Crypto news this week – 20 May

Mass adoption, integration, and increased efficiency. We know those phrases are making your heart flutter right now – find out what the latest in crypto news means for you in this edition of our crypto roundup.

Starbucks and Whole Foods, and your crypto

100 points to mass adoption as mainstream retailers have announced your crypto is good to spend at their stores. Starbucks and Amazon-owned Whole Foods, along with some other major retailers are jumping on the crypto bandwagon and will be accepting crypto payments thanks to a partnership between payments startup, Flexa, and US-based crypto exchange, Gemini. You can use your Bitcoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash and Gemini’s native stablecoin, the Gemini Dollar, to grab your next cup of coffee. The only thing we can’t guarantee is whether Starbucks will spell your name correctly, though…

WhatsApp has seen the Lite

In more exciting integration news, you now have the opportunity to send and receive cryptocurrency via WhatsApp. The blockchain platform, Zulu Republic, announced over the weekend that users can now send and receive Bitcoin and Litecoin on WhatsApp thanks to its cryptocurrency messaging platform, Lite.im. All users need to do is install the Lite.im bot and follow the on-screen prompts. The bot also enables users to earn crypto through a referral platform.

Institutional investors – rejoice!

Big news for institutional investors as Bakkt has announced they’re moving forward with their plans to begin testing their Bitcoin futures contract in July 2019. They gave a breakdown of the product which has been lauded by many as an absolute game-changer for the crypto market. With the backing of the ICE (Intercontinental Exchange), which also owns the New York Stock Exchange, a certain level of credibility backs the platform. Several analysts believe this is going to spur a new wave of Bitcoin institutional investors.

Word on the Tweet

What’s happening in crypto Twittersphere?

It seems the recent price spikes have gotten some users feeling pretty nostalgic…

The last time Bitcoin broke $8,000:

Microsoft wasn’t building on it.

Congress wasn’t fighting it.

Bakkt wasn’t launching with it.

Square wasn’t selling it.

Fidelity wasn’t storing it.

TD Ameritrade wasn’t trading it.

Whole Foods wasn’t accepting it.

— The Rhythm Trader (@Rhythmtrader) May 13, 2019

1 Satoshi is now worth more than:

1 Indonesian Rupiah (IRR)
1 Vietnamese Dong (VND)
1 Iranian Rial (IRR)

Tick tock ??

— Christopher Bendiksen (@C_Bendiksen) May 15, 2019

In 2017, we didn’t have:

• Bakkt otw
• Fidelity
• @elonmusk & @jack shouting out #bitcoin
• Samsung integrated $crypto wallets
• HTC full node capabilities
• Heavily improved general #cryptocurrency UI
• 100x more educational content out there

This time IS different.

— The Crypto Dog? (@TheCryptoDog) May 14, 2019

And then this bright new revelation: crypto as a safe-haven asset?

We may be witnessing Bitcoin turning into a safe haven asset in real time. What a time to be alive.

— Marty Bent (@MartyBent) May 13, 2019

It’s been an exciting week filled with lots of Bitcoin buzz. What are your thoughts on this week’s crypto news? Get in touch with us on Twitter.