Bitcoin tumbles as new coronavirus variant shakes markets

Bitcoin tumbled almost 8% on Friday after the discovery of a new, potentially vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant saw investors dump riskier assets for the perceived safety of bonds, the yen, and the dollar.
Bitcoin, the largest digital currency, fell as much as 7.8% to $54,377, its lowest since Oct. 12.
Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $69,000 earlier this month as more large investors embraced cryptocurrencies, with many drawn to its purported inflation-resistant qualities.

[Via]

Daily.

WhatsApp has been given permission to double its payment offering to India’s 40 million users : Report

WhatsApp has won regulatory approval to double the number of users on its payments service in India to 40 million, a source with direct knowledge told news agency Reuters on Friday.
Instead, the National Payments Corporation of India this week told the company it could double the user base to which it can offer its payment service – currently restricted to 20 million – the source said.
The NPCI gave WhatsApp approval to start its payments service last year after the company spent years trying to comply with Centre’s regulations, including data storage norms that require all payments-related data to be stored locally.

[Via]

Daily.