Libra Association forms 5-member committee to oversee technical development of the project
The Libra Association has set up a 5-member “Technical Steering Committee” to oversee the development of the stablecoin project.
Binance Launches 1:1 Conversion Function for Selected Stablecoins Into BUSD
Binance has launched a function allowing users to instantly convert from other stablecoins into BUSD. The ratio to convert PAX, USDC and TUSD into BUSD will be set at 1:1 with zero fees. The ratio to convert USDT into BUSD will vary based on the current market price.
Vodafone Is the Latest Big Company to Quit Facebook-Founded Libra Association
Vodafone is no longer part of the Libra consortium. Vodafone will dedicate resources previously intended for Libra to its well-established and successful digital payment service M-Pesa, which the company plans to expand beyond the six African nations currently served.
Pornhub Adds Tether Stablecoin as New Crypto Payment Option
Pornhub now supports Tether to allow instant and zero-fee payments via the TronLink crypto wallet and browser extension. TronLink is a native wallet for Tron (TRX). The USDT token became available on the Tron network in April 2019.
Libra as a currency board: are the risks too great?
Libra is analogous to a currency-board regime. And yet, Libra’s proponents have so far overlooked the problems of monetary management that a currency board raises.
Coinmetrics Study Unveils Shocking Tether (USDT) Fact
A study of USDT turnover reveals just how crazy the demand for Tether’s stablecoin is. According to Coinmetric’s tweet on January 31, they reported that every single USDT token changes hands roughly 46 times every year. The trend of increasing activity shows that Tether is instrumental to liquidity flows between exchanges. It’s most likely that USDT changes hands most between multiple exchanges as opposed to individual traders.
LINE’s Digital Currency “LINK” to Launch in Japan
Japan’s Line social network, the largest in the country, has announced the launch of its digital currency ‘Link’ in the Japanese market from April. The token has previously been available in all countries except Japan and the US.
Mastercard CEO Reveals Why The Company Left Libra
Compliance appears to have been the primary cause for MasterCard's decision to leave Libra. The Libra association’s key members reportedly refused to commit to “not do anything that is not fully compliant with local law.” Specifically, Banga pointed to anti-money laundering, know your client and data management regulation. Another concern was Libra’s business model. The association does not make it clear how it would make money, with Banga noting that “when you don’t understand how money gets made, it gets made in ways you don’t like.”"
Why Stablecoins Are a Big Reason to be Bullish on Ethereum
Ethereum is the world’s dominant network for stablecoins and it is still growing. However, with more transactional value taken up by them than ETH itself, is this such a good thing?
How stable are stablecoins?
This paper analyzes high-frequency data of the six largest stablecoins by market capitalization and finds strong evidence of excess price variations. It identifies Bitcoin as a source of this excess volatility as stablecoin returns, volatility and volumes are highly correlated with corresponding Bitcoin time-series. Importantly, it also finds evidence that stablecoins contribute to the excess volatility of Bitcoin.
Telegram Drops Technical White Paper for Blockchain SEC Is Trying to Halt
Telegram, the messaging app company currently facing a legal fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its $1.7 billion token sale, revealed more details about the technical specifications underpinning its TON blockchain Wednesday.
What Libra means for money creation
"Libra’s current trials may mean that its introduction has been delayed. Many consider that it is by no means guaranteed to operate at all. But central banks are well aware that even if Facebook does not manage to bring its project to fruition, sooner or later someone else will succeed, and will introduce a private sector digital payment system. And the issues and implications for central banking, the commercial banking system and the wider economy that their current research has highlighted will not go away."
Refusing to buckle to SEC, Telegram releases TON whitepaper
Telegram has been locked in a fierce legal battle with the US SEC, which wants to block the company’s initial coin offering and halt the launch of its Telegram Open Network, or TON, blockchain. But that hasn’t stopped the social network from pushing ahead with the technical details of its project. On Feb. 3, Telegram issued the latest version of its whitepaper for its TON blockchain.
Canadian dollar-pegged stablecoin launches
Built on the Ethereum blockchain, the QCAD stablecoin is the work of Canada Stablecorp, a joint venture between Canada's largest cryptoasset manager 3iQ and blockchain player Mavennet Systems.
New Canadian Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin QCAD to be Regulated by FinTRAC
Major Canadian investment fund manager 3iQ and blockchain firm Mavennet co-launched a new regulated stablecoin pegged to the Canadian dollar (CAD). Developed by Canada Stablecorp, a joint venture between 3iQ and Mavennet, QCAD is the latest CAD-based stablecoin and was officially launched on Feb. 11.
Circle Sells Crypto Investing App Business to Voyager Digital
After initially focusing on retail-oriented crypto businesses, Circle has been pouring more resources its so-called stablecoin known as USDC. In December, the Boston-based company sold its Circle Trade over-the-counter trading business to crypto exchange Kraken. It previously unloaded its Poloniex exchange.
Tether tries once again to prove it's not being used by criminals
Blockchain forensic company Chainalysis today announced that Tether is now using its AML compliance solution dubbed “Know Your Transaction Token.” The solution monitors the full lifecycle of a token from issuance to redemption.
This is interesting, because we have yet to learn of one person who has actually redeemed their tethers for cash, but let’s put that aside for now. "
Libra Minus Facebook: Why Celo Is 2020's Buzzy Token Project
The team behind Celo, C Labs, is combining the ethereum and Libra models with a $30 million war chest from the likes of Polychain Capital and Andreesen Horowitz (a16z).
Libra: Shaping the Evolution of Financial Infrastructure
"The Libra Project represents a bold new proposition to create financial infrastructure in this new global ecosystem."
TON Developers, Investors Back Telegram in SEC Fight
Undeterred by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Telegram, developers and investors in the company’s blockchain project have formed a nonprofit for community governance.
US Intelligence Officials Are Funding Research on Dollar-Crushing 'Black Swan' Events
The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) wants to sponsor a post-doctoral researcher to study what would happen if the U.S. dollar lost its status as the world’s reserve currency.
Global Demand for Basket-Backed Stablecoins
This paper presents a model where persistent trade shocks and search frictions create demand for a basket-backed stablecoin, such as Mark Carney’s “synthetic hegemonic currency” or Facebook’s recent proposal for Libra.
Cryptocurrency, Stablecoins and Blockchain: Exploring digital money solutions for remittances and inclusive economies
This paper analyzes remittance operations with and without cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies in general and present pros and cons of Libra for cross-border payments and money transfers. We also present a brief discussion on challenges posed by global cryptocurrencies to central bank governing bodies all over the world and policy implications arising out of potential conflicts between sovereign currencies and future of global cryptocurrencies such as Libra.
CFTC Letter Provides Little Clarity in Telegram’s Battle With SEC
Following a request by the New York Southern District Court, a division at the U.S. CFTC has filed a letter with the court expressing its views on the complicated case involving Telegram’s digital currency Gram. According to the letter a “digital currency like Gram is a commodity” instead of a security. https://www.docdroid.net/okmUUBS/cftc-letter-in-telegram-case.pdf
FSB Chair sets out focus for Saudi Arabian G20 Presidency
The Financial Stability Board published a letter from its Chair Randal K. Quarles to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ahead of their meetings in Riyadh later this week. The letter notes that the global financial system is constantly facing new challenges. Technology is changing the nature of traditional finance; the non-bank sector has grown and requires deeper understanding and coordination among the supervisory and regulatory community. Pressures that can lead to market fragmentation exist. Concurrently, important supervisory and regulatory issues require attention, including stablecoins, cross-border payments, and "Tech" (particularly BigTech, RegTech, and SupTech).
US Court Tells Telegram and SEC to Focus on 'Economic Realities' of Gram Token Sale
Castel reserved judgment on the preliminary injunction and assured Telegram’s lawyer Drylewski there would be a judgment in the case before April 30, when gram investors expect to see the TON blockchain launched. Telegram consented to prolonging the preliminary injunction after Castel explained that not consenting would mean the court would make a decision immediately.
Gram Token Injunction Could Go Down to the Wire
The judge assured Telegram’s lawyer Alexander Drylewski that he is mindful of the looming April 30 deadline. A clause in the Gram purchase agreements specifies that ICO participants can claim a refund on their investment should Telegram fail to launch the TON before that date. However the date was originally set for October 2019.
European Union unsure how to regulate Facebook's Libra
The EU cannot work out exactly what Libra is according to a memo by European Commission executive vice-president, Valdis Dombrovskis. Dombrovskis refers to the "need to ensure clarity" about what Libra is, but that the information provided by Facebook is not sufficient. Libra is descibed as a "moving target" that does not easily within existing EU law.
Telegram ICO: A Two-Phase Offering Does Not Inoculate an ICO from Federal Securities Law
A two-phase offering of this kind, whether styled as a SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens) or otherwise, does not inoculate an ICO or the issuer from the application of the federal securities laws. The SEC examines the facts and circumstances of a token offering at all relevant times, looking to the economic reality of the transaction or transactions, whatever they may be called.
Shopify joins Libra Association
Shopify has joined the Libra Association roughly a month after Vodafone pulled out to focus on its own digital payments system. This is the first new member of the Association since its formation four months ago.