Tharman Shanmugaratnam Wins Singapore Presidential Election with 70% of Vote

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, former chair of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has won the election for the city-state’s presidency with more than 70% of the vote. He defeated presidential candidates Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian to become the next president of Singapore and will be sworn into office on Sept. 14. Prior to […]

China’s Central Bank Digital Currency Upgrades Payment Tools for Retail Use

The People’s Bank of China’s Digital Currency Research Institute Director, Changchun Mu, recently spoke at the China International Service Trade Fair, expressing the desire to see the Chinese CBDC, or renminbi, included in all online retail payment options. Mu noted that the currency has undergone a major upgrade in terms of its organizational forms and […]

IBM Suggests Five Steps for Digital Euro Success

IBM recently shared its ideas on how to make the digital euro a success in a blog post. It suggested five items for designers to help the European Central Bank digital currency “enter the highly competitive, multifaceted, and heterogeneous payments landscape in the Eurozone.” The first point, “Build on existing rails,” is already foreseen in […]

US Dollar at Inflection Point as Core PCE and NFP Reports Loom

The US dollar is at an inflection point, and today’s Core PCE data and the August NFP report will be key in determining its direction. This week, the EUR/USD has bounced from 0.95 to 1.12, and Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have rallied in tandem. However, the EUR/USD could not hold above 1.12, and neither could […]

Bitcoin ETF Approval Inevitable, But Fed’s Hawkishness Could Bring Downside Pressure

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike McGlone believes that the approval of the first Bitcoin spot ETF in the United States is “inevitable”, but the Federal Reserve could still be a bearish influence. McGlone noted that the Fed is still tightening despite the tilt towards economic contraction, which could lead to further downside pressure for both Bitcoin […]

Tether Adds Bahamas Bank to Process Dollar Transfers

Tether, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDT, has reportedly added Britannia Bank & Trust, a private bank based in The Bahamas, to its platform to process dollar transfers. It is unclear when the banking relationship between Tether and Britannia Bank began, but other reported banking partners include Deltec Bank and Capital Union Bank.The move […]

Blur Token Price Plummets 85% Amid Negative Market Catalysts

Blur, the NFT market’s new darling, has seen its native token, BLUR, fail to capture the bulls’ imagination. The token has dropped 85% from its record high of $1.40 in February 2023, and may decline further in the year due to a slew of negative catalysts. These include an increase in BLUR token transfers to […]

Binance Excludes Banco de Venezuela from P2P Payment Methods

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has removed Banco de Venezuela (BDV) from its list of accepted P2P trading payment methods. This exclusion has caused a stir among Venezuelan digital currency enthusiasts, as BDV is the country’s largest bank, with total assets of 73,222.2 million bolivars, or $4,186.5 million, and a 56.1% market share.Currently, only […]

Ripple Strengthens Canadian Connections with University Collaborations

Ripple Labs has been actively expanding its presence in Canada, collaborating with the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo. The University of Waterloo has been researching Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) built upon the XRPL, and is set to unveil a prototype of a banking interface at UBRI Connect 2023. Ripple Labs has […]