A senior official at China’s central bank announced at the China Finance 40 Group meeting today that the country will soon roll out its central bank digital currency (CBDC.) Mu Changchun, Deputy Chief in the Payment and Settlement Division of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC,) stated that the CBDC prototype exists and the PBOC’s Digital Money Research Group has …

Christine Kim Coindesk August 13, 2019 A leading bank technology provider in Latin America is partnering with cryptocurrency exchange Bitex to facilitate cross-border payments over the bitcoin blockchain. “The integration of Bitex into Bantotal program represents a major step in the breakthrough of blockchain technology in banking,” said Bitex Chief Marketing Officer Manuel Beaudroit. Bantotal is a core banking service provider based …

New Zealand has become the first country legally to back companies that are paying employees in cryptocurrencies, in a move that brings the oft-maligned asset class in line with mainstream forms of payment. New Zealand has become the first country legally to back companies that are paying employees in cryptocurrencies, in a move that brings the oft-maligned asset class in line with mainstream forms …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently made history when it green-lighted two token offerings under Regulation A+. “This is the first time in U.S. history that a crypto token offering has received SEC qualification,” one of the two qualified issuers proclaims. Historic Event for Crypto Industry The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began qualifying token offerings under Regulation …

The G20 leaders jointly issued a declaration on crypto assets at the end of their summit in Osaka, Japan. They declared their commitments, reaffirmed that crypto assets do not pose a threat to global financial stability, and requested further work done by standard-setting bodies. G20 Leaders’ Declaration The G20 leaders’ summit, the largest meeting Japan has ever hosted, wrapped up …

Instant messenger service Telegram held two private offerings for its gram (TON) token in 2018, bringing in a war chest of nearly $2 billion USD. To join the Telegram token sale: Now, one of the biggest buyers from those rounds — Gram Asia — is gearing up to publicly sell an allotment of those tokens on Asian cryptocurrency exchange Liquid. The kicker? The sale will take …

By CCN: Some of the world’s biggest banks are partnering with London-based Fnality International to create a blockchain digital currency for faster cross-border transfers. These banks from Japan, Europe, and the United States are hoping that issuing a utility settlement coin (USC) will lower transaction costs of cross-border payments by cutting out intermediaries. Fnality International has received $63.1 million in capital from the …

So now it’s official. Bitcoin has finally become truly mainstream. Microsoft has added it as a currency option in Excel. BITCOIN’S PATH TO MAINSTREAM STATUS There are a number of hurdles one must overcome to become truly mainstream, and Bitcoin just crossed the big one. Microsoft has added the cryptocurrency as a currency option in its Excel spreadsheet program. View image on …

Bitcoin miners have sold enough BTC to keep their operations going for roughly the next 12 months. By CCN: Now that the bitcoin price is holding at the $8,000 level, investors are anxiously awaiting what comes next. Bitcoin’s value has expanded by 50% over the last 30 days, but the bulls are currently taking a breather and momentum appears to have …

Financial services giant Fidelity Investments is said to be launching cryptocurrency trading service soon. A Bloomberg report on Monday, citing “a person familiar with the matter,” said that Fidelity will roll out the service for trading bitcoin “within a few weeks” and will focus on institutional, not retail, customers. Fidelity spokeswoman Arlene Roberts told Bloomberg: We currently have a select set of …