The United Arab Emirates becomes the latest country to join the race for experimenting with an in-house digital currency. According to the three-year plan for 2023-2026 that announces the launch of its digital currency, the Central Bank of the UAE, or CBUAE, intends to stand among the top 10 central banks across the world. CBUAE’s strategy involves seven objectives to help drive the country’s digital transformation ambitions, primarily focused on financial services. Gulf News reported that this transformation will be heavily dictated by the latest iterations of artificial intelligence and big data solutions. While UAE’s innovation strategy is aimed at …

“Shitcoin” may no longer be solely a term used to describe altcoin projects with questionable value propositions, as one South Korean university professor has taken the term to a more literal dimension. Cho Jae-weon of the National Institute of Science and Technology in Ulsan, South Korea, has created an eco-friendly toilet system that produces fertilizer and energy from human excrement. Jae-weon, a professor of urban and environmental engineering, said the toilet system incorporates a vacuum pump that redirects human waste into an underground tank to produce biogas (methane). The professor’s experiment is reportedly utilizing the biogas to power a university …

A Canadian business has become the world’s first publicly listed company to be entirely focused on the Lightning Network. LQwD FinTech Corp. trades under the symbols TSXV:LQWD, OTCQB: LQWDF. In November 2020, it was announced that Interlapse planned to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares in LQwD, a Bitcoin company that aims to provide enterprise-grade infrastructure, tools and liquidity to support the growth of the Lightning Network ecosystem. The Lightning Network is a layer-two solution that is built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain — delivering scalable, off-chain, instantaneous and cheap payments. According to LQwD, this technology “is …

The China Internet Finance Association has signed a joint statement with the China Banking Association and China Payment and Clearing Association, warning the public about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies. According to a report by Shanghai Securities News on Tuesday, the aforementioned trade association under the People’s Bank of China issued a communique titled “Preventing the risk of virtual currency transaction speculation.” The joint statement is reportedly an extension of previous releases from the PBoC about Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto risks. As part of the communique, the three associations outlined four issues related to crypto investment, beginning with a …

Adam Back, who invented the hashcash proof-of-work system and was one of the first people to work on bitcoin (BTC), spoke about the positive uses of blockchain at G20. Cointelegraph Japan reported on Back’s comments at a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Japan on June 8. Sitting next to the governor of the Dutch central bank, Back said he believed blockchain was another move to open networking — and said financial institutions stand to benefit from the technology because it would mean international transfers no longer need to go through intermediary banks with questionable creditworthiness. When …

One of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges by trading volume believes digital currencies can provide financial freedom to consumers in countries where instability and inflation are making fiat payments impractical. In the world of digital technology dominance, traditional global financial systems are facing hard times to transform in order to interact with the overwhelming demands around the globe, especially to developing countries. Issues such as a lack of access to stable banking and the high cost of currency exchange and remittances for migrant workers sending funds back home all contribute to perpetuating existing inequalities. However, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology could …

The General Directorate of Taxes (DGT) has announced that virtual currencies such as bitcoin will be exempt from value-added tax (VAT) in Spain, following the leads of the United Kingdom and Germany, who recently stated that they are considering taking bitcoin as a complementary currency. In response to the Binding Consultation V1029-15 submitted on the March 27, 2015, the DGT has announced that virtual currencies, which are considered to be a medium of payment, will be classified as financial services rather than simple goods or commodities. Under the “DIRECTIVE 2006/112/EC of November 28, 2006 on the common system of Value …