Coming every Sunday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link. Top Stories This Week New York district court postpones Telegram’s TON hearing to 2020 It looks like we’re all going to be waiting a while for the legal showdown between Telegram and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. A district court in New York has said the next hearing will be held on Feb. 18 and 19 next …
The German-speaking world has seen another week of events in the crypto industry, with a new survey revealing that 27% of Germans are interested in using Facebook’s planned Libra stablecoin, which has been discussed all over the world since its announcement in June 2019. Despite existing criticism of Libra, global regulators do not plan to ban either Facebook's crypto initiative or other stablecoin projects, the European Central Bank (ECB) director claimed earlier this week. Here is the past week of crypto and blockchain news in review, as originally reported by Cointelegraph auf Deutsch. Lykke launches utility token to bet against …
Earlier in October 2019, Binance announced a fiat on-ramp for crypto trading via Chinese payment services Alipay and WeChat. This move was part of the exchange giant’s peer-to-peer (P2P) trading rollout for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT) against the Chinese yuan. The public nature of this announcement did bring questions to the fore regarding the use of payment channels like Alipay and WeChat for crypto trading. Alipay did, in fact, release statements distancing itself from cryptocurrency trading activities, with Binance later clarifying that it wasn’t working directly with the aforementioned payment services. Meanwhile the evolving narrative around the …
The G20 finance chiefs of the world agree that global stablecoins give rise to a set of public policy and regulatory risks. On Oct. 18, Reuters reported that the G20, an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union, have called upon the International Monetary Fund to examine various macroeconomic implications of global stablecoins, including monetary sovereignty issues in its member countries. Members say stablecoins pose a serious risk to global finance Per the report, the nations agreed that global acceptance of stablecoins will give rise to a set of serious public …
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has said that Facebook’s not-yet-released Libra stablecoin is “a neat idea that will never happen.” Dimon delivered his comments during a speech at the Institute of International Finance conference on Friday, BNN Bloomberg reported on Oct. 18. Dimon said that the idea behind Libra is not unique and further turned the conversation to his company’s own stablecoin, JPM Coin, revealing that JPMorgan is spending over $11 billion on technological developments this year. JPM Coin vs. Libra Dimon thus cemented his previous statements about Facebook’s coin, when he claimed that Libra does not pose a threat …
German Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz has doubled down on his previous statement that policymakers should prevent the issuance of Facebook’s Libra stablecoin. At the International Monetary Fund and World Bank fall meeting on Friday, Scholz stressed that stablecoins could pose international risks, Reuters reported on Oct. 18. Scholz expressed his utter skepticism regarding the social media giant’s plans, stating: “We will carefully monitor the situation with all the means at our disposal. I am not in favour of the successful creation of such a world currency because that is the responsibility of democratic states.” Scholz notes that the …
Global monetary watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has added its voice to the growing chorus of concerns over Facebook’s Libra and other stablecoins. Mass adoption of such currencies could hinder efforts to detect and stamp out money laundering and terrorist financing, Reuters reported on Oct. 18. Managing the potential risks of mass adoption Speaking to reporters in Paris, FATF president Xiangmin Liu said that both stablecoins — and the companies behind them — would be subject to global standards on cryptocurrencies and traditional financial assets: “If stablecoins were to become widespread, it could potentially lead to new risks …
A G7 task force reports that stablecoins, such as Facebook’s Libra, present significant risk to the global financial system but also have potential in the field of payments. Doubling down on regulations On Oct. 18, in a report requested by the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors, the task force confirmed that the group of the seven wealthiest nations would not allow any global stablecoin to launch without adequately addressing the related challenges and risks. Cointelegraph reported on an unpublished draft of the same report on Oct. 14. The full report reads: “No global stablecoin project should begin operation …
Almost three-quarters of German consumers would not use Facebook's planned digital currency Libra, according to a recent poll. Only 27 percent considers using Libra On Oct. 17, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reported that out of 2,000 Germans aged 16 and over, only 27% would ever consider using the social network’s stablecoin as a means of payment at home or abroad. The poll was conducted on behalf of the Wirtschaftswoche business news magazine and Creditplus Bank AG. The results indicate that 73% completely reject the idea of Libra as a digital currency — 42% because they do not trust Facebook as a …
United States Senator Mike Rounds has expressed his support for Facebook’s Libra coin in a letter sent to the Anchorage Trust, a member of the nonprofit Libra Association. United States payment systems in its infancy On Oct. 17, Rounds wrote to Nathan McCauley, president of crypto custodian company Anchorage Trust, where he expressed his concerns that other parts of the world are “dwarfing” the United States in innovative payment technologies. The Senator points to the people’s Republic of China, where 80% of consumers used mobile payment systems last year, compared to only 10% in the U.S. According to the Senator, …
Facebook’s dream of being a cryptocurrency giant is seemingly becoming more distant by the day, as increasing regulatory uncertainty continues to jeopardize the company’s Libra project. While Libra has been surrounded by anything but good news even before its launch, crypto watchers should ask themselves, Does Bitcoin need Libra to thrive at all? A crypto world without Libra — is that a good thing or not? What would a no-Libra crypto world be like, and how would that impact Bitcoin? Scrutiny Despite its innovative approach and its ambition as a global currency, Facebook’s Libra seems to remain an unwelcome presence …
France’s economy and finance minister has repeated his criticism of Facebook’s digital currency Libra, saying he cannot allow its existence. Le Maire: France has “clear position” on Libra In an opinion piece for the Financial Times on Oct. 17, Bruno Le Maire claimed Libra would take power over currency away from national governments. His comments echo similar reservations from Germany’s finance minister, Olaf Scholz, earlier this month. Le Maire wrote: “I cannot countenance one of a sovereign state’s most powerful tools, monetary policy, falling under the remit of entities not subject to democratic control.” France has taken a hardline stance …