‘Chinese Invented Paper Money and They Will End It’- Brazil’s Far-Left Praises Digital Yuan  

Digital currencies, those issued by central banks in particular, have been commended for their “disruptive nature.” The praise comes from a publication associated with one of Brazil’s far-left parties. A recently published article claims that CBDCs such as China’s digital yuan can radically change global finances and government policies. Digital Yuan to Do Away With … Read more

Kenyan Regulator Commends Its Regulatory Sandbox— Says the Test Phase Enables It to Have Interactions With Innovators

According to a new report published by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya, the country’s regulatory sandbox has now received 24 applications, queries, and proposals since March 2019. From this total, only seven firms have been admitted into the sandbox, and “a few more (are now) in the final stages of review.” However, just … Read more

Venture Capitalist Proposes a Single Decentralized Crypto as a Solution to Boost Africa’s Inter-Regional Trade

South African venture capitalist, Michael Jordaan, recently suggested that a single decentralized cryptocurrency may be the solution that brings great benefits to inter-regional trade and investment in Africa. According to Jordaan, who is also the former CEO of one of South Africa’s leading banks, FNB, such a single African currency “would go a long way … Read more

Danske Bank Lowers Negative Rate Threshold, Denmark’s Business Minister Says ‘Enough is Enough’

On April 26, 2021, the Danish multinational banking and financial services corporation Danske Bank published a press release explaining that the institution has changed the threshold for personal customers and standard interest rates for business customers in Denmark. The Bank plans to lower the threshold for charging negative interest on deposits from DKK 100,000 to … Read more

The Global Economy Comes Before Savers: ECB President Christine Lagarde Defends Negative Interest Rates

The European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is keeping the central bank’s monetary easing policies unchanged according to her statements from a press conference last Thursday. Moreover, the central bank’s Twitter account recently shared a video of Lagarde defending negative interest rates, as the bank’s President stresses that they “support companies and people in the … Read more

An ECB Board Member Attacks Bitcoin, Says It ‘Does Not Fulfill the Basic Properties of Money’

Isabel Schnabel, a board member with the European Central Bank (ECB), has attacked bitcoin claiming the crypto asset “does not fulfill the basic properties of money.” She also describes bitcoin as a “speculative asset without any recognizable fundamental value and is subject to massive price swings.” Schnabel also surmises that trust in “cryptocurrencies might rapidly … Read more

African Migrants Are Turning to Cryptocurrency Platforms for ‘Low-Fee Remittances’

As central banks on the African continent fight to keep cryptocurrencies from going mainstream, many more migrant workers are increasingly turning to money-sending platforms that use cryptocurrencies when moving funds across borders. More Than Just an Investment Thus in addition to becoming a “hot investment for hedge funders and corporate moguls,” crypto-assets like bitcoin are … Read more

Microsoft President Says the World Is Best Served When Currencies Are Issued and Backed by Governments

Microsoft President Brad Smith says that “The world is best served when currencies are issued, backed by and regulated by governments.” He further emphasized that he is not a fan of encouraging the private sector to issue digital currencies. Microsoft’s President Says Currency Issuance Should Be Left to Governments Brad Smith, President of Microsoft Corp., … Read more

Goldman Sachs Reports Rising Customer Demand for BTC: Predicts an ‘Explosion’ in the Use of Digital Currencies

John Waldron, the chief operating officer (COO) of Goldman Sachs, says the financial services giant is seeing rising customer demand to own and invest in bitcoin. Nevertheless, the COO explained that his organization was still exploring ways of satisfying this demand without running afoul of regulators. ‘How Banks Should Be Regulated When Dealing With Digital … Read more