Binance says Signature Bank sets transaction minimum amid pullback
Binance said Signature Bank will only handle user transactions of more than $100,000 as of February 1, 2023. According to Binance, this is the case for all of Signature Bank’s crypto exchange clients, and only its Signature Bank customers are affected. An earlier story from AsiaMarkets.com said that this limit applied to all banks. Also, Binance said that only 0.01% of its average monthly users are serviced by Signature Bank, but those customers would still be able to use their credit or debit cards to buy or sell cryptocurrencies. Also, SWIFT-based transfers would remain in operation for non-USD bank transfers, and the change wouldn’t impact its “corporate accounts.” [Read more at CoinTelegraph]
On-Chain Foreign Exchange and Cross-Border Payments
Circle Financial and Uniswap Labs staff published the results of their studies of the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the trading and settlement of foreign exchange (FX) on public blockchains. They compared the traditional trading and settlement of FX with DLT-based implementations using stablecoins and automated market makers. Using public blockchain data, they quantified the liquidity, stability, and transaction costs of on-chain FX transactions in early adoption. They found consistency between on-chain FX exchange rate and those observed through traditional trading venues and stable on-chain liquidity throughout all times of the day and weekends. Their estimates suggest that on-chain FX can reduce the cost of remittance by as much as 80 percent. [Read More at SSRN]
Empirical evidence on the ownership and liquidity of real estate tokens
A paper by Robeco’s Laurens Swinkels examined the financial and economic consequences of tokenizing 58 residential rental properties in the US, particularly those in Detroit. Tokenization aims at fragmented ownership. He found that the residential properties examined have 254 owners on average. Investors with a greater than $5,000 investment in real estate tokens, diversified their real estate ownership across properties within and across the cities. Property ownership changed about once yearly, with more changes for properties on decentralized exchanges. He reported that real estate token prices moved according to the house price index; hence, investing in real estate tokens provided economic exposure to residential house prices. [Read more at Financial Innovation]
Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor
Just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So for any of you out there who work for a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at chronicles@kiffmeister.com.
The Sovereign Official Digital Association (SODA) is a technology-agnostic firm offering advisory services at the intersection of central banking, digital finance and the web3 industry, aiming to make public digital money a reality. SODA believes institutions in the existing financial ecosystem should have access to the tools and resources they need to move from discussion to action. SODA offers ‘real life’ use cases to help test digital money and drive adoption as central banks and other public institutions explore the future of a more financially inclusive world powered by interoperable blockchain-based networks. SODA would love you to join us on this journey – please get in touch (chris@sodapublicmoney.org).
Satoshi Capital Advisors is a New York-based, global advisory firm that works with central banks, governments, and the private sector to architect, implement, and operate varying initiatives. Satoshi Capital Advisors’ central bank work revolves around CBDC architecture and implementation, providing advisory services from research phase through to growth phase. Utilizing a product-market fit and technology agnostic approach to CBDC architecture and implementation enables Satoshi Capital Advisors to build tailored solutions, bespoke to local financial system nuances. Satoshi Capital Advisors welcomes requests from central bank officials for virtual and in-person CBDC workshops. [Click here for more information]
WhisperCash offers the first fully offline digital currency platform that has the same properties as physical cash. It can perform secure consecutive offline payments without compromising on security, privacy or accessibility. WhisperCash allows direct person to person offline payments without any server infrastructure or internet connectivity. It comes in various form factors including the self-contained credit card-sized “Pro” that sports an eInk screen and capacitive keyboard, and lasts for two weeks between recharges assuming a few transactions per day. [Click here for more information]