Palestinian Authority: Cryptocurrency Will Bring Economic Freedom
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh recently announced that his government will use cryptocurrency to bypass sanctions levied by Israel.
Indian Inter-Ministerial Committee on Virtual Currencies Open-Minded on Central Bank Digital Currency
"The Indian Inter-Ministerial Committee on Virtual Currencies is of the view that it would be advisable to have an open mind regarding the introduction of an official digital currency in India."
Facebook user engagement grew through first half of 2019, tools say
Facebook has seen an increase in the median number of comments, likes and ads clicked by users on the service from January to July. In the U.S., Facebook users increased their engagement from six comments, nine post likes and 13 ads clicked on Jan. 3 to eight comments, 13 post likes and 17 ads clicked on July 18.
Libra's Biggest Problem
Hope lies in tools such as zero-knowledge proofs and in emerging “self-sovereign” identity concepts, as well as in a more open-minded regulatory model for curtailing crime – one that doesn’t depend on revealing people’s personal identifying information. But these are a ways off; they will require user adoption and; to a still large extent, belief in them by policymakers.
Iranian gold-backed cryptocurrency under CBI permission to be unveiled
The Central Bank of Iran has approved the issuance of gold-backed crypto-asset designed to maximize the use of Iranian frozen bank assets, according to the CEO of Iranian Information and Communication Technology. In fact, a number of Iranian banks have been working with blockchain startup Kuknos Company on this "Paymon" project since January.
Crypto-friendly Switzerland Outclasses U.S. as Facebook Libra's Regulator
"Because the (Libra) Association is headquartered in Geneva, it will be supervised by the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA). We have had preliminary discussions with FINMA and expect to engage with them on an appropriate regulatory framework for the Libra Association.”
Facebook is backpedaling from its ambitious vision for Libra
Facebook now seems to recognize its original vision was a non-starter with regulators. So this week Marcus sketched out a new vision for Libra—one in which the Libra Association will shoulder significant responsibility for ensuring compliance with laws relating to money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.
Sources of personal identifying info used in Facebook’s targeted advertising
"Phone numbers and email addresses added as profile attributes, those provided for security purposes such as two-factor authentication, those provided to the Facebook Messenger app for the purpose of messaging, and those included in friends’ uploaded contact databases are all used by Facebook to allow advertisers to target users."
Declining trend in Dutch cash use persists
The use of cash as a means of payment in the Netherlands continued to decline in 2018, according to data released by the Netherlands Bank. Last year, Dutch consumers paid 37% of their purchases in cash, down from 41% in 2017. Cash also declined in transactions between consumers, falling to 59% of peer-to-peer transactions in 2018, down from 67% the previous year.
Thoughts on Facebook’s Libra Coin – Preston Byrne
"If Facebook had built an app that just allowed in-app, user friendly payments in USD, I could have gotten behind that. What has been proposed instead is a combination of a licensed version of Liberty Reserve with an ETF, which furthermore proposes to share transactional data with a veritable rogues’ gallery of privacy-abusing tech companies and the VC firms that funded their rise. "
Binance's European arm lists GBP-backed stablecoin
The European subsidiary of Binance has launched a British pound-pegged stablecoin. Starting today, Binance Jersey has started offering a British pound-backed Binance called GBP Stablecoin (BGBP), The Block confirmed with Binance.
Facebook's Libra Currency Could Threaten the Global Financial System. Here's How
There’s no real guarantee the Libra Reserve would be stable in practice, especially when broader conditions get rough. The problem, according to numerous experts, boils down to this: What looks safe on paper can hide unpredictable risks.
Update from the Chair of the G7 working group on stablecoins
Stablecoins such as Facebook’s Libra will need to be tightly regulated or they could destabilise the global economy and risk being used for money-laundering and the financing of terrorism, according to a working group consisting of senior officials from the G7 central banks as well as the International Monetary Fund, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board.
Everyone Wants Facebook's Libra to Be Regulated. But How?
Everyone says Libra should be heavily regulated. But nobody seems to know how—including Facebook. That much was clear in the often muddled questions of legislators who hauled in Facebook executive David Marcus to testify this week, as well as in Marcus’ frequent deflections.
Ocasio-Cortez Likens Facebook’s Libra to Company-Issued Scrip
Ocasio-Cortez references previous instances of people being paid in corporate-controlled currency, known as "scrip" -- a very dark history there.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Libra questions expose problem for Facebook
Ocasio-Cortez suggests that Libra being "controlled by an undemocratically selected coalition of largely massive corporations" is problematic because a nation's currency is a "public good" that should be under the purview of a government.
Lawmakers Amp Up Pressure on Facebook to Halt Libra Cryptocurrency Development
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) brought an interesting bit of monetary history into the discussion. She suggested that the Libra currency would be a digital version of scrip, a type of private money that corporations once used to pay employees. (Coal miners and loggers, for instance, were paid in scrip they could use to buy goods at the company store.)
Cash no longer US’s most popular means of payment
For the first time in the US, in 2018, cash was not the most frequently used means of payment, a new Fed report finds. The report shows that consumers used cash for 26% of payments last year, four percentage points lower than 2017. Cash now sits just under debit cards, which rose from 26% in 2017 to 28% last year. On average, consumers last year made 11 cash payments per month, down from 12 in 2017, while total payments increased from 41 to 43 transactions per month.
Judy Shelton on Competitive and Private Currencies
"If the ultimate outcome of a private market for money is a monopoly, does it make much difference whether the monopoly is run by a private company versus a public entity? While the former case could lead to economic exploitation based on a market advantage, the threat of potential competition would inhibit this tendency. The latter case, however, invites a more sinister abuse of government power - even tyranny - as government precludes market entry to alternative issuers."
Chris Brummer’s Congressional testimony on Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency
Georgetown Law Professor Chris Brummer’s written statement on Facebook’s cryptocurrency, Libra, will be delivered at 10am, on Wednesday, July 16, 2019. His testimony is entitled ” 99 Problems.”
Bitcoin Noticeably Absent From Senate Hearing on Facebook's Libra
"For a panel about a proposed cryptocurrency, Tuesday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing was notably light on crypto talk. Bitcoin was barely mentioned during the two-hour session and most of the lawmakers seemed far less concerned with the technology than with who was planning to leverage it: Facebook."
'Facebook is dangerous:' Senators grill Facebook's David Marcus over Libra in 2-hour hearing
Facebook’s David Marcus faced a cacophony of fear, uncertainty and doubt surrounding the social media giant’s plan to launch its digital currency Libra during a Senate hearing Tuesday, following criticisms from a wide range of regulators and lawmakers around the globe.
Facebook’s Libra Masterplan | Eric Wall
Simply put, the Libra Masterplan is borrowing pages from the Bitcoin playbook and the WeChat playbook both at once. If successful, it makes the Libra accessible to everyone on the planet while offloading the regulatory burden of operating the on- and off-ramps to other business.
E-money poses serious threats to financial system, says IMF paper
The authors warn of several financial stability risks that digital currencies pose. Many of their points echo recent comments by two senior Chinese central bank officials. The authors suggest central banks take the first step towards their own digital currency by offering settlement services to e-money providers.
Libra vs. the Other Guys
Libra is put in perspective by comparing it to like financial instruments, new and old, shedding some light on the purpose, intended user, regulatory issues – and more important, on the path Libra must follow to achieve success. The article also exposes the vast gaping holes in Facebook’s description of Libra.
Cryptocurrencies, institutions and trust
For cryptocurrencies to be broadly accepted forms of digital money they will need consumer trust and confidence. Building consumer confidence in new digital currencies will require participation of intermediary institutions and a much greater level of regulation than currently exists. In response to concerns about existing forms of cryptocurrencies, governments are likely to investigate or implement their own digital currencies to prevent disruption to sovereign money and the ability to manage the wider economy.
Facebook's Libra Should Be Regulated Like a Security, Says Gary Gensler
As currently proposed, the Libra Reserve, in essence, is a pooled investment vehicle that should at a minimum, be regulated by the SEC, with the Libra Association registering as an investment advisor.
Fiat Will Face Tough Competition & Could Even be Surpassed: IMF on "The Rise of Digital Money"
In its latest paper “The Rise of Digital Money” that marks the launch of a new series Fintech notes, IMF analyses how technology companies are stepping up the competition to credit card companies and large banks.
IMF: Network Effects Could Spark Blaze of Digital Money Adoption
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has argued that network effects could spark the blaze for the mass adoption of new digital monies.
Facebook answers how Libra taxes & anti-fraud will work
In a wide-reaching series of interviews this week, the Libra Association’s head of policy Dante Disparte, Facebook’s head economist for blockchain Christian Catalini and Facebook’s blockchain project subsidiary Calibra’s VP of product Kevin Weil answered questions about regulation of Libra. Here’s what we learned.