US$1.5B South Korean ‘kimchi premium’ crypto scheme prompts 33 arrests
Customs officers use foreign exchange law to shut down cycle of foreign remittances and arbitrage.
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Key takeaways from FATF’s latest report on virtual assets
The Financial Action Task Force — the global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards-setter — this week released its second 12-month review on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, and called on countries to implement the revised FATF standards, including travel rule requirements “as soon as possible.” “The global nature of the underpinning technology…
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France, Singapore complete cross-border CBDC test
The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Banque de France today announced the successful completion of a wholesale cross-border payment and settlement experiment using multiple central bank digital currencies (m-CBDCs). Fast facts The experiment between the two central banks, supported by J.P. Morgan’s Onyx, simulated cross-border transactions and cross-currency transactions involving a Singapore dollar CBDC…
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Stablecoins could pose risks to global financial system, Chinese central bank official says
Warning comes as Beijing ramps up efforts to internationalize China’s currency through launch of digital yuan.
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Blockchain-based digital invoicing rollout continues apace in China
China’s blockchain-based digital invoicing systems are being increasingly put into large-scale use in major cities and provinces. Fast facts Blockchain-based digital invoicing is being used in multiple sectors in Hainan Province, China’s only free-trade port. Digital invoicing systems are in use in 2,795 organizations, including courts, schools and banks, according to Securities Daily, a Chinese…
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Jamaican state digital currency set for launch next month
The Bank of Jamaica’s much-anticipated central bank digital currency will launch next month, according to a report by the Jamaica Observer. Fast facts Previously due to launch in May, the CBDC will initially be implemented through the National Commercial Bank — the biggest financial institution in the country — before being expanded to other banks…
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Israel authorities order seizure of cryptocurrencies from Palestinian resistance group Hamas
Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing has issued a seizure order against 84 cryptocurrency addresses associated with Palestinian resistance group Hamas as it looks to confiscate holdings of Bitcoin, Tether, Dogecoin and other cryptos. Fast facts “This action comes after a sizable uptick in cryptocurrency donations to Hamas in May following increased fighting between…
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Spending on crypto-linked Visa cards exceeds $1B in first half of 2021
More than US$1 billion was spent on crypto-linked Visa cards in the first six months of 2021, according to a Visa blog post this week. Fast facts Apart from enabling customers to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin using its cards, Visa has partnered with 50 crypto platforms on card programs — such as Coinbase, the largest…
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Argentina proposes allowing salaries to be paid in crypto
An Argentine lawmaker presented a bill this week to allow employees and those exporting services abroad to be paid in cryptocurrency, Yahoo News reports. Fast facts Congressman José Luis Ramón said that he presented this bill to allow Argentina’s people — whose local currency, the peso, currently suffers from roughly 50% inflation a year —…
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How is blockchain going to disrupt capital markets?
In the first of a special two-part report, Lucas Schweiger of Blockdata explores what the future of capital markets could look like with blockchain-based infrastructure.