The Weekly Top 5
Ethereum rises to a new all time high and Morgan Stanley files for Bitcoin exposure in 12 funds
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Top 5 Headlines
Ethereum Rises to All Time High - TrustNodes
Ethereum has risen to an all time high of $2080 at the time of writing, up from its previous all time high of $2050 in February.
That follows stock futures indicating a new all time high for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes on numerous positive economic data.
Bitcoin has been lagging on the other hand, stuck at $59,500 as it consolidates ahead of a potential retake of $60,000.
Visa now settles payments in USDC stablecoin on Ethereum blockchain - The Block
Visa announced Monday that it now settles payments in the USDC stablecoin on the Ethereum blockchain.
The development means Visa has become the first major payments network to use stablecoin as a settlement currency. Until now, Visa settled payments in fiat currencies only.
For its new USDC settlement capability, Visa is initially working with Crypto.com as part of a pilot program, letting the crypto firm manage its card business now entirely in digital assets.
Michael Jordan Joins $305M Investment in Firm Behind NBA Top Shot - CoinDesk
Dapper Labs announced a $305 million funding round Tuesday from another batch of National Basketball Association stars and a venture capital firm backing its runaway hit, NBA Top Shot.
Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, the investment firm Coatue and a deep bench of 30 athletes plus the rapper 2 Chainz have piled into the non-fungible token (NFT) firm, the startup said. Citing a person with knowledge of the situation, USA Today reported the funding round places Dapper’s current valuation at $2.6 billion.
Morgan Stanley Files for Bitcoin Exposure in 12 Funds - Blockworks
On Thursday Morgan Stanley filed for bitcoin exposure in several of its institutionally focused funds.
Some funds will have indirect bitcoin exposure through cash settled futures or investments in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the privately offered investment vehicle that invests in bitcoin. Sometimes a fund might have no exposure to bitcoin.
Each fund will be able to invest up to 25% of its assets in bitcoin products.
Among the 12 funds is Counterpoint Global, the $150 billion unit of Morgan Stanley Investment Management managed by Dennis Lynch, which was first reported to be considering investing in bitcoin in February.
People are earning six-figure salaries in the virtual economy - Decrypt
Hundreds of thousands of people are now employed in a “virtual” economy—in video games and virtual worlds— immune to shutdown, according to a report published yesterday by L’Atelier, a research company that’s part of the French international banking group BNP Paribas.
The economic output of the virtual economy—replete with online jobs, assets, marketplaces and traders—is equal to Bulgaria’s GDP ($66.2 billion), according to L’Atelier. Using data from Nielsen, interviews and other metrics, the company identified a $100 billion market of gaming platforms such as Fortnite and Minecraft, and virtual worlds such as Decentraland.
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