Brazil's Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, said during an online event this Tuesday that Brazil "is about to" join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and that the Brazilian government has plans to launch a public offering of shares (IPO) for the newly-created digital bank of Caixa Econômica Federal. Caixa Econômica Federal created a digital bank during the pandemic to help the government send financial aid to around 64 million Brazilians. Guedes’ comments came during the Milken Institute Global Conference, during which he said that the Central Bank is working to attract new investors for the country. One …

Financial authorities in New Zealand are in no hurry to issue a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, according to a central bank executive. Christian Hawkesby, assistant governor at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, claimed that the country has “no imminent plans” to issue a CBDC. In a speech on Monday, Hawkesby said that the bank remains open-minded about further progress in money and payment technologies and has actively engaged in CBDC research. He said: “To issue currency that meets the needs of the public, we must take a new and holistic approach. We acknowledge there is much work …

Major financial institutions in Japan are moving into blockchain to streamline digital identity systems. Japan’s third-largest bank, Mizuho Bank, and local payment giant JCB are preparing to pilot a digital identity interoperability system based on blockchain technology. The new system will utilize a blockchain solution developed by Fujitsu Laboratories, Fujitsu announced on Thursday. The new joint initiative will allow the companies to verify mechanisms to securely transfer and link member ID information by multiple business operators. This data includes names, addresses and employers stored on a cloud platform built by Fujitsu. The pilot will also involve 100 Fujitsu Group employees. …

“Fiat lux”, said God, having created heaven and earth, which was filled with darkness. And then, there was light. At least, that’s what the Holy Bible tells us. Translated to English, this Latin phrase means “let light be made.” For Christians, who much of the global population, these words mark the beginning of time and everything else. Eventually, there came a time when audacious, power-hungry, control-freak governments took the word “fiat” (literally meaning “it shall be” or “let it be done”) and used it to disguise one of the biggest shams ever — fiat currencies. Eons later, in 2009 A.D., …

Editor’s note Blockchain technology has attracted regulatory attention since its inception. The security of the Bitcoin network despite the value of BTC in play has consistently proved the resilience of blockchain technology in maintaining records across a vast range of parties. However, many countries have determined that Bitcoin doesn’t behave as a currency at all, or at least not a replacement for their own. The nations behind the world’s most-used fiat currencies have in many cases pointed to Bitcoin’s volatility as a critical flaw. They have decided that the rise of stablecoins, especially over the past two years, poses a …

A number of financial institutions in Russia have expressed interest in testing the country’s central bank digital currency, or CBDC. According to an Oct. 16 report by local news agency Izvestia, at least five Russian banks are interested in taking part in Russia’s non-public digital ruble pilots in the first half of 2021. The list of banks includes state-backed Promsvyazbank, the Credit Bank of Moscow, commercial bank Zenit, mortgage bank Dom.RF, and Crimea’s Russian National Commercial Bank. As reported, the latter wants to be actively involved in the first pilots in order to provide Crimea with the “most innovative banking …

A bankless world is inevitable due to the “natural evolution of technology,” according to a top executive at multi-billion dollar investment manager, Morgan Creek Capital. The firm’s CEO Mark Yusko believes that a “silent revolution” powered by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) will eventually lead the world to a bankless society. In an Oct. 13 interview with Brazilian Dash-focused YouTube channel Dash Dinheiro Digital, Yusko said that people around the world will, in time, be able to “bank themselves through crypto.” Despite his claims regarding a bankless society, the CEO noted that he does not mean banks will disappear entirely, stating: …

The European Central Bank launched a public consultation on a potential digital euro on Oct. 12. Developments on the central bank digital currency front in the Eurozone have picked up pace amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the central bank has framed its introduction to the public consultation with the claim that the issuance of a CBDC could help "cushion the impact of extreme events — such as natural disasters or pandemics — when traditional payment services may no longer function." Earlier this month, a Bloomberg report claimed that the ECB applied to trademark the term "digital euro" on Sept. 22, …

Alexander Lebedev, the owner of U.K. newspapers Evening Standard and The Independent, along with Russian publication Novaya Gazeta, has spoken glowingly of the potential for cryptocurrency and smart contracts to revolutionize finance. In an extensive 1800 word opinion piece published in The Independent on October 13, the billionaire predicted blockchain tech will disrupt what he described as a parasitic global banking oligopoly, asserting that “blockchain technologies and smart contracts will make it unnecessary to employ the vast majority of people in the financial sector.” Although he thinks the current “explosive growth of DeFi platforms is driven by a rapid influx …

Within a few years, a younger generation of financial services customers are going to be able to walk into a bank and gain access to credit products, savings accounts and investments that can host both crypto and fiat assets. In fact, the inroads that will allow for all of this to happen are already breaking ground. You probably already know that Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange based out of San Francisco, is now the first-ever cryptocurrency business in the United States to become a bank. For now, being an officially chartered bank means that Kraken will be able to offer more …

The major Chinese city of Shenzhen is launching a pilot program to promote the digital yuan with a public giveaway. In collaboration with the country's central bank, Shenzhen is planning to distribute a total of 10 million digital yuan ($1.5 million) — China’s central bank digital currency, local news agency Sina Finance reports Oct. 9. As reported, the giveaway pilot will be funded by Shenzhen's Luohu District. The giveaway money will be reportedly distributed to 50,000 recipients through a lottery. Shenzhen residents can start applying online to participate in the giveaway on Oct. 9. According to the report, each “gift” …

Revolution Populi has released layer one of a blockchain solution that the founding team believes could be used as a clearinghouse for crypto and traditional financial transactions. The protocol iterates over the delegated proof-of-stake consensus used by EOS, which employs 21 block producers. Revolution Populi calls its consensus rdPOS, where ‘r’ stands for random. The number of block producers is increased to 63, and 21 nodes are randomly picked as block producers for each round. The team believes that this setup allows for speed while preserving sufficient decentralization. Rob Rosenthal, the company's CEO who spent 19 years at Goldman Sachs …