Crypto Scoop: Bitcoin sets new ATH above $60k

Here are the top stories this week:

• Bitcoin's market cap surpasses US$1 trillion
• JP Morgan to launch a new debt instrument
• Paypal acquires Curv

Bitcoin's value jumps past $1 trillion

Weeks after its massive fall in price, bitcoin seems to be picking up momentum as its total market cap surpassed a trillion dollars on Tuesday for the second time since February 19. And on Saturday, 13th of March, bitcoin finally crossed its previous ATH to set a new record above $61,000.

Bitcoin's consistent increase in price continues to be influenced by the continuous interest and purchases from institutional investors such as Tesla, MicroStrategy, Visa and others like the Chinese Meitu app buying $17.9 million worth of bitcoin and Paypal acquiring a crypto-security company valued at less than $200 million.

JP Morgan to launch a new debt instrument

U.S Bank JP Morgan is set to launch a new debt instrument that would give its investors access to companies that have been classified as crypto-focused. Investors would be able to invest with a minimum of $1000 which would mature in May of 2022. The "exposure basket" holds "11 unequally weighted Reference stocks" of U.S listed companies "that operate businesses that we believe to be directly or indirectly related to cryptocurrencies or other digital assets…", says JP Morgan.

The SEC filing of the instrument also mentions that 68% of the basket is made up of Class A common stock of MicroStrategy (20%), Square (18%), Riot Blockchain (15%) and NVIDIA (15%) and so the value of notes of investors `will depend to a greater extent on the performance the of four Reference stocks." Other companies in the basket include Silvergate Capital, CME Group, Overstock.com, Intercontinental Exchange etc.

PayPal acquires crypto-security company Curv

Payment giant PayPal announced on Monday that it would be acquiring crypto-security company Curv. Curv, which was founded in 2018, provides technology for securing digital assets as a cloud service and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. This acquisition seems to be part of PayPal's play to become more involved in digital tokens as it announced in October 2020. 

The deal which a source says is less than $200 million will close by the end of the first half of the year and Curv will join PayPal under its recently created business unit focused on blockchain, crypto and digital currencies.

Read also: Is It Too Late to Buy Bitcoin?