In a June 4 announcement, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is looking for banks and crypto firms to weigh in on how the two can interact. Crypto meets banks The Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking asks banks and industry leaders to respond to a number of questions — notably: “What activities related to cryptocurrencies or cryptoassets are financial services companies or bank customers engaged in and what are the barriers or obstacles to further adoption of crypto-related activities in the banking industry?” Speaking to Cointelegraph, Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks described today’s announcement as looking to bridge …

Digital asset exchange DeCurret is leading Japan’s three megabanks in a new study group to look into developing a national digital settlement infrastructure. Convening with the oversight of the central bank and the country's financial watchdog — the Financial Services Agency (FSA) — Decurret said on June 3 that the group would seek to define a “direction for the realization of valuable digital currencies in Japan.” The group will be chaired by the former head of the Payment and Settlement Systems Department at the Bank of Japan, Hiromi Yamaoka. Participants include Japan’s leading banks — MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and …

Maerki Baumann, an unlisted family-owned bank in Switzerland, is expanding its cryptocurrency services by introducing crypto custody and trading. Following regulatory approval from the Swiss Financial Market Advisory Authority, or FINMA, Maerki Baumann will be offering its clients the trading and custody of crypto starting from June 2020. Five crypto assets will be available at the launch Announcing the news on May 29, the Zurich-based private bank said that the launch of new crypto features comes in line with Maerki Baumann’s crypto strategy initiated in early 2019. As part of the strategy, Maerki Baumann has been offering business accounts for …

In a recent response to a Right to Information query, the Reserve Bank of India, the Indian central bank, has stated that there is no prohibition on banks to provide bank accounts to cryptocurrency traders. But some banks have been arbitrarily denying services to crypto users and are still doing so. If there is no law banning crypto trading, as emphasized by India’s Supreme Court, and there is no prohibition on banks by the RBI, then why aren’t banks treating crypto-related activities on par with other legitimate activities? The RBI banking ban on crypto was set aside by the Supreme …

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, has authorized InCore bank to carry out digital assets transactions, allowing customers worldwide to access and transact within the bank. The official announcement represents an important step in creating a blockchain-friendly environment across the EU banking sector. InCore bank becomes the first Swiss business-to-business bank approved to operate within the crypto sphere. The firm now allows the institutional clients to trade, hold, and transfer digital assets. FINMA has also allowed the bank to develop its tokenization capabilities. Partnership with IT crypto-assets consulting firm Speaking with Finews.ch, Mark Dambacher, CEO of InCore Bank, …

A recent report suggests that the lack of traditional financial infrastructure makes Africa a place where cryptocurrency adoption is likely. The report — shared with Cointelegraph by a Luno representative on May 27 — sheds light on Africa’s financial infrastructure and the role that cryptocurrencies play in it. The author of the research, which was jointly conducted by market analysis firm Arcane Research and crypto exchange, Luno, wrote that the financial landscape seen on the continent plays a role in forming appetite for crypto in Africa: “Although it is a diverse region, African nations share some key similarities and trends. …

Leading cryptocurrency fund manager Grayscale Investments explained some fundamental differences in the nature of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and Bitcoin (BTC). In a recent report, Grayscale suggests that CBDCs are an upgrade to the traditional digital payment infrastructure, while Bitcoin is an upgraded version of money itself. The document reads: “CBDCs are sometimes viewed as synonymous to, or as replacements for, digital currencies like Bitcoin, but they represent a meaningful departure from the decentralized protocols inherent to many cryptocurrencies. CBDCs attempt to upgrade payment infrastructure while Bitcoin is an attempt to upgrade money. If CBDCs gain traction, they may …

What if the world was hit with another major disaster, but this time, it included global electrical failure? Would Bitcoin (BTC) survive, would it thrive, what about the banks? — We have the answers. Bitcoin consumes massive amounts of electricity and with the constant growth of the network, this number will only increase. The Bitcoin protocol relies on the internet for communication. Thus, if all of a sudden, if there was a disruption to the world’s electric grids, one might conclude that this would doom the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin Energy Consumption Relative to Countries. Source: Digiconomist. Bitcoin doesn’t need Internet However, …

Aren't we all searching for a safe haven? Whether we mean literal shelter — four walls and a roof over our heads — or something more sophisticated, the craving for a dependable defense against random chaos has always been our instinct. With the COVID-19 pandemic rearranging society at every level, the allure of a safe haven reigns supreme for our battered psyches. In the realm of financial instruments, the search for the safest of safe havens, also known as a store of value, has taken on a new urgency. Is Bitcoin (BTC) a safe haven? Will cryptocurrency prove to be …

As the largest among the United States’ “Big Four” banks, JPMorgan Chase comes across as an unlikely ally to digital asset service providers seeking to break through the glass ceiling still separating traditional and crypto finance. When the news broke on May 12 that the bank has been serving U.S.-based crypto exchanges Coinbase and Gemini since April, some digital finance experts saw it as a sign that the relationship may finally be thawing. Despite JPM’s CEO Jamie Dimon consistently disparaging cryptocurrencies’ aptitude as a financial instrument, the institution has not been dismissive of blockchain technology, most notably developing proprietary DLT-based …

Per a May 20 announcement from Banque de France, France has become the first country to successfully trial a digital euro, operational on a blockchain, following a call for new technology to back such a development at the end of March The bank says it tested a sale of securities for central bank digital currency (CBDC) on May 14, signalling the beginning of more robust testing. Wholesale rather than retail CBDC Though the bank’s announcement did not go into great detail, it did indicate that the current pilot program is focusing on wholesale rather than retail uses for a digital …

The crypto space and market cap is a small percentage of the trillions invested through the global equities market or the amount that the United States Federal Reserve is able to print. While the promise of blockchain technology and the future of Bitcoin (BTC) has been realized through major traditional players unveiling their own versions of the technology, their hesitant investment advice does not seem to match their actions. Real life application Recently, Cointelegraph reported that wealth manager Adam Pokornicky had claimed he almost lost a client to the opinions of the top financial holding companies in the world. Adam …