City A.M. published a report following Amazon’s announcement that it was looking for a blockchain and digital currency lead.

According to a source close to Amazon, the news outlet claimed that the company was looking into accepting bitcoin payments by the end of 2018. Additionally, it is currently investigating its own token for 2022.

The insider claimed that Amazon isn’t simply trying to establish cryptocurrency payment solutions in the future. He added that the company’s crypto project was a ‘full-on, well-discussed and integral part of Amazon’s future mechanism. She went on:

It all starts with bitcoin. This is the first major stage of the crypto project. The directive comes from Jeff Bezos, who is at the top of the chain.

The insider said that the entire project was almost ready to go. He also stressed that it won’t take too long as the plans are already in place and that they’ve been working on them since 2019.

She noted that Amazon’s directors are keen to add support for big cryptocurrencies once a secure and fast method of bitcoin payments is established.

Before they bring eight of the most well-known cryptocurrencies online, Ethereum, Cardano and Bitcoin Cash will be next.

The insider said that Amazon is exploring the possibility of launching its own cryptocurrency in addition to accepting crypto payments. She added that ‘When all the crypto ducks have been lined up, there is another twist to push Amazon even further in its favour – a Native Token.’

After more than a year of using cryptocurrency to make payments for goods, it’s becoming increasingly likely that tokenization will become a reality.

She explained that this infrastructure can be used to pay for goods or services, and earn tokens through a loyalty program.

Douglass stated that he was expecting to be widely criticized for his views on crypto. But he didn’t care.

“I cannot tell you when it will happen, by the way. It might happen soon, or it may happen in the future. It will most likely be the case study in irrationality 20 years from now.

The fund manager also identified Tesla and other meme stocks as areas of reckless speculation, where share prices do not reflect the true value of the business.

Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer, has seen its shares rise 14 fold over the past five year. Musk’s founder also acquired 58.3million Twitter followers. AMC, GameStop and Nokia were also popular after they gained viral attention via social media platforms such as Twitter and Reddit, as part of the 2020 retail investor phenomenon.

Uncertain outlook

Magellan had no exposure so Mr Douglass wasn’t concerned about asset price bubbles. He warned that cryptocurrencies’ popularity could cause a contagious impact on sentiment. This is because contagion can lead to a loss of investor confidence and market disruptions.

Magellan’s portfolio positioning defense and investment performance over the past twelve months was also supported by Magellan on the basis that there were mounting risks of an equity correction.

Magellan’s flagship global funds returned 10.8% for the year ended June 30, against a 27.5 percent return for its benchmark, the MSCI All World Index.

He said, “I suppose it’s a bit of a wake up call in Australia with Sydney & Melbourne back in a strict lockdown.” “We thought that this was over. We were about to be vaccinated. We could get an escaped variant of this virus. One that escapes the vaccines The rapid spread of this delta one is alarming, but vaccines seem to still be effective against death.

Rates and inflation

According to the fund manager, inflation is another unknown risk that will affect markets in the coming 12 months.

According to US inflation data, prices rose at an unprecedented pace for June . This was due to a wide range of consumer goods, including petrol and cars.

Douglass warns that if June’s inflation spike proves to be more than temporary, the only outcome will be market-shaking higher rates and recession. “And that would make inflation very problematic for equity investors all over the globe.

According to the fund manager, rising risk-free rates are a sign of inflation and could also affect the solvency of many corporations that have taken on debt in the last three to five years.

He said that they’ve increased their leverage and their credit ratings, which has led to a huge rise in speculative-grade junk bonds. These types of credit have been sought after by people because they offer yield and interest rates are low.

Investors should not discount to zero the possibility that yields on benchmark risk-free rate US 10-year Treasuries rise from 1.5 to 3.5% over the medium term, according to the fund manager.

Investors demand greater compensation for uncertain future cash flows by equities, as risk-free rates rise. This is done via lower valuations. Warren Buffett once said that interest rates are the gravity in markets. He said that higher rates are associated with lower asset prices.

“And [with] lower interest rate, which we have all seen over the past decade, asset prices has soared.”

Visa and Mastercard want to quickly facilitate crypto spending at millions of merchants connected to their networks around the world. PayPal allows customers convert bitcoin into fiat currencies at checkouts in the US to make purchases.

Card in high demand

Andrew Grech, co-founder of CryptoSpend, stated that more crypto investors will look to cash in their trading gains in shops.

He said, “Spending it directly will be a more convenient method of selling it.”

“We have a lot demand for the card. If the market is healthy, then someone might say that it’s time for me to spend some of my profits. Another person could say that the market will continue to rise, so I’ll keep it. We have seen an increase in spending when the price goes up.

Richard Voice, a co-founder of Mr Grech, met him in a class at UTS where they were both studying information technology. The UTS Startups hub is where they now work.

Visa went through a stringent process to verify that the information was secure and private. It also ensured compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. It will announce its approval later in the week.

Novatti, an ASX-listed company, will issue the card. It is expected to go on sale in September. BitGo is licensed in New York to take custody of crypto holdings. It will allow cardholders to also spend other cryptocurrency, including ripple, bitcoin cash, and Ethereum’s Ethereum.

Visa has approved the issuance spending cards for certain global bitcoin exchanges including Binance. However, these cards are not available in Australia. Crypto.com was approved as a direct issuer for Visa debit cards in Australia. It is currently working on launching a card. BTC.com.au permits users to use crypto funds with an EFTPOS credit card, but does not have its own wallet.

Mastercard entered the crypto spending market last year through a partnership with BitPay. According to the card giant, crypto cards are being used more frequently by its users to convert crypto holdings into traditional currencies.

Mastercard stated that its philosophy regarding cryptocurrencies was to facilitate customer choice. Mastercard stated that it was here to help customers, merchants, and businesses move digital value in any way they choose.

Visa stated in a blog last week that the value of crypto assets in regulated digital wallets was in excess of $100 billions and that it was building relationships with 50 cryptocurrency platforms including FTX and Coinbase to make it easier to spend.

Visa claimed that more than $1 billion has already been spent on cryptolinked Visa cards during the first half 2021.

According to the company, ‘For the tens and millions of people who use these platforms, the easiest way to spend crypto is through Visa cards.’ “We are seeing crypto platforms and digital wallets create payment products entirely using digital currency.

CryptoSpend can be linked to the RBA-backed “new payments platform” (NPP), which allows users to transfer crypto balances instantly into Australian bank accounts. The app allows customers to pay their bills with crypto balances.

CryptoSpend was launched in October last year. It claimed that it was growing its users by 100 per month and that this would increase when Visa cards hit the market.

Visa cards are designed to be zero balance. Fiat cannot be loaded onto the Visa card. Instead, the balance is variable. It draws directly from the crypto value in the wallet. It is not regulated like a stored-value facility, and balances cannot be guaranteed as in banks.

Mr Voice stated that the service would soon be available to the masses. “You’ll find people who hold on to bitcoin until it reaches X price but there will be others that say, “I’ve made $400 today and I’m going to use my CryptoSpend Card at the pub tonight.”

Despite uncertainty surrounding Bitcoin’s price recovery, institutional investors and fund managers are most likely to increase their cryptocurrency exposure between now 2023.

The survey was conducted by Nickel Digital Asset Management, a UK-based investment manager, between May and June. It included institutional investors as well as fund managers from the US and Europe. 82% of respondents expected to increase their crypto exposure in the next 2023. 40% of respondents said that they would dramatically increase their crypto holdings.

“Institutional money will flood in crypto from around the world in the future because there is a strong case for another market crash due rising inflation in major countries.

Inflation hedges have performed better than gold in Bitcoin over the past two-years and continue to do so. According to Hitesh Malviya (founder, itsblockchain.com), institutions are beginning to see Bitcoin as a way to hedge against rising inflation. They can now allocate more capital for it in the near future.

Respondents cited that the primary reason for increasing crypto investments was the long-term capital gains prospects of digital assets and cryptocurrencies.

38% said that being exposed to crypto-assets has made them more comfortable and confident with the asset class. 37% claimed that crypto assets are more popular with fund managers and corporate leaders than they were, which also gave them greater confidence.

An improving regulatory environment was another key factor for the 34% who wanted to increase their crypto holdings.

“Many professional investors who have crypto assets holdings are looking to increase their exposure. This is driven by several factors, including the strong market performance during and after the Covid-19 crisis, the endorsement of the market by more experienced investors and corporations, and improvements in the sector’s regulatory and infrastructure.

These trends will continue expanding,” Anatoly Crachilov (Co-Founder and CEO of Nickel Digital) said.

Nickel Digital’s analysis of the market at the start of June revealed that 19 companies listed with a market capital of more than $1 trillion had approximately $6.5 billion in Bitcoin. They had originally spent $4.3 Billion on the cryptocurrency, Crachilov said.

This analysis revealed that there was a staggering $43.2 trillion worth of bitcoin in various closed-ended trusts and exchange traded products.

Bitcoin prices have fallen by half from their mid-April peak of $64,000. It was still not at the April level, and it is unlikely that it will sustain above the $34,000 mark it traded at in May.

According to CoinMarketCap’s latest data, Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market capital has dropped to 44% from almost 70% in January.

Multiple factors are responsible for the slump, including China’s crackdown against crypto usage and mining in China, Elon Musk tweets and increased regulation of digital currency by the US lawmakers.

Bitcoin trading is under pressure due to currency markets pricing in the prospects of an upbeat U.S. Nonfarm payrolls release. This could increase concerns about an early unwinding stimulus by Federal Reserve.

At press time, the most popular cryptocurrency is trading at $33,000 – down 1% from earlier this week when it faced rejections above $36,000 The retreat has ended the optimism that was generated by last week’s rebound, which saw it rise from $28,800 up to $35,000.

Just before press time, the dollar index, which measures the value of the greenback against major currencies, hit a three-month peak of 92.60.

TradingView data shows that the index has been increasing since June 16, when unexpectedly the Fed moved the date for the first interest rate hike to 2023. It has risen 100 pips in the past week, according to TradingView data.

According to the London-based spread-betting and FX provider City Index, the DXY’s recent rise suggests a strong payrolls figure.

According to payroll data, which will be released at 12:30 UTC Friday, it is expected that the U.S. economy added 700,000. This is an increase of 559,000 jobs in May. According to FXStreet, the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.7% from 5.8%. Wage growth may have slowed, however.

A higher-than-expected number could be a validation of the Fed’s recent hawkish turn. This may bring more pain to Bitcoin and other asset values in general.

Fed tightening is a higher interest rate or the unwinding liquidity-boosting asset purchase purchases. This makes the dollar less attractive and reduces the appeal inflation hedges such as gold and bitcoin. Bitcoin and other risk assets are affected by fears of Fed taper, or the gradual unwinding stimulus. The cryptocurrency could also see a strong offer if payrolls data fall short of estimates by a large margin, thereby reducing Fed taper fears.

Bitcoin fell to $30,000 in May, after the U.S. reported an increase in inflation. Investors should consider the possibility that the central bank may close the liquidity tap sooner than they expected.

The central bank stimulus had helped the cryptocurrency climb from $10,000 to $60,000 in just seven months. To help markets and the economy absorb shocks from the coronavirus pandemic, the Fed began to pump unprecedented liquidity into the system in March 2020.

We can see that bitcoin’s price movements over the past 12 month are closely linked to central bank’s money printing.

The crypto market indicators paint a mixed picture before the event. The sliding put-call open rate ratio gives bullish hints. However, low active user participation on blockchain signals weak demand.