It’s nervy times for crypto chart watchers in this Fed-controlled pivotal week, but it’s been very positive for crypto-adoption news lately. MoneyGram headlines that side of the equation today.

The global digital peer-to-peer payments company has this week announced users in nearly all US states and the District of Columbia can now, via its MoneyGram mobile app, buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency.

Well, not just any old crypto, mind – specifically Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC).

Guess the likes of DogeBonk, Mongoose Coin and LetsGoBrandon will just have to wait. That said, the payments firm revealed it does plan to add more cryptocurrencies to its app in 2023, pending regulations.

The new initiative is a part of MoneyGram’s overall vision to bring “real-world cryptocurrency and blockchain use cases to life”, and explained that it’s been partly made possible via a partnership with the crypto exchange and API-enabled crypto-as-a-service provider Coinme.

Alex Holmes, Chairman and CEO of MoneyGram, said:

“As consumer interest in digital currencies continues to accelerate, we are uniquely positioned to meet that demand and bridge the gap between blockchain and traditional financial services thanks to our global network, leading compliance solutions, and strong culture of fintech innovation.”

 

South African grocery retail giant to accept Bitcoin

Pick n Pay, one of South Africa’s largest supermarket retailers, has announced that it intends to accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments in all its stores nationwide.

Per South African-based news outlet Tech Central, the firm plans to officially roll out the offering, which expands on a years-long pilot program it’s had in place.

The rollout will allow customers to pay with any Bitcoin Lightning-network-enabled smartphone app and QR codes.

According to the report, Pick n Pay IT exec Chris Shortt explained that the advancement of crypto technology has made it possible to now “provide an affordable service for high volume, low-value transactions that will promote financial inclusion in South Africa”.

 

Google’s cloud-based Ethereum nodes

Tech giant Google last week confirmed it will be launching a cloud-based node engine for Ethereum projects.

The company said its Google Cloud Blockchain Node Engine will be a “fully managed node-hosting service that can minimise the need for node operations.”

Cool. What’s a node? In the world of crypto, it’s a computer that connects to a blockchain network and supports said network through validation by means of relaying transactions and storing transactional history.

We know this, not because we’re cryptographers, unsurprisingly, but because we looked it up to remind ourselves here.

By managing these nodes, it reportedly means Google will be responsible for monitoring their activity and restarting them during any outages. Sounds like a good deal.

Google seems to be making more and more Web3 moves lately. Earlier this month, for instance, it formed a partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase to provide crypto payments for its cloud services.

 

Visa announces World Cup NFT auction

Payments titan Visa has launched a new NFT initiative it’s dubbed “Visa Masters of Movement”, in partnership with the exchange giant Crypto.com.

What the Football? It’s a fan-engagement experience, apparently, designed to bring together the world of soccer and art to help charitable causes and celebrate the FIFA World Cup 2022, being held in Qatar in just under three weeks’ time.

The campaign is set to kick off with an NFT auction ahead of the tournament, and during the World Cup, attending fans will be given an opportunity to create their own digital art.

The Visa Masters of Movement will feature digital artworks, avatars, and other collectibles curated from past FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup competitions. 

The digital artworks are inspired by goals scored by five popular stars – Mexican Jared Borgetti, Australian legend Tim Cahill, American star Carli Lloyd, England’s Michael Owen, and Argentinian Maxi Rodriguez – all set to be minted into NFTs by Crypto.com. 

The collection will debut later this month at the FIFA Fan Festival in Doha, Qatar beginning November 19 to December 18. 

 

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