I’ve updated my tabulation of wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments to add Hyperledger Besu to the technology platform used in the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub (BISIH) multi CBDC mBridge joint project (BISIH Hong Kong Centre, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates).
Digital yuan’s anonymity is misunderstood, says China’s digital currency leader
Mu Changchun, the Director General of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), clarified how the managed anonymity of China’s digital yuan works. Wallets come in multiple tiers, with small transaction value tiers supporting anonymity by requiring only a phone number as identity, but larger-value tiers requiring conventional proof of identity. Under China’s Personal Information Protection Law, the telecom companies cannot release identity information to any third parties, including the central bank. However, if it’s suspected that some anonymous transactions are illicit, law enforcement agencies can present a legal warrant to the phone company to get the user’s identity. Also, all wallets have a sub wallet function in which each merchant can have a separate wallet to avoid linking a person across merchants. [Read more]
ProShares announces Tuesday listing of bitcoin futures ETF $BITO
“ProShares announced it will launch its bitcoin futures-tied exchange traded fund (ETF) on October 19. On October 15, the firm filed a post-effective amendment prospectus stating its intention to list on October 18. Now, additional public documents say that ‘the Fund is scheduled to list and begin trading on the NYSE Arca on October 19, 2021.’ The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF will trade under the ticker $BITO. It will invest mostly in bitcoin futures, though it will not directly invest in the cryptocurrency. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to approve a spot-based bitcoin ETF, and many proposals have been cast aside due to concerns of price manipulation in the bitcoin spot market.” [Read more]
Grayscale confirms Bitcoin ETF plans
Grayscale announced it will be converting its GBTC Trust into an ETF “once there’s official and verifiable evidence of the SEC’s comfort with the underlying Bitcoin market — likely in the form of a Bitcoin futures ETF being deemed effective — the NYSE Arca will file a 19b-4 to convert $GBTC into an ETF.” [Read more]
Klarna Adds Pay Now Option Following Complaints About BNPL Service
“Klarna announced the addition of the ability to “Pay Now” for UK customers alongside the option to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Klarna said it took these actions after being informed by the UK Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) that complaints about BNPL products currently could not be referred to FOS on a voluntary jurisdiction basis. Klarna said it has established its own complaints adjudicator for consumers who remain dissatisfied with how a complaint against Klarna has been handled. Klarna addeed that it has worked with consumer group, Fairer Finance, to make sure that terms & conditions are easy to understand.” [Read more]
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