A major multinational financial institution recently "announced the formation of its Digital Assets and Financial Markets group." According to a press release, "[t]he new group combines the teams responsible for supporting the fast-growing digital asset markets and those dedicated to providing market access and insights across the traditional securities services markets."
In another recent development, MakerDAO, the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that governs the Maker Protocol, is reportedly voting on a proposal that would bring a traditional bank into the MakerDAO ecosystem. The Maker Protocol governs the DAI stablecoin, which is an algorithmic stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar and issued in exchange for user deposits of ether and other cryptocurrencies. According to reports, the proposal would involve allocating 100 million Dai (DAI) for the bank as part of a new collateral type in the Maker Protocol with the goal of allowing the Maker Protocol to begin issuing real-world loans to borrowers through the bank. MakerDAO will reportedly establish a Multi-Bank Participation Trust to facilitate integration with the bank.
A recently published survey commissioned by two cryptocurrency payment processors provides new data on merchants' willingness to accept cryptocurrencies as payment.. The survey found, among other things, that (1) among businesses with an annual income of $1 billion, 85 percent are adopting crypto payments; (2) 82 percent of survey participants cited elimination of middlemen as the reason for accepting cryptocurrencies; (3) 77 percent of surveyed merchants that accept cryptocurrency cite lower transaction fees as a reason; and (4) 68 percent of merchants surveyed do not accept crypto due to challenges implementing technology.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Northern Trust Creates Digital Assets and Financial Markets Group
- MakerDAO voting on collaborating with a traditional bank
- 85% of merchants see crypto payments as a way to reach new customers: Survey
- Paying With Cryptocurrency June 2022: What Consumers And Merchants Expect From Digital Currencies
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