Remittance payments are at an all-time high due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To paint the picture, Mexico’s payments alone have amounted to more than $50 billion, surpassing all other sources of foreign income. This value represents only a subset of the estimated $540 billion reported in 2021. While remittances are essential to ensure families back home are supported, the process favors the intermediary over the sender, with high fees of up to 6-7%. These fees represent a detrimental percentage, especially when considering that remittances are often a critical lifeline for those in need. Reducing these fees then comes down to …

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a UN agency for refugees, has accepted its first-ever crypto donations toward humanitarians aid for Ukrainians fleeing the war-torn nation. UNHCR accepted $2.5 million in Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin donations from Binance Charity that would be utilized to rehabilitate and support refugees fleeing to neighboring countries from Ukraine. According to a report from the USA for UNHCR, more than 10 million people have been displaced from their homes in Ukraine, and the agency will use crypto stablecoin charity funds to provide legal and social assistance. Marie Grey, Executive Director and CEO of …

Terra, the Blockchain outfit using Bitcoin (BTC) to back its new US dollar stablecoin, has bought over 5,000 BTC. Wallet data confirms that on April 6, Terra added another 5,040 BTC to its balance, which now totals 35,768 BTC. Terra buys the dip... again The move comes after a multi-day lull in buying activity by the Blockchain protocol. This week, co-founder Do Kwon nonetheless told Twitter followers that the scheme was "just getting started," while a mainstream media interview set out plans for "perpetual" BTC buys. Terra, Kwon explained, wants to build a "decentralized Forex reserve" with Bitcoin as its …

Bitcoin software firm Lightning Labs has secured a large funding round enabling it to further develop the Lightning Network for faster, cheaper Bitcoin and stablecoin transactions. The $70 million Series B funding round was led by Valor Equity Partners, with participation from Baillie Gifford, Goldcrest Capital, and several other angel investors. Lightning Labs builds additional features and software for the Lightning Network (LN), Bitcoin’s layer-two transaction solution. The funding will be channeled into a new protocol it has developed called Taro, which will enable stablecoins to be transferred using the LN, according to reports. Lightning Labs will not issue stablecoins, …

Bitcoin (BTC) is the collateral asset of choice for the world's biggest decentralized stablecoin, and one of its top executives says there was no other. Speaking to Bloomberg on April 4, Do Kwon, co-founder of Blockchain protocol Terra, pledged to continue buying BTC to back the firm's stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST). Kwon: BTC buys will continue "in perpetuity" Terra has made waves inside and outside the crypto community in recent weeks thanks to its massive Bitcoin buys. Currently at just over 30,000 BTC, the reserves of Terra nonprofit the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) are due to expand to the equivalent of …

More than 80% of central banks are interested in launching a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or have already done so according to research conducted by accounting firm PwC. The second annual Global CBDC Index report released on Monday, April 4, measures a central bank's level of maturity in deploying its own digital currency. The report also included an overview of stablecoins for the first time. Haydn Jones, Blockchain and Crypto Specialist at PwC U.K. stated in the report that “over 80% of central banks are considering launching a CBDC or have already done so.” The report ranks both retail …

The United Kingdom's economic and finance ministry has said it intends to amend its existing regulatory framework to incorporate stablecoins used as a means of payment. In a Monday announcement, HM Treasury said certain stablecoins could potentially become “a widespread means of payment” for retail customers in the United Kingdom following a consultation with various organizations, universities and individuals conducted starting in January 2021. The U.K. government body said it intended to “take the necessary legislative steps” to bring stablecoins into its regulatory framework, “primarily by amending existing electronic money and payments legislation.” The finance ministry said amending its regulatory …

Neutrino Dollar (USDN), a stablecoin issued through Waves-backed Neutrino protocol, lost its U.S. dollar-peg on April 4 amid speculations that it could become "insolvent" in the future. USDN plunges 15% despite WAVES backing USDN dropped to as low as $0.822 on Monday with its market capitalization also diving to $824.25 million, down 14% from its year-to-date high of $960.25 million. Interestingly, the stablecoin's plunge occurred despite Neutrino's claims of backing its $1-peg via what's called "over collateral," i.e., when the total value of Waves (WAVES) tokens locked inside its smart contract is higher than the total USDN minted, also called …

The George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School National Security Institute hosted a webinar Wednesday, March 30, titled “Crypto and National Security: How to Validate American Innovation and Verify U.S. National Security.” Journalist Laura Shin moderated the discussion. CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation Sheila Warren, executive director of Coin Center Jerry Brito, and global managing partner and chief strategy officer of risk compliance and monitoring firm K2 Integrity Juan Zarate were participants. After opening comments, the first of three questions posed to the panel concerned American innovation. Brito expressed hope that crypto would be allowed to develop with …

Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has conceded that a crash in the price of Bitcoin would be “negative” for the stability of the UST stablecoin, but that he expects Bitcoin to go up. Terraform Labs is the entity behind the Terra (LUNA) blockchain platform which plans on buying a total of $3 billion in Bitcoin as a reserve for the UST stablecoin. Kwon made the comments in an interview on the Unchained podcast on Mar. 29. Host Laura Shin asked Kwon what the short term implications of holding so much BTC will be for the stability of UST. Kwon said …

A senior official from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has warned G7 nations that a common framework for regulating digital currencies needs to be put in place as quickly as possible. G7 refers to the Group of Seven, an inter-governmental political forum made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The statement comes in response to the continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as cryptocurrencies and their potential applications for skirting economic sanctions falls under increasing scrutiny. The head of the BOJ's payment systems department, Kazushige Kamiyama, told Reuters that using stablecoins makes …

On Thursday, USD Coin (USDC) operator Circle announced that it had selected financial institution BNY Mellon as the custodian of its USDC reserves. Founded in 1784, BNY Mellon is one of the oldest banks in America and possesses over $46.7 trillion in assets under custody or administration worldwide. It serves as a single point of contact for clients looking to manage their investments. With the new partnership, BNY Mellon said it will also explore the possibility of using digital cash for settlement purposes. Roman Regelman, CEO of asset servicing and head of digital at BNY Mellon, gave the following remarks: …