FinancialBuzz.com News Commentary
The blockchain and cryptocurrency market has achieved impressive strides this year. The first decentralized cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was created in 2009. Now, the burgeoning popularity of various cryptocurrencies has resulted in major financial institutions, like banks, paying attention to developments in the crypto market. As a result of the recent crypto boom earlier this year, many companies and organizations have become noticeably more open to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. For example, Square, Inc. reported earlier this year that it had purchased approximately 4,709 bitcoins at an aggregate purchase price of USD 50 Million. In addition, payment methods have changed drastically, as consumers are now exposed to new digital alternatives to cash, and some major businesses are becoming more adaptable to receiving payments in cryptocurrencies. TD Holdings, Inc., PayPal Holdings, Inc., Square, Inc., Global Payments Inc., Ebang International Holdings Inc.
According to data presented by Finaria.it, the global digital payments industry is expected to hit a value of USD 6.6 Trillion in 2021, representing a 40% increase in two years. The research claims that large players like Amazon, PayPal, Apple, and Facebook are continually investing significant amounts of money into online and mobile payment solutions. Additionally, the ongoing development from separate online shops towards integrated online shopping ecosystems has created space for new business models and opportunities for digital payment methods. Mobile POS payments are expected to contribute 37% or almost USD 2.5 Trillion to the digital payments value in 2021.
TD Holdings, Inc. just announced breaking news that, “its subsidiary Tongdow (Hainan) Data Technology Co., Ltd. (“Tongdow Hainan”) has completed the acquisition of eight software copyrights for commodities storage in digital cloud warehousing. The Company previously announced on February 17, 2021 that Tongdow Hainan entered into a letter of intent with Yunfeihu IoT Co., Ltd. (“Yunfeihu”) and Tongdow E-commerce Group Co., Ltd. (“Tongdow E-commerce”) to acquire the copyrights. The ownership of software copyrights has now been fully transferred to Tongdow Hainan, which marks the Company’s entrance into a substantive stage in the development of the ecosystem of payment and settlement using cryptocurrency.
Tongdow Hainan acquired the following eight software copyrights: Smart Hardware Management Platform System 3.0, Smart Storage System Management Software, Lecheng Smart HD Video Conference System V1.0, Smart Storage APP system, Flat Panel Vehicle APP System, Smart Storage Hands-Held Device APP System, Statistical Management of Account Transfer Fees of Warehouse Orders System V3.0, and Supply Chain Finance OA System V1.0.
The Company aims to empower its existing digital cloud warehousing system with these blockchain technologies to provide support for more diversified settlement channels for commodity trades, such as payments by Bitcoin or other encrypted currencies. Meanwhile, such blockchain as well as internet of things (IoTs) technologies shall be applied to improve the efficiency of the Company’s warehouse order tracking system in order to standardize order management to better prevent errors and cause orders to be more easily traceable.
The innovations would ensure a detailed recording of the trading, account transfer and other information such as place of origins as well as quality control of the goods in consideration, which effectively digitalizes the entire supply chain process and creates a safe environment for inventory management and financing activities that require precise information on the production, sales and other goods-related data based on the cloud warehousing system. Blockchain and IoTs technologies help verify ownership of goods and turn physical assets into highly efficient and secure digital assets.
The Company will continue to increase the acquisition and R&D of technical software copyrights and patented technologies in digital cloud warehousing, commodity digital transactions and digital currency settlements. The Company strives to take a global leading position in blockchain technology, IoTs technology and digital cloud warehousing technology which will become the foundation for the Company’s rapid development in the future.”
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PayPal Holdings, Inc. announced back in March that it had agreed to acquire Curv to accelerate and expand its initiatives to support cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Curv is a leading provider of cloud-based infrastructure for digital asset security based in Tel Aviv, Israel. “The acquisition of Curv is part of our effort to invest in the talent and technology to realize our vision for a more inclusive financial system,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Vice President and General Manager, blockchain, crypto and digital currencies, PayPal. “During our conversations with Curv’s team, we’ve been impressed by their technical talent, entrepreneurial spirit, and the thinking behind the technology they’ve built in the last few years. We’re excited to welcome the Curv team to PayPal.”
Square, Inc. reported earlier this year that it has purchased approximately 3,318 bitcoins at an aggregate purchase price of $170 million. Combined with Square’s previous purchase of $50 million in bitcoin, this represents approximately five percent of Square’s total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2020. Aligned with the company’s purpose, Square believes that cryptocurrency is an instrument of economic empowerment, providing a way for individuals to participate in a global monetary system and secure their own financial future. The investment is part of Square’s ongoing commitment to bitcoin, and the company plans to assess its aggregate investment in bitcoin relative to its other investments on an ongoing basis.
Global Payments Inc., a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, announced back in May an agreement to acquire Zego from Vista Equity Partners. Zego provides resident experience management software and digital commerce solutions to property managers primarily in the United States. The transaction extends Global Payments’ leadership in software into the real estate vertical, a USD 6.5 Billion target addressable market with a strong payments nexus and significant secular tailwinds. “We are delighted to expand our software and digital commerce portfolio with the addition of Zego, a real estate technology company that modernizes the resident experience with a comprehensive property management software platform,” said Cameron Bready, Global Payments President and Chief Operating Officer. “This acquisition aligns perfectly with Global Payments’ strategy by enhancing our position at the convergence of software and payments in one of the largest and most attractive vertical markets worldwide, where digital commerce and omni-channel trends are rapidly accelerating.”
Ebang International Holdings Inc. announced earlier this year that the Company has completed the designing of a chip for simultaneous Litecoin (LTC) and Dogecoin (Doge) mining as an addition to our current portfolio of cryptocurrency mining chip designs. The Company believes the new design will allow the Company to construct high performance cryptocurrency mining machines superior to other mining machines currently on the market. Mr. Dong Hu, Chairman and CEO of the Company, commented, “The completion of the designing is a credit to our increased investment in R&D in recent years. We have made tremendous efforts to build up our R&D team and accelerate product iteration and innovation. In the future, we will focus on developing more mainstream cryptocurrency mining machines, and we are considering designing more mining chips compatible with multiple cryptocurrencies. We believe it will help increase our revenue from the cryptocurrency mining business and optimize our product offering structure along the blockchain industry value chain.”
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