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Nigeria to kick start its CBDC pilot in October

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As the world takes on the digitalization wave, Nigeria revealed that it was getting on the journey.

Central bank digital currency [CBDC] rose to fame after China took a plunge into developing a digital version of its fiat currency. While China is way ahead in the game, several other governments have started to catch up. The Chinese government has moved past its research and development phase and has already kick-started its distribution stage. Alerted by this rapid development, other countries have begun developing their own digital assets.

Nigeria hoped on to the bandwagon and even went on to announce the launch of its forthcoming CBDC pilot scheme.

Nigeria takes a leap into digitalization

In a recent webinar, the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] pointed out that it would roll out the pilot program for the region’s CBDC project, ‘”GIANT,” on 1 October 2021.

The project was reportedly in the works since 2017 and operated on an open-source blockchain called Hyperledger Fabric. This project has been focusing on the development of blockchain-based solutions, applications as well as products.

Rakiya Mohammed, the information technology director for the Nigerian central bank that Nigeria took this plunge into the CBDC game as 80 percent of central banks across the globe were on the verge of launching or developing a CBDC. Nigeria did not want to lag or be left behind in this move towards digitalization, the bank noted.

In addition to this, the central bank hopes to garner macro-management as well as growth. Easing the process of cross-bored trading is also an added advantage.

While the country continues to embrace the CBDC side, recent comments from the government about cryptocurrencies have led to people thinking that it is anti-crypto. Despite this, crypto is being widely used across several industries in the region. Most recently a school in the country revealed that it would accept crypto for tuition fees.

El Salvadorians not pleased with the Bitcoin Law?

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El Salvadorians have been protesting against the government’s latest plunge towards Bitcoin [BTC].

While the world or at least the crypto community lauded El Salvador for embracing cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, the country’s citizens were not very pleased with its decision. Several people from across the globe flocked to El Salvador after President Nayib Bukele drove BTC into becoming a legal tender in the region. However, this choice was condemned by at least three out of every four El Salvadorians. These people have elevated their angst against the government and took to the streets to protest the government’s move.

Impositions of gatherings following the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic did not stop people from protesting against the El Salvadorian government’s BTC-friendly move. The law obligates every business in the region to accept Bitcoin as payment; however, the volatile nature of the asset seemed to be a significant issue for the protestors.

El Salvadorians take to the street to protest amidst COVID restrictions

With slogans and banners, a group formulated by the “Block of Resistance and Popular Rebellion” called out Bukele’s government. Elaborating on the asset’s association with the dark web along with its ability to aid money laundering activities were pointed out by activist Idalia Zuñiga. The activist added,

“It is a law that generates legal insecurity and that could be used to defraud users and also facilitate money and asset laundering.”

Volatility has been a significant concern for many. Despite finding the crypto industry a promising space, several choose to steer away from the market due to the high volatility. A protestor part of the group mentioned above stated,

“For those earning a minimum wage, in one moment you may have $300 in Bitcoin and the next day those $300 can turn into $50.”

Additionally, these protestors raised their voice against the government despite the imposition of restrictions due to COVID.

China takes its CBDC into the insurance industry

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China has been making immense progress in terms of its central bank digital currency [CBDC]. While countries across the globe have just initiated the research phase of their native CBDC, China’s digital yuan is already being used by the public. After being employed across various sectors, the Chinese government has decided to induce the digital yuan into the insurance industry.

China took the lead in the development of CBDC and managed to get on a pedestal with its fast-paced approach. The latest news reveals how much progress the country has been making.

A news portal noted that the digital yuan had ventured into the insurance industry. This program is being carried out by a local branch of the People’s Bank of China [PBoC], and the policies were issued in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province. Shenzhen subsidiary of Pingan Property Insurance

China continues to stay ahead in the CBDC game

The first batch of the Chinese CBDC insurance policies was issued by the PBoC’s Shenzen branch. With its latest move, the central bank of the region along with the government hopes to expand the use of the digital yuan across several industries. Previously, the use of the CBDC was limited to merely e-commerce platforms and for online payments.

Speaking about the advancement of the digital yuan, Wang Peng, an assistant professor at the Gaoling School of Artificial Intelligence at the Renmin University of China stated,

“As more users get used to making payments with the digital yuan and the market matures, the application scenarios will be able to expand from the insurance industry to more scenarios such as financial services, life services, and even the purchase of funds and trading in securities.”

While the country has been making headway in this area, certain US senators recently expressed angst against the use of the digital yuan during the 2022 Olympics. The senators suggested that the Asian country would employ the digital yuan to surveil American athletes.

However, the country’s central bank, PBoC, hit back and released a statement that read,

“The US politicians should abide by the spirit stipulated in the Olympic Charter, stop making sports a political matter and stop making troubles out of the digital currency in China.”

Virgil Griffith lands back in jail for violating his bail terms

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An Ethereum developer, Virgil Griffith, made it to the headlines after being indicted over his trip to North Korea. While the dev was released on bail recently awaiting trial, he found his way back into prison for accessing his Coinbase account.

The globe is well aware of North Korea’s repressive government. Griffith was arrested back in November 2019 for formulating a presentation on the use of cryptocurrencies as well as blockchain tech. Several believe that he was trying to carry this presentation out in order to deceive sanctions. Virgil Griffith was, however, granted bail and was set to be tried in court in September 2021.

The bail included an array of terms that Griffith had to abide by. One of the most prominent orders included the prohibition of internet use. Not only did the Ethereum researcher break this rule, but he also went on to check his Coinbase account, which alerted the officials.

Virgil Griffith to await trial in jail

Back in May, Virgil Griffith reportedly checked his Ethereum assets in his Coinbase account. Trying to defend himself, Griffith suggested that he was trying to get in touch with Coinbase and request the crypto exchange to take his account down. He stated,

“I’m going to need the [two-factor authentication] removed as the FBI took my devices away.”

U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel and the prosecutors involved in the case were quick enough to notice that Griffith had violated his bail terms by contacting Coinbase. Therefore, the Ethereum researcher would be spending the next two months in jail.

While his trial is all set for 21 September, he could face up to 20 years in prison if things didn’t work in his favor.

Additionally, the defense lawyers involved in the case noted that Griffith accessed his Coinbase account only after his family discussed the same with his counsel.

USA Senators urge Olympic committee to leave out American athletes from employing digital yuan

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With China hosting the 2022 Olympics, certain officials from the USA seemed concerned about American athletes using the Chinese central bank digital currencies [CBDC], the digital yuan during their time in the Asian country.

China took a massive plunge into the development of a national digital currency. China went on to become one of the first countries to develop and issue its very own CBDC. China’s fast-paced development of the digital yuan certainly caught the eyes of the world. Several countries did not want China to garner an upper hand in the financial sphere, which led them to instigate their very own research and development in the field.

With the digital yuan came an array of rumours surrounding the asset. Numerous officials noted that the Chinese government would be able to track and trace the finances of those using the asset. Keeping this in mind, three senators of the USA went on to write a letter to the Olympic officials urging them to keep the athletes representing the country from using the digital yuan.

USA athletes won’t be using the digital yuan?

The letter signed by Republican senators Marsha Blackburn, Roger Wicker and Cynthia Lummis noted that American athletes should be refrained from accepting or even using the Chinese CBDC.

The senators went on to express fear over how the Chinese Communist Party, along with the country’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China [PBoC], could use the digital yuan to keep an eye on athletes during their stay in the country and even after they revert to the USA.

Elaborating on the same, the senators wrote,

“The integration of China’s digital currency into global commerce has many problematic privacy implications. These concerns are especially pronounced given the Chinese Communist Party’s use of new and emerging technologies to suppress the Uyghur minority, the people of Hong Kong, and those across China who strive for freedom of expression. These concerns are not hypothetical. Rather, digital payment platforms such as WeChat, are already being used to surveil, threaten, and arrest Chinese citizens.”

Indian govt. investigates Binance-acquired WazirX over forex law violations

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While Binance deals with immense pressure from regulators across the globe, an Indian crypto exchange acquired by Changpeng Zhao’s crypto platform has found itself in troubled waters with the country’s financial regulator.

Binance went on to explore and expand its services across the globe. Not very long ago, the platform was interested in one of India’s prominent crypto exchanges, WazirX. Soon after this, Binance acquired the Indian crypto platform even though the crypto scene in the country wasn’t very clear. While the status quo of crypto in India remains hazy, the country’s, Directorate of Enforcement [ED] called out WazirX for violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Indian crypto exchange called out for infringing forex laws

India’s financial regulator Directorate of Enforcement [ED] issued a notice to WazirX for carrying out transactions worth $372 million or 2,790.74 crore rupees involved in violating specific forex laws. The Economic Times revealed that the Indian crypto platform was investigated for initiating cross-border payments without any government /regulatory oversight.

Addressing the same, an official from the ED told the news portal,

“These were carried out in violation of forex rules. WazirX’s platform allowed clients to transfer cryptocurrencies without proper documentation, making it a route for laundering. [..] Since money has crossed borders, the law of the land applies and one needs to be sure that this money isn’t cheap money (cheap money is a low-interest loan) or dirty money (used for illegal activities).”

Even though WazirX has robust KYC and AML processes, the ED official suggested that they weren’t enough to make certain digital assets weren’t being misused.

The entire crypto-verse fought long and hard to steer away from its association with the dark web. Once again linking Bitcoin to the dark web, the ED official added,

“In the absence of any official digital currency and regulation, there have been instances of Bitcoins being used to buy drugs on the dark net as well as for money laundering.”

As Indian crypto platforms have been working with the government to formulate better laws/ regulations for the industry, the latest news could hinder the progress.

Malaysia destroys over 1,000 BTC mining machines

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China has been making news lately following the ousting of an array of crypto mining firms from the country. Malaysia has taken a different step; this one, however, serves those who have been stealing electricity,

Crypto mining emerged as a prominent field as it came with attractive benefits. While some were genuinely interested in crypto, a few others wanted to pocket some easy money. The latter group has no setup but is quite often caught stealing electricity. Mining crypto is power-consuming. A lot of power is required to mine these assets; this further eliminates the chances of anyone and everyone mining crypto. Therefore, several go on to steal electricity for the sole purpose of mining these digital assets.

Malaysia has been taking different measures to address the situation. The region’s Miri district police have been destroying illegal Bitcoin mining equipment.

Malaysia destroys an array of mining equipment

According to a Malaysian news portal, The Star, a total of crypto mining machines worth $1.26 million were destroyed. These machines were reportedly a part of illegal mining farms that were stealing electricity from the Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB). The 1,069 Bitcoin mining machines were slain at the Miri district police headquarters.

This operation was led by the Miri police and the Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) joined in on the case. The investigation took place throughout February all the way till April. Furthermore, the Miri police arrested about eight people involved in the case.

Miri police chief ACP Hakemal Hawari spoke about the case and stated,

“A total of six people have been successfully charged under Section 379 of the Penal Code for electricity theft and have been fined up to RM8,000 and jailed for up to eight months. The electricity theft for mining bitcoin activities has caused frequent power outages and in 2021, three houses were razed due to illegal electricity supply connections.”

Italy joins Japan, UK, and others in issuing a notice against Binance

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Binance has garnered another warning from a brand new regulator. Italy had jumped on the bandwagon after Japan, UK, Cannada, Poland, Thailand, and the Cayman Islands.

Prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, was flourishing right after the crypto-verse began booming in terms of price. As the industry’s popularity advanced, crypto exchanges, prevalent ones like Binance, welcomed an array of new members into the market. This streak was disrupted with the intervention of regulators from around the world.

Just as Binance was trying to deal with one regulator, another one would pop up with a notice. The list seemed neverending as Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission [CONSOB] became the latest addition.

Italy’s financial regulator calls out Binance

In a recent announcement, the Italian regulator CONSOB pointed out that Changpeng Zhao’s exchange wasn’t authorized to operate in the region. The regulator made sure to stress the fact that investors were to invest in “utmost diligence.”

The notice further read,

“Consob warns savers that the companies of the ” Binance Group ” are not authorized to provide investment services and activities in Italy, not even through the website www.binance.com whose sections called ” derivatives ” and ” Stock Token “, relating to instruments related to crypto-assets, were previously also written in Italian.”

In addition to this statement, Italy’s regulator made sure to warn investors in making hasty decisions, particularly with regard to crypto-assets. The regulator noted that investors had to handle crypto with utmost caution as it could lead to a loss of money.

The crypto exchange could be losing out on significant partners across the globe if the regulatory pressure on it persists. The exchange has already lost an array of partners in the UK. Just yesterday, Binance went on to put a hold on withdrawals in GBP for the customers of the UK. These glitches could pose unfavorable for the platform, which could further pave the way to the loss of customers.

Hong Kong authorities crackdown $155M money laundering ring

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Hong Kong Customs has reportedly put a stop to a significant money-laundering syndicate that involved the use of cryptocurrency.

Criminals have started to venture into the digital world, taking advantage of the fact that the crypto industry isn’t entirely regulated. However, authorities from across the globe have stepped up their game and made arrangements to deal with crimes involving the crypto industry. Hong Kong’s customs was one of them as they managed to disassemble a money-laundering syndicate that carried out a $155 million transfer.

The South China Post revealed that the police captured four men between the age of 24 and 33 for the same. This list included the leader of the syndicate along with the others that helped him out.

Hong Kong encounters its first crypto money laundering case

The money-laundering syndicate was reportedly started back in February 2020 and functioned all the way up to May 2021. A total of HK 1.2 billion had been illegally transferred through different bank accounts. About 60% of the funds were sent through bank accounts in Singapore.

The transaction pattern of the ring leader was what raised suspicion, which further instigated the investigation. Noting how this case was the first of its kind in the city, the Senior Superintendent Mark Woo Wai-kwan of customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau stated,

“It is the first time in Hong Kong that a money-laundering ring involved in using cryptocurrency to wash dirty cash and conceal the source of criminal assets was broken up.”

Furthermore, it was noted that those involved in the”Coin Breaker” case were employing the world’s largest stablecoin, Tether [USDT], to launder most of their funds. Around 40 wallets associated with the money laundering ring were found by the authorities during the investigation.

No cryptocurrency exchange’s name surfaced. The authorities hadn’t revealed what crypto platform was processing the illegal transactions carried out by the money laundering syndicate.

ECB takes a major plunge towards the Digital Euro

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The European Central Bank aka ECB has been making immense progress with regard to the development of the region’s central bank digital currency [CBDC] the digital euro.

The CBDC race was elevated, thanks to China’s fast-paced development. While China is way ahead in the game, other countries have jumped on the bandwagon. Even while the entire world remains hesitant towards the adoption of crypto, they seem to be going all-in on their CBDC development.

Developing a whole new payment system isn’t an easy task. The research involved in it is an extensive process. ECB seems to have come closer to launching its native CBDC. A recent report revealed that the digital euro was in its “investigation phase.”

ECB’s Digital Euro in the “investigation phase”

As per Bloomberg, Europe’s central bank went on to give a green signal to the investigation phase of the digital euro. While noting that the coming phase would go on for another 24 months. it affirmed that aspects like the design as well as distribution would be given importance.

Furthermore, the statement pointed out that the digital euro would only complement fiat and not replace it. The latest decision would reportedly “not prejudge any future decision on the possible issuance of a digital euro, which will come only later.”

Additionally. the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde recently stated,

“It has been nine months since we published our report on a digital euro. In that time, we have carried out further analysis, sought input from citizens and professionals, and conducted some experiments, with encouraging results. All of this has led us to decide to move up a gear and start the digital euro project.”

Lagarde has been quite vocal about her interest in developing a CBDC. In addition to the existing advancements the ECB has been making towards the digital euro, it noted that the CBDC would be consuming way less energy as compared to Bitcoin [BTC].