BITCOIN: MasterCard, NASDAQ & Dubai Royals

MasterCard just launched a debit-card backed by Bitcoin and crypto in a partnership with EurocoinPay.

• The card can be used at 90 million merchant locations globally.

Nasdaq to offer Bitcoin custody services to Institutions

• Also launching a Nasdaq Digital Assets division. The custody service awaits regulatory approval.

MICROSTRATEGY just bought $6m Bitcoin

• MicroStrategy added 301 Bitcoin for a total of 130,000 BTC worth ~$2.6 billion. It is also raising $500m in capital to buy more.

JP MORGAN: Bitcoin and crypto industries will rise sooner rather than later.

• Marko Kolanevic, head of JP Morgan’s global operations, anticipates that the Fed will start cutting interest rates at the start of 2023, which might lead to a significant rally for risky assets like Bitcoin.

DUBAI: Royal Family company Seed Group' has partnered with CoinCorner to enable Bitcoin transactions in the UAE and wider Middle East.

• Danny Scott, CEO of CoinCorner stated that the company is dedicated to making Bitcoin transactions in the UAE the "new normal."

BREAKING: SEC claims all Ethereum transactions fall under US jurisdiction because the nodes are "clustered more densely" in the U.S.

• Crypto-influencer Ian Balina was sued by the SEC for failing to register a cryptocurrency as security before launching a 2018 ICO. In the suit, SEC asserted today that the US government had jurisdiction over the whole Ethereum network.

BREAKING: Colorado now accepts Bitcoin through PayPal for tax payments.

• Gov. Jared Polis made good on his promise in February that he intended to start accepting cryptocurrency for tax payments by the end of the summer - now he has fulfilled his promise.

NEW: Another Bitcoin Futures ETF approved in the USA.

• Hashdex's BTC Futures ETF recently began trading on the NYSE after receiving SEC permission. The ETF marks the first Bitcoin ETF authorized under the 1933 Securities Act. However, SEC has refused to approve any spot Bitcoin ETF but continues approving futures.

FRANCE: 3rd largest, Société Générale, will enable fund managers to launch Bitcoin or crypto funds.

• The new service will enable asset managers to provide cryptocurrency funds in a "simple and adapted" manner within a framework that complies with European regulations. Bitcoin adoption by financial institutions is about to take off.

LEBANON: Banks have closed till further notice.

• The closures follow a string of hold-ups made by depositors last week to get access to their own money, which is still locked up as a result of the current economic crisis. Limited ATM withdrawals and online banking applications will remain operational during the closure.

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Archie