Nigeria Passes ‘National Blockchain Policy,’ Industry Player Says Central Bank Unlikely to Lift Crypto Ban

The Nigerian Federal government said on May 3 it had passed what it called the “national blockchain policy.” The Nigerian minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami, said the new policy is a product of consultations with 56 institutions and personalities. Lucky Uwakwe, the founder of the technology service delivery company Sabi Group, said … Read more

Report: Korean Central Bank to Gain Right to Probe Virtual Asset Entities After Financial Regulator Drops Opposition

The South Korean central bank is set to be granted the right to investigate virtual assets after the Financial Services Commission (FSC) dropped its opposition to the move. According to a report, the FSC dropped its opposition to the central bank’s bid after it was accused of seeking to make itself the country’s sole regulator … Read more

ECB President Lagarde Warns of ‘Major Disaster’ If US Defaults on Debt Obligations

There is a lot of discussion lately about the U.S. government’s debt ceiling and whether Congress will act before defaulting. In a recent interview, Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), said she is confident the U.S. can maintain its debt obligations. However, she warned that if the U.S. were to default … Read more

Yellen Says US ‘Not Willing to Allow Contagious Bank Runs,’ Calls OPEC Oil Production Cut ‘Unconstructive’

Roughly 26 days ago and in the following days, the U.S. witnessed two significant bank failures when Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed. After speaking at an event on Monday at Yale University, Janet Yellen, the current U.S. Treasury secretary, told reporters that she was closely monitoring the banking industry. Yellen insisted that “matters … Read more

Senate Banking Committee Holds Hearing on Recent Bank Collapses, Calls for Tougher Regulations

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, also known as the Senate Banking Committee, held a hearing to discuss the recent bank collapses in the United States and the regulatory response. Throughout the testimonies, digital assets and crypto businesses were mentioned. Senate Banking Committee chairman Sherrod Brown claimed on Tuesday … Read more

Treasury Secretary Yellen Holds Unscheduled Meeting With Top Financial Regulators Amid Turmoil in Banking Sector

U.S. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen initiated an unscheduled Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) meeting with the country’s top financial regulators on Friday amid issues plaguing the U.S. banking sector. Banking stocks and all four U.S. benchmark indexes fell again on Friday as the government’s efforts last week failed to quell the country’s financial calamity. Janet … Read more

Biden Administration’s Economic Report Deems Crypto Assets ‘Mostly Speculative Investment Vehicles’

On Monday, U.S. president Joe Biden published the administration’s economic report and addressed the subject of cryptocurrencies. The section titled “The Perceived Appeal of Crypto Assets” describes the currencies as “mostly speculative investment vehicles” that are “unbacked” and “traded without fundamental anchors.” The White House insists that crypto assets do not deliver on their promises … Read more

Several Major Central Banks Take Coordinated Action to Boost Liquidity Amidst Banking Crisis

On Sunday evening, March 19, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with several central banks including the Bank of England, Bank of Canada, Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank, announced a coordinated action to enhance the provision of liquidity via the standing U.S. dollar … Read more

Google Trends Data Reveals Searches for ‘Banking Crisis,’ ‘Bank Runs,’ Skyrocket

Interest in the U.S. banking crisis has risen greatly over the past two weeks, as shown by Google Trends data. There has been a sharp increase in queries related to search terms such as “banking crisis,” “bank collapse,” and “bank failure.” On March 13, 2023, the search term “banking crisis” reached the top Google Trends … Read more

UBS Considers Acquiring Credit Suisse, Requests Government Backstop in Deal

After Credit Suisse Group AG announced it would borrow 50 billion Swiss francs from the Swiss National Bank, UBS Group AG is reportedly considering acquiring the banking giant. However, UBS is requesting that the government issue a backstop to protect against any losses if it purchases Credit Suisse. According to unnamed sources familiar with the … Read more