Does the Philippine central bank want to bet on blockchain-based digital tokens? It admits that it sees them as a way to reduce the use of fiat money and improve the delivery of financial services in its country. Let's add that we are talking about a country that is also still exploring the topic of its own digital currency. The Philippines and tokens In an interview with Bloomberg, the governor of the Philippine central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Benjamin Diokno, said that digital tokens "increase the reach and lower the cost of financial services" and reduce the use of fiat money. He added that they also improve the way the central bank provides financial services to its citizens. CBDC This, however, is not the end of the story. The Philippines is one of those countries that is considering launching its own digital currency. The BSP has already conveyed that its research on the subject is related to the feasibility and potential implications of issuing CBDC. The country has already launched a blockchain-based platform to distribute bonds issued by the government. "Cryptocurrency has always been more of an asset for us, but more of the blockchain technology that underpins it," - said the bank's governor in July. Recall that today central banks around the world, all the time are experimenting with the digital currencies they want to issue. Several banks have made impressive progress in this area, and some are just beginning their work in this area. The People's Bank of China, for example, is most likely to become the first major central bank in the world to issue CBDCs. It is currently testing its national digital currency, dubbed DC/EP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment), in several cities across the country. Earlier, the Bank for International Settlements released a report saying that the ongoing global pandemic has prompted central banks to accelerate CBDC research because people are avoiding transactions made in physical money. As for the European market, the Central Bank of France presented a list of companies selected to start their experiments on "central bank digital currency". (CBDC). Przemysław Koperski, MP, asked the Polish authorities about similar initiatives in our country. So far, he has not received an answer. Tags cbdc Philippines tokens
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Philippines sees potential for blockchain tokens
BTC network activity at highest level since 2017.
Glassnode has noticed significantly more activity on the BTC network. There are many indications that the Bitcoin community is preparing for a halving, which is expected to take place as early as May 12. Such large movements were last seen in 2017 at the height of the speculative bubble, when the cryptocurrency cost around $20,000. BTC network activity is on the rise The overall activity in the Bitcoin network is no longer that high, but it has also increased recently as if in preparation for the third halving of the cryptocurrency, which is expected to take place in a few days. From the analysis of the network, one can learn that many addresses are now much more active than they have been in recent years. Their owners are sending and receiving coins much more frequently than they did in the time since the last bubble. Glassnode pointed this out in a recent tweet. From it, we learned that the network is currently breaking records in terms of activity: "The number of active entities on the Bitcoin network is the highest since the BTC bubble in 2017." Glassnode defines "entities" in its publication: "Entities are defined as a cluster of addresses that are controlled by the same network entity and are estimated using Glassnode's advanced heuristics and proprietary clustering algorithms." Measuring network activity The above method is typically used to measure Bitcoin network activity. Last year, the network saw its highest number of active entities when the cryptocurrency's price rose to $14,000. Now - despite the fact that the price is "only" around $10,000 today - the value has now surpassed that level and is approaching the number seen in 2017, when BTC cost around $20,000. Glassnode also reports that the number of active addresses has increased to 937,904 - not too far from the 2018 peak of 1,190,302 active addresses. You can always check the current exchange rate of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the bitcoin exchange rate and cryptocurrency exchange rate tabs on bitcoin.co.uk. Places where you can buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies include BitBay.net cryptocurrency exchange. If you don't have an account on BitBay yet, this article will show you how you can create one efficiently: LINK. Tags BTC network addresses Blockchain network
DGP: State-owned bank laundered dirty money
In May, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported, "supervisory authorities are conducting proceedings against BOŚ Bank. The prosecutor's office has also received notices in this case." Ultimately, the bank was fined PLN 4.5 million for failing to comply with anti-money laundering procedures. It will appeal, according to pb.pl. BOŚ Bank with problems The activities of BOŚ Bank have been scrutinized by the General Inspectorate of Financial Information and the Financial Supervision Authority. - Both institutions have submitted a notification to the prosecutor's office with a suspicion of committing a crime - said an informant of "DGP" in spring. The media later managed to learn from the National Prosecutor's Office that this is true. "The Regional Prosecutor's Office in Katowice has opened an investigation into the case. Due to its interest, at this stage the prosecutor's office does not provide information on the course of the proceedings", wrote the National Prosecutor's Office. - wrote the National Prosecutor's Office in response to "DGP" questions. What adds spice to the case is the fact that BOŚ Bank is indirectly controlled by the State Treasury. The point is that "the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management holds 58.05 percent of the share capital, 8.61 percent belongs to the Polish Enterprise Investment Fund of PFR TFI, and 5.54 percent is held by the General Directorate of State Forests." - The scandal is big and it is not about laundering millions of zlotys, but much higher amounts. At the turn of September and October last year there was information that services from the United States intervened in the case, asking that the Polish side look into money laundering using BOŚ Bank, the newspaper's informant claimed in May. The article added that "the bank may have been at odds with AML regulations." Penalty BOŚ Bank announced this week that it had set up a PLN 4.5m provision for a fine imposed on the bank by the General Inspectorate of Financial Information (GIIF) "for failing to comply with the obligation to apply financial security measures and for failing to document the financial security measures applied". However, it also announced that it will appeal the inspector's decision. Cryptocurrencies thread It is worth recalling that in the further part of the article "DGP" from May there was a thread of cryptocurrencies: "In DGP we described last year that the bank maintains gold accounts for an Estonian payment operator, which in turn operates cryptocurrency exchanges. Including one invented by a company that the UOKiK suspects of playing the role of a financial pyramid. Such risks were also highlighted by the money laundering service in its 2019 annual report." Tags aml BOŚ bank cryptocurrency exchanges
Binance issues its stablecoin
Binance is launching a partnership with Paxos to launch the USD-based stablecoin BinanceUSD. According to information received by our editorial team, Paxos Trust Company and global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, have just announced a partnership to launch a USD-based stablecoin currency - BinanceUSD (BUSD ). The project has been approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). New stablecoin Rich Teo, co-founder and CEO of Paxos Asia, said: "The NYDFS approval of BUSD is an important step towards [achieving] long-term stability in the global crypto markets. We are proud that our stablecoin enables trusted companies like Binance to bring [to market] products tailored to [the needs of] their users. The Paxos brand symbolizes regulatory integrity, consumer protection and transparency for all our partners." Later this month, BUSD will be available on the Paxos platform, where it can be purchased at a 1: 1 ratio for US dollars. Of course, stablecoin will also be on Binance.com and will be paired there with BTC, BNB and XRP. Paxos will serve as a USD depositary and BUSD issuer within the project. "Paxos is a leader in digital assets and we are excited to partner with them to develop our native stablecoin coin," said CZ (Chagpeng Zhao), CEO of Binance. "We hope to launch more financial services for the blockchain ecosystem with the issuance of BUSD," - he added. Binance Binance also recently launched a cryptocurrency deposit system. Users can already deposit tokens such as Tether (USDT), Ethereum Classic (ETC) and BinanceCoin (BNB). This is expected to help them earn interest, which will accrue in 14-day periods and is expected to be as high as 15% for BNB, 10% for USDT and 14% for ETC on an annual basis. However, Binance has also set an upper limit for loan deposits accepted: 200 thousand BNB, 5 million USDT and 20 thousand ETC. The exchange is the undisputed market leader in digital currencies today. It recently introduced a 3:1 leverage on its platform dedicated to both long and short positions. Tags Binance binance stablecoin stablecoin
Former JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank director moves to Circle
Paul Camp, until recently head of international and managing director at investment bank JPMorgan, will now be the new employee of Circle, a Boston, Massachusetts-based company that offers, among other things, a browser-based bitcoin wallet service. Camp will take on the role of new chief financial officer at the company. During his professional history, Camp has been associated with such financial institutions as the international Deutsche Bank, the aforementioned American JPMorgan, and even Bank of America - one of the largest banks in the world. According to Circle's director, Jeremy Allaire, Camp will be a key member of the company's leadership team, overseeing its financial architecture and acting as an ambassador to investors, regulators and the wide range of people Circle would like to work with. Allaire also highlights the qualities of his company's new director: Paul is a very smart and capable person. I think the notion of an online platform - a common online platform for exchanging value - really sparked his imagination. In addition, during his career he has already had the opportunity to take care of the development of various kinds of ventures in large companies, often working on them from scratch." As Allaire adds, Camp's time at Deutsche Bank also coincided with the birth and development of the euro currency. As an employee of that bank, he was able to get an in-depth look at the shaping of the new currency system, and he also took an active role in the development of the structure of SEPA, the Single Euro Payments Area. Jeremy Allaire: He has had the opportunity to look at the establishment of a new, multinational currency, operating inside a new type of transfer protocol - SEPA - that was created to make this possible; and all the regulatory issues that have arisen with the new, universally accessible currency." This is yet another "migration" in recent weeks of a well-known figure hailing from the traditional financial sector to a Bitcoin-related organization or business. Back in October this year, former United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Arthur Levitt joined BitPay's and Mirror's (formerly Vaurum) advisory boards. Last month we also reported on Matthew Taylor Mellon II, a businessman with a banking background and heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune, who joined the Chamber of Digital Commerce, a Washington DC-based lobbying group advocating Bitcoin. Any reproduction, distribution, electronic transformation or transmission of content from the bitcoin.pl Web site requires prior permission from bitcoin.pl. Tags Bank of America bitcoin Circle Deutsche Bank Jeremy Allaire jpmorgan cryptocurrencies Paul Camp wallet
Bitcoin is 'king of assets' - according to analyst firm Delphi Digital
Analyst firm Delphi Digital has dubbed Bitcoin (BTC) the "King of the Asset Class." The cryptocurrency's stock market performance over the past few months was highly rated. The fact was reported by Next Web on June 3. Delphi Digital based its assessment on the gains that Bitcoin has given investors over the past four months. It also appreciated how the cryptocurrency began to gain when traditional assets began to fall. "The improved performance is particularly important given the overall weakness in many other asset classes," - the company reported. A run on cryptocurrencies? According to Delphi Digital, investors are being forced to leave riskier assets in the face of weakening sentiment related to the apparent economic slowdown this year. This is certainly influenced by the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, which some believe is starting to turn into a Cold War. A famous opponent of BTC, Nouriel Roubini, recently spoke about the dangers of competition between China and the USA. Nouriel Roubini was one of the speakers at the European Financial Congress in Sopot. His speech concerned mainly the subject of threats resulting from the fight between the USA and China. He admitted that both countries want to compete in terms of access to technological resources. Although Roubini is almost enemy number 1 of cryptocurrencies (or at least he fights for supremacy in this category with Warren Buffet), his macroeconomic forecasts may turn out to be very good for Bitcoin. Why? Because if the situation becomes increasingly tense, the price of a single coin could rise. At least that's how cryptocurrencies have reacted so far in their history when the world was threatened with a crisis. It was so during the problems with the banking system in Cyprus or the period of announcing the results of the referendum on Brexit. In turn, one of the biggest fans of cryptocurrencies in the world, Michael Novogratz, the founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital, said that he expects a consolidation on the BTC chart in the range of $7,000-10,000. Only then does he hope for further increases. At the time of writing these words, one Bitcoin costs $7,933. The main cryptocurrency passes a correction reaching so far less than 7%. Along with BTC, other leading digital currencies are also falling. Tags bubble bitcoin price bull market exchange rate
The relationship between the cryptocurrency industry and financial services
Observers of the market for cryptocurrencies and innovative financial services for many years already could see that the financial supervisory authorities do not like everything, and the legislation does not provide answers to the state of affairs. The problems stemmed from the lack of competence of the relevant authorities, which may have originated in the decision of the legislature not to take the legislative initiative too early - especially since the common financial market and the very structure of the EU not infrequently limit the role of the national legislator to the implementation of Community regulations. They could also have resulted from a lack of will to study a still rather exotic industry and scepticism towards it, which resounded in the positions of banks or supervisory authorities." A not infrequently used argument was simply that if cryptocurrency is not a means of money, it should not be subject to the regulations that apply to it. However, it didn't take much thought to see that the reality of crypto, so far, is inextricably linked to traditional money, and this is where issues such as: The storage by exchanges of virtual currencies of money intended for the purchase of crypto and the related service of maintaining an account for the client (this is possible when the funds collected do not exceed 2000 euros); Execution of remittances by the exchanges; The statute of the institution obliged under the anti-money laundering law and a number of resulting statutory obligations, such as KYC (as an aside, I note that some entities in the market sought to civilize the industry and carried out the process of identifying the client even before the statutory obligations came into force). These issues allow us to understand that technological solutions on blockchain will overwhelmingly concern payment services, securities or public issuance, which will consequently lead our start-up to the financial supervisory authority in terms of notification obligations or being subject to the control of these authorities. Finally, what is this MIP? When we reach into the law: the answer - seems to be insanely easy! It seems so, because in Art. 2 par. 17 b we will find a legal definition of MIP, which states that: a small payment institution - means a natural person, a legal person and an organizational unit which is not a legal person and which is granted legal capacity by the law, registered in the register, with [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]