Day: January 29, 2019

UAE-Saudi Arabian Digital Currency ‘Aber’ to be Restricted to Select Banks at Start

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The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) central bank (UAECB) and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) have announced that the interbank digital currency they are co-developing will be called “Aber.” The news was reported by the national Saudi Press Agency on Jan. 29. A joint statement from the banks has reportedly outlined that the use of Aber will be limited to financial settlements using distributed ledger technologies (DLT) “on a probational basis and [for] exclusive use by a limited number of banks in the two countries.” While news of the two…

Bitspark Debuts Hong Kong Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin on Decentralized Exchange

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Hong Kong-based money transfer platform Bitspark has launched what is reportedly the first stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar (HKD), local tech and finance news outlet Fintech Hong Kong reports Jan. 29. Bitspark, which has positioned itself as a platform where stablecoins form the medium of value transfer, launched the Sparkdex.HKD stablecoin as a feature on its SparkDEX decentralized exchange. “Until now, US Dollar stablecoins have dominated the market but there are other national currencies in the world, like the Hong Kong Dollar,” the publication quotes CEO George Harrap…

S. Korea’s Central Bank Says It Won’t Issue a Digital Currency in Near Future

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South Korea’s central bank, the Bank of Korea (BOK), says it won’t be issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the near term, local English-language newspaper the Korea Herald reports Jan. 29. Having conducted a study into the prospects for domestic CBDC issuance, the BOK has reportedly concluded there is no urgent need to pursue such a project in the close future. An unnamed BOK official told the Korea Herald that the study was focused on examining the possible legal and social effectiveness of CBDCs from a wide perspective,…

Blockchain Loses Wall Streeter: is Institutional Demand For Bitcoin Declining?

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Since Bitcoin garnered traction in 2016/2016, the crypto & blockchain industry has been overtly lauded as a catalyst behind a “brain drain” on Wall Street, Main Street, and even Silicon Valley. Case in point, notable talents from the legacy industries’ most preeminent conglomerates, like Starbucks, Google, PayPal, amongst others, have flocked to this firms investing in this space, including Facebook. While copious amounts of time, capital, experience, and knowledge have been dedicated to the good word of cryptocurrency in recent months, the flow of talent has seemingly begun to reverse, as…

Are Over the Counter Crypto Trading Desks to Blame for the Declining Value of Bitcoin (BTC)?

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Any observant crypto trader and/or analyst can easily identify September 5th as the date the crypto markets turned for the worst after the fake news that Goldman Sachs had abandoned plans for a crypto trading desk. Before this date, Bitcoin (BTC) was comfortably trading above $7,300. But since then, the King of Crypto has fallen continuously to current levels of $3,400. Current levels look set to retest last year’s low of $3,200 if the trading volume does not increase in the next few hours. Over-the-Counter Trading Desks Start Appearing In…

Down Again: Bitcoin Is Closing on Key Long-Term Price Support

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View Bitcoin is again closing on the 200-week moving average, which served as strong support in December. The weekly RSI is more bearish this time round, though, and is reporting undersold conditions. A weekly close below that level could be followed by a slide back to September 2017 lows near $2,970. A failure to push prices below the 200-week SMA support would weaken the bears. A bullish reversal, however, would be confirmed only above $3,658 – the high of gravestone doji carved out Saturday. Bitcoin (BTC) is on the defensive…

Ex-Starbucks Chief Howard Schultz Likely Set to Replace Trump: What’s in It for Bitcoin?

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Photo: cacamre strear / Flickr Howard Schultz, former CEO and chairman of Starbucks tweeted that he is considering running in the 2020 US presidential elections. His announcement caused jitters among the Democrats who fear that he might erode some of their support if he runs. He said: “I love our country, and I am seriously considering running for president as a centrist independent.” The announcement resulted in many critical responses. A majority of the commentators argue that an independent candidature would minimize the likelihood of a successful Democratic win. Thus,…

Can Deploying Blockchain in the Greater Bay Area Help Ease Friction Points?

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Can Deploying Blockchain in the Greater Bay Area Help Ease Friction Points? January 29, 2019 by Paul de Havilland China’s Greater Bay Area initiative, the Pearl River Delta region plus Hong Kong and Macau, has the potential to create one of the world’s most economically powerful regions. Blockchain technology has been mooted as playing a role in helping smooth over some of the friction points involved in bringing the two special administrative regions into the cluster. Also see: BCH Instant Payments on Avalanche, Forks and More With Amaury Sechet Subscribe to…

Desktop Crypto Asset Manager Ledger Live Launches Mobile App Version

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French cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has released a dedicated mobile app for some of its products, the company confirmed in a blog post Jan. 28. Dubbed Ledger Live, the app previously available for desktop is now available for Android and iOS mobile devices, the company reports. According to the blog post, the app allows users of Ledger Nano X wallets to use their wallet without the need for a cable via their mobile device and a Bluetooth connection. The first incarnation of the app primarily serves Nano X holders,…

Bank Blockchain Consortium Targets Improvements to Small Business Financing

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Banks in India are collaborating on a new blockchain platform to remove financing hurdles for micro, small and medium size businesses (MSMEs), local daily news outlet Economic Times reported Jan. 28. A total of eleven banks — including second-biggest lender Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank — are already meeting to discuss the implementation of a platform that will make it easier for businesses with smaller turnover to raise funds transparently. The move is being organized under a consortium dubbed the “Blockchain Infrastructure Company.” “Credit penetration…