Digital currencies Financial News

This year has already been a landmark period for crypto. Bitcoin reached new all-time highs, and the approval of spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US marked significant steps toward mainstream acceptance. These milestones highlight the growing integration of digital currencies into the global economy, setting the stage for heightened political and regulatory attention as the election nears.

Ryan Selkis, a cryptocurrency executive, was eating dinner at Mar-a-Lago last month when he got an unexpected invitation: Former President Donald Trump wanted him to come to the stage and say a few words. Selkis, who runs the crypto data firm Messari, was among a couple of hundred attendees at an event celebrating Trump's series of nonfungible tokens, the digital collectibles known as NFTs. When he reached the lectern, Selkis turned to face the former president.

cryptocurrencies has sparked immense interest and debate worldwide. From Bitcoin to Ethereum, these digital currencies have not only challenged traditional notions of money but have also emerged as a new asset class with significant investment potential. In a recent live stream session on ETMarkets, Sathvik Vishwanath, Co-Founder & CEO of Unocoin, delved into the reasons why cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly indispensable as an asset class. Evolution of Money: From Barter to Cryptocurrencies

U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that aims to create a new legal framework for digital currencies, despite an unusual warning from the U.S. securities regulator it could create new financial risks. The Republican-sponsored Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act passed in a bipartisan 279-136 vote. It is not clear if the Senate will take up the measure.

market watchdog has recommended that several regulators oversee trade in cryptocurrencies, documents show, the strongest signal to date that at least some authorities in the country are open to allowing the use of private virtual assets. The position of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) contrasts with that of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which maintains that private digital currencies represent a macroeconomic risk, separate documents show.

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central banks across emerging and advanced economies are expected to have digital currencies in circulation by the end of the decade, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) found in a survey published on Monday. Central banks around the globe have been studying and working on digital versions of their currencies for retail use to avoid leaving digital payments to the private sector amid an accelerating decline of cash. Some are also looking at wholesale versions for transactions between financial institutions. Most of the new Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will emerge in the retail space, where eleven central banks could join peers in the Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica and Nigeria which already run live digital retail currencies, the BIS found in its survey of 86 central banks conducted late 2022. On the wholesale side, which in future could allow financial institutions to access new functionalities thanks to tokenisation, nine central banks could launch CBDCs, the BIS said.

The crypto sector is largely unregulated in Australia.

Bitcoin. The ballooning popularity of Bitcoin and other digital currencies has given rise to a strange new political breed: the crypto mayor. Eric Adams, New York's new mayor, accepted his first paycheck in Bitcoin and another cryptocurrency, Ether. Francis Suarez, Miami's mayor, headlines crypto conferences. Now even mayors of smaller towns are trying to incorporate crypto into municipal government, courting startups and experimenting with buzzy new technologies like NFTs to raise money for public projects. Their growing ranks reflect the increasing mainstream acceptance of digital currencies, which are highly volatile. «Mayors rationally want to attract high-income citizens who pay their taxes and impose few costs on the municipality,» said Joseph Grundfest, a business professor at Stanford. But as with many ambitious crypto projects, it's unclear whether these local initiatives will ultimately amount to much. So far, most are either largely symbolic or theoretical.

When you make a UPI payment, your bank settles the amount on your behalf at the end of the day. Digital payments like UPI are electronic instructions that authorise intermediaries such as banks to facilitate transactions. Even if they are ‘cashless’ modes of payment, they involve transfer of fiat money (government-issued currency). Now imagine a UPI-like system where digital currency issued by a central bank is transacted instead of bank balances. The need for interbank settlement disappears and you have the option to pay someone securely, without third-party risks. What if money itself could be ‘digital’? The RBI has called for a complete ban on crypto as it believes partial restrictions won’t work. But, at the same time, it is considering issuing its own digital currency by leveraging the technology that powers crypto. “A central bank digital currency (CBDC) would also potentially enable more real-time and cost-effective globalisation of payment systems. Time zone difference would no longer matter,” said T Rabi Shankar, RBI deputy governor, in a speech last year. The RBI defines a CBDC as a legal tender issued by a central bank in a digital form. “It is the same as a fiat currency and is exchangeable oneto-one with the fiat currency. Only its form is different,” said Shankar. The RBI is working towards a phased implementation strategy. Presented ByDid you Know?Producer, direc

The move is the latest in a global cryptocurrency crackdown as governments from Asia to the United States worry that privately operated and highly volatile digital currencies could undermine their control of financial and monetary systems. Russia has argued for years against cryptocurrencies, saying they could be used in money laundering or to finance terrorism. It eventually gave them legal status in 2020 but banned their use as a means of payment.

On Thursday, the Digital Currency Group (DCG) announced that it has raised $600 million in a new credit facility, making its debut into the debt capital markets. The debt funding round was led by private equity firm Eldridge.

Speculations and possibilities aside, China’s crypto crackdown in 2021 has been rather uncompromising. Despite being considered a running joke by experts, which is to fade out in time, the tough approach hasn’t been all that pleasant for the traders.