United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), one of the largest wholesale and purchase lenders in the United States, is ditching Bitcoin (BTC) payments plans after running a test. UWM officially announced Thursday that the company has successfully conducted its first-ever cryptocurrency mortgage pilot, accepting five crypto payments in October and one in September. The firm did not disclose more information about the test, neither specifying what cryptocurrencies were part of the pilot nor what companies have assisted the firm in completing it. “We’re proud to be the first mortgage lender to successfully pilot this technology and further demonstrate that we’re innovating for …

United States fintech giant Stripe is hiring a new blockchain team to enable crypto payments for its users. The $100-billion company is returning to the crypto sector three years after it pulled back from offering Bitcoin (BTC) support due to its slow transaction times and rising fees. According to a job listing page on Stripe’s website, the firm is looking for four “Staff Engineers” with experience in the crypto sector. Guillaume Poncin, the head of engineering, stated on Twitter on Tuesday that he’s looking for engineers and designers to “build the future of Web3 payments.” The listing outlines that the …

While Russia continues to enforce a ban on cryptocurrency payments as part of a law that took effect in January, the country has no plans at this time to completely prohibit trading by its citizens. According to a Tuesday report from local news agency Interfax, Alexey Moiseev, the deputy finance minister of the Russian Federation, said he believes Russian citizens will continue to be allowed to buy and use cryptocurrencies outside the country on foreign exchanges without the threat of legal action at home. Crypto payments in the country are currently banned, but Russians have been allowed to purchase and …

A major international airport in Venezuela is reportedly preparing to start accepting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for tickets and other services. Simón Bolívar International Airport is working to enable cryptocurrency payments to comply with local industry standards, regional news agency El Siglo reported on Sunday. Also known as Maiquetia, the airport is located in downtown Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. According to Maiquetia airport director Freddy Borges, the airport plans to accept many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Dash and Venezuela’s oil-pegged digital currency, the Petro. He said that the airport’s administration would introduce new payment options in coordination with …

Users who hold debit cards issued by cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt will be able to convert their crypto balances to make fiat payments using Google Pay. In an Friday announcement, Bakkt said it had partnered with Google to allow its users to purchase goods and services using Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies through the Google Pay wallet and payment system. In addition, Bakkt plans to build new analytics and geolocation functionality on its platform using Google Cloud tools. The exchange hopes that the features will expand loyalty redemption options “while providing Bakkt partners with valuable consumer behavior patterns.” “This partnership is …

Financial services company MoneyGram International has partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation to enable consumers to send money using Circle’s popular stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), and convert directly to and from fiat. Per a Wednesday announcement, MoneyGram has integrated support allowing crypto wallets connected to the Stellar Network to access its global retail platform. Working alongside Circle, MoneyGram will also enable “near-instant backend settlement,” account funding and local fiat withdrawals using the USDC stable token. United Texas Bank will act as the settlement bank to complete the process within the regulatory framework. “As crypto and digital currencies rise in prominence, …

Protocol upgrades are one of the biggest drivers of momentum because they show developers' dedication to fixing bugs, incorporating user requests and adding new features that make the protocol competitive and shore up the token's value. One project that has seen its token price rally to a new all-time high following the launch of a highly anticipated upgrade is Terra (LUNA), a blockchain protocol that uses fiat-pegged stablecoins like TerrUSD (UST) to create a global payments system. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $23.81 on Sept. 21, the price of LUNA surged …

American cinema giant AMC Theatres is steadily approaching its goal of accepting cryptocurrency payments by year-end, now debuting crypto purchases for electronic gift cards. AMC customers can now buy digital gift cards with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) directly through the AMC website, mobile app and theaters, CEO Adam Aron announced on Tuesday. The new payment option was enabled through major crypto payments processor BitPay, allowing consumers to purchase e-cards of up to $200, Aron noted. The CEO paid special attention to Dogecoin (DOGE) among the digital assets accepted for AMC e-card purchases. Aron hinted in September that AMC will include …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) continues investigating the development of the global central bank digital currency (CBDC), publishing a new joint report with seven central banks. Released on Thursday, BIS’ latest CBDC report refers to joint efforts with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the United States Federal Reserve, Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank to explore a retail CBDC. The report provides an executive summary of progress made by the investigation since the October 2020 publication of a report that pointed out the common foundational principles and …

Global payments giant Visa has introduced a project that aims to be a “universal adapter” of blockchains that can connect multiple cryptocurrencies, stablecoins as well as central bank digital currencies (CBDC). According to an official announcement on Thursday, Visa’s research team is working on a “Universal Payment Channel” (UPC) initiative, a blockchain interoperability hub connecting multiple blockchain networks and enabling transfers of digital assets from different protocols and wallets. “Imagine splitting the check with your friends, when everyone at the table is using a different type of money — some using a central bank digital currency [...] like Sweden’s eKrona, …

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) published an issue paper providing its perspective on central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The paper outlines CBDC purposes, designs, as well as the potential benefits and associated risks. The bank will be seeking comments on the proposed paper until Dec. 6. The document focuses on a “general-purpose” CBDC that is a digital currency issued to “any individual or business that wants to use it.” “Such a ‘general-purpose’ CBDC would be closer in function to cash and better placed to fulfil the role of central bank money than a ‘wholesale’ CBDC,” RBNZ wrote. The …

The blockchain ecosystem has evolved significantly over the past decade as smart contract capabilities have moved the industry from being a simple medium of exchange to a bustling ecosystem full of decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFT). One project that has benefited from the increased capabilities of blockchain technology and the recent launch of smart contracts on Cardano is Coti, an enterprise-grade fintech platform focused on helping organizations create their own payment solutions and digitize any form of currency as a way to facilitate decentralized payments. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since bottoming out at …