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Last week saw some big milestones for cryptoassets, with payment giants’ announcements leading to price movements. Ethereum carried on the incredible momentum seen this year and at the time of writing is sitting at a new all-time high of $2,150. Having traded at below $150 just 12 months ago, the upward price move followed Visa’s announcement earlier in the week. Bitcoin also saw rises to peak above $60,000 on Friday too, before dipping back down to stabilize at the $59,000 mark.

Visa now settles transactions in Ethereum-powered stablecoin

Payment card giant Visa triggered an upward movement in Ethereum’s price as it announced that transactions can be settled using USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin powered by the Ethereum blockchain. 

USDC, a stablecoin co-founded by Circle and Coinbase, is a cryptoasset that is pegged to the value of USD, with one USDC always worth one USD.

The announcement means Visa has become the first major payments company to use stablecoins as a settlement currency. Visa said that it is initially working with Crypto.com who will manage its card business now entirely in cryptoassets.

“The announcement today marks a major milestone in our ability to address the needs of fintech managing their business in a stablecoin or cryptocurrency,” said Visa’s Chief Product Officer Jack Forestell. “And it’s really an extension of what we do every day, securely facilitating payments in all different currencies all across the world.”

PayPal helps bring crypto payments more into the mainstream

PayPal has announced the launch of ‘Checkout with Crypto’, its new feature which expands the use of cryptoassets, according to the payments firm. Whilst only available in the U.S. to start, it now enables PayPal customers with crypto holdings the option of checking out with crypto. 

Building on PayPal’s existing offering which allows the buying, selling, and holding of cryptoassets with PayPal, ‘Checkout with PayPal’ converts cryptoassets into fiat at checkout - automatically appearing in wallets for customers who have sufficient funds to cover the purchase. While only a U.S offering for the moment, there’s no doubt this is another boost for mainstream crypto adoption, as integrations enable a more seamless payment option.

Analysts remain bullish on bitcoin price potential

JP Morgan used to be considered a bitcoin skeptic, but now analysts there are predicting that bitcoin could reach heights of $130,000 in the long-term; if it continues to see its volatility converge with that of gold.

"Considering how big the financial investment into gold is, any such crowding out of gold as an 'alternative' currency implies big upside for bitcoin over the long term," JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a note to clients.

Analysis from the bank found that a six-month measure of bitcoin volatility appeared to be stabilizing around 73%, implying "tentative signs of bitcoin volatility normalization" that could help to "reinvigorate" interest from institutional investors.

Ark Invest, a vehicle of veteran stockpicker Cathie Wood also announced yesterday they expect the world’s largest cryptocurrency to “comfortably” eclipse gold’s $10 trillion market capitalization, demonstrating high confidence in the asset’s potential.

Total cryptoasset market cap breaks new record as it moves past $2trn

The total cryptoasset market capitalization has hit a new high above $2trn, making it more valuable than any listed company globally bar Apple.

The market cap of all cryptos surpassed $2 trillion yesterday, according to data from major crypto monitoring resources like CoinGecko.

The jump above companies, including Saudi Aramco - the world’s second-largest company by market cap - comes after a recent surge in price for many major cryptoassets including bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest coins.

Tether says its stablecoins are fully backed

Tether has released an assurance report via accounting firm Moore Cayman that states that its stablecoins were fully backed as of last month.

The report, dated February 28, has an assurance opinion by Moore Cayman that Tether's consolidated assets exceeded its consolidated liabilities as of the end of last month.

Giving specifics, the report said Tether's consolidated total assets amounted to nearly $35.3 billion as of February 28, exceeding its consolidated total liabilities which totaled $35.2 billion (of which $35.1 billion were related to stablecoins issued).

Moore Cayman, part of London-headquartered accounting firm Moore Global, reportedly said: "We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a reasonable basis for our assurance opinion.

"Tether Holdings Limited's management is responsible for its assertions in its CRR that relate to Tether Holding Limited's consolidated assets to back its consolidated liabilities issued."