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2023-04-07 12:10:03 Int'l securities body IOSCO prepares crypto regulation report for 2023

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) will launch a consultation for its regulation report on crypto assets already in the current quarter (Q2) of the year. The final recommendations from the Organization are planned to be published by the end of 2023.

The dates are scheduled in IOSCO’s work program for 2023-24. There are two major workflows dedicated to decentralized assets in IOSCO’s Fintech Task Force plan. The first covers Crypto and Digital Assets (CDA), and the second covers decentralized finance (DeFi). With DeFi, the consultation will start in Q3 of 2023.

According to the work program text, in both areas of the digital market, IOSCO will focus on investors protection:

“Through the outcomes of its work, IOSCO seeks to support the development of sustainable and innovative capital markets, while enhancing investor protection, maintaining market integrity, and reducing systemic risk.”
Previously, in 2022, the Organization has already published its reports on DeFi, stablecoins and influencers. The set of supervisory capacities that IOSCO recommends for national regulators to acquire includes regulatory channels to report consumer complaints for misleading and illegal promotions and evidence-tracking processes to cope with the fast pace and changing nature of online information.

Related: ‘Home’ regulator could solve crypto’s ‘fragmented supervision’ issue: Comptroller

As for DeFi, IOSCO urged national regulators to take “a granular and holistic understanding of the DeFi market,” which could enhance their ability to create laws relevant legislation.

The 2022 report on stablecoins was delivered by IOSCO together with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). It it, both bodies define the stablecoin arrangement, which “combines a range of functions to provide an instrument that purports to be used as a means of payment and/or store of value.” Open / Comment

2023-04-05 14:41:20 Ripple President Reacts to Multibillion Dollar Success in Key Region

Ripple president Monica Long commented on the latest report from the company's key partner in Mexico, Bitso, published earlier on Livecoins. In particular, Long noted the company's success in capturing a large share of the remittance market between the U.S. and Mexico through its "Crypto for Business" service.

As a reminder, Bitso and Ripple have been working together on cryptocurrency transfers for several years. In that time, the Mexican company has become a key partner for Ripple in the region and one of the largest users of its services. Against this backdrop, XRP has become almost 60% of Bitso's trading volume, overtaking Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) combined.

Bitso, Ripple and business
According to the Mexican crypto company's release, thanks to Ripple and other partners, they were able to transfer $3.3 billion between the two countries in 2022. This is a real-world utility, says Long, when the corridor between the U.S. and Mexico sees tens of billions of dollars in payments every year.

Aaron Sears, managing director of the Americas at Ripple, also noted Bitso's successful report. He said that Ripple enjoyed Bitso's success and that the two companies intend to continue their partnership in cross-border crypto transfers and connect more businesses in Latin America to the network.

His colleague on the other side, Santiago Alvarado, one of the vice presidents at Bitso, also expressed his intention to increase the number of companies and user organizations, noting 73% growth over the past year. Open / Comment

2023-04-04 20:48:21 Polkadot Registers Trademark for Blockchain Communication Platform

Polkadot, which describes itself as a "layer 0 blockchain," has filed a trademark registration for what appears to be a blockchain-based messaging application, according to a recent filing.

The phrase "Polkadot Converse" has been trademarked, with additional information on the app being added in the "good and services" section of the filing.

The trademark covers: "Software for social networking; software for creating, managing, and interacting with an online community; software for creating, software for sending and receiving electronic messages, graphics, images, audio content."

Despite several attempts from the likes of Steemit, Tether's Keet and most recently Nostr, social media has never hit it off within the web3 industry.

Polkadot (DOT) remains the 11th largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of around $7.5 billion, according to CoinDesk data.

A foray into social media and instant messaging would a change in focus from Polkadot, which has previously concentrated efforts on its parachain technology and rapid transaction speeds.

Polkadot's press team did not immediately respond to CoinDesk's request for comment. Open / Comment

2023-04-03 21:55:14 Losing ground to the U.S. dollar could cause the bitcoin price to rise

De-dollarization is a phenomenon that has been around for quite some time, but has begun to evolve noticeably in recent years. Despite the fact that cryptocurrency was created as a global currency, independent of fiat currencies, the devaluation of the U.S. dollar can play to its advantage.

De-dollarization is the devaluation of the U.S. dollar because other currencies have taken its place as the world's reserve currency for trading oil and other commodities. Undermining confidence in banks and the Fed pushes countries away from the U.S. dollar, forcing them to use their own currencies.

China is now the largest country whose national currency is beginning to be used in trade. The state already has agreements with Australia, Russia, Japan, Brazil and Iran.

Recently, Alexander Babakov, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma, said that the above countries may create their own cryptocurrency, secured not by gold, but by earth and rare-earth metals.

This will lead to the fact that the U.S. dollar will lose its position in the global economy, which will further weaken its power. And this situation could be a trigger for the growth of cryptocurrencies.

After the bankruptcies of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank, bitcoin separated from the stock markets and began to rise to the current $28,000.

At the same time, bitcoin's correlation to gold is rising, reaching a figure of 0.92 on April 3. During 2022, this correlation was much lower due to volatility, but current conditions reinforce the shelter asset's status, which could contribute to hyper-bitcoinization.

The term refers to bitcoin becoming the dominant form of currency around the world, which many experts predict is possible in the medium term. Open / Comment

2023-04-01 14:19:06 Massive 6.78 Billion Shiba Inu Burned in March

Shiba Inu Community Burns Record 6.78 Billion SHIB in March 2023.

The Shiba Inu Community has achieved a remarkable feat in reducing the massive supply of SHIB by a record 6,782,788,547 (6.78B) tokens in March 2023. This historic achievement was accomplished through 540 separate transactions, which saw the community’s collective effort toward burning SHIB tokens.

6,782,788,547 SHIB tokens have been burned in the month of March with 540 transactions.

— Shibburn (shibburn) April 1, 2023

Koyo (KYO), a community-driven project launched on March 10th, has emerged as the top SHIB burner of the month, removing a massive 6,159,062,480 (6.15B) token through multiple transactions. Koyo’s massive burning transactions highlight its commitment to reducing the supply of SHIB tokens.

On March 17th, Koyo executed the largest burn transaction by sending 924,150,949 (924.15M) SHIB to the dead wallet. Furthermore, on March 28th, Koyo set fire to a significant 794,858,822 (794.85M) SHIB in a single transaction, solidifying its position as the leading SHIB burner in the community.

In response to the massive burn, Shiba Inu’s demand has recently seen an uptick. Recently, the 254th biggest ETH Whale, tagged as “BlueWhale0073,” accumulated a whopping 99,297,904,247 (99.29B) SHIB, worth $1,058,515 ($1.05M) in a significant transaction.

Despite recent developments, SHIB holders have experienced losses or are at breaking even, with 71% of the investors affected. The majority of this group was impacted by the FUD campaign targeting Shibarium.

As of press time, Shiba Inu is trading at $0.00001077, up 1.37% over the last day, with a 24-hour trading volume of $193,116,155 ($193.11M). Open / Comment

2023-03-31 14:14:55 About a third of Russians do not trust the digital ruble

The Russian Central Bank seeks to become if not the leader in the race to issue CBDCs, then at least be among the first countries to make their citizens happy with fully controlled digital coins.

However, this is hampered by the thoroughness of the State Duma, which did not have time to prepare legislative acts by the time the April 1 testing of real transactions with the digital ruble is scheduled to begin, resulting in the beginning of the experiments tentatively postponed to late May.

As it turned out, consumers are also not prepared for the technological innovation. According to a survey conducted by the financial marketplace "Vybеru,ru", 38% of Russians do not understand the principle of operation and purpose of the digital ruble, and 28% do not want to use it, as they do not trust it.

Only 34% of respondents expressed their desire to use the digital ruble. At the same time, 14% of them are sure that they will be active users of the digital ruble, and another 20% of them are ready to use the new form of currency only if necessary, for example, when receiving social payments.

The survey was conducted in March, it was attended by about 2 thousand respondents aged 18 to 45 years. Open / Comment

2023-03-30 15:43:36 Novatti participates in CBDC pilot project

Novatti Group (ASX:NOV), a leading fintech company that enables businesses to send and receive money, announced Novatti and AUDD's participation in a research project exploring the potential uses and economic benefits of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Australia.

The initiative is led by the Digital Finance Joint Research Center (DFCRC) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Novatti is among the leading industry players taking part in a limited CBDC pilot project that will have real relevance to the Reserve Bank.

In this pilot project, Novatti will issue an additional stable coin known as eAUDD. The eAUDD is an Australian dollar stable coin that will be backed by a 1:1 Pilot CBDC issued by the RBA and will allow customers to self-check the reserve. An invitation-only group of participants will be able to get eAUDD on the Stellar blockchain, where it will be used to buy non-exchangeable tokens (NFTs) for charitable donations.

The results of the eAUDD pilot will show whether a 1:1 CBDC backed Stablecoin can increase customer confidence in Stablecoin. Greater acceptance of stablcoins could lead to safety in banking regulations, secure payments, and increased financial stability for users.

Peter Cook, CEO of Novatti Group, said: "We are thrilled to have been selected for this first-of-its-kind opportunity to help shape the future of CBDC and promote stablecoin options with high governance in Australia. Novatti's stable coin service was created with a focus on compliance, security and utility, all of which will support an innovative CBDC trial."

The CBDC pilot is expected to be completed at the end of May, with results to be released mid-year. Open / Comment

2023-03-29 16:04:50 Pension funds must disclose their crypto-assets to the Office of the Auditor of Financial Institutions (OSFI) Canada

The Canadian government has announced that federally regulated pension funds in the country will have to disclose their crypto-assets to the Office of the Auditor of Financial Institutions (OSFI) Canada. Ottawa is tightening regulatory oversight of the volatile industry. The move comes in the wake of several high-profile bankruptcies, such as the FTX exchange, and the recent collapse of crypto-friendly U.S. lenders Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank, which exposed the extreme volatility faced by investors in the industry.

To protect Canadians, Budget 2023 announced that the government will require federally regulated pension funds to disclose their crypto assets to OSFI. The federal government will also work with provinces and territories to discuss disclosure of crypto-assets or related activities of the country's largest pension plans, allowing Canadians to be aware of their pension plans' potential exposure to crypto-assets.

Canada has tightened regulations on the crypto industry in recent months. CoinDesk reported in February that Canada's umbrella markets regulator, Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), would tighten requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country. Open / Comment

2023-03-28 19:46:26 China intends to improve blockchain technology standards

The ministry has launched a public consultation with stakeholders on the "Program for Building a Standard Blockchain and Distributed Registry Technology by 2025. Officials encouraged the public to share their opinions by contributing to the future project.

The agency plans to receive suggestions from participants in the public hearings by April 28 on the necessary level of updating standards for the future system of national blockchain and distributed registry technology.

It is about improving communication equipment, basic electronic components and key software required to support distributed ledger technology, as well as fintech companies where blockchain is used at a basic level.

According to official documents, there are more than 1,400 blockchain companies in China. MIT expects that successful implementation of the program will stimulate the growth of the national blockchain industry and place China as a global leader.

In February, the ministry approved the creation of a blockchain technology center in Beijing. The center's tasks will include research into blockchain practices for the benefit of industry and the economy as a whole. Open / Comment

2023-03-27 15:03:59 Riot Platforms responded to Biden's actions

Jason Les, who heads Riot Platforms (formerly Riot Blockchain), the largest publicly traded bitcoin mining company in the United States and Canada, has entered into an off-the-record discussion with the administration of US President Joe Biden, given the latter's bias toward restrictive cryptocurrency policies.

Apparently referring to the ongoing banking cataclysm in the U.S., the head of the company noted that bitcoin blockchain could perform a value transfer function no matter what the state of the U.S. banking system.

He noted that bitcoin mining consumes only 0.2% of the world's energy, which is comparable to how much electricity it takes to run all the refrigerators in the United States. 60% of the energy consumed by miners comes from renewable sources, while bitcoin mining itself stimulates the development of solar and wind power generation.

Despite these bitcoin parameters, "the current US administration, as well as a group of environmentalists and a number of politicians, intend to de facto ban bitcoin mining by restricting access to energy, and through a mechanism so high taxation that the mining industry in the US will have every reason to cease its activities in the US entirely and leave for other countries." At the same time, Riot Platforms stated that the resulting weakening of the mining industry in the U.S. will ultimately be "very beneficial" to Russia in particular. According to the company's estimates, the U.S. "risks losing its leading role in the world in the digital economy. Open / Comment