-
Cash accumulation can go only so far as a sign of trust in government. After all, governments in the developed world would typically like to see more electronic payments. Getting rid of cash can have a lot of benefits: It can help deter crime, reduce tax evasion and give central banks more power to stimulate the economy. But people have to believe that electronic money will be safe from mismanagement, man-made disasters, hackers and even confiscation. So far, neither the denizens nor the overseers of the financial system have done a great job of earning that trust.
-
This could logically mean a new enhanced role for the BIS, which coincidentally relies on a primitive kind of “stablecoin”: the BIS’s vast reserves, accounting for close to 7 per cent of the world’s total currency, are held via a BIS unit of account denominated in IMF special drawing rights, which in turn are pegged to a basket of convertible currencies. It would be a small step to ensure there is life after Libra, albeit with central banks in charge.
-
A Russian government official says the nation will ban Facebook if the US decides to block the company’s Libra cryptocurrency.
-
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has agreed on how it will assess whether countries have taken the necessary steps to implement the crypto-related requirements. “Given the global nature of the virtual asset industry, it is essential that countries implement these requirements swiftly,” the FATF emphasized.
-
After the PBoC ICO/exchange ban, the most convenient way to buy cryptos in China, is to buy stable coins like USDT first using OTC, and then trade it into any cryptos you want in exchanges.
-
In a draft bill published Tuesday, Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) introduced legislation to the House Financial Services Committee to regulate stablecoins under the Securities Act of 1933, seeking to provide clarity in an area the bill suggests lacks regulatory guidance.
-
Ripple has expanded, opening offices in Washington, DC – the first major blockchain company with a dedicated global regulatory team in the US capitol. But this doesn’t come alone: Ripple is joining the Blockchain Association with Michelle Bond, Ripple’s Global Head of Government Relations, seated at the board, and even further, Craig Phillips, former Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Treasury Department, has joined Ripple’s Board of Directors.
-
Bitfinex, the controversial Hong Kong based exchange at the heart of ongoing investigations against Tether, has been one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world since its launch in 2012. But recently there are signs that its market share may finally be slipping.
-
Bittrex has announced that it is moving headquarters from Malta to Liechtenstein. Interestingly, Malta’s financial regulator has recently said that it will “actively monitor” licensed cryptocurrency businesses in the country to prevent money laundering.
-
As more transactions flow through digital startups instead of traditional banks, fintech firms represent increasingly important partnerships for the card networks. These startups could also prove vital for the card networks’ continued grip on payments, as physical cards become less important and transactions become more digital. Four-year-old Revolut offers foreign exchange and stock and crypto brokerage as well as peer-to-peer payments. It says it has 8 million customers, and more than 1 million of them use its services every day.tags: Fintech
-
Last month, the Nigerian monetary authorities announced that they will be rolling out a national tax on cash. When Nigerian individuals or businesses deposit large amounts of cash at a bank, they will have to pay up to 3% in fees. And when they withdraw cash they will have to pay as much as 5% in fees. Nigeria joins a number of other emerging nations that have adopted policies that try to restrict domestic cash usage.
-
The results of PwC’s Global Fintech report – conducted by PwC Research – have been released. The survey gathers the opinions of over 500 global business leaders to explore the current fintech landscape, the factors that will determine likely future winners and losers, and the steps that organisations can take to put them in the best position to lead.tags: Fintech
-
In many countries, the gender gap is lower with mobile money than with traditional financial services and mobile money is helping with closing the gender gap[25]. Globally, 65% of women have an account compared with 72% of men. This means that women are 10% less likely than men to have a financial account. This number reaches 24% in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. However, in many, the gender gap in mobile money account ownership is lower than the gender gap in bank account ownership.
-
Chinese police are investigating financial technology firm 51 Credit Card Inc for allegedly hiring debt collectors that used intimidation and harassment, part of a broader crackdown on the peer-to-peer lending (P2P) sector.
-
National Bank of Cambodia Assistant Governor Serey Chea said that the National Bank of Cambodia has experimented with domestic blockchain payments for retail, but the main interest is testing them for cross-border transactions. She noted that the institution has been collaborating with Malaysian bank Maybank.
-
When bitcoin advocates claim adoption is surging in developing countries, particularly during periods of political unrest or economic turmoil, their go-to source for evidence is often the LocalBitcoins P2P exchange. But a closer look at the way this data is collected shows substantial noise mixed in with the signals, undermining the claims of growing crypto use empowering the downtrodden.
-
To achieve the potential compliance, accounting, and legal automation that blockchain could provide, it will be vital that businesses and their advisors understand, review, and plan for the associated risks of using blockchain technology.
-
New Wharton research shows that getting the initial coin offering design structure right is a key ingredient for success. However, it found that even the best design has flaws. “ICOs have the advantage of being a low-risk means of financing for firms… but this comes at a cost of lower production quantity, lower profit and limited flexibility in terms of product margin.”
-
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking is set to begin utilizing R3’s Marco Polo trade finance blockchain on a commercial basis by the end of the year. A cross-border proof-of-concept test was successfully completed involving Mitsui & Co, a Japanese general trading company, Indorama Ventures, a Thai company in the intermediate petrochemicals business, and Bangkok Bank.
-
While trustless sidechains on Bitcoin may still be quite a few years away, there are other layer-two protocols, such as federated sidechains and the Lightning Network, that allow Bitcoin to gain the features of the most popular altcoins right now – albeit usually with security trade-offs. These additional protocol layers will likely become relatively trustless eventually, as advancements in cryptography are made over time.
Month: October 2019
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 10/21/2019
-
Calibra’s David Marcus told a banking seminar hosted by the Group of 30 in Washington that instead of having a synthetic unit…Libra could be a series of stablecoins: a dollar stablecoin, a euro stablecoin, a sterling pound stablecoin, etc.
-
“The IMF should take over Libra with a view to reinventing the international monetary system in a manner reflecting John Maynard Keynes’ rejected proposal at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference for an International Clearing Union.”
-
“Industry sources have told the FT that the decisive factor was a letter that Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown and Brian Schatz sent to Mastercard, Visa and Stripe. It warned that proceeding with the project would expose even their non-Libra businesses to heavier regulatory scrutiny.”
-
Ex-Fed Chair nominee Stephen Moore is part of a group that will launch a USD-pegged stablecoin called Frax. It will be fractionally-backed and use algorithms to loan out its reserves and collect interest to maintain the peg.
-
This filing is reportedly only the latest part of Bitfinex’ ongoing initiative to recover $880 million that were held at Crypto Capital when the payment processor was seized by authorities in Poland in April of last year as part of a money-laundering investigation.
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 10/19/2019
-
While suptech is still in its infancy, it is gaining traction, with a significant number of suptech use cases found in the areas of misconduct analysis, reporting and data management. But most of these use cases are still experimental in nature. This helps to explain why only a limited number of external parties have so far been involved in the development of suptech tools. This underscores the need for further international coordination and collaboration to help open up the field of suptech.
tags: Fintech SupTech Supervision
-
‘Dismal’ Bitcoin Volumes Could Signal A Perfect Storm
Bitcoin trading volume among the top ten biggest bitcoin and crypto exchanges has fallen to under $200 million a day, according to bitcoin and crypto data company Messari, down 20-fold from a peak of $4 billion per day just a few months ago.
tags: Fintech CryptoAssets Bitcoin Liquidity
-
Binance.US Introduces FDIC Insurance Coverage on USD Deposits
Binance U.S. holds its customer’s USD deposits in “pooled custodial accounts” maintained in a manner that provides access to pass-through FDIC insurance coverage up to the depositor coverage limit, which is currently $250,000.
tags: Fintech CryptoAssets Binance
-
SEC’s Court Hearing on Telegram Token Delayed Till Next Year
Telegram will have to wait to make its case to the U.S. SEC that its Gram token is not a security. According to the latest court filing, the hearing on the case has been postponed until Feb. 18–19, 2020, pushed forward from an Oct. 24. slot.
tags: CryptoAssets Stablecoins Fintech Telegram PaymentSystems
-
BOJ Kuroda: No talk at G20 of central banks issuing digital currencies
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said there was no talk among G20 finance leaders on the possibility of central banks issuing digital currencies, as part of efforts to enhance cross-border settlement services.
tags: CrossBorder CBDC CryptoAssets Fintech
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 10/18/2019
-
Fidelity rolls out cryptocurrency custody business
Fidelity is ramping up its cryptocurrency custody business, hoping to profit from the scarcity of big, regulated institutions in the chaotic world of digital assets, according to Abigail Johnson, the investment group’s chief executive.
-
Virtual Currency Regulation in Canada in 2019
Four Stikeman Elliott lawyers recently co-authored the Canadian chapter of The Virtual Currency Regulation Review (2nd ed.), published by Law Business Research Ltd. The chapter provides an excellent overview of this rapidly developing area of law.
tags: CryptoAssets Canada Regulation Fintech
-
Cambodia’s Central Bank Testing Digital Wallet to Ease Cross Border Payments
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) signed an agreement last week with Malaysia’s Maybank to determine how the banks’ respective digital payment platforms – Bakong and Maybank2u – can work in tandem to reduce often crippling remittance fees.
tags: CryptoAssets CBDC CrossBorder Fintech
-
Binance Hikes Leverage to 125x for Launch of Bitcoin-Tether Futures
Binance’s futures exchange is raising leverage to 125x with the launch of bitcoin (BTC)/tether (USDT) contracts today.
tags: Liquidity Bitcoin CryptoAssets Futures Fintech Binance
-
SEC Wants Second Look at Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Proposal
The U.S. SEC is reviewing its order issued last week pertaining to a rejected proposal for a bitcoin ETF. The proposal was filed by NYSE Arca for the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust. Meanwhile, the SEC is also evaluating a proposed rule change for a different type of bitcoin ETF.
tags: ETFs Bitcoin Fintech CryptoAssets
-
SEC vs. Telegram: Will Gram Tokens Ever Be Distributed?
How did Telegram find itself in this position? What does the SEC’s filing mean for the future of the TON project–and for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole?
-
FSB sets out work to consider regulatory issues of stablecoins
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) today published an issues note on regulatory issues of stablecoins. The paper was delivered to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors for their meeting in Washington D.C this week.
-
Libra Association Response to the G7 Global Stablecoin Report
The Libra Association is pleased that the G7 Working Group report, ‘Investigating the Impact of Global Stablecoins (GSCs),’ recognizes the potential to improve access to fast, secure and inexpensive payment technology.
-
Stablecoin regulatory risks need addressing, says G7 report
A report published on Thursday by the G7 warned that stablecoins that reach a global scale could “undermine competition in financial markets”, as well as threaten financial stability and monetary policy.
-
Investigating the impact of global stablecoins
“This G7 report lays out initial recommendations for both private sector stablecoin developers and public sector authorities to address the challenges and risks. Finally, the report suggests that authorities could develop road maps for improving the efficiency and lowering the cost of payments and financial services.”
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 10/17/2019
-
Central Bank Digital Currency: One, Two or None?
This Banque de France paper considers the motives, modalities, and possible consequences of retail and wholesale central bank digital currency issuance.
tags: Fintech CryptoAssets CBDC
-
Telegram Responds to SEC: Gram Tokens Are Not Securities
Telegram filed a response to the SEC writing that the SEC’s emergency injunction is unwarranted. Telegram is asking a federal court to deny the regulator’s motion to enforce a subpoena. Further, Telegram argued its upcoming gram token is not a security, and the SEC should not be able to force the company to produce documents or witnesses about its blockchain project
tags: Stablecoins CryptoAssets Fintech PaymentSystems Telegram
-
Facebook’s Libra is a threat to national sovereignty | Bruno La Maire
With its Libra plan for a global digital currency, Facebook has shown both economic and political ambitions. The project would mean a private company controlling a common good and taking over tasks normally discharged by states. This is unacceptable for both economic and political reasons.
-
Fed Governor Brainard Identifies Libra Threat, Says Regulatory Hurdles Abound
Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard delivered a sharp critique of Libra on Wednesday, stating the Facebook-led project would need to resolve a number of regulatory hurdles before going live.
-
Bermuda Starts Development of a Blockchain-Based National ID System
A digital ID solution for citizens, businesses and government bodies, the Perseid e-ID project is being carried out in partnership with identity program Perseid Network and decentralized credential verification protocol Shyft Network.
-
Machine learning in UK financial services
ML is increasingly being used in UK financial services. Two thirds of respondents report they already use it in some form. The median firm uses live ML applications in two business areas and this is expected to more than double within the next three years.
tags: MachineLearning Fintech
-
Telegram Looks to Cut Deal With TON Blockchain Investors After SEC Order
Telegram has notified investors that the TON blockchain project will be launched later than planned, pushing the deadline from Oct. 30 to April 30, 2020.
tags: Telegram Fintech CryptoAssets PaymentSystems Stablecoins
-
Top Fed Official Says US Central Bank ‘Actively’ Debating Digital Dollar
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Rob Kaplan said: “We have not at the Fed decided to pursue or drive to develop a digital currency, but it’s something we’re actively looking at and debating.”
tags: CBDC CryptoAssets Fintech
-
Telegram’s TON Launch and Token Distribution — All the Details to Date
Momentum for TON has been building over the past few months and the token distribution set for Oct. 16 was drawing ever nearer. In August and September, Telegram released the TON testnet for both explorer and node software, launched a free wallet service for its 300 million users, and announced a controversial $400,000 bug bounty. Just as everything was falling into place for the company — the SEC stepped in.
tags: PaymentSystems Stablecoins Fintech CryptoAssets Telegram
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 10/16/2019
-
Bank of Canada exploring digital currency that would replace cash, track how people spend money
An internal Bank of Canada presentation, prepared for Governor Stephen Poloz and the bank’s board of directors, offers the most detailed public insight yet into the bank’s thinking on a proprietary digital coin.
tags: Fintech CryptoAssets CBDC
-
We Sent a Man to the Moon. We Can Send the Dollar to Cyberspace
Ex-CFTC Chair Giancarlo: “No perfect solution exists to address the challenges and promises of digital currency, nor can anyone predict all the technological advances these efforts will generate. The same was true when President Eisenhower proposed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and when President Kennedy vowed to put a man on the moon. America must once again establish a team of the world’s brightest minds, this time to update a global economic order that ensures our freedom and prosperity.”
tags: Fintech Stablecoins CryptoAssets CBDC
-
Bermuda Now Accepts USDC Crypto for Taxes and Government Services
The Government of Bermuda announced Wednesday it will accept payments in USD Coin (USDC) “for taxes, fees and other government services,” according to a press release by crypto finance startup Circle.
tags: Fintech USDC CryptoAssets Stablecoins
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 10/15/2019
-
To justify halting the launch of Telegram’s long-awaited $1.7 billion blockchain project, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relied heavily on communications obtained from investors.
-
The transactions of over 700 cryptocurrencies are now searchable on CipherTrace’s blockchain analytics platform. Support for ERC-20 tokens and smart contracts has also been added, including transaction and counterparty information.
-
Google, Temasek and Bain & Company released the e-Conomy Southeast Asia report for 2019, highlighting the most significant industry trends observed in 2019 and analysing the current and future potential of the Southeast Asian Internet economy across its six largest markets (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).tags: Fintech
-
The Bank of Thailand announced that ten financial institutions are participating in its regulatory sandbox project to test-run the use of e-kyc (electronic know your customer) biometric technology to verify customer identities.
-
“With a view to expanding and deepening the digital payments ecosystem, it has been decided that State/UT Level Bankers Committees (SLBCs/ UTLBCs) shall identify one district in their respective States/UTs on a pilot basis in consultation with banks and stakeholders. The identified district may be allocated to a bank with significant footprint which will endeavour to make the district 100% digitally enabled. This would enable every individual in the district to make/receive payments digitally in a safe, secure, quick, affordable and convenient manner. Guidelines in this regard will be issued shortly.”tags: Fintech PaymentSystems
-
The World InsurTech Report (WITR) 2019 from Capgemini and Efma explores the Insurance marketplace of the future and offers insights into how established insurers and InsurTechs can remain competitive in a dynamic business environment.
-
Each user’s funds will be covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $1.25 million. To get around the $250,000 FDIC limit per bank, Robinhood is partnering with six banks that it will spread a user’s cash across as necessary to bundle up to that sum.tags: Fintech PaymentSystems
-
Using Tradeshift’s platform and smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, Icelandic retailer Nordic Store purchased goods from IKEA Iceland and settled an e-invoice with Monerium’s programmable digital cash.
-
Working with wallet provider Blockchain and precious medal trader MKS (Switzerland) SA, Coinshares announced a gold-backed network for trading tokens representing digitized physical gold. The network launches with more than $20 million in gold held in a Swiss vault to back up its tokens. Each DGLD token is backed by 1/10th troy ounce.
-
Binance will integrate Coinfirm’s blockchain-agnostic AML Platform to its cryptocurrency exchange servicing users in over 180 countries and regions for ensuring secure trading for its customers and compliance with the FATF’s guidelines to cryptocurrency exchanges around the world.
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 10/14/2019
-
Online travel company Booking.com joins PayPal, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, MercadoLibre and EBay on withdrawing from participation in the Libra Association.
-
The Telegram Open Network is probably dead. The emergency order stops Telegram from “delivering Grams to any persons, or taking any other steps to effect any unregistered offer or sale of Grams.” This is worldwide — not just for the US.
-
Telegram sent a note to investors saying it is considering ways to resolve the temporary restraining order from the SEC , including the possibility of postponing the issuance after the Oct. 31 deadline.
-
Telegram’s pledge to return money to investors in the event of a delay to the launch of its blockchain network may be superseded by a “force majeure” clause in its purchase agreement.
-
Telegram has told its token investors that they are “surprised and disappointed that the SEC chose to file the lawsuit.” Telegram says it has tried to communicate with the regulator and solicit feedback over the past 18 months regarding its TON blockchain project. In its suit, the SEC said it asked Telegram to respond to an administrative subpoena and it refused to do so. In part because of this refusal, the SEC said that it had no choice but to file suit.
-
Coinbase has been granted an e-money license by the Central Bank of Ireland. The crypto platform was granted a UK FCA e-money license in March 2018, and earlier this month gained access to the UK’s Faster Payment Scheme through ClearBank.
-
Marco Polo, a trade finance blockchain that has partnered over 20 banks, is testing its first trade deal between Germany and Russia.
-
“Stablecoin projects of potentially global reach and magnitude must meet the highest regulatory standards and be subject to prudential supervision and oversight. Possible regulatory gaps should be assessed and addressed as a matter of priority. “
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 10/13/2019
-
US SEC Halts TON Launch Over $1.7B ICO — Highest-Level Action Yet?
GRM is a native currency of Telegram Open Network, a blockchain platform aimed at facilitating payments and hosting decentralized applications beyond Visa’s scalability levels. The project is developed by Telegram, an open-source encrypted messenger, which boasts over 200 million users worldwide, into which TON will ostensibly be integrated into.
tags: Fintech CryptoAssets Blockchain Telegram PaymentSystems
-
If Bitcoin-Avocado Price Correlation Continues, BTC May Be Toast
Bitcoin’s status as an uncorrelated asset is about to be revoked, as a scarily close relationship to the price of avocados implies that the digital currency may be about to fall off a cliff.
tags: Fintech CryptoAssets Bitcoin
Kiffmeister’s Fintech Daily Digest 10/12/2019
-
Spacebit — The New Economics of Space
The aim of Blockchain 4 alliance is to facilitate innovation and bring long term benefits to society by applying disruptive blockchain technologies to the space industry, from smart contracts and data tokenization through to secure data storage and communications protocols.
tags: Fintech Blockchain Tokenization Space
-
tZERO-Backed Startup Seeks SEC Approval to Launch Security Token Market
Boston Securities and Token Exchange, part-owned by Overstock’s tZERO, is seeking U.S. SEC approval to launch an automated trading platform for publicly traded registered security tokens, with ownership records stored on the ethereum blockchain.
-
The IRS Will Now Ask if You Own Crypto in the Most Widely Used US Tax Form
The US Internal Revenue Service has updated the main form individual US taxpayers use to report their income to include a question about cryptocurrencies.
tags: Fintech CryptoAssets Taxation
-
SEC Halts Telegram’s $1.7 Billion ‘Unlawful’ Token Issuance
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission secured an emergency restraining order against the Telegram Group and its subsidiary TON Issuer for their $1.7 billion token sale.
tags: Telegram PaymentSystems CryptoAssets Regulation Fintech
-
Mastercard, Visa, eBay Drop Out of Facebook’s Libra Payments Network
Mastercard, Visa, eBay and payments company Stripe are dropping out of the coalition of companies Facebook enlisted to launch its Libra global cryptocurrency-based payments network.