Category: decentralized finance

The Strategic Takeaway: Governments of varying size from the United States to Jamaica are ready to compete with the threat alternative digital currencies like bitcoin poses to nation-state payment systems. Traders and investors should keep their eyes on the long term viability of cryptocurrencies in the current political environment. Even as larger financial institutions consider bitcoin as a hedge against declines in other assets including the dollar and consumers see more opportunities to use cryptocurrencies to purchase goods and services, nation-states will only tolerate the threat to their payment systems for so long.

Cryptocurrency issuers and the exchanges that support them will have to make the political and legal arguments that support their incorporation into a nation-state’s payment system. Central bank digital currencies have the potential of offering a faster payments system for the average consumer. Claims of decentralization, anonymity, and democratization of finance may fall on deaf ears if central bank digital currencies offer the average consumer a significant improvement over what the consumer is comfortable with.

In the meantime, cryptocurrency stakeholders should be prepared for closer regulatory scrutiny including threats of stringent regulation especially if there are either mass losses in cryptocurrency valuations or if investors are subjected to massive and/or frequent amounts of fraud.

Cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies have emerged as a financial instrument over the last year, but have reached new heights over the last quarter, becoming financial equality tools and placing power back in the hands of investors. How cryptomarkets revolutionised financial freedom (raconteur.net)

Stablecoins. Thailand’s central bank said it will issue regulations on asset-backed stablecoins this year after warning against the illegal use of a new baht-denominated stablecoin that was created outside the country. Thai Central Bank to Regulate Stablecoins This Year | Nasdaq

Cryptocurrencies. Now the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD) is alive with buzz in the crypto community. Indeed, Cardano is one of those alt coins that gets less attention these days, mainly due to the sheer size of rivals Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) and Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) 3 Reasons Why Cardano Has Outperformed So Impressively (yahoo.com)

Central Bank Digital Currency. Most of global payments are already digital, yet a central bank digital currency would provide risk-free, central-bank backed money denominated in a national unit of account — like cash, though updated to the demands of a digital financial system. Here’s How a Central Bank Digital Currency Could Work (msn.com)

Central Bank Digital Currency. After quietly exploring the viability of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for some time, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) took the decision in May 2020, as a part of our ongoing retail payments reform, to venture into this digital innovation that is fast becoming a feature of global central banks. A primer on BOJ’s central bank digital currency (jamaicaobserver.com)

Cryptocurrency. Deutsche Bank has published a report stating that bitcoin is too important to ignore, noting that it is now the third-largest currency in terms of the total value in circulation. Deutsche Bank: Bitcoin Now 3rd Largest Currency, Too Important to Ignore – Markets and Prices Bitcoin News