The Ethereum Merge is set to occur later today with the energy-efficiency focused transition expected to have a major impact on crypto investment and adoption, experts say. Speaking to Cointelegraph in the lead up to the Merge, StarkWare president and co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson noted that the Ethereum Merge will be the “first step in a process that will lead to exceedingly widespread adoption of Ethereum.” The immediate importance of the Merge is the dramatic effect on energy consumption. The Merge is expected to see Ethereum’s energy cut by 99.95% compared to its current Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which requires large …

Mastercard has been making headlines consistently as it ramps up efforts to offer crypto services across the globe. In a new partnership with CoinJar, Mastercard will enable the Australian market to spend cryptocurrencies within its fiat infrastructure. CoinJar’s blog post highlighted that the newly launched CoinJar Card will allow users to make purchases in crypto “wherever Mastercard is accepted.” The CoinJar Card will be made available for users through digital and physical cards and Apple Pay and Google Pay integration. According to the official announcement, the card supports 30 cryptocurrencies, including prominent ones, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and …

Australian exchange CoinJar has confirmed the launch of its Swipe prepaid Bitcoin debit card, the first specifically designed for the Australian consumer spending infrastructure. Swipe will be attached to a user’s CoinJar account and will allow withdrawal of AUD and point of sale transactions at any outlet on Australia’s electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) network. While international Bitcoin debit cards have been available for some time, CoinJar’s status as perhaps the most recognized Bitcoin entity in the local space may well aid adoption among what it estimates to be 500,000 Australian Bitcoin users. “We created Swipe because …