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Latam Insights — Argentina’s Reserves Bleed, Central Bank of Brazil Would Be Able to Manipulate Digital Real in CBDC Pilot
18.7.2023
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue, the Argentine central bank sheds yuan for dollars as its reserves bleed, the Central Bank of Brazil would be able to manipulate balances and block digital...
Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Says US Dollar Dominance Won’t Last Forever but Doubts Chinese Yuan Can Replace USD
18.7.2023
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the U.S. dollar’s dominance “won’t last forever.” While recognizing the global de-dollarization trend, he expressed skepticism about the Chinese yuan’s ability to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s dominant...
Brazilian Central Bank Digital Currency Raises Alarm as Developer Uncovers Fund Freezing Feature
17.7.2023
A blockchain developer has found a code in Brazilian central bank-backed digital currency (CBDC) that would allow the government to freeze accounts or even drain them at will.
Founder of Web3 consulting company Iora Labs and blockchain developer Pedro Magalhaes took to social media to reveal...
US Dollar Shortages: Ethiopia and Nigeria in $100 Million Currency Swap Transaction
17.7.2023
According to a report, the central banks of Ethiopia and Nigeria recently consummated a $100 million currency swap transaction. Under the arrangement, an Ethiopian airliner was paid local currency equivalent to $100 million while Dangote Cement is said to have received a similar amount of nairas....
Blackrock CEO Larry Fink Says Crypto Will ‘Transcend Any One Currency’ — Sees Broad-Based Global Interest
17.7.2023
Larry Fink, the CEO of the world’s largest asset manager, Blackrock, says crypto is so international that it will transcend any one currency. Regarding Blackrock’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the executive stressed: “We...
‘Done, Dead’ — DeSantis to Nix Central Bank Digital Currency on Day 1
16.7.2023
Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a “massive threat” to liberty, Republican Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis is convinced. During an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, DeSantis vowed to send CBDC “to the ash heap of history” if he is elected President of the United States....
IMF Has Not Seen Specific Proposal on BRICS Currency
16.7.2023
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not seen any specific proposal on a common BRICS currency. However, the IMF acknowledges the presence of “slow-moving trends” indicating shifts in the currency composition of reserves and trade. The Fund’s statement followed reports that...
Report: Zimbabwean Economist Says Portion of Goverment Employees’ Salaries Must Be Paid in Gold Coins
15.7.2023
A Zimbabwean economist has said authorities should consider paying a portion of government employees’ salaries with gold coins. The economist said partially paying government workers with gold coins can “help curtail the black market dominance” in the country’s currency...
Russia, 10 Southeast Asian Nations Discuss Using National Currencies in Trade Settlements
15.7.2023
Russia is discussing using national currencies in trade settlements with 10 Southeast Asian countries, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has revealed. The move comes as more and more countries worldwide are seeking to de-dollarize....
Russian State Duma Passes Digital Ruble Law
13.7.2023
The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly, discussed and passed the Digital Ruble law in its second and third discussion on July 11. The law will allow the Central Bank of Russia, as the sole regulator of the proposed digital currency, to organize a pilot test slated...
Bank of China Expands Digital Yuan Testing to SIM Cards and NFC Payments
13.7.2023
The state-owned financial institution Bank of China has revealed a partnership with China Unicom and China Telecom in order to test SIM cards and near-field communication (NFC) payments tethered to the renminbi. The Bank of China explains that the pilot will be tested by selected users and areas...
Economist Predicts End of US Dollar Dominance as More Countries De-Dollarize
13.7.2023
The chief economist at S&P Global has predicted that the U.S. dollar “will no longer be the dominant world currency.” Highlighting the diminishing influence of the USD, he pointed out that an increasing number of countries are de-dollarizing, noting that the Chinese yuan is growing...
BIS Survey: 93% of the World’s Central Banks Are Engaged in CBDC Work
12.7.2023
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an organization that seeks to support the international cooperation of the world’s central banks, has released the results of its 2022 survey on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and crypto. The survey found that 93% of the 86 banks surveyed...
Russia’s Central Bank: BRICS Currency Requires Consent of Many Parties, Faces Implementation Challenges
12.7.2023
The governor of Russia’s central bank says the creation of a common BRICS currency “requires the consent of many parties.” While emphasizing that the proposed BRICS currency “deserves attention,” the Russian central bank chief cautioned that this project is challenging and “will...
Robert Kiyosaki Warns US Dollar ‘Will Die’ Citing BRICS Nations’ Plan to Launch Gold-Backed Currency
12.7.2023
Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has warned that the U.S. dollar will die. He expects the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to launch a gold-backed currency that will kill the USD. The famous author further stressed that U.S. dollars will come flooding home...
Billionaire Winklevoss Twins and DCG's Barry Silbert Dispute Takes a Nasty Turn
11.7.2023
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the billionaire twins who owns crypto exchange Gemini, may have a hidden agenda with their lawsuit against Barry Silbert’s crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG), a recent Fortune article has suggested.
According to the article, there is a chance that...
Bots Sending BTC — Lightning Labs Releases New Tools for AI-Bitcoin Integration
11.7.2023
On July 6, Lightning Labs released new developer tools to enhance the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and Bitcoin. The layer two (L2) startup introduced a new specification known as L402 and tools that enable AI systems to conduct transactions over the Lightning Network. The Fusion...
India’s External Affairs Minister Shuns BRICS Currency Talks, Prioritizes Rupee’s Strength Instead
11.7.2023
Members of the BRICS alliance are meeting at a summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August, focusing attention on the potential for the BRICS bloc to create a gold-backed reserve currency. However, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister, said India isn’t...
Economist Jim Rickards: ‘Biden Is Now a World Historic Figure — He Has Destroyed the Dollar’
11.7.2023
Jim Rickards, economist and best-selling author, has accused the Biden administration of destroying the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency. Rickards stated that Biden is to blame for the upcoming marginalization of the U.S. dollar at the hands of a BRICS bloc common currency to be proposed on August...
Central Banks Reduce US Dollar Holdings, Plan to Increase Chinese Yuan Exposure, Study Shows
11.7.2023
A study by a $1.5 trillion asset management firm has revealed that central banks are reducing their U.S. dollar holdings while seeking to increase Chinese yuan holdings. “Central banks are diversifying currency holdings, stirred by geopolitical uncertainties and attractive opportunities...