Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.
Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (July 17) as of 10:00 p.m. UTC.
Bitcoin price update
Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$64,129.58, up by 0.2 percent over the past 24 hours.
Today’s crypto news to know
Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:
- Crypto.com hits US$20 billion valuation with Citadel investment
- PayPal board sees US$53 billion takeover bid as undervalued
- Bybit secures majority stake in NOBI
- T.Rowe Price debuts multi-token spot ETP
- Visa debuts stablecoin platform
Crypto.com hits US$20 billion valuation with Citadel investment
Citadel Securities has invested US$400 million in Singapore-based Crypto.com, marking the cryptocurrency exchange’s first institutional funding round.
The market-making firm, founded by billionaire Ken Griffin, secured a stake in the exchange through a transaction that values Crypto.com at US$20 billion.
Crypto.com plans to utilize the capital injection to accelerate its expansion into tokenized securities, derivatives, and a broader array of traditional asset classes.
Crypto.com currently ranks as the 11th largest crypto exchange by trading volume and recently secured conditional approval for a U.S. national trust bank charter.
PayPal board sees US$53 billion takeover bid as undervalued
The board of directors at PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) has determined that a US$53 billion joint acquisition proposal from Stripe and Advent International undervalues the company, according to a Reuters exclusive.
The consortium submitted an offer of US$60.50 per share, backed by a $US50 billion bank financing package assembled by JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley alongside US$17 million in equity.
PayPal’s board believes the current bid fails to capture the long-term value of its ongoing corporate turnaround plan under CEO Enrique Lores.
While directors have not issued a formal refusal, they are actively reviewing the financial terms, regulatory hurdles, and potential counteroffers before taking next steps.
Under the proposed deal structure, Stripe and Advent would hold equal ownership stakes and keep the core payments business intact. The buyers have also outlined potential antitrust remedies, including separating PayPal’s Braintree division and transferring it to Advent’s existing portfolio.
Bybit secures majority stake in NOBI
Bybit has launched a locally operated trading platform in Indonesia following its majority acquisition of PT Enkripsi Teknologi Handal, formerly known as NOBI.
The newly formed entity, Bybit Indonesia, operates as a regulated business under the direct supervision of Indonesia’s financial regulator, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK).
Former NOBI senior executives Lawrence Samantha and Dionisius Evan will lead the local management team as CEO and COO alongside CMO Steven Gotama.
The platform is introducing its services in distinct phases, debuting with more than 500 trading pairs backed by institutional-grade liquidity and global risk surveillance systems.
T.Rowe Price debuts multi-token spot ETP
T. Rowe Price announced the addition of the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF (NYSEARCA:TKNZ) on Thursday (July 16), calling it the industry’s first actively managed multi-token spot exchange-traded product. The fund began trading on NYSE Arca and is designed to hold and adjust exposure across multiple crypto tokens, rather than just one.
The company says the fund gives investors a single product that can shift between assets based on its research and market outlook.
The launch adds T. Rowe Price to a growing list of big traditional firms moving deeper into crypto investment products.
Visa debuts stablecoin platform
Visa (NYSE:V) launched its new Visa Stablecoin Platform, built for financial institutions, fintechs and crypto platforms, with tools to mint, move and manage stablecoins in a Visa-run system.
The platform supports OpenUSD and includes built-in wallets, transfer permissions, activity logs and approval steps so companies can securely manage transactions.
This follows Visa’s June announcement that it was adding new AI, stablecoin and token features. Earlier this year, Visa expanded stablecoin-linked card work with Bridge and had previously launched stablecoin settlement in the US and stablecoin prefunding in Visa Direct.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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