Apollon(XAP)

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) license will soon allow the firm to offer S&P 500 stocks. In addition, Xapo, which has always been bitcoin-only, plans to add Ethereum’s ETH.

Xapo's CEO said the move "is in line with the positive shifts we are witnessing in Asia’s evolving crypto landscape."

Ledger’s latest seed phase recovery idea has not sat well with the community. Members have even taken to social media to express their displeasure with the proposal. Let’s find out more about the matter and other noteworthy events that happened in crypto this week. Bitcoin USDT-issuer Tether has announced that it will use a portion of its profits and purchase Bitcoin in an effort to shore up its stablecoin reserves. Ethereum Embattled crypto lending firm Celsius is wasting no time in removing its stash of staked ETH (stETH) tokens from the liquid staking platform Lido. DeFi Premier decentralized exchange platform Uniswap is set to launch on Polkadot's Moonbeam parachain, with the integrations tabled through its decentralized governance platform. Altcoins Touted as digital silver to Bitcoin’s gold, Litecoin has suddenly awakened, putting on nearly 20% in 4 days. Technology Ledger has come under stinging criticism from its community over its latest seed phrase recovery idea, with members taking to social media to voice their disapproval. DeFi platform Yield App has formed strategic ties with emerging fintech firm Volt to enhance access and revolutionize crypto engagement. Business Britain's most valuable fintech company, Revolut, could face disappointment as the Bank of England plans to reject its application for a banking license. Hong Kong-based Hashkey Group, a prominent player in the cryptocurrency investment landscape, is embarking on an ambitious funding drive for a valuation of $1 billion. Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and its sister entity Alameda Research have sued their former executives Sam Bankman-Fried, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh. The third iteration of the Voyager bankruptcy plan has finally been approved by the court. According to the terms, affected customers can expect to recover up to 35% of their claims. The Indian cryptocurrency industry has petitioned the government and the RBI to restore its access to the hugely popular UPI for cryptocurrency-related services and activities. Ripple has acquired one of the most well-known crypto custodians, Metaco, for $250 million. BlockFi has announced that it plans to liquidate its crypto lending platform to pay back creditors. Gibraltar-based Xapo Bank is forging ahead with expanding support for different types of digital assets. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s Worldcoin project has reportedly secured $100 million in fresh funding. Worldcoin is Altman’s planned iris-scanning cryptocurrency. Premier crypto exchange Binance recently announced its shift towards automation with the introduction of Trading Bots. Regulation The New York Attorney General’s office has slapped a $4.3 million fine on the crypto exchange Coin Cafe due to its allegedly outrageous fee structure. In an apparent hardening of its stance against crypto, Pakistan’s government has stated that it would ban cryptocurrency services operational in the country and would never legalize crypto trading. The SEC faced another roadblock in its Ripple lawsuit as a judge ruled against its motion to block the controversial Hinman documents from being made public. The UK Treasury Committee released a report compelling the government to regulate retail crypto trading not as financial assets but as gambling instruments. On Tuesday, EU states voted in favor of MiCA, the world’s first comprehensive set of rules regulating crypto assets. The SEC has responded to Coinbase’s request for clarity regarding crypto regulation and refused to entertain the exchange’s demands. G7 committee members recently met in Niigata, Japan, to discuss global financial implications for CBDCs and crypto regulation ahead of the annual G7 summit, Following a legal dispute, the SEC has revised its fine against LBRY from $22 million to just over $111,000. The director of the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) said the US is stepping up scrutiny of crypto exchanges. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s first gold-backed cryptocurrency sale has been a resounding success after selling around 14 billion Zimbabwe dollars’ worth of gold-backed tokens. Digital asset firm Bakkt has delisted 25 out of the 36 tokens on its recently acquired Apex Crypto platform. Web3 Horizon Blockchain Games and Polygon Labs have announced a strategic partnership designed to revolutionize web3 infrastructure. Coinbase Cloud, the crypto exchange's cloud services arm, recently announced a partnership with Chainlink Network to expand its presence in the decentralized sphere. Security Developers of a decentralized exchange based on Arbitrum called Swaprum have drained $3 million worth of ETH from the protocol in what looks to be an apparent rug pull or exit scam. LayerZero Labs and Immunefi have announced their collaboration to launch an unprecedented $15 million bug bounty program. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Cryptocurrency may be experiencing some challenges right now but one company is not being deterred by all the uncertainty: Xapo Bank based in Gibraltar is forging ahead with expanding support for different types of digital assets. CEO Seamus Rocca remains optimistic about industry volatility and sees plenty of room for growth - particularly when it comes to cheaper international payments which he believes are ripe for development. The great news here lies in the fact that as an already established regulated institution serving both as bank and cryptocurrency firm combined; there are potentially huge benefits from using its platform especially as regards cross border transactions - something customers are increasingly seeking out across various industries worldwide. Xapo Bank was founded under Gibraltar’s regulatory framework which takes a proactive approach towards cryptocurrency regulation - so there’s no question about whether they’re authorised or not to engage in crypto and other digital payment activities. As part of its expansion plans the bank recently integrated Tether (USDT) with a view to facilitating even faster and cheaper payments. Xapo previously adopted the USDC stablecoin earlier this year which has boosted its offerings and these stablecoins now have an impressive combined market capitalisation exceeding $100 billion. Xapo Bank allows customers to deposit and withdraw USDT without any fees whatsoever, promising an annual interest rate of 4.1% on deposits along with a 1:1 conversion rate straight into US dollars. Xapo Bank has taken another step forward by integrating stablecoins into its offerings complementing Bitcoin’s Lightning Network which it is already supporting through its Lightspark collaboration. Xapo’s Gibraltar licence issued eight years ago bolsters its commitment towards providing secure cryptocurrency services, thereby making them reliable platforms for customers wanting trustworthiness when dealing with cryptocurrencies. Despite challenges faced by the industry such as frequent occurrences of fraud on various crypto exchanges, Xapo is still devoted to growth within the market for crypto payment gateways, currently valued at $1 billion and projected to expand to $5.4 billion by 2031. By collaborating with financial institutions that have an extensive background in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency Xapo aims to handle international transactions using this technology, which eventually will help in curtailing settlement costs for fees incurred today. Additionally, Faster Payments – the UK's real-time settlement network – is supported by Xapo Bank, where instant payments are processed using digital assets or traditional currencies alike. As global payment systems continue their shift towards blockchain technology and digital assets, Xapo Bank joins other forward-thinking companies such as Ripple who've successfully leveraged these tools for streamlined currency conversions, while eliminating correspondent banks altogether via their XRP technology. Exciting examples like Ripple's recent collaboration on a central bank digital currency with Montenegro further illustrate the growing prevalence of digital assets in our current payment landscape; even stablecoin payments are becoming more common across Latin America using XRP tech. Yet achieving full-scale adoption requires seamless access points between traditional finance systems alongside blockchain-based ones where users can transition easily - creating a mutually beneficial relationship between both sectors where each recognizes their unique strengths. With regulatory compliance status plus strategic partnerships already enabling it to reap benefits from embracing digital assets such as stablecoins, Xapo Bank continues to empower users with faster and cheaper options for international payments that contribute to the industry's growth and wider adoption. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The crypto-friendly bank announced earlier in the year support for USDC services.

It was off to the races with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) this weekend after the failure of the SegWit2x hard fork to launch. Speculative funds and the appetite for possible free tokens pulled money away from Bitcoin (BTC), although the combined market cap of the two coins stayed roughly the same. BCH reached a high of $2,800 before dropping 60% to $1,110, just in case the 10% swings in Bitcoin were getting a little boring (at one point Bitcoin was down as low as $5,500 after its recent $7,000-plus heights). BCH is hovering and rising slightly, currently just under $1,300, but there is literally no telling whether it will return to its pre-fork value in the region of $600, or rise to challenge Bitcoin again at sub-$3,000 or even above. It’s not true to say, though, that “the hopes and dreams of Bitcoin Cash officianados have been dashed in the last 24 hours”. Whether it’s a dream or a nightmare, this is only the beginning. Some in the crypto-currency world, like Ted Rogers of Xapo, believe that scalables such as BCH and Ethereum will supplant Bitcoin in the long-term as it grows dinosaur-like in its speed and attitude to progress. Its ever-higher transaction fees suit the business, but not the customer. Faster transactions and bigger blockchains (BCH has 8MB to Bitcoin’s 1MB) are predicted to bury it. Or will they? At a healthy $6,436, Bitcoin is weathering this storm of rivals, perhaps because the scalables and off-chains such as Litecoin are revealing how Bitcoin is maturing into what it might become: a solid base of the value pyramid in cryptos (as Tom Luongo theorises), acting more like real physical gold by being difficult and expensive to trade relative to its crypto-offspring. It’s these characteristics that could make Bitcoin the grandfather of the whole system, a trustworthy, reserve asset backstop to the altcoins built on top.

It was off to the races with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) this weekend after the failure of the SegWit2x hard fork to launch. Speculative funds and the appetite for possible free tokens pulled money away from Bitcoin (BTC), although the combined market cap of the two coins stayed roughly the same. BCH reached a high of $2,800 before dropping 60% to $1,110, just in case the 10% swings in Bitcoin were getting a little boring (at one point Bitcoin was down as low as $5,500 after its recent $7,000-plus heights). BCH is hovering and rising slightly, currently just under $1,300, but there is literally no telling whether it will return to its pre-fork value in the region of $600, or rise to challenge Bitcoin again at sub-$3,000 or even above. It’s not true to say, though, that “the hopes and dreams of Bitcoin Cash officianados have been dashed in the last 24 hours”. Whether it’s a dream or a nightmare, this is only the beginning. Some in the crypto-currency world, like Ted Rogers of Xapo, believe that scalables such as BCH and Ethereum will supplant Bitcoin in the long-term as it grows dinosaur-like in its speed and attitude to progress. Its ever-higher transaction fees suit the business, but not the customer. Faster transactions and bigger blockchains (BCH has 8MB to Bitcoin’s 1MB) are predicted to bury it. Or will they? At a healthy $6,436, Bitcoin is weathering this storm of rivals, perhaps because the scalables and off-chains such as Litecoin are revealing how Bitcoin is maturing into what it might become: a solid base of the value pyramid in cryptos (as Tom Luongo theorises), acting more like real physical gold by being difficult and expensive to trade relative to its crypto-offspring. It’s these characteristics that could make Bitcoin the grandfather of the whole system, a trustworthy, reserve asset backstop to the altcoins built on top.

In just three days, the price of Bitcoin has had a staggering increase of nearly $600, which demonstrated a strong upward momentum that was unexpected in a relatively short period of time. This increase sparked confidence from investors in the Bitcoin market. The reason that this price increase was completely unexpected was due to the SegWit2x hard fork, which is scheduled for November, and due to hit major markets such as Japan, the US and South Korea. This pre-planned adjustment has split opinions, with some businesses and exchanges losing confidence in Bitcoin. Some of the largest wallets and exchanges have reaffirmed their stance on the upcoming changes, and it is not always in the favour of SegWit2x. What is the SegWit2x? The SegWit2x was proposed to upgrade Bitcoin, in a couple of ways. It would enact the long-proposed code optimisation Segregated Witness, which alters how some of the data is stored on the network. The 2x would reflect the timeline for increasing the network’s block size to 2MB, which is doubled from 1MB. Who is for this upgrade? Like we mentioned before, this proposed change has very much divided businesses and exchanges. Coinbase and Bitfinex have reaffirmed their stance on the upcoming SegWit2x hard fork, and the Bitfinex development team have revealed that they plan to utilise the moniker, ‘B2X’ to list the SegWit2x fork of Bitcoin upon the completion of its hard fork in November. A member of the team released this statement; “We have elected to designate the SegWit2x fork as B2X, for now. The incumbent implementation will continue to trade as BTC even if the B2X chain has more hashing power. We are doing this for practical and operational reasons. Political considerations are irrelevant here. While we cannot change or re-assign ticker symbol, we can change the label or description associated with that ticker symbol. For the time being, BTC will continue to be labelled as ‘Bitcoin’ and B2X will be labelled as ‘B2X’”. For these two major exchanges, it is important to note that they are listing the new coin as B2X, even if it has more hashing power, because the investors and traders will likely remain on the legacy chain, or the original Bitcoin blockchain. This means that in November, the market, users and investors can then decide which Bitcoin blockchain will be referred to as ‘Bitcoin’ and ‘BTC’. Who opposes it? The market confidence and price surge for Bitcoin, could actually demonstrate a lack of support for SegWit2x. Trading of Bitcoin has been increasing greatly in major regions such as Japan and the US, which has seen the price surge. This price has been predicted to rise further, but only if the SegWit2x turns out to be a minority fork. Tuur Demeester spoke on this topic saying; “The chart needs to confirm, but if the Bitcoin 2x hard fork turns out to be a nothing burger, it could provide tailwinds for a rally and $5,000” Unfortunately, this claim could soon be backed up, as the market is not doing anything to demonstrate that these predictions are not correct. References and Further Reading: CoinDesk; Explainer: What is SegWit2x and What Does It Mean for Bitcoin? The CoinTelegraph; Bitcoin Exchanges Coinbase, Bitfinex Issue Guidance Before SegWit2X Hard Fork The CoinTelegraph; Xapo On SegWit2x: We Might Not Treat BTC Chain As Real Bitcoin

In just three days, the price of Bitcoin has had a staggering increase of nearly $600, which demonstrated a strong upward momentum that was unexpected in a relatively short period of time. This increase sparked confidence from investors in the Bitcoin market. The reason that this price increase was completely unexpected was due to the SegWit2x hard fork, which is scheduled for November, and due to hit major markets such as Japan, the US and South Korea. This pre-planned adjustment has split opinions, with some businesses and exchanges losing confidence in Bitcoin. Some of the largest wallets and exchanges have reaffirmed their stance on the upcoming changes, and it is not always in the favour of SegWit2x. What is the SegWit2x? The SegWit2x was proposed to upgrade Bitcoin, in a couple of ways. It would enact the long-proposed code optimisation Segregated Witness, which alters how some of the data is stored on the network. The 2x would reflect the timeline for increasing the network’s block size to 2MB, which is doubled from 1MB. Who is for this upgrade? Like we mentioned before, this proposed change has very much divided businesses and exchanges. Coinbase and Bitfinex have reaffirmed their stance on the upcoming SegWit2x hard fork, and the Bitfinex development team have revealed that they plan to utilise the moniker, ‘B2X’ to list the SegWit2x fork of Bitcoin upon the completion of its hard fork in November. A member of the team released this statement; “We have elected to designate the SegWit2x fork as B2X, for now. The incumbent implementation will continue to trade as BTC even if the B2X chain has more hashing power. We are doing this for practical and operational reasons. Political considerations are irrelevant here. While we cannot change or re-assign ticker symbol, we can change the label or description associated with that ticker symbol. For the time being, BTC will continue to be labelled as ‘Bitcoin’ and B2X will be labelled as ‘B2X’”. For these two major exchanges, it is important to note that they are listing the new coin as B2X, even if it has more hashing power, because the investors and traders will likely remain on the legacy chain, or the original Bitcoin blockchain. This means that in November, the market, users and investors can then decide which Bitcoin blockchain will be referred to as ‘Bitcoin’ and ‘BTC’. Who opposes it? The market confidence and price surge for Bitcoin, could actually demonstrate a lack of support for SegWit2x. Trading of Bitcoin has been increasing greatly in major regions such as Japan and the US, which has seen the price surge. This price has been predicted to rise further, but only if the SegWit2x turns out to be a minority fork. Tuur Demeester spoke on this topic saying; “The chart needs to confirm, but if the Bitcoin 2x hard fork turns out to be a nothing burger, it could provide tailwinds for a rally and $5,000” Unfortunately, this claim could soon be backed up, as the market is not doing anything to demonstrate that these predictions are not correct. References and Further Reading: CoinDesk; Explainer: What is SegWit2x and What Does It Mean for Bitcoin? The CoinTelegraph; Bitcoin Exchanges Coinbase, Bitfinex Issue Guidance Before SegWit2X Hard Fork The CoinTelegraph; Xapo On SegWit2x: We Might Not Treat BTC Chain As Real Bitcoin