Labs launches Web3 incubator offering dev and fundraising support
Solana Labs unveiled an all-new incubator program for project development on the Solana blockchain on Oct. 26.
Titled simply “Solana Incubator,” the program will offer fundraising, development, networking and marketing support for web and blockchain projects seeking to build on Solana’s platform.
The Solana Incubator will accept applications through Nov. 30. Those accepted will purportedly receive support from the Solana Labs team and its partners throughout the development, marketing and launch phases of their projects.
Concluding Notes:
- Mastercard partners with crypto payment firm MoonPay
- AllianceBernstein calls bitcoin a ‘safe haven asset’
- BlackRock’s IBTC back on DTCC after vanishing early Tuesday
- Ledger hardware wallet rolls out cloud-based private key recovery tool
- Bitcoin restarting 2023 uptrend after 26% Uptober BTC price gains
- Solana Labs launches Web3 incubator
