Iran is reportedly negotiating with eight countries to carry out financial transactions in cryptocurrency, local daily newspaper Tehran Times reports on Monday, Jan. 28. According to the article, Iran has already entered negotiations with Switzerland, South Africa, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, Germany and Bosnia, and the countries have reportedly visited Iran to discuss the matter. It was not immediately clear whether the news concerns the national cryptocurrency that Iran is allegedly set to launch vin the near future. However, the article notes that the talks on crypto transactions were held order to circumvent the ongoing United States sanctions …

A working group of South African financial regulatory organizations has released a consultation paper focused on cryptocurrencies, calling for public input to develop a cryptocurrency regulation policy for the country. This latest consultation paper is the most in-depth review of cryptocurrencies from South African financial institutions since an initial public statement on what it calls crypto assets was issued by South African authorities back in 2014. The group that was responsible for putting together this consultation paper is comprised of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), the National Treasury (NT), the South African Revenue Service …

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has issued a consultation paper assessing the benefits and risks of cryptocurrencies. The paper, developed jointly with a number of the country’s government agencies, was announced in an official statement published Jan. 16. In the document, titled “Consultation Paper on Policy Proposals for Crypto Assets,” South Africa’s government clarifies that it does not intend to ban either cryptocurrency trading, or crypto payments at the moment. The consultation paper further proposes that all crypto asset trading platforms, as well as custodial services, payment service providers, and crypto ATMs, should be required to register with the …

South Africa’s national cricket organization briefly fell victim to scammers on Twitter and began offering a fake Bitcoin (BTC) lottery, Indian daily news outlet Indian Express reported on Jan. 14. Cricket South Africa (CSA), which has over 1 million followers, tweeted its alleged participation in the scheme in the early morning. Staff claimed the organization had begun a partnership with Luno, a United Kingdom-based cryptocurrency wallet, through which users could win a prize worth 20 BTC ($70,900). The now-deleted tweet included a Bitcoin address to which those wishing to be involved should send a 0.01 BTC, and was active for …

A new report published on Jan. 8 by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has found that seventy percent of central banks worldwide are conducting research into central bank digital currency (CBDC) issuance. However, concrete plans for implementation and motivations vary considerably across contexts. The BIS is an organization based in Switzerland made up of 60 of the world’s central banks, and has to date devoted a number of major reports to both decentralized cryptocurrencies and CBDCs. The latter are distinct from the former in that they are digital currencies issued by a central bank, whose legal tender status depends …

A crypto assets regulatory working group dedicated to crypto and blockchain has been established by the South African (SA) government. English-language local news outlet BusinessLive reported on the development on Jan. 2. Tito Mboweni — the South African finance minister — declared: “It is anticipated that, following broad industry comment and participation, the crypto assets regulatory working group will be ready to release a final research paper on the subject during the course of 2019.” The finance minister further noted that the SA Revenue Service is working to include cryptocurrencies in the tax forms for the next year. The taxation …

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies have proliferated the minds of millions across the world, as trading and crypto asset ownership continues to rise. In the same breathe, many countries across the world have taken a tough stance against cryptocurrencies in particular. Some, like China, have outlawed their use, while others like Malta are at the forefront of cryptocurrency and blockchain development. In an African context, this sector is slowly growing. At the southern end of the continent, South Africa sits in an interesting position. As one of the bigger economic hubs of Africa, it has the potential to lead the way in …

The Union Cabinet of India has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the collaborative research of distributed ledger technology (DLT), local news outlet ANI reported September 12. The Union Cabinet is the supreme decision-making body in India consisting of cabinet ministers and led by the prime minister, Narendra Modi. The MOU, which is a cooperative initiative under the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism, aims to foster better understanding of DLT and define areas where the technology can be deployed to improve operational efficiency. The research will be jointly conducted by the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and banks from …

Five major banks from each BRICS member state signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the development of distributed ledger technology (DLT), according to an official press release July 26. During the 10th International BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, banks from the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed to a joint study of DLT technology like blockchain, “in the interests of the development of the digital economy.” BRICS countries have met annually since 2009 to discuss initiatives for economic, cultural, and political cooperation between member states. The State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs …

Pan-African financial services company Old Mutual Limited has released an annual Savings and Investment Monitor survey for South Africa, which polled respondents on awareness of and attitude toward cryptocurrencies in the country. The recent study revealed that respondents generally have a positive regard of digital currencies, with 38 percent of respondents agreeing with the statement “I wish I had invested in [crypto] before” and 71 percent agreeing that “You can make a lot of money with them.” However, 43 percent of respondents agreed with the statement “They are bad news, like a pyramid scheme” and 53 percent said they do …

South Africa’s Central Bank (SARB) has successfully piloted a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) for an interbank payment system that tokenizes fiat using Quorum, according to an SARB press release published June 5th. Quorum is an Ethereum-based private blockchain. According to SARB’s report on the pilot, dubbed ‘Project Khokha,’ all of the bank’s goals were successfully achieved, the primary aim being “to build a proof of-concept (PoC) wholesale payment system for interbank settlement using a tokenized South African rand on distributed ledger technology (DLT).” The project further aimed to investigate the “interconnected” issues of the platform’s scalability, resilience, confidentiality, and finality. Seven South …

Sygnia Asset Management, a major South African investment firm with 180 bln rand ($14.5 bln) under management, has revealed that it will launch a cryptocurrency exchange later this year, BusinessTech reported May 25. Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka said the company would launch its cryptocurrency exchange, dubbed ‘SygniaCoin,’ in the third quarter of 2018: “The cryptocurrency market is evolving at a rapid pace internationally and domestically, and is attracting both domestic and international flows. With its fintech focus, Sygnia is well-positioned to become the first major financial services institution to embrace cryptocurrencies and to offer investors a secure trading and execution …