U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell says they are not behind on CBDC

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has shared the progress of the Feds work on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital dollar. “We are working proactively to evaluate whether to issue a CBDC and, if so, in what form,” he said, adding that he does not believe the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in this area. Fed Chair Jerome Powell revealed on CNBC Wednesday.  The central bank must maintain a stable currency and payments system for the publics benefit.  Powell was asked to update the Fed‘s work on central bank digital currency (CBDC). “We think it’s really important that the central bank maintains a stable currency and payments system for the publics benefit. Thats one of our jobs,” Powell began. “We also live in a time of transformational innovation around digital payments, and we need to make sure that the Fed is able to continue to deliver to the public a stable and trustworthy currency and payment system.” Central banks across countries are actively working on digital currencies in some capacity.  “Theres extensive private innovation.”  The chairman of the Federal Reserve further noted, “Theres extensive private innovation — a lot of which is taking place outside the regulatory perimeter. Innovation is fantastic.

2021-09-24Deep Dive

Canadian Securities Regulators Warn Crypto Firms of Misleading Ads

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) have discovered faults with the manner in which Crypto Trading Platforms (CTPs) operating in the country advertise their products and services. As highlighted in a Thursday announcement, the CSA said it has published a set of guidelines that will prevent CTPs from violating securities laws through the inaccurate information being shared in their adverts as well as gambling-style promotional strategies.  “Misleading advertisements and improper marketing strategies may encourage investors to take on risks they would normally avoid, and not respecting the requirements under securities law and IIROC rules may raise concerns about a crypto trading platforms fitness for registration,” said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers.  According to the published guidelines, the authorities say CTPs should desist from advertisements with information that suggests they are registered with the CSA or other relevant market regulators. Additionally, the guidelines warn that unregulated crypto platforms should avoid suggesting that their products have been endorsed by the regulators as well as withholding necessary information that will guide investors in making the right choice per time. This caution was issued to the necessary protections for investors

2021-09-24Deep Dive

Bank of England Says Britain to Front-Run Rules on Crypto

The Deputy Governor of the Bank of England said they would front-run rules from the Basel Committee on capital backing of crypto assets.  On Thursday, Sam Woods, the Deputy Governor, stated that his country would be the first to take on global rules regarding banks and crypto assets. This would be in avoidance of Britains banks gaining major exposure to crypto assets without sufficient capital backing.  The rules which Woods refers to are those proposed by the Basel Committee of Banking Regulators. The Committee recently started the development of the regulations which could become the standard for major global banks. Moreover, these rules include disciplinary fees, which may prohibit lenders involvement in the crypto space.  According to these rules, major banks which hold crypto assets need sufficient capital backing relative to the amount of crypto. The Deputy Governor called these rules “quite sensible” and said that banks dont have enough exposure to crypto.  “We would not want to stop firms doing things that make commercial sense, but we would take a very conservative view on capital treatment, and if necessary, we would therefore front run, maybe not exactly in the same way, but we would put some capital measures in place,” Woods told Reuters.  Opposition

2021-09-24Deep Dive

Ethereum Futures More Popular Among Major Investors Than Bitcoin: JP Morgan

Investment bank JP Morgan said Wednesday that investors are looking to Ethereum futures instead of Bitcoin futures—meaning theres now more interest in the second biggest cryptocurrency among major investors, according to reports.  This pivot in interest is a “setback for Bitcoin,” according to a Thursday Business Insider report citing a note from the bank. Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchanges (CME) traded below the price of Bitcoin this month, the report noted.  JP Morgan reportedly said this was due to “weak demand by institutional investors.”  Bitcoin futures refer to when investors place bets and trade contracts that deal with the future price of the cryptocurrency and not the actual asset itself. It‘s a huge market, and there is more interest in it than spot trading (where investors buy and sell Bitcoin the cryptocurrency) in terms of cash invested. For example, 24-hour volume at Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, for spot trading is currently $23 billion. For futures trading, right now its $65 billion.  Investors can get stuck into futures trading of most major cryptocurrencies, but the biggest assets by market cap—Bitcoin and Ethereum—are the most popular contracts to trade. This is seen as a good way for old-school investors to get involved

2021-09-24Deep Dive

President Biden nominates Crypto Critic to regulate Wall Street

According to Bloomberg, President Biden will reportedly nominate the anti-crypto critic, Saule Omarova as the director of the U.S. Monetary Supervision Agency, i.e., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Omarova in the past has argued that digital currencies pose a threat of destabilizing the economy and can be easily abused by private enterprises at the cost of public security.  The OCC looks over the country‘s biggest lenders including JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., and Citigroup Inc. With Omarova’s entry into Wall Streets regulatory sphere, above mentioned big names could be facing a multitude of tougher oversight and stricter rules.  Omarova pitched against the fast growth cryptocurrencies and argued that the decentralized sphere is “benefiting mainly the dysfunctional financial system we already have.” Omarova asserted that virtual currencies may potentially destabilize the economy. Furthermore, she stated that crypto is also exposed to easy exploitation by private firms at the expense of public safeguards.  US Semi Crypto Crackdown  The US government is rapidly heading towards an anti-crypto path regardless of the massive crypto community within the government itself. Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently in an interview with the Washington Post,

2021-09-24Deep Dive

Huawei Launches AI-Based Blockchain Service Built On Huawei Cloud

During the HUAWEI CONNECT 2021 event that started today, Sept. 23, and will last until Sept. 25, Huawei and SDPB (SDP Bank) have announced the launch of their SPDB Finwarehouse blockchain solution.  This solution utilizes IoT in order to secure movable property pledges.  In 2020, the Huawei giant, together with the SDP Bank, presented the Bank of Things White Paper. In it, they show a new model and system for financial services. After that, SPDB inked a partnership with Huawei, and together they began using innovative tech to promote the Bank of Things and began to explore digitalization.  SPDB Finwarehouse is the outcome of this fruitful partnership. This blockchain-based solution targets industrial supply chains. It allows for the management of pledges for movable warehousing properties in a brand new manner.  Movable properties in China, the press release adds, promise to turn into an innovative market where billions of RMB will be changing hands. Until now, this area has been operating without digitalization.  The new blockchain solution will use artificial intelligence, as well as multi-dimensional data verification, and will be based on the Huawei Cloud.  For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit - the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.

2021-09-24Deep Dive

Biggest Theme Park Resort in Southern Europe to Start Accepting Bitcoin

The iconic PortAventura World entertainment resort has announced that it will start accepting Bitcoin payments in 2022.  The Spanish leisure complex with two theme parks and six hotels is known as the largest resort in Southern Europe. It attracts roughly five million visitors per year.  One of the resorts key attractions is Red Force, the fastest and tallest roller coaster in Europe that is capable of reaching speeds of up to 180 km/h.  Accepting Bitcoin is part of the effort to enhance digitalization and promote innovation.  PortAventura World is currently working on a software solution that will make it possible to perform transactions in a “simple” and “secure” way. It is not clear whether payments will be routed through the Lightning Network, a popular Bitcoin scaling solution that has seen a sharp increase in capacity as of late.  As reported by U.Today, a lavish five-star hotel located in the Swiss Alps recently opened the door to Bitcoin and Ethereum payments.  For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit - the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.

2021-09-24Deep Dive

Lucky BTC Holder Activates Bitcoin Wallet with $17.4 Million After 8.8 Years

The opinion expressed here is not investment advice – it is provided for informational purposes only. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of U.Today. Every investment and all trading involves risk, so you should always perform your own research prior to making decisions. We do not recommend investing money you cannot afford to lose.  According to data shared by the Whale Alert blockchain service, on Sept. 22, a Bitcoin wallet was activated after 8.8 years of staying dormant.Another Satoshi-era wallet activated  The wallet contains 400 Bitcoins. Back in 2012, this amount of BTC was worth $4,335. Now, the fiat equivalent of this crypto amount has surged 4,020 times and constitutes $17,427,633 at the current Bitcoin exchange rate.  Whale Alert tracks down large amounts of cryptocurrencies transferred between blockchain addresses.  Earlier this week, another dormant Bitcoin address was activated after spending 8.8 years in dormancy. That Bitcoin wallet contained 616 BTC worth $29,470,042 at the BTC exchange rate on Monday. Back in 2012, those 616 Bitcoins cost $6,667.2021 has been good for Bitcoin; will it reach $100,000 by years end?  The year 2021 has been rich in dormant Bitcoin wallets becoming activated. Previously, U.Today reported that three more wallets were “unsealed” by their owners in

2021-09-23Deep Dive

Just another bubble? Bitcoin price tops follow Chinese debt cycles, new research shows

Bitcoin (BTC) may be hitting new all-time highs, but it may just be another bubble, new research suggests.  Unveiling a theory that could well rile Bitcoin bulls, analytics guru Material Scientist revealed what seems to be a strong correlation between Bitcoin price cycles and Chinese debt cycles.Casting doubt on the power of Bitcoin halvings  With BTC/USD hitting its latest all-time high in April 2021, expectations are high that another will come before the end of the year.  Looking back at Bitcoins history, Material Scientist shows that previous cycle tops in Bitcoin have coincided with tops in Chinese debt cycles.  The ebb and flow — as seen this year in April versus today — likewise marks a cooling off in Bitcoin. This, the analyst argues, could not only mean that Bitcoin behaves like any other asset but also that its supply squeeze after each halving is irrelevant.  He channeled ideas from investor Ray Dalio, who is well-known for his own research into Chinese economic behavior.  “I think Dalio is dead-right that bubbles are created by debt cycles. And its clearly correlated here,” he said in Twitter comments.“So, what if the BTC halving narrative is BS, and its really just about Chinese debt cycles, too.”  The halving-based narrative demands

2021-09-23Deep Dive

Buyers have returned to cryptocurrencies

The cryptocurrency market is bouncing upward along with the traditional market and is even ahead of the scale of growth. Over the past 24 hours, the top 10 coins were in the green zone. The total capitalization of the crypto market increased by $120 billion during the day. Nevertheless, this indicator remains below the threshold of $2 trillion. Investors began to buy on the fall rather quickly, indicating a high demand. However, it is worth understanding that these may be short-term positions, and a rapid rebound in cryptocurrency prices may lead to equally rapid profit-taking.  The decline of the Bitcoin dominance index confirms the presence of widespread demand for cryptocurrencies. This indicator is now at 41.9%, reflecting investor interest in altcoins. Bitcoin has added almost 4% over the past 24 hours and is trading around $44,000. Nevertheless, so far, the coin has failed to offset the scale of the recent correction. Over the past 7 days, Bitcoin has been losing about 9%.  The Crypto Fear s declining dominance index, everyone understands that the first cryptocurrency is the main engine of the crypto market.  Arcane Research, an analytics company, notes a divergence in the actions of the “first whales” and the “new whales of

2021-09-23Deep Dive
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