Busan, South Korea's second most-populous city after Seoul, is considering the launch of a local cryptocurrency, Korean tech news publication ETnews reports July 1. According to the report, Busan city authorities are seeking to develop a blockchain-based digital currency project in collaboration with BNK Busan Bank, a subsidiary of local holding company BNK Financial Group. Specifically, Busan is reportedly developing a crypto project in the form of stablecoin, a cryptocurrency pegged 1:1 to the local currency in the BNK Busan bank account. By issuing a local digital currency, Busan expects to revive the local economy, as well as to secure …

The head of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has appeared to U-turn on issuing digital currencies after a fresh interview with the Financial Times on June 30. Speaking to the publication, BIS chief Augustin Carstens actively endorsed the creation and issuance of digital versions of national fiat currencies. “Many central banks are working on it; we are working on it, supporting them,” he said. “And it might be that it is sooner than we think that there is a market and we need to be able to provide central bank digital currencies.” The comments struck a curious note with …

The CEO of transactions firm NZIA Ltd, Jay Joe, says Bahamian tech startups will need to lead the development of Project Sand Dollar, according to a report by the Nassau Guardian on May 31. Project Sand Dollar is an initiative to tokenize the Central Bank of the Bahamas’ (CBOB) fiat currency as a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is supposed to launch in the Bahamian district Exuma this year. Joe discussed how he thinks participation from local banks, small and medium-sized enterprises, and entrepreneurs in CBDC implementation will be crucial to the budding token’s adoption. He also commented on …

The Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBOB) will enter an official agreement for development of a digital fiat currency system on May 30, local news agency the Nassau Guardian reports on May 29. Tomorrow, the CBOB will sign an official agreement with transaction provider NZIA.io in order to build and implement “Project Sand Dollar,” the first digital currency in the Bahamas, the report notes. The Bahamian central bank first announced NZIA as its key collaborator for the project in early March 2019, along with Singapore-based software development firm Zynesis. The “Project Sand Dollar” initiative will be an “integrated, affordable electronic …

The director of Russia’s federal security service, the FSB, has warned that terror groups are increasingly being financed through cryptocurrencies, Russian news site RBK reported on May 21. FSB head Alexander Bortnikov said global terrorist organizations have been mastering the use of virtual currencies for some time, along with encrypted communication tools that enable them to evade security services. He added: “Electronic payment systems and cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by terrorists to move money received from some states and organizations that support the global terrorist network.” According to Bortnikov, terror groups are also raising funds through the slave trade …

The team behind a private digital currency for secure payments says its goal is to make every consumer their own bank — enabling them to send and receive crypto with the gadget of their choice. Xeonbit says its peer-to-peer technology ensures that every user’s accounts and transactions are “out of reach to any prying eyes.” A feature known as “ring signatures” means public keys are shuffled in order to ensure that particular users cannot be identified once a transaction has taken place. The startup says this is not at the expense of speed, scalability or security. In a blog post …

An adviser to the President of Russia has proposed to adopt a digital currency in Crimea to attract investors and avoid sanctions, local news agency TASS reports April 19. Sergey Glazyev, advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin on regional economic integration, urged the government to adopt “digital money technologies” to reduce “cross-border barriers,” the official said at the Yalta International Economic Forum (YIEF). According to Glazyev, adoption of digital currencies will “sharply reduce cross-border barriers” and will attract foreign investors who “are afraid of sanctions,” which are “generally carried out through the banks.” The official reportedly elaborated that digital money …

The central bank of Russia has reviewed the potential benefits and drawbacks of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in a policy brief published on April 18. In the document, entitled “Is there a future for central bank digital currencies,” the Central Bank of the Russian Federation outlined a number of potential benefits of CBDCs, such as their capability to reduce transaction costs in the economy, as well as provide an asset that is less risky and more liquid. However, the Bank of Russia noted that CBDCs’ potential to minimize transaction costs can be only realized in case a technical solution …

This article has been updated to reflect that Algorand is not planning an ERC-20 token sale. Digital currency and transaction platform Algorand has released its public testnet to gather feedback on its product, the company confirmed in a press release on April 16. Algorand, the brainchild of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Silvio Micali, seeks to build an app development platform for enterprises. The project previously obtained $66 million in funding, releasing the testnet to a limited group of participants prior to the public rollout. Among them was Top Network, a decentralized cloud communication service which subsequently formed a …

The head of United States regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reiterated its focus on the cryptocurrency space in a new speech on April 8. Speaking at the SEC Speaks conference in Washington, chairman Jay Clayton highlighted the digital currency space while giving a broad overview of the organization’s activities and roles. Clayton chose to touch principally on instances where existing laws had been used to deal with noncompliance from crypto entities. “In the digital assets space, [...] the Division of Enforcement has brought cases that demonstrate that there is a path to compliance with the federal securities laws …

Jameel Ahmad, the deputy governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the nation’s central bank, declared that the institution aims to issue a digital currency by 2025, Pakistani YouTube news channel Public News reported on April 1. English-language local media Dawn also reported today that Asad Umar, Pakistan’s finance minister, prompted the official’s statement during a ceremony celebrating the launch of Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) on Monday, April 1. According to Dawn, the minister asked the federal investigation agency and the central bank to ensure that the new system will feature cybersecurity. Umar purportedly claimed that a single high …

Hong Kong trading and asset management firm Branding China Group (BC Group) is launching an insured custody service for cryptocurrencies, the company confirmed in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on April 1. BC Group, which owns a portfolio of various blockchain companies, including cryptocurrency trading platform Anxone and digital asset brokerage OSL, said it decided to build the service to respond to the needs of institutional investors in Asia. Its release, it says, constitutes the first such insured custody solution for crypto assets available locally, but will use United Kingdom-based insurers. “BC Group’s custody service removes one of the …