City in Sichuan reportedly orders crypto miners to shut down for investigation
Chinese authorities continue to crack down on crypto-asset mining as a authorities in Ya’an City, a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province, have reportedly ordered local Bitcoin mining operations to shut down for examination. The latest regulatory crackdown follows a series of reported crypto mining bans in other regions including Yunnan province, another major hydropower-based mining hub. Authorities in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Qinghai have also ordered mining operations to shutter.
Over 3,000 ATMs in Beijing can now convert digital yuan into cash
The Beijing branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has reportedly become the first bank to fully enable the digital yuan exchange in the Chinese capital city by setting up more than 3,000 digital currency-compatible ATMs. The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), another major bank involved in China’s CBDC tests, has also deployed more than 10 ATMs in the Wangfujing area, a major shopping street in Beijing.
Malaysia and Thailand Announces Cross Border QR Payments
Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand launched a cross-border QR payment linkage between Malaysia and Thailand. Under this first phase, users in Thailand can use their mobile payment applications to scan DuitNow QR codes to make payment to merchants in Malaysia. Under phase two, users in Malaysia will be able to use their mobile payment applications to scan Thai QR codes to make payment to merchants in Thailand. The last phase of the linkage will be expanded to include cross-border remittances.
Paxos Adds Wedbush Securities in Quest for Same-Day Stock Settlement
Wedbush Securities will begin using blockchain technology to settle certain stock trades, using Paxos on a pilot basis. Paxos recently tested same-day settlement of trades on the blockchain. Paxos currently operates its blockchain-based settlement system under a “no-action” promise from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Meanwhile, Paxos is applying to become a clearing agency with the SEC, which would make the cryptocurrency custodian one of just two clearing agencies in the U.S., joining the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).
*For those interested in intra-day updates and news that didn’t make the Daily Digest cut, please check out my Diigo fintech bookmarks: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/Fintech
