Category Archives: Cryptocurrency
What is ‘green’ cryptocurrency Chia and just how eco-friendly is it? – Euronews
Could this be the year that cryptocurrencies become mainstream? It certainly looks that way as a number of cryptos take off in value, reaching record highs across the board.
In April, Bitcoin exceeded $64,000 (52,700) while this month, Ethereum broke through the $4,000 (3,300) threshold. Even Dogecoin - the meme altcoin launched to poke fun at the former two mentioned - has made advances.
But its also hard to keep up with the sheer volume of cryptocurrencies being launched, with more than 5,000 estimated to be in circulation at the time of publication.
Despite their progress, the likes of Bitcoin and its ilk continue to be seen as risky investments due to their volatility though perceptions are changing. Their recent success has also brought increased scrutiny, particularly over energy-hungry practices such as mining.
But there is one cryptocurrency that is starting to make waves for more positive reasons - Chia.
Having officially begun trading last week, Chia is trying to do things differently. For one thing, it is being branded as the "green" cryptocurrency but what makes it eco-friendly and how does it differ from other cryptos?
As the original - and to date, highest valued - cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has set the standard for the altcoins that have followed in its wake.
In this respect, many cryptos use a practice first adopted by Bitcoin to create new tokens called "mining". Known as a "proof of work" system, mining requires the use of computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to unlock new Bitcoin tokens.
This is the first major difference with Chia, the latter using what is called a "proof of space and time" system instead. What does that entail? To "farm" Chia, you need a large amount of empty hard discs to house "plots" which are then awarded a number of blocks based on available space.
Chias creator Bram Cohen, the man who founded the file-sharing platform BitTorrent, believes this method is more reliable, secure, and greener than how cryptos like Bitcoin operate.
Its this claim about it being more environmentally friendly that is particularly attracting attention.
The process of mining requires both rigs - made up of specialist computer processors - and access to large amounts of energy.
Bitcoins surge in popularity has meant that home miners have been unable to match the output of large-scale mining operations, particularly when it comes to prohibitive energy bills.
As well as pricing out small-scale traders, the colossal consumption of energy required by mining is having an indelible impact on the planet.
Bitcoin investors are keen to point out that the crypto is increasingly relying on more renewable sources of energy but due to the cost of electricity involved, the concentration of mines often moves around the global chasing lower energy prices.
More often than not, cheaper sources of electricity are more likely than not generated by coal-fired power plants rather than wind turbines.
In China, where the majority of the worlds Bitcoin mines are located, the process will create as many carbon emissions in a year as Italy and Saudi Arabia combined by 2024, as well as reports last month of localised power outages.
Given it doesnt use mining, Chia has been praised for potentially opening up a new cost-effective avenue for home users as well as providing a more environmentally sound alternative to energy-intensive Bitcoin.
On the face of it at least, Chia is living up to its green credentials in that it doesnt need to use up high volumes of electricity. However, the means by which Chia farmers mint new tokens is not without its critics - or an environmental cost.
Even before its launch on trading platforms at the start of May, Chia had already courted controversy after its early success caused a run on hard drives.
The surge in demand has already caused a shortage and pushed prices sky-high in China and other parts of Asia. Since the launch of Chia was first announced in February, prices for 12-terabyte drives have soared by 59 per cent in China alone, according to the South China Morning Post.
The reason for the increased demand is not just the sudden popularity of a newly-launched cryptocurrency, although this explains it in large part. It is also fuelled by the fact that Chia farming is incredibly wasteful when it comes to the required hardware.
According to recent reports from China, continuous Chia farming is resulting in the shelf life of a 512GB hard drive, for example, being reduced to just 40 days rather than a usual lifespan of around a decade.
The result is the voiding of all warranty on the hard drives used and the potential for vast mountains of discarded, unusable electronics. E-waste is an ever-growing hazard as consumers are quicker to consign their electronic devices to landfills in order to upgrade to newer models.
E-waste tends to contain toxic components, such as heavy metals like lead and lithium, which if disposed of improperly, risk contaminating the environment and posing a human health risk.
For the time being, low energy costs are incentive enough to keep Chias star in the ascent but the true environmental impact this "green" crypto will have is still uncertain.
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What is 'green' cryptocurrency Chia and just how eco-friendly is it? - Euronews
Ethereum cryptocurrency passes $4,000 for the first time – CNET
Cryptocurrency has captured the attention of more investors this year.
On May 5, 2020, one Ether token was worth $186. One year later, on Sunday night, the cryptocurrency hit $4,000 for the first time, a rise of over 2,100%. Though Dogecoin is sucking up most of the world's cryptocurrency attention, it's been a huge May for Ethereum already, as Sunday's milestone comes just a week since the cryptocurrency hit $3,000 for the first time.
Ether is a cryptocurrency minted on the Ethereum blockhain. Bitcoin, the most known currency, is built on its own, separate blockchain. But while Bitcoin is more like gold, principally used as a speculative asset, Ether is used by cryptocurrency traders to buy and sell "altcoins", such as Dogecoin. NFTs,tokens that authenticate ownership of a digital product, are notably bought and sold using Ether, not Bitcoin.
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The Ethereum blockchain was founded in 2013 by Canadian-Russian programmer Vitalik Buterin when he was just 19 years old. Buterin has over 333,000 Ether tokens -- it's possible to see other traders' portfolios if you have their wallet address -- which at the current price values his holdings at over $1.36 billion.
Buterin, 27, is now a billionaire.
The cryptocurrency now has a marketcap of over $460 billion. It's been growing rapidly over the past year, mostly over anticipation for its relaunch as Ether 2.0, but this latest rally is tied to news last week that the European Investment Bank issued $120 million (100 million) in bonds using Ethereum blockchain. DogeCoin also hit a new high of nearly 70 cents this week following its listing on eToro -- before falling to around 50 cents after Elon Musk's SNL appearance.
Coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum have grown substantially since the end of 2020 for many reasons, including big tech's increasing embrace of cryptocurrency and the IPO success of Coin Base. Ethereum's price has also grown in anticipation of Ether 2.0, which will change the fundamental way in which tokens are minted. Without getting lost in the technical mumbo jumbo --you can read here if you're interested in the difference between Proof of Work and Proof of Stake -- ether 2.0 promises to be more efficient, which will be good for traders and the planet.
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Ethereum cryptocurrency passes $4,000 for the first time - CNET
Cryptocurrency Is Now Worth More Than All US Currency in Circulation – Futurism
Experts warn it could be a sign of a bubble. Crypto Vs Cash
Cryptocurrency has hit a significant milestone: Its now worth more than all US dollars currently in circulation.
Cryptocurrencies hit a valuation of $2 trillion on April 29, according to The Wall Street Journal. Thats about the same valuation as all US dollars in circulation. However, it has since hit as high as $2.25 trillion and in the process actually exceeding dollars in circulation.
While the stat is incredibly fascinating and a solid indicator of cryptocurrencies growing popularity, its also a little misleading.
Thats because US dollars in circulation isnt all US dollars. After all, circulation refers to just physical cash and coins.
Its the same way that the cash in your pocket doesnt represent all of the money you have (hopefully). Most of your cash like the US dollar isnt liquid. It exists in banks, investments, and other intangible assets.
So while cryptocurrencies might be worth more than all the physical dollars and coins out there, it definitely is not worth more than all the money out there.
Cryptos boom is a part of a trend across numerous investment classes and categories such as real estate and green energy, according to the WSJ. Much of it is fueled by rock bottom interest rates from the Federal Reserve.
However, the Fed is indicating that we might well be in bubble territory, saying that valuations are generally high and are vulnerable to significant declines should investor risk appetite fall, progress on containing the virus disappoint, or the recovery stall in a May 2021 stability report.
So as with all things finance related, hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Also take heed from one of Elon Musks more measured takes: Dont go investing your life savings in assets like crypto. If you do, youre going to be in for a rough time if (and when) the bubble finally pops.
READ MORE: What Happens to Stocks and Cryptocurrencies When the Fed Stops Raining Money? [The Wall Street Journal]
More on cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin Crashes, Wiping Over $200 Billion Off Crypto Market
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Cryptocurrency Is Now Worth More Than All US Currency in Circulation - Futurism
Amun and 21Shares, the Largest Issuer of Cryptocurrency ETPs, Announces Investors Including Catherine Wood and Anthony – GlobeNewswire
NEW YORK, May 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amun Holdings Limited, owner of 21Shares AG (21Shares) and Amun Inc., today announced successful fundraising efforts led by Morgan Creek Digital with participation from Anthony Pompliano, Managing Partner at Pomp Investments who previously co-founded Morgan Creek Digital; Collaborative Ventures; Quiet Ventures; and Catherine Wood, CEO of ARK Investment Management LLC, who serves as the independent member of Amuns Board of Directors. The shareholders of Amun Holdings Limited held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) last week and the fundraising round is expected to close this week.
Since launching the worlds first physically backed cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (ETP) in 2018, 21Shares has established itself as an innovative first mover providing the largest number of ETPs with exposure to cryptocurrency markets in the world. As of May 2021, 21Shares now manages more than $2 billion in 14 cryptocurrency ETPs, including the worlds only ETPs tracking Binance, Bitcoin Cash, Tezos and most recently Stellar, Cardano and Polkadot.
21Shares also focuses on education through a series of data-driven research and insights in five languages. Reports include: State of Crypto (a quarterly print publication), valuation methodologies (e.g., Ethereum Investment Thesis), and single-asset primers (e.g., Cardano Primer).
We are excited to attract visionary investors such as Cathie Wood and Anthony Pompliano, as a great validation of our efforts and progress over the past three years, said Ophelia Snyder, Co-Founder and President of 21Shares.
Hany Rashwan, Co-Founder and CEO of 21Shares added, We are seeing unprecedented investor demand for exchange-traded crypto products that can be bought and sold as easily as a stock. Based on market opportunity, this year we are looking to expand our ETP product suite globally. Our investors commitment to 21Shares and the quality of our Board of Directors will help us advance our mission.
21Shares is forging a new path for crypto ETPs, by leading with research and a keen understanding of this developing asset class. I am thrilled to support its efforts, said Wood.
Pompliano added, I am excited to invest in 21Shares and the companys continued success providing institutional-grade research and products for the crypto market. It was obvious a few years ago that many more people would be hearing about Hany, Ophelia, and their innovative products, and I believe the same is true for 21Shares and its top quality leadership team that is creating unique solutions at the intersection of finance and crypto.
About 21Shares21Shares takes innovation to the next level with the largest suite of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) in the world. In 2018 it pioneered the worlds first cryptocurrency index listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange, and it continues powering its cryptocurrency franchise with cutting-edge research and groundbreaking approaches to product strategy. 21Shares aims to provide all investors with an easy, secure, and regulated way to buy, sell, and short cryptocurrency through existing bank and brokerage accounts. The 21Shares issuance platform, Onyx, is used by both 21Shares and third parties like Bitwise and Sygnum to issue and operate cryptocurrency ETPs around the world. For more information, visit http://www.21shares.com.
Contact:Kim Page312-553-6733kim.page@fticonsulting.com
Cryptocurrency ether rises to new record high over $3600 – Reuters
A representation of virtual currency Ethereum are seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Ether , the world's second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin , on Thursday extended a breakaway rally to a new record high of $3,616.10, gathering momentum as investors diverted focus from its main rival.
On the Bitstamp Exchange ether was last up about 4.0% at $3,568.92. Bitcoin was down 0.3% at $57,353.03 and about 11% below its record intraday high at $64,895.22 set on April 14.
Ether, the token traded over the ethereum blockchain, topped $3,000 for the first time on Monday. It is up more than 385% this year, compared with 96% for bitcoin.
The rise is in part a spillover from flows into bitcoin, which has grown in stature as big-name investors from Elon Musk's carmaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) to Wall Street investor Stanley Druckenmiller bought in.
"Ethereum has been able to maintain its positive momentum, a crushing series of all-time highs in the past week," said Konstantin Anissimov, executive director at cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO.
"The current all-time high has reignited the ambitious sentiment that ethereum may eventually flippen (supplant) bitcoin by market capitalization in the near future."
Also, a technical adjustment called EIP (ethereum improvement proposal) 1559, expected to reduce the supply of ethereum and go live in July, has provided a lift for the digital currency.
Still, there is a speculative frenzy going on in the asset class. Joke cryptocurrency dogecoin is up by 24,000% over the last 12 months and is now the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. read more
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Cryptocurrency ether rises to new record high over $3600 - Reuters
Cryptocurrency investors should be prepared to lose all their money, Bank of England governor says – CNBC
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg via Getty Images
LONDON Cryptocurrencies "have no intrinsic value" and people who invest in them should be prepared to lose all their money, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said.
Digital currencies like bitcoin, ether and even dogecoin have been on a tear this year, reminding some investors of the 2017 crypto bubble in which bitcoin blasted toward $20,000, only to sink as low as $3,122 a year later.
Asked at a press conference Thursday about the rising value of cryptocurrencies, Bailey said: "They have no intrinsic value. That doesn't mean to say people don't put value on them, because they can have extrinsic value. But they have no intrinsic value."
"I'm going to say this very bluntly again," he added. "Buy them only if you're prepared to lose all your money."
Bailey's comments echoed a similar warning from the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority.
"Investing in cryptoassets, or investments and lending linked to them, generally involves taking very high risks with investors' money," the financial services watchdog said in January.
"If consumers invest in these types of product, they should be prepared to lose all their money."
Bailey, who was formerly the chief executive of the FCA, has long been a skeptic of crypto. In 2017, he warned: "If you want to invest in bitcoin, be prepared to lose all your money."
Bitcoin is up over 90% this year, thanks in part to rising interest from institutional investors and corporate buyers such as Tesla. The electric car firm bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin earlier this year, and the value of its holdings have since risen to nearly $2.5 billion.
Proponents of bitcoin see it as a store of value akin to gold because of its scarce supply only 21 million bitcoins can ever be minted arguing that the cryptocurrency can act as a hedge against inflation as central banks around the world print money to relieve coronavirus-battered economies.
However, skeptics view bitcoin as a market bubble waiting to burst. Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at Bank of America Securities, said bitcoin's rally looks like the "mother of all bubbles," while Alvine Capital's Stephen Isaacs said there are "no fundamentals with this product, period."
Alternative digital currencies have made even larger gains than bitcoin. Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, has seen returns of more than 360% year to date, while meme-inspired crypto dogecoin is up a whopping 12,500%.
Analysts have attributed dogecoin's rise to tweets from celebrities like Tesla's Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, as well as retail investors buying the token on the free-trading app Robinhood. David Kimberley, an analyst at U.K. investing app Freetrade, described the dogecoin rally as "a classic example of greater fool theory at play," referring to the practice of selling overvalued assets to investors who are willing to pay a higher price.
At the same time, central banks are considering whether to issue their own digital currencies. Last month, the Bank of England launched a joint taskforce with the Treasury aimed at exploring central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. Such a currency would exist alongside cash and bank deposits rather than replacing them, the bank said.
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Cryptocurrency investors should be prepared to lose all their money, Bank of England governor says - CNBC
Bitcoin is no longer the cryptocurrency king – TechRadar
The world's first cryptocurrency has some competition on its hands as Ethereum has finally reached the $3,000 milestone as its token Ether has quadrupled in price since the beginning of this year.
While Bitcoin has been the world's go-to cryptocurrency for some time now, Ethereum's recent rise suggests that there is still room for competition as the crypto market evolves.
One thing that sets Ethereum apart from Bitcoin is the fact that it provides the infrastructure for both the NFT (non-fungible token) and decentralized finance (DeFi) industries which have both seen tremendous growth over the last six months.
However, Bitcoin still has a much larger market cap at $1.1tn compared to Ethereum's $390bn but this could certainly change with more investors and projects buying into the Ethereum blockchain. In fact, just last week, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced its plans to launch a digital bond sale on the network at the price of $100m.
At the time of writing, one Ether is currently valued at $3,291 and Ethereum has seen its value rise by 10 percent on Monday alone.
Other factors that have contributed to Ethereum's recent rally include the fact that next generation of the Ethereum blockchain, known as Ethereum 2.0, went live at the end of last year and the cyrptocurrency exchange Coinbase was listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker COIN last month.
At the end of last year Ethereum was trading at less than $1000 per coin before it shot up in January 2021 and hasn't slowed down since. Now that Ethereum has hit $3,000, some investors are wondering if the cryptocurrency will continue its rally to reach $5,000. Bitcoin on the other hand has failed to recover since it fell from a mid-April record of almost $64,870.
Only time will tell if Ethereum continues to gain ground or if we'll see another market correction similar to the one which took place in 2017.
TechRadar is supported by its audience.TechRadar does not endorse any specific cryptocurrencies or blockchain-based services and readers should not interpret TechRadar content as investment advice. Our reporters hold only small quantities of cryptocurrency (under $100 in value), as is necessary to perform wallet and exchange reviews, and do not hold shares in any publicly listed cryptocurrency companies.
Via Bloomberg
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Bitcoin is no longer the cryptocurrency king - TechRadar
Cramer says he owns ‘a lot’ of red-hot cryptocurrency ether that’s tripled bitcoin’s 2021 gain – CNBC
CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday he owns ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market value.
"I've got a lot of ether," Cramer said on "Squawk Box," explaining he initially acquired it in order to bid on nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, being auctioned in March by Time magazine. "I didn't get it, so I just kept the ether."
While Cramer did not specify exactly when he bought ether, the digital currency entered March at about $1,400 and rose to around $1,900 by the end of the month. The Time NFT auction closed March 24.
Cramer's comments Tuesday came as ether extended its massive rally so far in 2021, setting an all-time high just above $3,500. Ether, which runs on the Ethereum blockchain, has soared more than 370% year to date, with a total market value now above $400 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Cramer said perhaps he will eventually "buy a house" with his ether, a reference to his recent revelation that he sold some of his bitcoin holdings in order to pay off a mortgage. "I now own a house lock, stock and barrel because I bought this currency," bitcoin, the "Mad Money" host said April 15 on CNBC.
In a video for his financial news website The Street, Cramer said Monday, "My Ethereum has gone up tremendously in value, and I'm not selling it." He added, "I sold a lot of bitcoin because I had my eye on a place."
Bitcoin, which has the biggest market cap of any digital coin, traded above $55,000 per token Tuesday, about 15% lower than last month's all-time high but it's still nearly doubled in 2021. The current price level put bitcoin's total market value at just over $1 trillion, nearly half of the entire crypto market.
Cryptocurrencies broadly speaking have moved further into the mainstream throughout 2021. Crypto exchange Coinbase's direct listing last month on the Nasdaq was heralded as a major milestone for the burgeoning digital asset industry.
Major Ethereum upgrades could boost the price further. Here’s a roadmap. – Markets Insider
Major changes are coming to the Ethereum network.
Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters
Ether - the world's second-biggest cryptocurrency - soared to record highs above $3,600 in the week to Friday and had outstripped bitcoin with year-to-date returns of around 370%.
Analysts said a key catalyst has been growing interest from big players such as the European Investment Bank in the Ethereum blockchain network, on which ether runs.
Investors have been drawn in by the possibility of building decentralized financial contracts on the system and other applications such as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.
But upcoming changes to Ethereum that aim to make the network bigger and more sustainable are also exciting investors, as they could send the ether price soaring even further.
Insider spoke to Ben Edgington, who is working on the upgrades for development company ConsenSys. He laid out the roadmap for the changes.
The 'London' upgrade will start to destroy ether coins
After tweaking how transaction payments work in April, Ethereum developers are preparing for a major overhaul to the fees system. The changes are due in mid-July, according to Edgington.
Under the current system, users send what's known as a gas fee to miners as payment for transactions to be verified, in a kind of auction. Miners complete transactions, and create cryptocurrencies, by using computing power to solve puzzles on the network.
But when the network is busy - as it increasingly is - the auction system means users have to bid larger amounts and estimate the appropriate fee, leading to volatility and sharp price rises.
To address the problem, Ethereum's developers have agreed to a major change, known as EIP-1559 in crypto jargon and set to take place during an event called the "London hard fork."
Under the new system, gas fees will be replaced by a mandatory and automatically determined base fee, which would fluctuate according to network congestion. Users will be given the option of paying miners tips if they need transactions completing quickly.
Read more: Fundstrat's head of digital assets research walks us through his $100,000 and $10,500 year-end price targets for bitcoin and ether - and shares the 8 tokens he's bullish on
But the most exciting part for many investors is that the network will start to destroy or "burn" some of the gas fee.
Edgington says: "Potentially, more ether will be burned that will be generated for miners." He added that this could make the supply of ether decline over time, "which actually trumps bitcoin monetary policy, which is fixed."
One analyst said earlier this year the burning of fees might lay the groundwork for "explosive growth" in the ether price.
Ethereum 2.0 aims to boost the network's size and sustainability
Developers are most excited about the momentous changes collectively known as Ethereum 2.0, which aim to make the network bigger and more sustainable.
First up on the road to Ethereum 2.0 is what developers are calling The Merge: a complete change in the underlying mechanics of the network, which Edgington says will hopefully be completed by the end of 2021, or in early 2022.
Currently, computers compete against each other to solve complex puzzles to verify the network and mine ether in what's called a "proof of work" system.
This makes the network secure, because it would take huge and costly amounts of computing power and energy to hack into - but is very bad for the environment.
Ethereum will instead be moving to a "proof of stake" system. This means people can validate transactions and mine according to the number of coins they hold and are willing to offer as a sort of down payment, Edgington said.
Each user that wants to verify transactions - and thereby earn themselves rewards - has to put up a sizable stake, for example 32 ether worth over $120,000.
The idea is that anyone wanting to attack the network would have to earn enough ether to pay more than the collective value of all the stakes to start altering the blockchain in a damaging way.
Edgington says there is already around $10 billion staked the proof-of-stake network, known as the beacon chain, which developers launched in December.
Ethereum developers are working hard to shift across the network onto the new system - The Merge - but it's not without risks.
One developer has described the process as "replacing the engine of an airplane while it is still flying." But they added: "The code in use will have been exhaustively checked, battle-tested, and checked again."
'Sharding' aims to expand the network
Yet Edgington stresses that "moving to proof of stake is not a scalability solution."
To try to expand Ethereum so that more applications such as NFTs, or decentralized finance contracts, can be built on it, developers will create new networks in a process known as sharding.
"This is like running 64 blockchains in parallel with the beacon chain to increase the capacity," Edgington says.
Simply put, creating more blockchain systems and tying them together by linking them to the main beacon chain should expand the overall network and make it more efficient, as opposed to the current system where everything is done on one big network.
"I expect within a year of delivering the proof of stake we'll have delivered the sharding solution," Edgington says. "But nobody's making a strict project plan, or deadline about this. It's ready when it's ready."
Read more: Ex-Ark analyst James Wang breaks down his bull case for Ethereum as its token breaches an all-time high of $3,300 - and explains why it could eventually reach $40,000
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Major Ethereum upgrades could boost the price further. Here's a roadmap. - Markets Insider
EBay says open to accepting to cryptocurrencies in future, exploring NFTs – Reuters
An eBay sign at an office building in San Jose, California, May 28, 2014. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach
EBay Inc (EBAY.O) is open to the possibility of accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment in the future and is looking at ways to get non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its platform, the company said on Monday.
A growing number of companies have begun to accept virtual currencies as a form of payment, taking an asset class that had been shunned by major financial institutions a few years ago, a step closer to becoming mainstream.
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is already accepting bitcoin as payment for its electric cars, while payments giant PayPal (PYPL.O) last year started allowing customers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies using its online wallets. read more
"We are always looking at the most relevant forms of payment and will continue to assess that going forward. We have no immediate plans, but it (cryptocurrency) is something we are keeping an eye on," eBay said in a statement to Reuters.
In an interview with CNBC, Chief Executive Officer Jamie Iannone said that accepting virtual currency was an option the company was looking at.
EBay, which disappointed investors with a weak second-quarter profit forecast last week, said it was looking at a "number of ways" to get into the NFT space. read more
NFTs, a type of digital asset that exists on a blockchain, have exploded in popularity this year, with NFT artworks selling for millions of dollars and musicians such as the Kings of Leon rock group embracing them for their latest album. read more
"We're exploring opportunities on how we can enable it (NFTs) on eBay in an easy way," Iannone said on CNBC.
Everything thats collectible has been on eBay for decades and will continue to be for the next few decades.
(This story refiles to correct CEO name in paragraphs 5 and 8 to Iannone; Corrects typographical errors in paragraphs 1, 3 and 4.)
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EBay says open to accepting to cryptocurrencies in future, exploring NFTs - Reuters