Month: January 2022

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (01/09/2022)

~ kiffmeister

PayPal Explores Launch of Own Stablecoin in Crypto Push

PayPal is exploring the launch of its own stablecoin as part of its cryptocurrency push. Evidence of the company’s exploration into building a stablecoin was first discovered in PayPal’s app by developer Steve Moser. Hidden code and images show work on what is dubbed a “PayPal Coin.” The code indicates such a coin would be backed by the U.S. dollar. A PayPal spokeswoman said that the images and code inside of the PayPal app stemmed from a recent internal hackathon. [Read me]

Tech Startup Wants To Gamify Suing People Using Crypto Tokens

Law firm Roche Freedman LLP and tech startup Ryval plan to launch “the stock market of litigation financing” by allowing everyday Americans to bet on civil lawsuits through the purchase (and trade) of associated crypto tokens, or initial lawsuit offerings (ILOs).  In doing so, the firms hope to provide funding to individuals who would otherwise not be able to pursue claims. They are working with Ava Labs, the firm behind the Avalanche blockchain smart contract platform. [Read more]

BTW for entertaining and informative takes on the shadier side of fintech, I highly recommend David Gerard’s Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain blog where I found out about the Ryval ILO. 

And to get these updates sent to your inbox, please sign up here. Also, 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.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (01/07/2022)

~ kiffmeister

Bitcoin network power slumps as Kazakhstan crackdown hits crypto miners

Bitcoin network’s global computing power dropped sharply as the internet was shut down across Kazakhstan on January 5 during its deadly uprising, preventing the country’s bitcoin miners from accessing the bitcoin network. Last year Kazakhstan became the world’s second-largest center for bitcoin mining after the United States, after China clamped down on crypto mining activity. This, plus the January 5 release of minutes from the US Fed’s December meeting in which the central bank indicated it would dial back its supportive monetary policy, has led to a sharp drop in crypto-asset prices. [Read more]

Crypto Crime Trends for 2022: Illicit Transaction Activity Reaches All-Time High in Value, All-Time Low in Share of All Cryptocurrency Activity

According to Chainalysis, cryptocurrency-based crime hit a new all-time high in 2021, with illicit addresses receiving $14 billion over the course of the year, up from $7.8 billion in 2020. However, with the growth of legitimate cryptocurrency usage far outpacing the growth of criminal usage, transactions involving illicit addresses represented just 0.15% of cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2021, versus 0.62% in 2020. The yearly trends suggest that with the exception of 2019 — an extreme outlier year for cryptocurrency-based crime largely due to the PlusToken Ponzi scheme — crime is becoming a smaller and smaller part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. [Read more]

To get these updates sent to your inbox, please sign up here. Also, 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.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (01/06/2022)

~ kiffmeister

WeChat Enables E-Yuan Payments

WeChat will reportedly join AliPay in supporting the People’s Bank of China e-CNY pilot. Payments can be made through WeChat Pay by scanning a QR code once an account on Tencent’s digital bank WeBank is opened. WeChat has added a “digital yuan” option on its WeChat Pay page and a “payment with e-yuan” option on the “receipt and payment” page. Teaming up with WeChat means there are potentially more than 1 billion users who could use the digital currency. [Read more]

Signal’s Cryptocurrency Feature Has Quietly Gone Worldwide

In the Spring of 2021, the encrypted communications app Signal added a payments feature in beta for its UK users, testing out integration with MobileCoin privacy-focused cryptocurrency. However, since mid-November, this feature has become accessible to all of its users, offering the ability to send MobileCoin to millions of phones. The MobileCoin wallet can be accessed within a message by tapping the “+” icon and then “payment” although users in some countries (e.g., the US) have no way of loading the cryptocurrency into the wallet yet. [Read more]

Central Bank of Bahrain Completes Test With Blockchain Based JP Morgan Coin System

The Central Bank of Bahrain successfully completed a test of J.P. Morgan’s JPM Coin System’s Onyx.  The test enabled Bank ABC to initiate real-time payments from Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) to ALBA’s US counterparties. JPM Coin System is a permissioned distributed ledger technology-based system that serves as a payment rail and deposit account ledger, enabling participating entities to transfer US Dollars held on deposit with J.P. Morgan. [Read more] 

New Bank of Tanzania payment system set for February roll-out

The Bank of Tanzania is reportedly planning to roll out its new Tanzania Instant Payment System payment system in February, after trialing it with banks and mobile money operators. The interoperable system allows transfer of payments between different participating digital financial service providers. The system will reduce the need to use cash, and is expected to increase financial inclusion by improving access and usage of financial services in Tanzania. [Read more]

BIS appoints Raphael Auer as Head of the Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) announced that Raphael Auer will join the BIS Innovation Hub (BISIH) team as the head of the upcoming Eurosystem Centre, expected to open in the first half of 2022. Raphael is currently a principal economist in the BIS’ Monetary and Economic Department, working with the unit dedicated to Innovation and the Digital Economy. The BISIH Eurosystem Centre will have locations in Frankfurt and Paris. It will be hosted by the European Central Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank and the Bank of France along with all the other Eurosystem central banks. [Read more]

From yesterday, which some of you may have missed:

SEC Delays Decision on NYDIG’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Proposal

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again delayed ruling on NYDIG’s proposal for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The original January 15, 2022 deadline has been extended to March 15. Recently the SEC has rejected and delayed decisions on numerous spot bitcoin ETF proposals. [Read more]

To get these updates sent to your inbox, please sign up here. Also, 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.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (01/05/2022)

~ kiffmeister

SEC Delays Decision on NYDIG’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Proposal

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again delayed ruling on NYDIG’s proposal for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The original January 15, 2022 deadline has been extended to March 15. Recently the SEC has rejected and delayed decisions on numerous spot bitcoin ETF proposals. [Read more]

To get these updates sent to your inbox, please sign up here. Also, 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.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (01/04/2022)

~ kiffmeister

China central bank launches digital yuan wallet apps for Android, iOS

The People’s Bank of China reportedly has released pilot versions of its digital yuan wallet app on Chinese Android and Apple mobile phone app stores in Shanghai. A notice in the “e-CNY (Pilot Version)” app said it is in a research and development pilot phase and is only available to selected users through supported institutions that provide e-CNY services, including major domestic banks. [Read more]

ESMA consults on rule changes to accommodate tokenized securities

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is asking for input from stakeholders on the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for trading and settlement of tokenized securities. ESMA is assessing whether the regulatory technical standards developed under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) relative to certain trade transparency and data reporting requirements need to be amended. [Read more]

To get these updates sent to your inbox, please sign up here. Also, 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.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (01/03/2022)

~ kiffmeister

Boston Fed seeks project manager for CBDC development

The Boston Fed is looking for a Project Management Director to lead its Project Hamilton work on a hypothetical general purpose central bank digital currency (CBDC) with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Digital Currency Initiative. This research will assist the Fed in more deeply understanding technology tradeoffs among design options, and will result in the open source publication of software to support CBDC research. The new position will presumably report to Jim Cunha, Executive Vice President of Secure Payments and FinTech, who has worked at the Boston Fed since 1984. [Rear more]

To get these updates sent to your inbox, please sign up here. Also, 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.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (01/01/2022)

~ kiffmeister

National rollout of the Bank of Jamaica’s digital currency set for early 2022

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), working with eCurrency Mint Inc., has successfully completed its central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof of concept and pilot work, and will begin a public rollout in Q1 2022. After a prototype was tested in the BOJ’s Fintech Regulatory Sandbox, in May 2021 the National Commercial Bank (NCB) was brought onboard for further testing. On August 9-10 the BOJ minted $230 million of CBDC of which $1 million was distributed to BOJ staff for further internal testing. 

On October 29, the BOJ distributed $5 million of CBDC to the NCB for an NCB-sponsored “Market on the Lawn” pilot event, for which 4 small merchants and 53 consumers were onboarded to conduct transactions between each other.  The NCB will continue onboarding customers, plus two additional wallet providers will soon be able to order CBDC from the BOJ and distribute to their customers. Interoperability will be tested between customers of various participating wallet providers. [Read more]

To get these updates sent to your inbox, please sign up here. Also, 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.