Nomura Instinet analyst Dan Dolev the gap between Square's (SQ) Cash App and PayPal's (PYPL) continues to widen. The analyst's Cash App versus Venmo payments app tracker points to a "continued healthy pace" of downloads in March with 2.2M additional downloads, up from 2.0M in February, and 6.3M downloads in Q1, up from 6.0M in Q4. Since inception, total Cash App downloads have reached 49.7M versus 44.6M for Venmo, Dolev tells investors in a research note. He keeps a Buy rating on Square with a $102 price target.

DMG Blockchain Solutions (DMGGF) announced a strategic collaboration with PayPal (PYPL) and Energy Web to explore ways to decarbonize the Bitcoin blockchain. The companies are working together on developing methods for transacting on the Bitcoin network which would expand its use as a carbon neutral payment rail, thus advancing its application. DMG, Energy Web, and PayPal are working together to publish a research paper, which we collectively believe will benefit users of the Bitcoin network who would like to take advantage of carbon neutral options in their transactions. PayPal, with its focus on developing its bitcoin payment rail, has been a leader in new payment technologies with the introduction of its enhanced services by integrating blockchain technology, launching the PayPal USD stablecoin with Paxos Trust Company in August 2023 for efficient transactions.