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Ghana CBDC Development: New Central Bank Document Outlines Key Motivations for Issuing the Digital Currency
28.3.2022
In a recently released document, the Bank of Ghana (BOG) outlines some of its key reasons for developing the central bank digital currency (CBDC). Also, in the document, the bank’s governor insists the institution is open to suggestions that will help it to successfully launch the digital...
TòrÒnet a Blockchain Platform Built Specifically for Financial Inclusion Launches With Four Stablecoins
17.3.2022
PRESS RELEASE. TòròNet recently announced the launch of the network’s mainnet, following nearly six months of operating a testnet. The blockchain was launched together with stablecoins in four currencies in the African sub-continent to start. The blockchain is built specifically...
Crypto’s Sanction-Slipping Power: Why Bitcoin’s Neutrality Is Its Greatest Humanitarian Asset
4.3.2022
Decentralized networks such as Bitcoin’s don’t know national allegiance, they only know math. And when you’re trying to get your savings out of an ATM, or send a payment to relatives in a war-torn environment, someone else’s politics is the last thing you want standing...
Rwanda May Not Reach Decision on CBDC Issuance Until End of 2022 — Central Bank Official
3.3.2022
The Rwandan central bank may not know whether it can issue a digital currency until December 2022, when it completes a study that looks at the benefits and risks that come with such a currency, the bank’s deputy governor has said. The Investigation Phase The deputy governor of the Rwandan...
ECB Chief Lagarde Says Digital Euro Will Not Replace Cash — But Could Offer Convenient, Cost-Free Means of Payment
15.2.2022
The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, says that a digital euro will not replace cash but would complement it. “A digital euro would give you an additional choice about how to pay and make it easier to do so, contributing to accessibility and inclusion,”...
Puerto Rican Treasury Department Aims to Tax NFT Sales
10.2.2022
The Treasury Department of Puerto Rico has published a working document that amends the current “Sales and Usage Tax” to include NFT sales. While this proposal has yet to be approved, experts believe the inclusion of NFTs in this reform brings validation to the asset class, but also...
Ubisoft Executive Thinks Players Reject NFTs Because They Don’t Understand Benefits
31.1.2022
Nicolas Pouard, an executive at Ubisoft, one of the leading videogame companies in the entertainment world, has issued his take on the backlash from gamers regarding the inclusion of NFTs in traditional franchises. The VP at Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovations Lab stated that this reaction could...
Sega Might Drop NFT Experiments if Perceived by Gamers as a Money Grab
11.1.2022
Sega, a leading videogame development company, has announced its new stance when it comes to the play-to-earn model and the inclusion of NFTs in its games. In the latest management meeting of the company, which happened on December 24th, Sega CEO Haruki Satomi stated that the company may drop...
US Senator on Crypto: We Need Real Solutions to Make the Financial System Work for Everyone, Not Just the Wealthy
30.12.2021
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has argued that cryptocurrency is not a path to financial inclusion like crypto advocates claim. “Bitcoin ownership is even more concentrated within the top 1% than dollars,” she said, emphasizing the need for “real solutions to make the financial...
Game Developers GSC Game World and Ubisoft Face Backlash About NFT Inclusion
22.12.2021
GSC Game World and Ubisoft, two game development companies, are dealing with backlash about the inclusion of NFT elements in some of their games. While GSC Game World — developer of the popular Stalker gaming franchise — has abandoned its plans in this regard, Ubisoft is pushing...
Nigerian Experts: CBDC Still Unattractive to Users Despite Claim of ‘Excellent’ Adoption Rate
13.12.2021
Nigerian blockchain and cryptocurrency experts have suggested that many prospective users will only consider adopting the e-naira once the central bank has done enough to make the CBDC (central bank digital currency) an attractive option to use. E-Naira Still Unattractive to Users Some Nigerian...
Nigerian Central Bank Wants Financial Institutions to Develop Products Based on Its CBDC
29.11.2021
The Central Bank of Nigeria has said it wants players in the country’s payment industry to develop and help introduce products based on its central bank digital currency, the e-naira. Central Bank Open to Suggestions In its bid to deepen the adoption of the e-naira, the Central Bank...
Ghana’s Minority Lawmakers Reject Government Proposal to Tax Mobile Money Transactions
28.11.2021
The Ghanaian government’s proposal to introduce a 1.75% levy on digital transactions was recently rejected by a minority of lawmakers who insist the new tax derails efforts to help increase the number of adults that are financially included. The Digital Transactions Tax A minority...
‘Financial Inclusion’ — A Buzzword for Central Banks Who Secretly Despise Economic Freedom
27.11.2021
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released its latest report on “digital currency governance” this month, addressing stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, and “barriers to financial inclusion.” Like most central banks, regulators, think tanks, and politicians, the...
IMF Says Nigerian CBDC Drawing Global Interest, Warns of Associated Risks
18.11.2021
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has acknowledged that the recently launched Nigerian central bank digital currency (CBDC) is attracting interest from many institutions globally, including central banks. Still, the fund warns that the CBDC carries risks for monetary policy implementation...
Sovryn to Enable Greater Financial Inclusion with Bitcoin-Backed Stablecoins
17.11.2021
The team at Sovryn, a Bitcoin native app for decentralized lending, notes that we’re currently in the middle of an unprecedented transition from a global economy relying on fiat and dominated by the USD to an economy based on BTC transactions. This gradual transition, from the legacy system to...
South African Fintech Raises $120 Million in Funding Round Led by Fidelity
14.11.2021
A South Africa and London-based fintech startup, JUMO, recently revealed it has raised $120 million in a funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. AI-Powered Financial Services According to a report by Techcrunch, financial services giant Visa and Kingsway Capital also...
Finnovex West Africa: A Timely Discourse on Leveraging Technologies for Accelerated Financial Inclusion
8.11.2021
Backbase, SmartStream, Apollo Fintech, Network International L.L.C, Quipu, Suretree, InPay, and NeoSoft Technologies were all well–represented at the 2nd Annual Edition of the Leading Summit on Financial Services Innovation and Excellence within the West African Region, to spearhead...
LBank: DafriBank Aims for Making DBA Africa’s Number 1 Cryptocurrency
8.11.2021
PRESS RELEASE. Since blockchain technology and crypto have become the power of the next industrial revolution in recent years, Africa has been making concerted efforts to ensure inclusion in the conversation. As a multipurpose African bank with over 200,000 customers around the world, DafriBank...
Nigerian Experts Insist Africa’s First CBDC Is Presently Not for the Unbanked
6.11.2021
While the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to tout the e-naira’s credentials as a tool for fostering financial inclusion, some experts agree that this central bank digital currency (CBDC) is presently not doing this. The CBDC’s Chaotic Start This assertion as well as...