Payment Financial News

bank messaging network SWIFT is planning a new platform in the next one to two years to connect the wave of central bank digital currencies now in development to the existing finance system, it has told Reuters. The move, which would be one of the most significant yet for the nascent CBDC ecosystem given SWIFT's key role in global banking, is likely to be fine-tuned to when the first major ones are launched.

Bitcoin has rallied more than 10% in two sessions, helped by Monday's disclosure from crypto investor and software firm MicroStrategy that it had recently purchased about 3,000 bitcoins for an outlay of $155 million.

Cryptocurrencies enable people to send money around the world without using the mainstream financial system. The underlying blockchain technology creates a record of transactions where senders and receivers are identified only by their wallet addresses, which are a string of letters and numbers. Chainalysis said the $24.2 billion number is almost certainly an underestimation and will rise as it identifies more illicit addresses. It also said it had doubled its 2022 estimate to $39.6 billion from $20.6 billion. Chainalysis' data only includes crypto-related crime. It said it was impossible to determine from blockchain data alone the volume of cryptocurrency that is the proceeds of non-crypto-related crime, for example when cryptocurrency is the means of payment in drug trafficking.

What is a cryptocurrency? Ever received a paper token from your next-door paan shop in lieu of a small change, which he would accept the next time you visit him? Imagine that token digitally, and that's your cryptocurrency. The big difference is, here there is no owner-issuer and it would, at least in theory, be accepted globally. Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual coin secured by cryptography, which makes it next to impossible to counterfeit. They have their own store values, and are designed to use as a medium of exchange for buying goods or services. Cryptocurrencies are decentralised, meaning that no authority regulates them. They are built on the blockchain network technology, which ensures transparency and helps track every transaction. Such currencies, theoretically, are immune to government interference or any kind of manipulation. Because cryptocurrencies do not have an underlying economic base, they are inflation-proof. Plus, the digital structure facilitates free portability across geographical borders, divisibility and transparency. However, they are often criticised for the possibility of misuse in illegal activities, exchange rate volatility and the vulnerability of the infrastructure underlying them.How do cryptocurrencies work? Cryptocurrencies work using a technology called blockchain. They are tokens that can be used as a form of payment in exchange for online goods and services. They carry a pre-determined store value of their own, just like any other fiat currency like the US dollar or the Indian rupee. Cryptocurrencies are digitally mined, where very sophisticated computers solve extremely complex computational mathematics problems. Their mining is painstaking, costly and only sporadically

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is on course to expand the frontiers of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the “digital rupee” as it negotiates with foreign countries to adopt cross-border payment systems.

Cohen told a Manhattan federal court judge that his 31-year-old client, a founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was pleading not guilty to new charges lodged against him in recent weeks in what a prosecutor has labelled as one of the biggest frauds in American history. But Cohen quickly added that although he was pleading not guilty to the new charges, Bankman-Fried was not acknowledging that he can be tried on them. He didn't elaborate and left the courthouse quickly just before his client was ushered to a waiting vehicle. Earlier this week, a rewritten indictment charged Bankman-Fried with a new conspiracy count, alleging that he violated the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by directing the payment of $40 million in bribes to a Chinese official or officials to free up $1 billion in cryptocurrency that was frozen in early 2021. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, when the global exchange ran out of money after the equivalent of a bank run. He has remained free on a $250 million personal recognizance bond that requires him to stay with his parents in Palo Alto, California. His trial is tentatively set to begin in the fall.

Silvergate Capital Corp. and Signature Bank — have set off a fresh set of stresses. SVB’s failure triggered a knock-on effect in the crucial market for stablecoins after digital-asset giant Circle Internet Financial Corp., one of the biggest issuers of the widely used tokens known for their perceived safety, revealed it had $3.3 billion of reserves with the bank. The news caused Circle’s token, USD Coin, to slip below its intended 1-for-1 peg with the dollar, sending a shock through the market. On Sunday, regulators in New York closed Signature Bank. As of March 8, the bank still held $16.5 billion in crypto-related deposits. “All depositors of this institution will be made whole,” the regulators said. Against this backdrop, it is still the shutdown of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate — and the shuttering of its electronic payments platform, the Silvergate Exchange Network — that is most weighing on the market.

The fallout from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank reached further into crypto, unhinging a key cog in the market that’s meant to be among the safest digital assets in the space. The second-largest stablecoin fell from its intended $1 peg, trading as low as 81.5 cents as investors reacted to the exposure of issuer Circle Internet Financial Ltd. to the collapsed bank. USD Coin, or USDC, is an asset-backed stablecoin and a widely used plank of crypto markets. The token is intended to hold a constant $1 value, fully backed by reserves of cash and short-dated Treasuries. But late Friday, Circle disclosed that $3.3 billion of its roughly $40 billion stockpile of reserves is held with Silicon Valley Bank, which has just become one of the largest US bank failures in recent history. Regulators seized the bank on Friday and investors are awaiting more clarity on the return of deposits. In that vacuum, USDC fell below $1, and was trading at about 91 cents as of 8:45 a.m. in New York. Smaller stablecoins like DAI, which is sometimes viewed as a proxy for USDC, and Pax Dollar also fell from their pegs. DAI is the fourth-largest stablecoin by circulation and one of the most widely used tokens in decentralized finance.

Binance's custody unit Ceffu said on Thursday it is planning to apply for a permit to offer payment services in Singapore, as the crypto exchange makes another attempt to function in the crypto-friendly city-state. «Once the relevant amendments to the Payment Services Act go live and the application for a custody license opens, Ceffu will make its official application with the MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore),» the unit's Vice President Athena Yu said in a statement to Reuters. The unit, launched in 2021, was recently rebranded to Ceffu from Binance Custody. Late last year U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase, Crypto.com and DBS Vickers — brokerage run by Singapore's largest bank DBS — received similar approval from the central bank to offer payment services in the country.