The legal marijuana market has had difficulty establishing banking relationships, given the disparities in local and federal regulation of cannabis sales. SinglePoint Inc. is developing a bitcoin-based option to address this concern.
Manager Ross Phillip stakes marijuana plants in a flower room at the grow facility for Sense of Healing dispensary in Denver, Colorado, U.S., on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015. The $3.5 billion U.S. cannabis market is emerging as one of the nation's most power-hungry industries, with the 24-hour demands of thousands of indoor growing sites taxing aging electricity grids and unraveling hard-earned gains in energy conservation. Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Ross Phillip
Matthew Staver/Bloomberg
SinglePoint is working with First Bitcoin Capital Corp., a bitcoin and blockchain technology company, to develop a bitcoin-based payment system for cannabis sellers.
“There is now tremendous momentum and demand for bitcoin acceptance as an alternative form of payment," Greg Lambrecht, SinglePoint's CEO, said in a June 6 news release. "This joint venture with First Bitcoin Capital is perfect timing. Bitcoin payments are catching on and cannabis dispensaries need a solution fast.”
The partners plan to distribute their offering as a downloadable application for point of sale machines.
The offering would compete with other pot payment innovations such as cashless ATMs and dedicated prepaid cards.
The corporate cash management fintech acquired ATOM to extend treasury management services to its business customers and raised funds from PNC and State Street.
BankUnited hires Wells Fargo's James Mackey to be its new chief financial officer; Ponce Bank President and CEO Carlos Naudon is named chairperson of the Community Development Bankers Association; Jefferson Bank announces the retirement of longtime President and CEO Danny Butler; and more in this week's banking news roundup.
The New York bank is the latest to offer generative AI to all its employees and agentic AI to developers. Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti explained the bank's next steps with the technology.
Investor reaction to the proposed $8.6 billion deal has been sour, with both banks' share prices falling more than 11% as of Friday afternoon. The response appeared to reflect the market's distaste for mergers of equals and the risks associated with crossing the $100 billion-asset threshold.
The Community Investment and Prosperity Act would increase the statutory cap for bank investment into community development projects, unlocking "billions in capital" that can be directed to affordable housing.
Given FHFA Director Bill Pulte's history of making regulatory pronouncements via X, some theorize the release of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could occur in the same way.
