Facebook’s crypto project Libra will potentially create a “shadow banking” system, according to the banks at the Federal Advisory Council (FAC). U.S. banks fear Libra will reduce payment volumes After the United States Federal Reserve asked some of the nation’s largest banks about Libra, the banks expressed their negative stance towards the project, outlining the risks of potential decline in demand-deposit accounts and bank payment volumes, Bloomberg reports Sept. 30. Libra and similar stablecoin projects, where a digital coin is pegged to an underlying value consisting of one or more fiat currencies, also pose a possible challenge to the bank …
Banking is often seen as the antithesis of Bitcoin (BTC), the very industry the nascent protocol looks to defuse and disrupt. Ironically, many banks are desperately in need of the attributes and facilities afforded by cryptocurrencies — specifically blockchain, their underlying technology. Perhaps then, it’s not too surprising that more and more cryptocurrency banks are springing up, offering an alternative to tired legacy systems and allowing room for an emerging asset class. However, some significant hurdles remain for these emerging institutions. Regulatory uncertainties are rife within the world of cryptocurrency banking. Ill-equipped regulatory bodies often attempt to pen in budding …
The United States Senate Banking Committee is set to hold a broader debate on crypto and blockchain regulatory frameworks next week. An official committee announcement indicates the hearing — entitled “Examining Regulatory Frameworks for Digital Currencies and Blockchain” — will take place on July 30. The planned witnesses will be Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of payments company Circle, who will speak on behalf of The Blockchain Association; Rebecca M. Nelson, a specialist in International Trade and Finance at “Congress’s think tank,” the Congressional Research Service; and Professor of Law Mehrsa Baradaran, from the Irvine School of Law at the …
The annual Crypto Finance Conference (CfC), an international conference on digital asset and blockchain conceived for sophisticated investors and decision makers, will be held on Jan. 20–22, 2021. Among featured speakers there will be representatives of Winklevoss Capital, Swiss National Bank, the European Parliament, Ledger and others. Cointelegraph serves as the main media partner for the CfC St. Moritz 2021 and prepared a special page dedicated to the event. The program of the three-day event will include discussions on the macro-perspective and micro-perspective on the industry – on Jan. 20 and 21, and focus events about social impact and decentralization …
A couple of United States lawmakers are looking to classify stablecoins as securities. With Libra considering adopting fiat-pegged stablecoins rather than a single token supported by a basket of national currencies, the proposed crypto project might be facing yet another regulatory hurdle. Meanwhile, lawmakers sponsoring the bill say stablecoins should be classified as securities to protect U.S. consumers. If passed, stablecoin projects like Libra will potentially fall under the purview of stringent U.S. securities regulations. Critics of the move remark that such measures only serve to further dampen the country’s position in the emerging digital landscape. Some commentators have long …