European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member, Fabio Panetta, has argued that a digital euro offers superior privacy protections than privately issued stablecoins. Panetta criticized the profit motive of private firms, emphasizing it is in their commercial interests to harvest masses of data on their users. “We are not like private companies,” the board member told Financial Times. “We have no commercial interest in storing, managing, or monetizing the data of users.” The ECB official also confirmed that the European Central Bank has carried out pilots testing “offline payments for small amounts, in which no data is recorded outside the …

Analysts at thAmerican multinational investment bank Morgan Stanley have estimated the likely changes in eurozone banks’ deposits should a digital euro be widely adopted. According to the analysts, a European Union central bank digital currency (CBDC) could suck up 8% of customer deposits from eurozone banks, Reuters reported Wednesday. This share may be far higher in smaller countries like Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece, they said. The analysts’ estimates were based on a “bear case” scenario in which all eurozone citizens over the age of 15 sent 3,000 euros ($3,637) into a digital euro wallet controlled by the …

Switzerland-based 21Shares, formerly known as Amun, has said it will make its Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded product available to traders in the United Kingdom through the Aquis Exchange. According to an announcement from 21Shares, its Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) will be available to professional investors on the Aquis Exchange this summer. U.K.-based firm GHCO will be acting as the crypto ETP’s liquidity provider, with 21Shares saying the product would be “engineered like an [exchange-traded fund].” “ETPs trade on exchanges in a similar manner to a listed stock and institutional investors in the U.K. will get exposure to Bitcoin via a regulated …

The European Central Bank has warned that a CBDC or digital euro may be required to head off the spectre of “artificial currencies” dominating cross-border payments. In ECB’s annual review of the euro dubbed “The international role of the euro”, economists Massimo Ferrari and Arnaud Mehl conveyed concerns over the rise of artificial currencies led by unnamed “foreign tech giants” — likely a veiled reference to Facebook’s Diem project: “One concern could be a situation in which domestic and cross-border payments are dominated by non-domestic providers, including foreign tech giants potentially offering artificial currencies in the future.” “Not only could …

The European Union is falling behind China and the United States when it comes to blockchain and artificial intelligence investments, according to the European Investment Bank. The EIB said on Tuesday that it anticipates an ongoing investment shortfall of around 10 billion euros ($12 billion) across both technologies. China and the U.S. currently account for 80% of the global $25 billion invested in blockchain and AI, with the EU making up just 7% of that figure, reported Reuters. The bank said the underinvestment in both sectors compared to other regions was a sign that the EU has failed to translate …

Edward Evenson, head of business development at Slush Pool owner Braiins, reported that a large number of Chinese Bitcoin (BTC) mining machines equivalent to Quebec’s entire output will be moving to North America and Europe. For those interested in the #Bitcoin mining news coming out of China I’ve had 300-400MW of mining machines contact me to help them distribute their machines across NA and some parts of EU. Some have also begun shipping machines to Kazakhstan. — Edward Evenson (@WillHash4Coins) May 27, 2021 In a Twitter thread on Friday, Evenson revealed that some Chinese BTC miners also have their eyes …

Crypto.com, a popular platform for buying and selling digital assets, has become the first cryptocurrency company to receive Malta’s Class 3 Virtual Financial Assets License. The license was granted by the Malta Financial Services Authority, or MFSA, paving the way for broader recognition of digital assets throughout the European Union. As a licensed Class 3 VFA Service Provider, Crypto.com is subject to more rigorous governance, compliance and security requirements. Prior to obtaining the VFA license, Crypto.com was operating under a transitory legal framework in Malta. The tiny Mediterranean nation is one of a small number of European Union jurisdictions to …

Cryptocurrency investors in Hungary could be getting a major tax break very soon, as lawmakers seek to make the central European country more competitive in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a video that appeared on Facebook Tuesday, Finance Minister Mihály Varga outlined the government’s stimulus program through 2022. As part of the post-COVID-19 relief efforts, lawmakers are considering reducing taxes on cryptocurrency trading to 15% of income, down from the current rate of 30.5%. Such a move would make Hungary a far more competitive jurisdiction with respect to crypto-based capital gains taxes. Cryptocurrency regulations are underdeveloped in Hungary, …

Stablecoins present peculiar challenges to regulators. Although there is no single, agreed-upon definition of a stablecoin, the common denominator of the commonly used definitions is that stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value in relation to a specified currency, asset or pool of such currencies/assets. They are contrasted with regular cryptocurrencies, which have no such stability mechanism and whose values tend to fluctuate, sometimes even substantially. Related: All risk, no gain? The vague definition of stablecoins is causing problems Stablecoins do not denote a uniform category but represent a variety of crypto instruments that can vary significantly in legal, …

When European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta addressed the European Union Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in April, he emphasized the importance of privacy in any potential future CBDC rollout. The ECB had conducted a public consultation on the possibility of a digital euro, canvassing the opinions of over 8,000 individuals and businesses. The responses that came back suggested privacy was the number one concern surrounding the issuance of a central bank digital currency. With 43% of respondents highlighting privacy as the core requirement, Panetta declared that the digital euro could meet those requirements without relaxing security standards. …

The global landscape of crypto-asset regulations is diverse and, even though it is getting more complex, many regulators are still choosing to wait and see how this space develops and what others will do. Right now, all eyes are on the European Union and its bespoke approach to regulating crypto assets. As part of an expansive digital finance package announced in September 2020, the European Commission, or EC, issued a regulatory proposal titled Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA. The proposal is now making its way through the legislative process and is subject to intense debates. This important regulatory step has …

It turns out the 100-million euro digital bond issued by the European Investment Bank earlier this week was actually a trial of a European central bank digital currency. A Thursday announcement from France’s central bank, Banque de France, revealed the digital bond was settled using a CBDC on a blockchain. The two year-bond was issued on the Ethereum public blockchain on Tuesday and settled the following day, with a maturity date of April 28, 2023. The sale was led by Goldman Sachs, Santander and Societe Generale. “From a technological standpoint, the experiment required the development and deployment of smart contracts …