Bitcoin Daily: Bitcoin Stock Dips At Vaccine News; Crypto Licensing Bill Proposed In NJ; TradeStars Launches New Fantasy Sports Stocks Token

cryptocurrency

As other stocks rebounded at the news of a breakthrough in Pfizer and BioNTech’s joint COVID-19 vaccine, bitcoin fell sharply to nearly $14,815, according to CoinDesk.

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    By the end of the day, the stock had risen slightly, hitting $15,369.783 at 5:16 p.m. ET, but still down from the day’s starting point of $15,800.

    Pfizer announced this morning that clinical trials were showing an efficacy rate of more than 90 percent for preventing patients from contracting the coronavirus. Good news for restaurants, physical retail — and consumers — but bad news for delivery apps, quick-service restaurants (QSRs), streaming services, and apparently bitcoin, although many expect this dip to be temporary, reported CoinDesk.

    Meanwhile, New Jersey Sen. Nellie Pou introduced new cryptocurrency regulations in a bill titled “Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology act,” on Thursday, Nov. 5.

    The bill would require digital asset service providers that wish to operate in New Jersey to be licensed by the state’s Department of Banking Insurance or by another state’s equivalent license.

    Violators are subject to a $500 fine per day, and the department will have the authority to audit any digital asset business license. The license must be renewed annually and requires the business to record and save all client transactions for a year after the data of transaction.

    In other news, blockchain-based fantasy sports stock trading platform TradeStars launched a new token, TSX, that can be used to monetize users’ sports knowledge, according to a report on EsportsBets.

    In a Nasdaq-esque exchange, users can create a portfolio of stocks and stake their performance estimates of athletes, the value of which is then determined by the athletes’ real-time performances.

    “TradeStars is the first decentralized trading platform for ‘Fractional NFTs,’ where economic DeFi incentives are connected to real-life statistical data,” said TradeStars Founder and CTO Christian Hentschel.

    The exchange, which launched in January and now supports over 30,000 users, will sell 10 percent of the new token to private investors, and will give away another 10 percent to users on the platform, and another 10 percent will be sold to private investors.


    CarParts.Com leverages App and Paid Memberships While Exploring Potential Sale

    CarParts.com CEO David Meniane led the company’s Tuesday (Aug. 12) earnings call by saying that it remains engaged in exploring strategic alternatives and is “highly confident” that it is nearing completion of this process.

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      “We’re currently evaluating several different transaction structures, including a potential sale of the company and strategic investments that we believe have the potential to strengthen our capabilities and unlock new growth,” Meniane said.

      Meniane added that there is no certainty that the company will complete a deal.

      CarParts.com announced in a March 5 press release that it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company, to “maximize value for our shareholders.”

      In the meantime, CarParts.com is pursuing strategic initiatives to boost the company’s value, Meniane said Tuesday.

      The company achieved positive adjusted EBITDA in June and delivered second-quarter results that showed improvement over the previous quarter, Meniane said.

      Meniane attributed the improved results to the company’s mobile app surpassing 1 million users and accounting for 12% of eCommerce revenues; services like products and shipping protection, paid memberships and roadside assistance contributing high-margin fee income; and its eCommerce and mobile app product roadmap delivering improvements in conversion rates, units per order and average order value.

      For the remainder of the year, CarParts.com is focused on expanding its product offering, generating high-margin fee income, scaling its B2B offering, continuing to grow its mobile app business and managing cash flow and inventory levels, Meniane said.

      “We know this transformation is a multiyear effort,” Meniane said. “We’re focused on rebuilding the core foundation of CarParts.com, one that can scale, innovate and deliver a seamless, high-quality customer experience, while driving greater discipline in both our cost structure and capital deployment.”

      Meniane also highlighted challenges faced by CarParts.com. These include noncompliant products imported from China driving a “race to the bottom,” tariffs and inflation weighing on consumer demand, and the macroeconomic environment requiring the company to seek new opportunities for growth.

      “As we progress through the remainder of the year, we’ll continue to navigate a dynamic macro environment, including ongoing tariff and impact and pricing volatility, with discipline and agility,” Meniane said. “Our focus remains on profitable growth, anchored by the strong foundation we’ve built.”