Investment bank Goldman Sachs has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would offer exposure to public companies “aligned with the themes” of blockchain technology and the “digitalization of finance.”

Amazon has denied reports suggesting it was going to start accepting bitcoin payments later this year before launching its own cryptocurrency in 2022. The reports were based on an unnamed source cited by a British newspaper.

Through a series of tweets, Shopify president Harley Finkelstein said the company is adding support for the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for its merchants.

Sponsored: Buy bitcoin and 100+ cryptocurrencies with 20+ fiat currencies. New users can enjoy 0% credit/debit card fees on all crypto purchases made in their first 30 days. Join 10 million users and download the Crypto.com App now.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Goldman Sachs Files for DeFi and Blockchain ETF
• Amazon Denies Plans to Accept Bitcoin Payments
• Shopify Starts Letting Customers Sell NFTs
• Sponsored: Crypto.com - The World’s Fastest Growing Crypto App

Goldman Sachs Files for DeFi and Blockchain ETF

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would offer exposure to public companies “aligned with the themes” of blockchain technology and the “digitalization of finance.”

The Goldman Sachs Innovate DeFi and Blockchain Equity ETF is set to invest at least 80% of its assets into these publicly traded companies and seeks to provide investment returns that correspond to the performance of the Solactive Decentralized Finance and Blockchain Index, minus fees and expenses.

The index features companies like Nokia, Google’s parent Alphabet, Mastercard, and PayPal, while leaving out companies more exposed to the cryptocurrency sector like MicroStrategy and Square.

Amazon Denies Plans to Accept Bitcoin Payments

Amazon has denied reports suggesting it was going to start accepting bitcoin payments later this year before launching its own cryptocurrency in 2022. The reports were based on an unnamed source cited by a British newspaper.

An Amazon spokesperson was quoted saying:

“Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true. We remain focused on exploring what this could look like for customers shopping on Amazon.”

The reports Amazon has denied were often cited as the reason behind bitcoin’s rebound after dipping below the $30,000 mark. Amazon is nevertheless testing the waters.

Shopify Starts Letting Customers Sell NFTs

Through a series of tweets, Shopify president Harley Finkelstein said the company is adding support for the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for its merchants.

Finkelstein noted that the company is making it easier for merchants to sell NFTs through their stores, and pointed to a pending _NFT drop from the Chicago Bulls basketball team. Those NFTs are reportedly being created via the Flow blockchain. He said:

"Before Shopify offered this capability, merchants would have to sell through a 3rd party marketplace aka less control of the sale and customer relationship. Once again we are putting the power back into the hands of merchants and meeting customers how and where they want to buy."

The offering is currently limited to a “select few,” but may be rolled out to more merchants in the near future.

Examining ETH 2.0 Activity With Flipside Crypto

As the London hard fork date approaches, excitement for ETH 2.0 increases. Users’ enthusiasm for these improvements could be seen on-chain, as we can see visualised in the graph below (provided by Flipside data scientist Connor Higgins), ETH deposits to Ethereum 2.0 have spiked several times in the past months.

These spikes largely follow patterns regarding the price of ETH — when the price goes down, deposits go up, as happened on June 22, the largest spike in roughly three months — or social media trends regarding the asset.

Crypto.com - The World’s Fastest Growing Crypto App

Buy bitcoin and 100+ cryptocurrencies with 20+ fiat currencies. New users can enjoy 0% credit/debit card fees on all crypto purchases made in their first 30 days. Join 10 million users and download the Crypto.com App now.

Press Release

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

Build your project with CoinDesk Data

Terms | Privacy

13 Charles II St, SW1Y 4QU

London, UK

This email may include advertisements by third parties. None of the advertised or promoted products and services have been verified or approved by us and this email is not any endorsement by us of the third party or of their products or services.