Börse Stuttgart (SWB), the second-largest stock exchange in Germany, has listed two crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs), according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 13. Based on two major cryptocurrencies, XRP and litecoin (LTC), and issued through XBT Provider, the ETNs can now be traded against the Swedish krona (SEK) and euro (EUR) on Börse Stuttgart, Europe’s tenth-largest exchange, the announcement says. The SWB’s crypto ETNs listing purportedly allows investors to track the future price developments of XRP and LTC through exchange-traded securities, which is the first initiative of its kind in Germany, Boerse Stuttgart executive Jürgen Dietrich …

European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said that cryptocurrencies are not real currencies during the ECB Youth Dialogue meeting with the winners of the Generation €uro Students’ Award, as Cointelegraph Italia reported on May 9. During the meeting, Draghi answered a question about cryptocurrencies asked by one of the winners of the award: “Cryptocurrencies or bitcoins, or anything like that, are not really currencies — they are assets. A euro is a euro — today, tomorrow, in a month — it’s always a euro. And the ECB is behind the euro. Who is behind the cryptocurrencies? So they are …

Thursday, May 8 — after a brief market falter yesterday following the $40 million hack of major crypto exchange, crypto markets are showing resilience, with bitcoin (BTC) rallying above the $6,000 mark, as Coin360 data shows. Market visualization courtesy of Coin360 Bitcoin is outperforming all of the other top ten cryptocurrencies and has seen 3.4% growth on the day to break back above the psychological price point of $6,000 — for the first time in almost six months (Nov. 14, 2018). To press time, the top coin is trading at $6,086, according to CoinMarketCap. The bullish rally has sealed a …

Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has announced it will pilot R3’s Marco Polo blockchain network for trade finance, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 8. As previously reported, Marco Polo — which is powered by R3’s Corda enterprise blockchain platform — counts major international banks such as BNP Paribas, ING and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as members. Other prominent bank members include Standard Chartered Bank and NatWest, according to today’s press release. RBI has reportedly been eyeing expansion in the Central and Eastern Europe market, after reporting a consolidated profit of 1.27 billion euros (around $142 …

Wednesday, May 8 — having just broken new 2019 highs, crypto markets have tipped into red in the wake of yesterday’s $40 million hack of major exchange Binance. Virtually all of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are down up to 9%, yet most losses remain mild, as Coin360 data shows. Market visualization courtesy of Coin360 Despite being the cryptocurrency stolen in the Binance hack, bitcoin (BTC) is itself showing resilience, and is down a fractional 0.9% on the day to trade at $5,882 by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. After a bullish rally to brush the $6,000 mark yesterday, the top …

Thursday, May 2 — yesterday’s mild market movements continues, with most of the top twenty cryptocurrencies seeing mild green on the day at press time with typical growth of between 1 and 3%, as Coin360 data shows. Market visualization courtesy of Coin360 Bitcoin (BTC) is up 1.4% on the day and is trading at $5,455 by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. After a bullish spike at the start of its 7-day chart — with a break above the $5,500 mark on April 26 — the top cryptocurrency swiftly saw a sharp tumble down to below $5,200 that same day. Since …

Wednesday, May 1 — after yesterday’s positive market momentum, most of the top twenty cryptocurrencies are seeing mild green on the day at press time, seeing typical growth of between 1 and 7%, as Coin360 data shows. Market visualization courtesy of Coin360 Bitcoin (BTC) is up 0.89% on the day and is trading at $5,399 by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. After bullish price points at the start of its 7-day chart — with a break above the $5,500 on April 26 — the top cryptocurrency swiftly saw a sharp correction down to below $5,200 during subsequent trading hours. Recent …

The Ministry of Finance in Austria is considering establishing a regulatory sandbox for the fintech industry, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reports on April 26. The country’s Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger said that the FinTech Advisory Council — which was formed by the Ministry of Finance last year — will aid in the development of relevant rules to steer the “young financial market around digitized financial services,” including initial coin offerings (ICOs) and digital currencies to facilitate their growth. State Secretary Hubert Fuchs said: “For some companies in the fintech industry, it is particularly difficult to keep track of all regulatory requirements …

63% of Europeans are confident that crypto will still exist in 10 years, according to new research from bitFlyer. London-based fintech publication FStech reported on the survey on April 24. Tokyo-based crypto exchange bitFlyer, which was licensed to operate in the European Union in 2018, reportedly polled 10,000 respondents in Europe to find out what they think about cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC). The exchange reportedly surveyed the following ten countries: the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain. When asked about crypto in general, the majority of Europeans claimed that they believe that crypto …

French specialized credit institution Societe Generale SFH issued a 100 million euro ($112 million) bond as a security token on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. The company announced the development on its website on April 23. Societe Generale SFH — which is a subsidiary of one of Europe's largest financial services groups, Societe Generale Group — has rolled out its first pilot project developed in collaboration with Societe Generale FORGE. The latter is an internal startup launched through the Group’s intrapreneurial program, the Internal Startup Call. The transaction’s goal was to investigate a more efficient way for bond issuance, which would …

An official from the Romanian central bank has stated that cryptocurrency will not replace currency issued by central banks as it is not necessarily a currency. The news was published by local media outlet Business Review on April 16. Daniel Daianu, a member of the Romanian National Bank (BNR)’s Administration Council, reportedly stressed the necessity to be aware of the difference between institutions and their roles, ensuring that those roles will not disappear. Daianu also addressed the importance of making the distinction between blockchain technology and digital currencies. Daianu said: “In my opinion, these are financial assets, not cryptocurrencies, and …

France is reportedly going to try to convince other European Union member states to adopt cryptocurrency regulations similar to its own, Reuters reported on April 15. Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of the Economy and Finance, reportedly stated that France will encourage other EU countries to adopt cryptocurrency regulations similar to those France approved last week. The news rules reportedly aim to attract cryptocurrency issuers and traders to France by providing them some official recognition, while taxing their profits in return. Per the newly adopted regulation, cryptocurrency operators will have to apply for a certification that would purportedly enable authorities …