China’s nationwide blockchain project, the Blockchain Service Network, or BSN, will be integrating stablecoin support in 2021. Yifan He, CEO of Red Date Technology, a major tech company involved in the BSN development, told Cointelegraph that the project will soon start integrating stablecoins. Piloted in late 2019, China’s BSN is a state-backed initiative that intends to support medium-sized businesses in building and deploying blockchain applications. The exec explained that stablecoins will be used as payment for various services on the BSN ecosystem, including cloud resources. “Only stablecoins can make it much easier, quicker and safer,” the executive noted. Stablecoins will …

XRP, the world’s third largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, is not competing with national digital currencies like the forthcoming digital yuan, according to a senior executive at Ripple. Emi Yoshikawa, senior director of global operations at Ripple, claimed that XRP does not compete either with central bank digital currencies (CBDC) or stablecoins. In an Aug. 19 interview with Japanese crypto exchange FXcoin, Yoshikawa said that XRP is complementary to the global progress in CBDC and stablecoin development. The exec stated that XRP should be considered as a “bridge asset” in international settlement: “There are various types of crypto assets, but …

The Neutrino protocol, a price-stable multi-asset protocol running on major blockchain platform Waves, is introducing the Neutrino dollar (USDN) on Ethereum. The Neutrino dollar, an algorithmic stablecoin collateralized by the Waves (WAVES) native token, is now available for all Ethereum users as the token has been ported to the Ethereum blockchain, Waves announced on Aug. 18. With the porting, Neutrino USD becomes accessible on Ethereum, enabling Ethereum users to stake rewards by just holding USDN in their Ethereum wallets, Waves CEO and founder Alexander Ivanov told Cointelegraph. The new integration also allows Ethereum developers to use USDN in their decentralized …

While Facebook’s Libra project might have shaken the United States government the most, the aftershocks were felt all over the world. The European Union was no exception: The publication of the first Libra white paper in 2019 led to the acknowledgment that the EU was not prepared for what appeared to be the first global stablecoin that would have a direct effect on the European financial market, retail payments and its overall economy. In the words of both the European Council and the European Commission (the EU’s supreme political body and executive arm, respectively), “No global ’stablecoin’ arrangement should begin …

"Tether is an accident waiting to happen," Brandt tweeted on Aug. 10, in response to a separate post looking at USDT's market cap and the total crypto industry's market cap in line with overall digital asset volume. "Tether is just another fiat currency," he added, putting Tether in the same class as national currencies, such as the U.S. dollar (USD). It is unclear whether or not Brandt feels that the asset's risk lies in its fiat currency status, or its checkered past as a stablecoin. Cointelegraph reached out to Brandt for additional details, but received no response as of press …

A major satellite city in South Korea, Seongnam, is preparing to expand its existing blockchain-powered payment program by issuing new digital gift certificates. According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, the city’s Blockchain infrastructure will rely on a mobile app named Chak app. This app will be built by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation, or KOMSCO. Seongnam’s project hopes to make it easier for elderly and middle-aged residents to utilize the city’s existing Blockchain technology. They also hope to strengthen the use of contactless payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Local media outlets said that three digital gift certificate types – representing …

The cryptocurrency field is a place where everything changes in the blink of an eye. New technologies, key market players and trends shift much faster than in any other industry. From the current point of view, many exciting developments seem viable. Still, this chaotic industry can bring more opportunities within the upcoming months, and everything we’ve seen before will be surpassed by something truly outstanding. However, let’s quickly check in. The shift toward a cashless society One of the most society-redefining trends of 2020 came unexpectedly. Right after Christmas, the world seemed safe and sound despite dreadful news from China. …

Bitcoin (BTC) is the most popular cryptocurrency for trading in every region of the world, but North American investors are the cryptocurrency’s biggest fans, a new report says. On Aug. 6, major crypto analytics firm Chainalysis published a report devoted to key trends in the North American crypto market. According to the report, North American investors “disproportionately favor Bitcoin” over other cryptocurrencies like Ether (ETH) or XRP. Bitcoin represents 72% of all crypto trading in North America While Bitcoin is the most traded crypto in the world, North America accounts for 72% of all of the asset’s transaction volume, the …

Sberbank, a state-owned company and the largest bank in Russia, is considering the possibility of issuing its own token, according to its key executives. Sergey Popov, director of the transaction business at Sberbank, says that Russia’s banking giant is thinking of issuing its own stablecoin that could be pegged one-to-one to the Russian ruble, local news agency Kommersant reported on Tuesday. Sberbank’s stablecoin would be compliant with the recently passed crypto law According to the report, the potential stablecoin could be used for settlements involving other digital financial assets. Popov reportedly noted that Sberbank would be able to issue the …

The recent formation of the World Stablecoin Association in Switzerland was done with the goal of creating a united front for the sector to tackle regulatory concerns and drive collaboration. Stablecoins are becoming an increasingly important, widely used medium of exchange in the cryptocurrency community, with industry leaders such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) enjoying immense success in 2020. Tether hit a milestone toward the end of July, surpassing $10 billion in market capitalization as fiat currency continues to be converted into the stablecoin. Meanwhile, USDC celebrated breaking the $1 billion market cap threshold at the beginning of …

In response to a request for comment on potential rules from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), many major players in crypto have written in, asking the regulator to expand the authorizations it gives banks to handle cryptocurrencies and use blockchain technology. Blockchain-backed transfers and new stablecoins as dollar competitors One of the leaders in blockchain-backed financial services, Silvergate Bank wrote to the OCC to promote blockchain as a more efficient way for banks to send money to each other and between client accounts. Silvergate pointed to USD-backed stablecoins like USDC or USDT as examples of how …

Stability? What stability? Bitcoin has burst through its ceiling, leapt 15% and is now tickling a new ceiling of $11,000. The new move has put Bitcoin’s actual price at around double the realized price. On Black Thursday, the realized price was higher than the actual price. So how much higher will Bitcoin go? Max Keiser expects the coin to reach $28,000… then push on up into six figures. As for who’s been creating the demand, a study from Cornerstone Advisors has found that 80 percent of this year’s crypto buyers are men with an average income of $130,000. And it’s …