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Twitch Offers Bitcoin Discount to 15 million Gaming and Livestreaming Subscribers

Twitch is now leveraging BitPay’s digital currency processing network to facilitate Bitcoin cryptocurrency payments and has announced a special 10% crypto discount promotion.

The World’s leading live-streaming platform for gamers, Twitch has announced that its subscribers who choose to pay with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will get a special 10% discount.

The Amazon-owned premier live streaming platform Twitch is escalating its digital strategy with its recent crypto promotion ramping up its crypto strategy. Twitch is primarily leveraged by video game live streamers and is now offering a 10% subscription discount when paying with cryptocurrency through the platform’s payment processor, BitPay.

Gaming and Crypto

The potential for mass crypto adoption through Twitch is huge as the site has a regular viewer base of over 15 million, as well as 27,000 partner channels and over 2 million people who broadcast their gameplay live on a monthly basis.

Twitch had originally introduced cryptocurrency payments back in 2014 but the system was stopped in the first quarter of 2019. Twitch is now leveraging BitPay‘s digital currency processing network to facilitate cryptocurrency payments. The system now accepts Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin(LTC) as well as four USD-pegged stable coins Gemini Dollar (GUSD), USD Coins (USDC), Paxos Standard Token (PAX) and Binance USD (BUSD). Ripple‘s XRP is also accepted.

When paying with cryptocurrencies on Twitch, users just have to select the ‘Pay with BitPay at Checkout’—to get the 10% discount.

Representatives from BitPay believe that cryptocurrency payments and gaming are made for each other and that using cryptocurrencies for transactions will increase the number of users on the gaming platform while reducing the cost of maintenance, and streamlining payments with less error. The payments platform believes that Twitch is just the first of many to utilize crypto payments.

Blockchain Live Streaming

While Twitch may be the first live-streaming site to leverage crypto, it is definitely not the first to utilize blockchain and in fact may start to lose market share to more decentralized platforms that allow creators more control.

DLive is one such platform looking forward to disrupting the existing monopolized video streaming services existing on the internet, which are dominated by only a few players in the market players mainly YouTube and Twitch.

Dlive is powered by the Lino blockchain, on which you can build your own value-sharing content-based economy and promises that “content creators, viewers, and all other contributors are fully and fairly incentivized.”

This project focuses on building and promoting a decentralized video content distribution infrastructure, which does away with the middlemen to better pays the content creators and the artists more fairly.

GBTC's Discount to NAV Hits New Record Low after SEC Declining its Bitcoin Spot ETF Application

The shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) saw a new record low of -31% last Thursday, June 30; that is, GBTC’s discount hit -31%, its lowest point in history.

The discount means the market price of GBTC shares is over 31% lower than its net asset value (the value of the underlying Bitcoin).

Before the news regarding U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ‘s rejecting Grayscale’s application to turn its GBTC instrument into an ETF last Wednesday, the GBTC discount was 28.4%.

Investors in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) face more losses as the popular investment product widens its record discount.

GBTC has long been an investment product of choice for several institutional investors, providing them exposure to Bitcoin without the need to buy the underlying asset.

However, the offering has many drawbacks, including a six-month lockup period and an annual management fee of 2%.

There are several factors behind the poor performance of GBTC. The current discount potentially means a weakening interest in the asset, as there is more GBTC supply than demand. This indicates a bearish signal of broader institutional sentiment towards Bitcoin. Furthermore, new competitive products in the market, like Canadian Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), also give new alternatives to investors.

GBTC’s record low comes as Bitcoin struggles below the $20,000 mark. The crypto market has extended its losses as several major crypto coins are in a bloodbath. Bitcoin was trading at $19,080 per coin during the Asia trading sessions on Monday local time. Wider cryptocurrencies have further plunged as investors maintained a panic selling after the recent liquidation of crypto hedge fund- Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

Further Road Ahead

Grayscale considers the conversion of GBTC into a Bitcoin ETF as the best solution. The company recently said it is “100% committed” to turning the investment product into a Bitcoin ETF. However, it appears that the regulatory environment in the U.S. is still not ready.

Last week, Grayscale sued the SEC a few hours after the regulator rejected its application to convert its flagship Grayscale Bitcoin Trust product (GBTC) to an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Last Wednesday, the SEC turned down Grayscale’s application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, citing the investment management firm’s failure to answer questions about market manipulation concerns. The regulator is concerned investors would lack adequate protections under the Grayscale proposal.

In the past, Grayscale had piled pressure on the regulator to side with its application. In early May, Grayscale met privately with the SEC to persuade the watchdog to approve the conversion of its GBTC into an ETF.

Converting the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a NYSE-traded exchange-traded fund (ETF) would widen access to Bitcoin, enhance protections, and unlock up to $8 billion in value for investors. And a discount would disappear upon conversion, that is, according to Grayscale.

Image source: Shuttetstock

Bitcoin Surges Past $28,000 and GBTC Discount Narrows to 17%

Following Grayscale Investments’ decisive win in its lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bitcoin’s value reached an apex of $28,142 on Binance. Concurrently, the discount rate for Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) experienced a notable contraction, shrinking from a previous 25% to a current 17%.

The court ruling has instilled renewed confidence in the cryptocurrency market, leading to bullish sentiment and immediate market reactions. On August 29, 2023, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Grayscale Investments, allowing the firm to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). This groundbreaking decision has set a precedent for digital asset managers and has opened new avenues for regulated cryptocurrency investments.

The market’s swift response to the legal victory was evident not just in Bitcoin’s new peak but also in the increased demand for GBTC shares, as reflected in the rapidly compressing discount rate.

Digital Currency Group (DCG), the parent company of Grayscale, expressed their satisfaction with the court’s decision. In a tweet, DCG stated, “Today’s ruling by the D.C. Circuit in favor of @Grayscale and $GBTC is a historic victory for crypto advocates. We are pleased with the immense progress that this decision represents.”

The rise in Bitcoin’s price and the decrease in the GBTC discount rate are both direct results of Grayscale’s success in their legal battle against the SEC. The regulatory environment is always shifting, and market players will be paying careful attention to how recent developments and upcoming changes will affect the bitcoin ecosystem as a whole as this process continues.