The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have formed the Mojaloop Foundation to develop and promote a free, open-source real-time payments platform for nations and central banks. The Mojaloop software includes a directory for identifying account holders, a transfer system for routing payments, and a clearing and settlement layer that transfers funds among users’ financial institutions. The routing system relies partly on Interledger technology originally developed by Ripple. Mojaloop-based systems are hosted by each country’s authorities, but because they use a shared standard, they could eventually become interoperable across borders. https://mojaloop.io/
Libra Association Names HSBC Chief Legal Officer as First CEO
The Libra Association has named HSBC Chief Legal Officer Stuart Levey as its first chief executive. He has been at HSBC since 2012 and previously served the U.S. government as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence under the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and has a background in combating illicit finance.
Alliance for Prosperity: 75 Members Strong & First Integrations Live
There are now 75 members in Celo’s “Alliance for Prosperity” stablecoin payments network ahead of its mid-May mainet launch. Celo is a mobile-first blockchain-based platform alongside a suite of financial tools accessible to anyone with a basic smartphone. The stability protocol can host an ecology of stable value currencies like the Celo Dollar, regional currencies, and commodity prices. https://medium.com/celoorg/an-introductory-guide-to-celo-b185c62d3067
Stablecoins as a collateral sinkhole
As the ECB noted in a recent stablecoin research piece in an extreme-case scenario where libra coins prove as popular as Facebook, the global size of the Libra Reserve could reach almost €3tn of assets under management! In that context it’s fair to say the Libra Reserve’s potentially endless demand for safe assets could swiftly transform it into a self-consuming Ouroboros. Especially in the current crisis environment.
Bitfinex Derivatives Launches Bitcoin Dominance Perpetual Swaps
Crypto exchange Bitfinex is launching a perpetual swap that enables traders to speculate on Bitcoin dominance. Dominance refers to Bitcoin’s share of the total market capitalization for all crypto-assets.
Dutch Central Bank to Crypto Firms: Register in 2 Weeks or Shut Down
De Nederlandsche Bank is moving to quickly enforce enhanced Dutch anti-money laundering laws, which passed the Dutch Parliament in April 2020 to comply with the European Union’s AML directives and standards set by the Financial Action Task Force. Dutch crypto companies must register with the DNB by May 18 or cease operations immediately. https://www.dnb.nl/nieuws/dnb-nieuwsbrieven/nieuwsbrief-cryptodienstverleners/nieuwsbrief-aanbieders-van-cryptodiensten-mei-2020/index.jsp
The Five Hidden Principles in Staking and Validating
As the Ethereum community anticipates the long-awaited launch of Ethereum 2.0, users are also bracing themselves for a major systematic shift from a proof-of-work model to a proof-of-stake. PoS systems consume exponentially less power and systematically increase decentralization by lowering the barrier of entry to network participation. While the transition from PoW to PoS may be initially difficult for the community, this article proposes five principles to make the transition easier for everyone.
Open banking review faces ‘worrying’ delay as pandemic drives Canadians to fintech
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench into the Canadian government review of open banking, causing concern that the delay could further wound financial-technology companies, while leaving scores of Canadian consumers sharing their financial data in potentially risky ways.
What We Can Learn From Telegram’s Token Troubles
Will Telegram be able to retain funds sufficient to fight the SEC, maintain its ever-growing messenger, continue developing the blockchain and potentially fight additional legal claims from some of its investors? The significant portion of the remaining $1.2 billion would need to be retained to make it happen.
Posted from Diigo: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/Fintech
