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The UK FCA Issues Guidance on Regulation for Bitcoin and Crypto Assets. Most of the rules were proposed in a January consultation paper. As widely expected, the final guidance does not drastically alter the regulatory landscape, instead specifying when certain types of crypto assets fall under existing categories.
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PBOC officials have released more information about a CBDC which is still at the research stage. It will be backed by a reserve fund, according to Mu Changchun, deputy director of the PBOC payments department.
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Chinese authorities have spoken out about accelerating the development of a CBDC. The country has greenlit the next stage of the PBOC digital currency program, said Wang Xin, director of the PBOC Research Bureau.
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The PBOC is urging individuals and companies to not refuse or discriminate against cash payment, asking people to dial down what it calls an “overhype” of a cashless society comes as mobile payment volumes continue to soar to new heights.
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Swedish banknotes and coins in circulation rose 7% last year, to 62.2 billion krona, according to the European Central Bank. It was the first yearly increase since 2007; the value of cash in circulation has dropped by around 45% over that period.
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LedgerX launched the first physically-settled bitcoin futures contracts in the U.S., beating ICE’s Bakkt and TD Ameritrade-backed ErisX to the punch. It will be available to both institutional and retail investors.
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However, Bakkt is seeking a license to operate as a trust, while LedgerX went the route of DCM and DCO licenses, which some have said means its contracts are likely to be fully collateralized, so traders can’t legally trade them on margin.
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Crypto exchange Kraken has acquired Interchange, an accounting, reconciliation and reporting service provider that it says offers an “institutional-grade” service.
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Bitfinex publishes real-time liquidation updates to prepare for its 100x leverage derivative productBitfinex started publishing real-time liquidation updates in preparation for the rollout of its new derivative product with up to 100x leverage, which is not uncommon, with BitMEX also offering it.
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WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging services face pressure to hand over access to encrypted chats after a meeting between the “Five Eyes” nations which share intelligence this week. “The Five Eyes are united that tech firms should not develop their systems and services, including end-to-end encryption, in ways that empower criminals or put vulnerable people at risk.”
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Insurtech start-up B3i has launched its first product on R3’s Corda platform, v1.0 of its Property Catastrophe Excess of Loss Reinsurance product. The new Cat XoL product will allowing insurers, brokers and reinsurers to “interact, negotiate and place risk more securely and efficiently.”
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Crypto payments and banking services provider, Bitwala, has raised EUR 13m in Series A funding. Bitwala currently offers accounts for retail customers across all 31 European Economic Area countries via Berlin-based SolarisBank.
Day: July 31, 2019
Protected: Kiffmeister’s CBDC Monitor, July 2019
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 07/30/2019
- Millions in Crypto Is Crossing the Russia-China Border Daily. There, Tether Is King. Chinese importers in Russia are buying up to $30 million a day of tether from Moscow’s OTC trading desks. They use the cryptocurrency to send large sums back to their home country, which has strict capital controls. Previously the merchants used bitcoin for this, but when the market crashed in 2018 they switched to tether. Despite longstanding questions about USDT’s collateral, in this market “nobody actually cares if tether is backed or not,” says one Moscow trader.
- Was Tether the Unknown Bitcoin Whale Behind Monday’s $2.27 Billion Transfer? The massive $2.27 billion bitcoin transfer that occurred on Monday has led to the emergence of fanciful theories that Tether might be creating a private dark pool for future USDT issuance.
- Bitcoin’s Largest Wallet Blockchain Just Launched Its First Crypto Exchange. Bitcoin wallet and blockchain explorer provider Blockchain just launched its first custodial exchange platform, called The PIT, that can connect to non-custodial Blockchain wallets for nearly instant transfers.
- Zuckerberg Plans to Wiretap Whatsapp. He’ll Do the Same to Libra. Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook is reportedly working on a back-door content-scanner for WhatsApp, tantamount to a wiretapping algorithm. If the reports are correct, Facebook will scan your messages before you send them and report anything suspicious.
- Facebook warns investors that Libra may never see the light of day. Facebook says in the risk factors section of its latest quarterly report that it can’t guarantee Libra “will be made available in a timely manner, or at all.”
- Go Slow On Libra. Speed Up On Faster Payments. The ability to move money safely, securely, cheaply and quickly is of vital national importance. It touches everyone and every part of our economy. It should be considered a critical component of our national infrastructure, just as cash is today, and deployed in the broad public interest.
- Bitcoin Whale Transfers $468 Million for ‘Low Dollar Fee’. On Monday, Whale Alert, a cryptocurrency transaction tracking bot, tweeted that a Bitcoin whale known as ‘Unknown Owner 26’ moved $468.5 million worth of Bitcoin (49,756) for just $374.98.
- Court Declares Bitcoin Legal in China as a ‘Virtual Property’. The latest order by Hangzhou Internet Court suggests that owning bitcoin is not illegal in China as it gave the flagship cryptocurrency the status of a “virtual property.
- MFSA issues a Consultation Paper on Security Tokens Offering. The Malta Financial Services Authority issued a consultation document aimed at adopting a supervisory approach relating to Security Token Offerings, where introduced a further classification into Traditional STOs (TSTOs) and Other STOs (OSTOs) – a digital representation sharing some qualities of traditional transferable securities.
- Coinbase Is in Talks to Launch Its Own Insurance Company. Coinbase is exploring plans to set up its own “captive” insurance company. At the start of this year, insurance broker Aon began establishing captive companies in the Cayman Islands, working with a handful of cryptocurrency firms. Aon says a captive structure can help firms get access to additional coverage at more reasonable prices.
- Philippines’ UnionBank Launches Payments-Focused Stablecoin. Philippines-based UnionBank has launched a payments-focused stablecoin pegged to the Philippine peso, dubbed PHX, that is being implemented on UnionBank’s i2i platform.
- Chile-Based Remittance and Payment Firm CurrencyBird Joins RippleNet. Chile-based peer-to-peer remittance company CurrencyBird has joined RippleNet, Ripple’s global blockchain-based network of payment providers.
- Taiwan joins Asia digital banking push with three new online licenses. Taiwan issued its first virtual banking licenses to three consortiums led by Taiwan and Japanese investors, its financial authorities said on Tuesday, following moves by regulators in other Asian markets to issue such licenses.
- How regulators are working towards an enabling framework for mobile money in Vietnam. “It is evident that the government and regulatory push in Vietnam towards mobile money as a means of increasing financial inclusion and enhancing digital society is unwavering.”