Stablecoin Activity Heats Up, Bitcoin's Speculation Problem And Other Payments News

Despite the increase in major companies opening up payment options in bitcoin, research from Chainalysis shows that only 1.3% of bitcoin transactions came from merchants in the first four months of 2019, starkly contrasting with exchange activity that accounted for 89.7 percent of transactions during that same time period. According to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Bitcoin Futures contracts exchanged on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange hit a record high between May 27 and June 3, with more than 5,190 contracts outstanding, and many people suggesting increased institutional participation as the reason for the uptick. According to a recent report, interest in bitcoin investment among the superwealthy may lead to a new industry of "boutique" cryptocurrency brokerages, such as the Dadiani Syndicate in London, which coordinates peer-to-peer transfers, avoiding traditional exchanges, including one client who was interested in purchasing 25 percent of all