Bitcoin Daily: Bakkt, AGM Get More Into Crypto; Crypterium Eyes US Expansion; BlockFi, Neuberger Berman File for Bitcoin ETF

More businesses are accepting cryptocurrencies, including Bakkt Holdings as of last week, according to a press release. Bakkt said it will allow for the buying, selling and holding of ether.

“At Bakkt, providing flexible opportunities for users to enjoy their digital assets is a top consideration, and adding Ethereum brings a popular and growing cryptocurrency to our roster,” said Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael in the release. “Bakkt users have already enjoyed the app’s capabilities to leverage bitcoin and we are confident that our addition of Ethereum will be a complement to our growing ecosystem of partners and assets.”

In addition, AGM Group Holdings made news earlier in the week when it said it had won a purchase order for crypto mining machines from Code Chain, a vertically integrated crypto miner, according to the release. AGM will be delivering mining machines worth $65 million in the second half of 2022.

In other news, Estonia-based crypto wallet app Crypterium is looking to expand to the U.S., according to a press release.

Crypterium has been part of the Visa Fast Track program for over a year, the release stated. Visa Fast Track allows onboarding features for emerging FinTech groups. Involvement in the program requires passing a strict sustainability audit.

Crypterium has been in talks with several strategic partnership possibilities in the U.S., according to the release. The wallet app will issue a Crypterium U.S. Visa card in the first quarter of 2022.

Meanwhile, BlockFi will be going through a joint bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in partnership with investment management firm Neuberger Berman with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), CoinDesk reported.

The ETF would offer shares showing the spot value of bitcoin held by the trust, and the shares would be traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), according to the report. The overall effect of the partnership is that it would be able to give more direct exposure to bitcoin.

Unlike BlockFi’s filing from last month to offer a bitcoin futures ETF, this one wouldn’t just invest in futures contracts traded on the CME, the report stated.