Growth Wanes at Instacart, GopuffRead more

Article Image Caption  Tron CEO Justin Sun in Hong Kong in May, 2020. Sun said he spent $600,000 on an EtherRock. Photo: Bloomberg

PayPal Helps Push Bitcoin Past $50,000; The Problem With EtherRocks

By  |  Aug. 23, 2021 3:43 PM PDT
Photo: Article Image Caption Tron CEO Justin Sun in Hong Kong in May, 2020. Sun said he spent $600,000 on an EtherRock. Photo: Bloomberg

The price of bitcoin crossed the $50,000 threshold for the first time since May on Sunday and then reached as high as $50,482 following news that PayPal now allows its customers in the U.K. to buy, hold and sell bitcoin, ether, litecoin and bitcoin cash. 

PayPal’s expansion marks the first time the payment service’s crypto offerings are available outside of the U.S. It also represents a move into a country that isn’t afraid to flex its regulatory muscle when it comes to digital currencies—the U.K. banned crypto exchange Binance from conducting regulated activity in June. For now, buyers aren’t acting worried. 

Bitcoin has been rising since late July, and other cryptocurrencies, such as ether, XRP and dogecoin, are up as well. The adage of “no news is good news” may be in play. With no major crypto restrictions announced in China in recent weeks, and the fact that fiery conversations around the environmental implications of crypto mining have died down for now, investors seemed to have warmed up once again to digital currencies.

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Art by Clark Miller.
Exclusive startups crypto
MoonPay CEO, Other Executives Cashed Out Before Crypto Business Dropped
In November 2021, just as crypto prices were hitting all-time highs, MoonPay—a crypto payments startup that celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton had praised for its non-fungible token “concierge” service— announced it had completed its first ever outside fundraising: an eye-popping $555 million round at a $3.4 billion valuation from investors including Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Bloomberg
semiconductors ai
Why Nvidia Aids Cloud Rivals of AWS, Google and Microsoft
Nvidia’s business of selling chips for artificial intelligence is going gangbusters, but the company faces a looming problem.
Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Getty.
Exclusive startups Finance
Growth Wanes at Instacart, Gopuff
Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this year: growth and profits.
Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg
Exclusive apple ar/vr
Apple’s Learning Curve: How Headset’s Design Caused Production Challenges
If Apple unveils its long-awaited mixed-reality headset next week as expected, it will represent the company’s riskiest gamble on a new product since the iPhone.
Art by Clark Miller, Shutterstock (4)
Opinion ar/vr
Don’t Count the Metaverse Out
The technology hype cycle would have us believe that the metaverse—so recently the darling of digital trendsetters—is on the decline, its place usurped by generative artificial intelligence.
Mixed hydroxide precipitate, the go-to feedstock for battery nickel sulfate, on a conveyor belt at Indonesia's Harita Group, which pioneered the process. Photo: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg
The Electric electric vehicles
The Electric: Western Auto and Battery Makers’ Big Gamble on Indonesian Nickel
For much of the last century, metals companies have made stainless steel from nickel mined in Russia or the Philippines and smelted at temperatures up to 2,900 degrees.