Tag: Bank

Singaporean family office to set up digital bank in Bahrain

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The Whampoa Group, a family office based in Singapore, will open a digital bank in Bahrain, the kingdom’s Economic Development Board said on May 18. The Group expects to open the bank by the end of the year and is aiming for a global client base. The bank will offer digital asset trading, custody and management among digital banking services. According to Bloomberg, the Central Bank of Bahrain has granted the bank “in principle approval” pending fulfillment of all requirements. Whampoa Group is associated with two prominent Singaporean Lee families —…

Australian ‘Big 4’ bank begins trial for cryptocurrency payment blocks

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Westpac, one of Australia’s ’Big Four’ banks, is launching its first trial of scam protection measures designed to combat fraudulent activities related to cryptocurrencies. The protection measures aim to mitigate losses from scams and reduce potential risks. According to the announcement, investment scams account for approximately 50% of all customer losses linked to scams, while around one-third of all scams involve direct transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges, making them extremely difficult to trace. The Westpac ban comes on the same day Binance customers were told they could no longer use PayID to…

Binance Australia Stops AUD Bank Transfers

Meanwhile, The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is reviewing Binance Australia’s derivatives business after the crypto exchange erroneously classified 500 users as “wholesale investors,” leading to the closure of their derivative positions, which local regulations prohibit for retail traders. Source

Senators slam bank execs for blaming collapses on crypto, pocketing millions

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A former Signature Bank executive has been slammed for seemingly trying to place the blame for his bank’s collapse on crypto while purportedly being able to pocket millions in bonuses and stock options.  During a Senate Banking Committee hearing on May 16, United States Senator Cynthia Lummis lashed out at Scott Shay, the former chairman of the now-defunct bank, in relation to his prepared statement on what led to his bank’s collapse. In his testimony, Shay noted the bank began accepting deposits from businesses in the digital asset sector in…

From Lehman Brothers to First Republic Bank: Bitcoin’s rise in uncertainty

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Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only. With the recent banking turmoil, ongoing recession and ‘signs of another global economic crisis,’ cryptocurrencies are – once again – emerging as an alternative way to hold one’s assets, with bitcoin being one of the most popular ones.  As financial institutions falter, customers increasingly seek alternative monetary avenues, with bitcoin frequently reaping the rewards. Last month’s upswing of the leading cryptocurrency, for instance, followed a recent banking upheaval, which…

Crypto bank runs in 2022 catalyzed by institutional withdrawals: Research

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The 2022 crypto bank runs — caused by the failure of multiple ecosystem giants — have had a lasting impact on the crypto industry. A new research report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (FRBC) has identified several key factors and catalysts that accelerated last year’s crypto crisis. The report identified that withdrawals by crypto whales and large account holders on centralized exchanges, including some key institutional accounts, created a liquidity crisis that eventually led to the bank run. Total withdrawals on crypto platforms in 2022. Source: FRBC The first crisis…

Signature Bank failed to understand risks associated with crypto: FDIC chair

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Investigations into the collapse of Signature Bank point toward illiquidity circumstances and poor management. However, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chairman, Martin Gruenberg, believes the bank’s failure to understand the risks associated with cryptocurrencies expedited its fall. Speaking at a recent United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee hearing on Oversight of Prudential Regulators, Gruenberg highlighted the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Silvergate Bank, which eventually manifested in large declines in stock prices and subsequent deposit outflows at other banks. A related report by the…

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Defies IMF’s Warning, Sells $39M Worth of Gold-backed Digital Tokens

Zimbabwe seeks to use gold-backed crypto tokens to salvage the country’s economic situation. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has dammed any potential consequences by selling 14 billion Zimbabwean dollars ($39 million) worth of gold-backed digital tokens. That is despite an earlier warning it received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not to go ahead with the plans. At the time, the International body cautioned about the potential risks of the plan, suggesting that Zimbabwe would be better off liberalizing its foreign exchange market. As of May 12, the apex bank…

Samsung to Work with Bank of Korea for Offline CBDC Payment Using NFC

Samsung and BOK will continue to explore new ways of developing a CBDC ecosystem and leverage the NFC technology to power offline CBDC payments. The latest development in the crypto space is that South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics has decided to work with the central bank – Bank of Korea – in order to build an ecosystem for the offline payments of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). Both players have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at Samsung’s headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. As we know, some of…