Xapo Bank, an international private bank headquartered in Gibraltar, integrates the Lightning Network to improve its Bitcoin (BTC) capabilities. On March 2, Xapo officially announced a partnership with the Lightning Network infrastructure platform Lightspark, which allowed the firm to implement Lightning on its platform. The integration enables faster and cheaper transactions on Xapo, reducing blockchain confirmation waiting times and transaction fees on the original Bitcoin network. According to the firm, Xapo Bank members will now be able to instantly pay for small purchases of up to $100 at any vendor accepting Lightning payments. High-volume transactions are initially not supported with …

The latest project from one of wallet provider Xapo's co-founders, Federico Murrone, has secured the go-ahead from Liechtenstein's financial regulator for his new startup Lirium to provide its crypto solution for banks, fintechs and marketplaces worldwide. The project, called Lirium, offers a plug-and-play backend solution that aims to enable various partners — whether they be neobanks, fintech firms or traditional banks — to include crypto in their product offerings without the headache of themselves developing technical capabilities or dealing with compliance matters. Lirium removes the need to manage crypto liquidity or implement their own security measures, as the solution runs …

For hundreds of years, Gibraltar was a vital part of the British Empire. The tiny territory, known as “The Rock” due to a gigantic protrusion of limestone that dominates its skyline, was sliced off the bottom of the Iberian peninsula in 1713 and has been a British Overseas Territory ever since. At first glance, the territory is small, dry and home to an oversupply of thieving monkeys. But beyond the southern tip of the territory lies the Strait of Gibraltar, through which half of the world’s shipping traffic still passes. Despite the territory’s growth, the British Empire eventually withered and …

Cryptocurrency custody providers seem to be springing up all over the global digital landscape in 2019, and the crypto platform Coinbase emerging as the leader in the sector. At their very core, custody platforms are designed to serve as independent storage/security units that are aimed primarily at institutional investors. These solutions, more often than not, tend to make use of a combination of various hot and cold storage technologies. Also, while cryptocurrency exchanges and regular wallet systems conventionally utilize private keys (and other such security protocols) to protect an individual’s holdings, these alphanumeric phrases can be quite difficult to remember …

The major digital asset services platform Coinbase has recently announced the long-anticipated completion of a deal that has been in progress since at least May: the acquisition of Xapo’s institutional business. The move projects Coinbase Custody to the status of the world’s largest institutional digital asset custodian, securing more than $7 billion on behalf of over 120 clients globally. According to some estimates, Coinbase could now be holding over 5% of all Bitcoin in circulation. Xapo, founded by early crypto evangelist Wences Casares and reported to be stashing cryptocurrency in secure vaults hidden in the Swiss Alps, has stated that …

Bitcoin (BTC) adoption by institutions has gone from a myth to fact in the past year, the CEO of major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has said. “We know the answer” about adoption: Armstrong Speaking on Twitter Aug. 16, Brian Armstrong said that 2019 had formed the year of reckoning for institutional Bitcoin uptake, with the trend now obvious. He wrote: “Whether institutions were going to adopt crypto or not was an open question about 12 months ago. I think it's safe to say we now know the answer. We're seeing $200-400M a week in new crypto deposits come in from institutional …

Coinbase Custody has reportedly acquired Xapo’s institutional business to become the world’s largest crypto custodian by assets under custody. Major crypto exchange Coinbase announced the news in a post on the company’s blog Aug. 15. The news follows rapid growth on the part of Coinbase’s year-old custodial wing, which only two months ago reported assets under custody (AUC) valued at $1.3 billion. According to the announcement, the new acquisition puts Coinbase Custody’s AUC at $7 billion. Xapo is itself a major crypto wallet provider who has apparently been in negotiations with Coinbase Custody over the sale of its institutions business …

Once seen by the mainstream zeitgeist as a fringe technology destined to languish on the outskirts of society, cryptocurrency today is alluring many leaders of the fintech sector by offering companies the prospect of being at the forefront of the largest financial revolution of the past century. With mainstream society increasingly accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as a means of payment, financial firms are increasingly seeking to offer a frictionless and convenient means for consumers to make payments using crypto. Square introduces BTC deposits On June 26, San Francisco-based mobile payments provider Square announced that users of the company’s Cash App can …

American major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is reportedly negotiating the acquisition of the bitcoin (BTC) custody business of cryptocurrency wallet provider Xapo, technology-focused media outlet the Block reported on May 16. Sources familiar with the matter reportedly told the Block that Coinbase has been vying with the digital currency wing of United States financial services giant Fidelity, Fidelity Digital Assets, for Xapo over the past several weeks to advance its custody business. Following the closure of the deal, Coinbase will reportedly pay about $50 million in cash to Xapo, with a contingent earn-out for remaining with the company. Founded in 2014, …

Bitcoin "Patient Zero" Wences Casares, the founder of Bitcoin (BTC) wallet startup Xapo, said that the seminal cryptocurrency may take years to prove successful, in an interview with Bloomberg Oct. 29. In an interview with Bloomberg, Casares argued that BTC is an “intellectual experiment,” and it could be several years before it proves successful. “It may work, it might not work,” said Casares, noting that Bitcoin is in its early stages and that “we are in the equivalent of 1992 for the Internet.” However, Casares suggested that the probability of success is still greater than failure. Argentina-born Casares has been …

Bitcoin (BTC) prices fell below $6,000 for the first time since the end of June Tuesday, August 14, as the cryptocurrency community remains resilient. Data from Cointelegraph’s price tracker and Coin360 depict a gloomy environment for traders Tuesday, with all major assets in the red as Bitcoin falls almost 5 percent in 24 hours. Top ten coins are seeing as much as 17 percent losses on the day, with top fifteen coins are down as much 20 percent over the same period. Market visualization from Coin360 At press time, BTC/USD traded just above the significant barrier around $6,100, capping weekly …

Bitcoin storage provider Xapo now holds about 7% of the world’s total Bitcoin supply in its vaults, “roughly” amounting to $10 bln, Bloomberg reports May 9 quoting unnamed sources. According to two clients, the wallet and cold storage provider currently looks after an estimated $10 bln in the cryptocurrency. A further source “close to” the vaults, which now encompass five continents, called the figure an “accurate approximation.” Xapo has only been on the market since 2014, making headlines when it converted a Swiss bunker to a Bitcoin storage facility late last year. Prior to that, the startup had struggled to …