Today in Crypto: Cryptocurrency Leaders Predict M&A Surge; Mercado Bitcoin Allows USD Coin Trading on Stellar Network

Two big players in the cryptocurrency space are doing what lots of businesses do when organic growth slows — hunting for smaller firms to buy, CNBC reported Tuesday (May 31).

Representatives of FTX and Ripple reported their interest in acquiring other firms, the news network reported.

FTX is in “a very good spot in terms of our capital and cash” and is going to “look around the market for potential merger and acquisition opportunities, ” CNBC quoted FTX U.S. President Brett Harrison as having said. FTX is a cryptocurrency exchange.

Likely acquisition targets will provide either large pools of users or government licenses, Harrison reportedly said.

Separately, PYMNTS reported last week that the federal commodity futures trading commission is reviewing a proposal by FTX to disintermediate the trading of derivatives on the platform.

CNBC quoted Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse as having said the international payments company has “a very strong balance sheet. ” Garlinghouse, according to CNBC, forecasts a rise in deal-making within the sector.

“I think there’ll be an uptick in M&A in the blockchain and crypto space. We haven’t seen that yet. But I think that’s likely in the future. And I certainly think as that unfolds, we would consider things like that,” CNBC quoted Garlinghouse as having said.

“We’re now at a stage of growth where I think we’re more likely to be the buyer versus the … seller,” he said.

Mercado Bitcoin allows USD Coin trading on Stellar network

Mercado Bitcoin, which calls itself “the largest platform for digital assets in Latin America, ” as of today (May 31, 2022) is letting its users trade USD Coin on the Stellar network, Mercado Bitcoin announced.

USD Coin is a stablecoin pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar.

Read also: Fed’s Vice Chair Brainard Makes a Case for a US CBDC In Congress

The fees for USD Coin transactions on the stellar network will be “a fraction of one cent per transaction, ” Mercado Bitcoin’s announcement states.

“USDC on Stellar provides Mercado Bitcoin customers both valuable interoperability and a truly borderless digital dollar, ” Denelle Dixon, chief executive of Stellar Development Foundation, said in a prepared statement. “As we continue our mission of creating equitable access to the global financial system, this integration is a mutually beneficial step forward. ”

The deal, Dixon continued, could add “significant volume and liquidity to the Stellar network. ”

Stellar stated in the announcement that in the first quarter of 2022, the platform processed an average of $8.6 million in payments per day.

Stellar is open source. The Stellar Development Foundation is a nonprofit that backs the cryptocoin.

PYMNTS reported that Stellar and Mercado Bitcoin are collaborating on a project exploring the creation of a digital currency for a Latin America country backed by a large entity such as Brazil’s central bank.

Read more: Mercado Bitcoin, Stellar Team on CBDC Project

PayPal Ventures revealed as Aptos Labs investor

The mystery investor behind a $200 million capital infusion into Aptos Labs is PayPal Ventures, according to Coindesk and other media covering the blockchain space.

Aptos, a Diem blockchain-focused company that emerged out of Meta, announced the funding round two months ago, but didn’t name the party behind the $200 million investment. Diem previously was called “Libra. ”

“We believe in the work that the Aptos Labs team is doing to build a safe and scalable layer 1 blockchain,” PayPal Ventures investment partner Amman Bhasin said in a prepared statement cited by Coinbase and other media outlets. “With the promise of improved reliability and security, faster transactions and lower fees, the Aptos blockchain is designed in a way that makes it both conducive to building new rails and compelling to corporate clients and crypto-native developers.”

Crypto data provider Stack reported that other investors in Aptos have included: Andreessen Horowitz, Multicoin Capital, Katie Haun, Three Arrows Capital, ParaFi Capital and Coinbase Ventures.

Singapore, FinTechs launch tokenization project

The Monetary Authority of Singapore today (May 31, 2022) announced the launch of Project Guardian, an effort involving banks to explore the potential value of tokenization. Tokenization involves using smart contracts on blockchains to determine the value of assets, including after changes in some or all of their ownership.

Today’s government announcement states, in part: “When applied in the context of financial services, such smart contracts enable Decentralised Finance, where financial transactions such as borrowing, lending and trading activities can be performed autonomously on a blockchain without the need for intermediaries. ”

The announcement continues: “It could potentially enhance the efficiency, accessibility, and affordability of financial services, increase liquidity in financial markets, and enhance economic inclusion. ”

Project Guardian’s goals include assessing the potential risks of using tokenized systems, according to the announcement. The project also will examine ways a tokenization-based system could interact with existing financial institutions. ”

Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer of the Monetary Authority, said in a prepared statement that the agency “is closely monitoring innovations and growth in the digital asset ecosystem and working through the potential opportunities and risks that come with new technologies — to consumers, investors and the financial system at large. … The learnings from Project Guardian will serve to inform policy markets on the regulatory guardrails that are needed to harness the benefits of DeFi, while mitigating its risks.”

Participating entities include DBS Bank Ltd., JP Morgan and Marketnode, which is a joint venture of SGX Group and Temasek.