Bitcoin

Bitcoin jumped to almost $8,000 and didn’t look back, as its longest winning streak since 2013 continued to rekindle the global cryptocurrency market.

Some banks have backed away from the technology, but Northern Trust, State Street and JPMorgan Chase are among those actively working on blockchain projects.

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said hackers withdrew 7,000 bitcoins worth about $40 million via a single transaction in a “large scale security breach,” the latest in a long line of thefts in the digital currency space.

Fidelity Investments, which began a custody service to store bitcoin earlier this year, will buy and sell the world’s most popular digital asset for institutional customers within a few weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Martin Chavez, global co-head of the securities division at Goldman, suggested the bank is unlikely to fully support crypto until such currencies have the backing of the U.S. government.

CEO Solomon says the bank has not yet begun discussions with DOJ about its role in the scandal; the $1 billion buyback would be its first in 20 years.

The Fed wants to make it easier for investors to own big stakes in banks without triggering oversight; Shelley O’Connor has been named head of the firm's two regulated bank entities.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has been facing resistance from federal regulators over a key part of its ambitious plan to bring Bitcoin to the masses. Now, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange is turning to state watchdogs to get the project over the goal line.

The cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex is protesting New York's decision this week to deny it a virtual license exchange, claiming that its rationale contains factual errors and its personnel were not well versed in blockchain.

Regulation is effectively priming the virtual currencies ecosystem for banks to engage by increasing transparency, reducing some of the associated risk, and lowering the barriers to entry. All of this will make it easier for banks to establish a role and to design new payment products, writes Elina Mattila, executive director at Mobey Forum.