In a research note, Bank of America has said that the publication of the U.S. Treasury report on stablecoins earlier this month is an “indication of urgency” for the regulation of fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies given their potential to become viable payment methods.

Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre is reportedly stepping up its foray into the cryptocurrency space through its digital payments app. MercadoPago’s customers in Brazil are set to soon be able to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies in their wallets.

The Indian government is seemingly still looking to ban most cryptocurrencies under a bill that will be submitted for consideration at Parliament’s so-called “Winter Session” this year.

Much like the rest of the NFT market, Photography NFTs have been on the rise recently. This week we are taking a look at the Twin Flames project, one of the first collections experimenting with Photography NFTs - this segment is brought to you in partnership with NFT data and discovery platform Masterpiece.

Sponsored: Buy bitcoin and 100+ cryptocurrencies with 20+ fiat currencies. New users can enjoy 0% credit/debit card fees on all crypto purchases made in their first 30 days. Join 10 million users and download the Crypto.com App now.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Stablecoin Regulations Could be a Catalyst to Mass Adoption: BoA
• MercadoLibre to Allow Crypto Investments Through Its Platform
• India Submits Bill to Ban Most Cryptocurrencies
• NFT Spotlight: The Power of Photography NFTs
• Sponsored: Crypto.com - The World’s Fastest Growing Crypto App

Stablecoin Regulations Could be a Catalyst to Mass Adoption: BoA

In a research note, Bank of America has said that the publication of the U.S. Treasury report on stablecoins earlier this month is an “indication of urgency” for the regulation of fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies given their potential to become viable payment methods.

The bank said that institutions are waiting for rules to be defined before increasing their exposure to digital assets, adding  that a “regulatory framework should incentivize payments companies to integrate blockchain technology and stablecoins into their platforms.”

Per the research note, stablecoins are now a “systemically important asset” with a market value of around $141 billion and a quarterly transaction volume of more than $1 trillion this year. Despite the market’s size and growth, BoA noted stablecoin issuers aren’t regulated under a sweeping framework and provide “varying levels of transparency” into the composition of their reserves.

The report adds that if regulators decide all stablecoin issuers are required to be insured depositories, banks could also issue their own stablecoins.

MercadoLibre to Allow Crypto Investments Through Its Platform

Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre is reportedly stepping up its foray into the cryptocurrency space through its digital payments app. MercadoPago’s customers in Brazil will soon be able to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies in their wallets.

MercadoLibre is the largest Latin American company by market capitalization and is looking to expand its lineup of financial products. Cryptocurrency options became available to a small group of clients earlier this month and will be broadly rolled out in the coming weeks according to MercadoPago’s vice president Tulio Oliveira.

Oliveira was quoted saying:

“We took the time to study and learn before deciding to step into crypto. This has a transformational potential ahead and opens up a new avenue for us.”

Going forward the company will replicate the product in other Latin American markets. At first, customers will not be able to use cryptocurrencies to pay for goods on MercadoLibre.

Last May, MercadoLibre announced that its treasury purchased $7.8 million worth of bitcoin.

India Submits Bill to Ban Most Cryptocurrencies

The Indian government is seemingly still looking to ban most cryptocurrencies under a bill that will be submitted for consideration at Parliament’s so-called “Winter Session” this year.

According to a bulletin posted on the Indian parliament’s official website, The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, aims to create a framework that would facilitate the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). “

The bill, the bulletin said, also looks to “prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, although it allows for certain exceptions to promote their underlying technology and its uses. After the bill was announced, crypto prices tanked in India.

The latest bill appears to be similar to one submitted in January, although it’s unclear as the former is still not publicly available. Crypto trading is likely to continue under the proposed bill as long as users buy crypto from exchanges that meet specific requirements.

According to local news publication India Today, the bill might focus more on restricting who is allowed to create or issue new cryptocurrencies to protect investors.

NFT Spotlight: The Power of Photography NFTs

The two photographs below sold for $1.1M & $981K recently. The first photo is of Twin Flames #83. Bahareh & Farzaneh Safarani during a Christie’s auction.

The second photo is Twin Flame #2. Jessica & Joyce Gayo, which sold on OpenSea.

You might be thinking, why would someone pay this much for a photo? Well, like the rest of the NFT market - Photography NFTs have been on the rise recently. Their value is derived from the story behind them and the historical relevance of the Twin Flames project, which is one of the first collections experimenting with Photography NFTs.

Justin Aversano began Twin Flames in 2017 in honor of his twin, who had passed away. It features a series of 100 consistent, but each slightly different, photographs of twins from around the world. The story behind this series is powerful and is now selling at Auction Houses like Sotheby's & Christie's.

Another use case that we see often is landscape photography. Another photo sold recently for $333k on SuperRare to a well-known NFT collector Gmoney. It’s not as easy as it seems though to sell your photography for high price tags. Many photographers on Foundation can’t get their reserve prices met by collectors.

Crypto.com - The World’s Fastest Growing Crypto App

Buy bitcoin and 100+ cryptocurrencies with 20+ fiat currencies. New users can enjoy 0% credit/debit card fees on all crypto purchases made in their first 30 days. Join 10 million users and download the Crypto.com App now.

Press Release

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

Build your project with CoinDesk Data

Terms | Privacy

13 Charles II St, SW1Y 4QU

London, UK

This email may include advertisements by third parties. None of the advertised or promoted products and services have been verified or approved by us and this email is not any endorsement by us of the third party or of their products or services.