Monthly report of October 2022

This monthly report reviews the most important cryptocurrency news in October. In particular, the report delves into Google's decision to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method for its cloud services, BNY Mellon's cryptocurrency custody service, Mastercard's measures to promote the status of cryptocurrencies, and Cash App enabling bitcoin transactions on the Lightning Network.

              
October in the cryptocurrency market
The prices of cryptocurrencies were on the rise in October. Of the cryptocurrencies offered by Northcrypto, the best performers were Ethereum and Polygon, whose prices rose by more than 15 percent during the month. The prices of Aave and Bitcoin were up about ten and five percent, while the prices of Chainlink and Litecoin ended up a couple of percents higher at the end of the month than at the beginning of the month.
Google accepts cryptocurrencies as a payment method for its cloud services
Tech giant Google announced in October that it would begin accepting cryptocurrency payments as a payment method for its Google Cloud services early next year. Cryptocurrency payments will be enabled in partnership with the US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. Google and Coinbase also announced the start of a strategic partnership in October. The goal of this collaboration is to make the development of a blockchain technology based new iteration of the internet, i.e., Web3, a faster and easier, and to make Web3 accessible to new users.
The world's largest custodian bank provides cryptocurrency custody services
BNY Mellon, the world's largest custodian bank and the oldest US bank, started providing cryptocurrency custody services. Commenting on the decision, the bank's CEO Robin Vince said: "We are excited to help drive the financial industry forward as we begin the next chapter in our innovation journey." Now, BNY Mellon's selected US customers will be able to store the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, i.e., bitcoin and Ethereum (ether), on the bank's new cryptocurrency custody platform. BNY Mellon provides administration services for assets of more than € 43 trillion, which is, for example, more than 300 times higher than Finland's national debt (approximately € 136 billion).
Also, BNY Mellon recently commissioned a survey of institutional investors on cryptocurrency investing. According to the survey, 91 percent of institutional investors are interested in investing in tokenized investment products. The survey also showed that 41 percent of institutional investors surveyed have cryptocurrencies in their investment portfolio, in addition to which 15 percent plan to invest in cryptocurrencies in the next 2-5 years.
Mastercard promoting the status of cryptocurrencies
Mastercard, the world's leading provider of digital payment solutions, announced in October its goal of making cryptocurrencies an everyday payment method. On top of that, Raj Dhamodharan, the vice president of Mastercard's department focused on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, thinks the ability to own and spend cryptocurrencies could soon be as seamless as making a contactless card payment. Dhamodharan also explained the areas that Mastercard plans to focus on to promote the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method. These areas include, for example, cryptocurrency payment cards, services for cryptocurrency operators, as well as NFT’s and the metaverse.
Also, Mastercard announced a new project to help banks provide cryptocurrency trading services. Mastercard is implementing the project in collaboration with Paxos, a provider of blockchain and cryptocurrency services. In practice, the project provides Paxos cryptocurrency trading and custody services to banks, and Mastercard helps banks integrate these services. In addition, Mastercard and Paxos announced that they would take responsibility for regulatory compliance and security on behalf of banks, which have been widely seen as the biggest barriers to banks' provision of cryptocurrency services.
Cash App enabled bitcoin transactions on the Lightning Network
In October, the mobile payment app Cash App made it possible to send and receive bitcoin on the Bitcoin layer 2 scaling solution Lightning Network. The feature initially became available to US users, of which Cash App has nearly 50 million. According to the Cash App's website, Lightning Network offers faster transactions with little to no fees. It has been possible to trade bitcoin on the Cash App since 2018, and last year, bitcoin trading brought Cash App approximately 80 percent of its revenue.
Summary
For many who follow cryptocurrency markets, the two most significant cryptocurrency news in October were Google's decision to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method for its cloud services and BNY Mellon's decision to offer cryptocurrency custody services. Google's decision sends positive signals about the tech giant's stance on cryptocurrencies. The next potential step could be to accept cryptocurrencies more broadly as a payment method for the company's services and integrate cryptocurrencies into the business. Although these measures are not yet a reality, they will certainly be closer than before with the announcement in October.
BNY Mellon's announcement can be seen as a continuation of the increased interest of institutional players in cryptocurrencies over the past two years. So now, in addition to the world's largest asset manager (BlackRock), the world's largest custodian bank offers cryptocurrency services. After the steps taken by the world's largest players, major banks, asset managers, and companies alike should at least consider offering cryptocurrency services or investing in cryptocurrencies.
Mastercard, the world's leading provider of digital payment solutions, aims to promote the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method as well as help banks provide cryptocurrency services. These things did not come as a surprise to many cryptocurrency experts. Mastercard clearly recognizes the potential of cryptocurrencies and instead of competing against them, Mastercard wants to make cryptocurrencies an integral part of its business. Paying with cryptocurrencies, and more specifically bitcoin took another significant leap forward in October as Cash App, one of the world's most popular mobile payment apps, enabled nearly 50 million US customers bitcoin transactions on the Lightning Network.

Ville Viitaharju
Cryptocurrency specialist