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Financial surveillance, privacy and CBDCs: Why are governments going cashless?
24.5.2023
Attorney Marta Belcher joins The Agenda podcast to unpack financial surveillance’s vast infrastructure and warn of the potential ramifications of central bank digital currencies
African Fintech M-Kopa Secures $200M in Debt Financing Plus $55M in Equity Funding
24.5.2023
Kenya-headquartered African fintech M-Kopa is reported to have secured $200 million in debt financing and an additional $55 million in equity funding. Financial services group Standard Bank Group led the debt financing round while the investment company Sumitomo Corporation led the equity round...
Fed Survey: US Household Financial Well-Being ‘Declined Markedly’ in 2022
24.5.2023
A survey by the U.S. Federal Reserve shows that American household financial well-being “declined markedly” in 2022. The share of adults who said they were worse off financially than a year earlier rose to “the highest level since the question was first asked in 2014,”...
Putin Wants Limit on Currency Purchases for Russians Dealing With Foreigners
24.5.2023
Russian citizens and firms doing business abroad may soon be restricted in the amount of foreign currency they are allowed to acquire, on order from Vladimir Putin. Russia’s head of state now wants his government to cap such purchases on the domestic forex market. President Putin Orders Russian...
JPMorgan Boss Warns ‘Everyone Should Be Prepared’ for Interest Rates ‘Going Higher From Here’
23.5.2023
JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, held its investor day event on Monday, where CEO Jamie Dimon answered questions from analysts and journalists. Despite market expectations of a rate hike pause, Dimon cautioned that people “should be prepared for rates going higher from here.”...
Russian lawmakers propose amendments to digital ruble bill
23.5.2023
The bill could be changed regarding debt operations, services for non-residents and the role of the central bank
Crypto Market Near-Term Upside Is Likely Capped: Bank of America
23.5.2023
The bank expects digital asset trading volumes to remain subdued, with retail investors remaining on the sidelines
Latam Insights — Venezuela’s Maduro States De-Dollarization Is ‘Inevitable,’ Argentina Raises Interest Rates to Close to 100%
23.5.2023
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue, Venezuela makes a push for de-dollarization, the Central Bank of Argentina raises interest rates to close to 100%, and Brazil breaks the U.S....
Treasury Secretary Yellen Insists US Could Default on June 1 — Goldman Sachs Estimates ‘Real Deadline’ Is a Week Later
23.5.2023
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has insisted that the U.S. could default on its debt obligations on June 1. “I think that’s a hard deadline,” she stressed. Meanwhile, global investment bank Goldman Sachs has estimated that the “real deadline” for a possible U.S. default is “more like”...
Ron Paul Denounces US Government ‘Deceptions’ on Inflation; Mentions Federal Reserve Involvement
22.5.2023
Ron Paul, a former congressman from Texas and former U.S. presidential candidate, has reflected on how the U.S. government is handling inflation and how it has been deceitful on the issue. Paul believes that if the U.S. government were to really point to the root of the inflation problem, it would...
UBS Offers 3 Reasons to ‘Buy Gold Now’ — Forecasts All-Time High This Year
22.5.2023
Global investment bank UBS has provided three reasons for investors to “buy gold now.” Expecting gold to break its all-time high later this year, the Switzerland-based investment banking giant has retained its “most-preferred rating” on gold. UBS Sees 3 Key Reasons to Buy Gold Now...
De-dollarization Has Already Started, Says Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov
21.5.2023
The process of de-dollarization has practically started, according to Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. Moscow’s top diplomat is convinced that Russia’s position on the matter is shared by many other countries while the West is undermining the role of the U.S. currency. Russia’s...
Bank of Russia Expects Significant Growth in Digital Assets Market
20.5.2023
The Central Bank of Russia predicts an increase in the issuance of digital assets, citing some of their advantages. The monetary authority has published a report presenting the progress made by the growing industry and assessing the prospects for its further development. Russia’s Central Bank...
Study: 40% of Surveyed African Banks See Fintech and Telcos as ‘High Threats’
20.5.2023
About 40% of 153 African banks surveyed by the latest African Banker annual report said they regard “fintechs and telcos as high threats,” while 69% see artificial intelligence as the “most important technology shaping the industry in the near future.” According to...
Chinese Autonomous Region of Guanxi to Adopt Digital Yuan in Push for ASEAN Trade Integration
20.5.2023
The Chinese autonomous region of Guanxi, located in the south of China, will implement a wide adoption plan for the digital yuan, that includes a push for using it as a trade currency with countries part of the ASEAN bloc. This pilot plan looks to be part of the experimentation to step up the usage...
Today in Crypto: Bank of England to Reject Revolut's Banking Licence Application, ASX Abandons Blockchain, HashKey to Raise Funds at $1BN Valuation, Ledger Co-founder Calls Recover Service Launch a 'Horrible Mess'
19.5.2023
Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.__________...
Read More: Today in Crypto: Bank of England to Reject Revolut's Banking Licence Application, ASX Abandons Blockchain, HashKey to Raise...
Banks Not Getting Anticipated Benefits From Rate Hikes, ECB Executive Admits
19.5.2023
Eurozone banks are profitable but the benefits from higher interest rates may be smaller than expected, according to the deputy head of the single currency area’s monetary authority. The official noted that while most of the tightening has been done already, more rate increases are to come. Euro...
Bitpay Ceases Prepaid Mastercard Program, Promises Enhanced Card Service in the Future
19.5.2023
Cryptocurrency proponents in the United States are facing increasing challenges when it comes to utilizing digital assets for expenditures. Several crypto companies have encountered difficulties in securing banking partners. This week, Bitpay, a prominent player in the crypto payments sector, made...
Digital Ruble Law Likely to Be Passed in June According to Russian Official
19.5.2023
The digital ruble law project, which was already discussed and approved in its first reading, could be passed in June, according to Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee. The Bank of Russia is currently waiting for the enactment of this ruleset to conduct a live test...
Hong Kong Launches Digital Currency Pilot With 16 Firms Including HSBC, Bank of China, Alipay
19.5.2023
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the commencement of its e-HKD pilot which “will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories.” The pilot paves the way for “the possible implementation of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC),” the central banking...