Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Central Bank of Colombia has announced its involvement in the first blockchain bond pilot program in the country, with the participation of the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) and Davivienda, a private commercial bank. The proof of concept will use the Lacchain blockchain platform developed by the IDB, which will handle the operative part of the issuance. Central Bank of Colombia Joins Blockchain Bond Pilot Program The Central Bank of Colombia has announced its participation in the first blockchain bond program in the country. Issued by Davivienda, one of the most important commercial banks in Colombia, and with counseling from the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), this pilot program seeks to explore the benefits of the new technology and study its application for the next bond issuances. According to the official announcement from the Central Bank of Colombia, these benefits would include the potential reduction of operational costs, the optimization of process times

As central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) advance in testing, a number of countries have taken the lead in an effort to create a CBDC. The enterprise blockchain firm Guardtime recently conducted a survey that shows adults from ten different countries would likely use a CBDC. Nearly two out of three respondents said they would likely use a CBDC after launch and most of the study’s participants believe a major CBDC will be launched within three years. 63% of Survey Respondents Would Leverage a CBDC if Launched, 33% Would Be ‘Very Likely’ to Use a CBDC The enterprise blockchain firm founded by Christopher Leiter and Mike Gault, Guardtime has recently conducted a survey throughout ten major economic regions throughout Europe, United Arab Emirates, Asia, and North America. The study has found that out of all the surveyed participants, 64% said they would “likely” leverage a CBDC if their country happened to launch one. 33% of respondents said they were “very likely” to utilize a CBDC if

The Chinese mining crackdown forced many miners to stop their operations and relocate. But another group of miners is planning to pivot to new, more efficient mining schemes to keep operating in the country. Lesser-known tokens and proof-of-stake-based systems are now in the sights of these miners as ways to continue their work away from government oversight. Chinese Miners Pivoting to Other Crypto Activities The recent mining and trading crackdown in China affected the lives of thousands of miners that had to stop their operations due to new policies established by the government. While a lot of them are seeking to relocate to other countries, there is also a group seeking to pivot to new alternatives to keep operating in the country. The new wave of storage-based tokens is one of the biggest focuses of this group. Bloomberg confirmed this, present at the Web 3.0 Blockchain Application Cum Computing Power Overseas and Distributed Storage Conference in Chengdu — one of the first

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reportedly set October 1 as the commencement date for the trial phase of its digital currency project. Dubbed project Giant, this digital currency project, or the “e-naira,” is expected to use the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain. CBDC Comes to Life The revelation of the launch date for Nigeria’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) comes just a few months after central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the digital currency will soon “come to life.” It also comes after the CBN suggested in June that Nigeria would have its own CBDC by the end of the year. With this revelation — when confirmed officially — Nigeria will become the second West African nation to announce the pilot phase of its own digital currency in 2021. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the Bank of Ghana is the other country from the region to announce a start date for its digital currency project. Culmination of a Long-Running Study As the Nairametrics report quo

The French central bank, Banque de France (BOF), recently carried out its fifth experiment on the Central Bank of Tunisia (CBT)’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to a statement from BOF, the latest experiment is part of the banks’ joint effort to create conditions that are “conducive to a better inclusion of the Tunisian diaspora in Europe.” Platform Targets Tunisian Diaspora In his comments following the experiment, Mohamed Sadraoui, a director-general at CBT, suggested that the CBDC platform’s success will likely “reinforce transparency, speed and cost savings” for users. He went on: The success of this experiment is an opportunity to start thinking about the deployment of alternative channels for cross-border transfers initiated by the Tunisian community in Europe to Tunisia. As a press statement explained, this experiment involved the simulation on a private blockchain of the issuance and settlement of unlisted securities and of the settlement of listed secu

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has explained in a recent interview that the company is looking to launch a U.S.-based initial public offering (IPO) in the future. The crypto exchange has been stuck in regulatory crosshairs during the last few weeks and has had issues with payment providers. CZ also noted during his interview that the firm was looking for a new chief executive officer with a “very strong regulatory background.” Binance Cheif Executive Says Company Is Looking for a New CEO At the blockchain virtual summit Redefine 2021, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao discussed some of the company’s regulatory problems and the possibility of a future U.S.-based IPO. Binance has had issues with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) when the regulator issued a consumer warning against the crypto trading platform. Besides the UK, Binance has received warnings from Italy , Lithuania , Thailand , Japan , Ontario , and South Africa . Payment providers like Visa and Mastercard are m

On July 22, developers working on the platform Reddit, the social news discussion aggregation forum, revealed that the team was scaling Reddit’s community points program with the Ethereum Layer-2 solution Arbitrum. Currently, Reddit developers are testing the community point tokens on top of the Rinkeby testnet and will migrate to the Ethereum mainnet after testing is complete. Reddit Leverages Ethereum-Compatible Layer-2 Scaling Solution Arbitrum Reddit developers detailed on Thursday that the programmers are planning to leverage the Layer-2 scaling solution Arbitrum , a cryptocurrency platform that claims to make smart contracts scalable, fast, and private. Last year, Reddit launched the company’s community points on Ethereum in order to make the point system “decentralized.” Then Reddit hosted a Scaling Bake-Off in order to best scale the project on Ethereum’s mainnet. Following the scaling event, Reddit developers said they were impressed by Arbitrum’s rollup technology. The

In line with its hardline stance on cryptocurrencies, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has issued a recommendation against the listing of securities tied to crypto assets on the country’s stock exchanges. The “preventive measure” will not affect state-issued digital currencies. Bank of Russia Worried About Common Investors’ Exposure to Crypto Derivatives Russia’s central banking institution, known as Bank of Russia, has again expressed its misgivings regarding decentralized money. Cryptocurrencies and digital assets are characterized by high volatility, lack of pricing transparency, low liquidity, technological, regulatory and other specific risks, the financial authority said this week, emphasizing: The purchase of financial instruments linked to them entails increased risks of losses for people who do not have sufficient experience and knowledge. The new warning came as part of a recently issued recommendation for Russian exchanges not to allow the trading of domestic or for

On Friday, the game token utilized within the Axie Infinity gaming realm has once again captured another all-time price high at $32.17 per unit. The game token has outperformed a great majority of crypto assets by commanding more than 844% in gains during the last month. Axie Infinity Outperforms Crypto Competitors The cryptocurrency community is chatting about the token axie infinity (AXS) again this week as the crypto asset has captured new price highs. On July 23, 2021, during the early morning trading sessions (EDT), AXS tapped an all-time high (ATH) at $32.17 per unit. The price of AXS has slid more than 3% from the ATH since, and is currently trading for $31.55 per unit at the time of writing. Over the last 24 hours, AXS has jumped a whopping 28.6% and 150.0% in two weeks. AXS/USD on July 23, 2021, at 9:30 am EDT. Out of the more than 10,000 crypto assets in existence, the AXS market valuation is currently ranked in the 53rd position. The AXS market cap is around $1.9 bil

The deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revealed that the central bank is planning to launch a state-backed digital currency in phases so that it would have “little or no disruption to India’s banking or monetary systems.” RBI Plans ‘Phased Implementation’ for Digital Rupee RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar talked about India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy on Thursday, local media reported. He explained that the “RBI has been exploring the pros and cons of introduction of CBDCs since quite some time,” elaborating: RBI is currently working towards a phased implementation strategy and examining use cases which could be implemented with little or no disruption to India’s banking or monetary systems. According to the central bank, a CBDC “is the same as a fiat currency and is exchangeable one-to-one with the fiat currency,” Sankar described, adding that “Only its form is different.” He noted that “Generally, count

Government and business representatives have produced a roadmap to transform Ukraine into a leader in cryptocurrency integration. The authors of the new strategy want to see half of Ukrainians using digital currencies by 2024. The East European nation is expected to regulate its crypto space by the end of this year. Strategy for Crypto Market Development Adopted in Ukraine As a country where cryptocurrencies have enjoyed a growing popularity, Ukraine now also has a strategy to develop its virtual asset market within the next three years. The plan has been presented by officials from the Ministry of Digital Transformation, other government institutions and representatives of the private sector, Forklog reported . The roadmap envisages various regulatory, educational and infrastructural activities. Participants in the initiative have already established almost a dozen working groups to achieve a set of goals. One of the key areas they intend to focus efforts on is the introduction o

Paxos, a regulated blockchain company, recently presented the basket of resources that back its stablecoins. Paxos Standard (PAX) and Binance USD (BUSD) are reportedly backed almost 100% by cash and cash equivalents. Dan Burstein, CCO of Paxos, harshly criticized Tether and Circle, issuers of other stablecoins, stating their products we’re not really stablecoins. Paxos Reveals Stablecoin Backing Basket Paxos, a blockchain-regulated company, revealed the basket of assets backing their issued stablecoin on Wednesday. The company, which issues Paxos Standard and Binance USD, two important stablecoins, presented a report that states 96% of the backing is comprised of cash and cash equivalents. While the cash is held in U.S. dollars at insured institutions, the cash equivalents are held in the form of U.S. Treasury bills with maturities of three months or less. The remaining 4% is comprised of U.S. Treasury bills that will mature in October 2021. Paxos explains these are separated from

On Friday, coinciding with the Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Muhammad Ali Enterprises and the fine auction house Sotheby’s will be auctioning a non-fungible token (NFT) that features a never-before-seen piece of original artwork created by Muhammad Ali. According to the announcement the digitized NFT artwork depicts Ali’s interpretation of the infamous 1971 ‘Fight of the Century.’ Luxury Auction House Unveils the Olympic Collection Featuring a Rare Muhammad Ali Piece of Digital Art This week Sotheby’s and Muhammad Ali Enterprises, the owner of all intellectual property and publicity rights attached to boxing legend Muhammad Ali, revealed a new NFT auction that will be displayed and auctioned on July 23. According to the announcement, the 1-of-1 NFT is a never-before-seen piece of artwork the boxer created himself. The art is to be revealed for the first time ever using NFT technology. The never-before-seen NFT art is estimated to achieve $10/20,000, according to the press anno

The Argentinian province of Misiones plans to issue its own stablecoin in the future. This is one of the objectives that a recently approved law, the Missionary Financial Innovation Program with Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Technology, proposes. Misiones will also use a blockchain to issue documents and certificates to digitalize much of its work. Misiones to Issue Stablecoin The Argentinian province of Misiones informed last week it plans to issue its own stablecoin. This is part of an economic plan that seeks to modernize the structure of the province through the implementation of blockchain and cryptocurrency technology. This plan, which is laid out in the Missionary Financial Innovation Program with Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Technology, a new law that was approved by deputies last week, also features the proposed digitalization of much of the work Misiones does today. This law would make Misiones the first province to implement the creation of its own stablecoin in Argent

Fresh off the heels of Blockfi’s issues with the ​​New Jersey Bureau of Securities, the company is now having problems in the state of Alabama. The director of the Alabama Securities Commission (ASC), Joseph Borg, explained on July 21 that he issued a show cause to the firm. Borg wants Blockfi to explain why the ASC should not copy New Jersey’s cease and desist as Alabama regulators also seem to believe they might be selling unregistered securities. Blockfi has received another order from the Texas State Securities (TSS) Board for the same reason. Alabama Securities Commission’s Show Cause Order Calls Blockfi Accounts Unregistered Securities, Texas Joins the Crackdown The director of the Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) Joseph Borg told the press on July 21 that Blockfi was sent an official show cause order. A show cause order is different from the cease and desist issued against Blockfi in New Jersey, as it gives the firm a chance to explain whether or not the order is justif

Coinbase now accepts commerce payments in dogecoin. With the addition of the meme crypto, Coinbase Commerce now allows customers to check out and pay with seven cryptocurrencies. Coinbase Commerce Now Supports Dogecoin Coinbase Commerce is a platform by the Nasdaq-listed Coinbase that “enables merchants anywhere in the world to accept cryptocurrency payments in a fully decentralized way,” its website describes. The company announced via Twitter Wednesday: We’re now accepting commerce payments in dogecoin (DOGE). According to its website, seven cryptocurrencies are now supported. Customers can “check out and pay with bitcoin, bitcoin cash, dai, ethereum, litecoin, dogecoin, or USD Coin.” The website further explains: “All payments facilitated by Coinbase Commerce are fully decentralized and peer-to-peer. This means that the cryptocurrency goes directly from your wallet to a wallet that is only accessible by the merchant. At no point in this flow does anyone except t

UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, says that clients are looking at different investment alternatives and there is a bit of a fear of missing out (FOMO) when it comes to cryptocurrency investments. UBS Says There Is a Bit of Fear of Missing Out The CEO of UBS Group AG, Ralph Hamers, talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with Bloomberg’s Manus Cranny, published Tuesday. Given that a growing number of investment banks are offering crypto services or investments with exposure to cryptocurrencies to their clients, he was asked what UBS is doing for its wealth management clients in terms of providing access to cryptocurrency investments. “Clients are looking at different alternatives,” he replied. “They hear about crypto and there is a bit of a fear of missing out [FOMO] as well.” The CEO elaborated: They read it in the papers but they also see the volatility so honestly we advise with caution and we don’t offer it actively … We feel the crypto itself is still an untested asset

Global investment bank JPMorgan has reportedly green-lighted its advisors to provide clients with access to five cryptocurrency funds. The funds are available to all JPMorgan’s wealth management clients seeking investment advice. The move makes JPMorgan the first large bank to expand crypto trading access beyond just ultra-wealthy clients. JPMorgan Now Offers Access to Crypto Funds JPMorgan has given its financial advisors the green light to give all its clients access to cryptocurrency funds, the Insider reported Thursday, citing people directly familiar with the matter. This move makes JPMorgan the first large bank to expand crypto trading access beyond just ultra-wealthy clients, the publication conveyed. In a memo distributed earlier this week, JPMorgan told its advisors that effective July 19, they can take orders to buy and sell five cryptocurrency products. Four of them are from Grayscale Investments: the Bitcoin Trust, Bitcoin Cash Trust, Ethereum Trust, and Ethereum Clas