The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, released a statement Nov. 21 to address “some questions and misconceptions that have arisen in the wake of the FTX.com (FTX) debacle.” The agency explained its The first point MAS wanted to make was that it could not protect local users from the fallout from FTX collapse “such as by ringfencing their assets or ensuring that FTX backed its assets with reserves” because “FTX is not licensed by MAS and operates offshore. MAS has consistently warned about the dangers of dealing with unregulated entities.” Yet it was Binance that ended …

The fall of crypto giants this year reignited questions about the stability of cryptocurrencies and their impact on fiat ecosystems. Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) assessed the situation and found that the instabilities of crypto assets, including asset-backed stablecoins, can potentially spill over to the traditional financial system. The HKMA assessment on asset-backed stablecoins pointed out the risks of liquidity mismatch, negatively impacting their stability during “fire-sale” events. A fire sale event relates to a momentary price fluctuation when investors can purchase stablecoins cheaper than their market price — a phenomenon noticed during the Terra (LUNA) crash. According to Hong …

Bitcoin (BTC) investors are more likely enticed by the cryptocurrency’s rising prices, rather than their dislike of banks or its perceived use as a store of value, a new report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) suggests. In a “BIS Working Papers” report published on Nov. 14, the central bank body looked into the relationship between Bitcoin prices, crypto trading, and retail adoption. It studied the drivers of crypto adoption by retail investors using crypto trading app downloads as a proxy for adoption and user investments at the time of download. It found that “a rise in the price …

As countries around the world race to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC), some jurisdictions have slowed down or dropped out of the race altogether. While many observers were pushing a narrative of urgency around CBDCs, some countries have decided that launching a CBDC isn’t currently necessary, while others have tested CBDCs only to dismiss them. Each country had its own reasons, with global central banks providing very different insights on why their CBDC-related project didn’t go well or didn’t need to launch in the first place. Cointelegraph has picked up four countries that have either stopped or paused …

While proponents of traditional finance remain keen on dismissing Bitcoin (BTC) and the crypto ecosystem as financial risks, a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York — one of the 12 federal reserve banks of the United States — revealed 11 factors that overshadow crypto in terms of risk in 2022. Geopolitical tensions, foreign divestments, COVID-19 and high energy prices were found to be some of the most-cited potential risks for the US economy, according to a central bank survey published by the Federal Reserve System. Out of the 14 factors that pose a financial risk, crypto …

Bitcoin (BTC) holders looking to avoid Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) may have gained a surprise ally — banks. In his latest blog post, “Pure Evil,” Arthur Hayes, ex-CEO of crypto derivatives platform BitMEX, argued that banks may limit the impact of the CBDC “horror story.” Hayes: Bitcoiners and banks stand against CBDC "dystopia" CBDCs are currently in various stages of development worldwide. Fans of financial sovereignty naturally fear and even despise them, as they imply total government control over everyone’s money and purchasing power — “a full-frontal assault on our ability to have sovereignty over honest transactions between ourselves,” …

CBDCs are a declaration of war against the banking system, Richard Werner — development economist and professor at De Montfort University — told Cointelegraph at Web Summit on Nov. 4. Known for his quantitative easing theory, published almost 30 years ago, Werner is an advocate for a decentralized economy. In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph's editor-in-chief Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr, he discussed the challenges that surround decentralization, the role of central banks, and how blockchain can help promote transparency in economies. This interview was part of Cointelegraph's extensive coverage at Web Summit in Lisbon — one of the world’s leading tech …

Much like a pandemic, inflation has spread throughout the world, clouding the future with dark uncertainty. Disagreement over how to best manage soaring prices in the United Kingdom nearly caused its economy to collapse and subsequently led to the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss after just 44 days in office. Currently, at least 10 emerging economies are hyperinflationary, with more expected to follow. And the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the part of the U.S. Federal Reserve responsible for keeping prices stable, just announced higher interest rate hikes in the midst of a return to positive gross domestic product …

On this week’s episode of Market Talks, we welcome Jake, also known as “Korean Jew Crypto” on Twitter and the founder of “The Trading Dojo,” a platform that provides quality coaching and education to help traders identify profitable trades on their own. The wide reaching interview covered KJ’s take on how to trade the Federal Open Markets Committee and Consumer Price Index events, along with his views on how Federal Reserve policy is impacting crypto prices. According to KJ: “In regards to what Powell said, and the way the news cycle has been, a few weeks ago I was adamant …

The Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), one of the largest universal banks in the Philippines, debuts cryptocurrency trading via a partnership with a Swiss crypto firm. UnionBank has launched a pilot program for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) custody and trading services for select retail customers, the firm said in a joint announcement on Nov. 2. The new investment and trading feature launches in collaboration with the Swiss crypto technology firm Metaco, with UnionBank going live on Metaco’s digital asset platform Harmonize. UnionBank initially partnered with Metaco for the development of crypto trading services in January 2022. Licensed and …

DBS Bank, a major financial services group in Asia, is applying decentralized finance (DeFi) for a project backed by Singapore’s central bank. DBS has started a trading test of foreign exchange (FX) and government securities using permissioned, or private, DeFi liquidity pools, the firm announced on Nov. 2. The development is part of Project Guardian, a collaborative cross-industry effort pioneered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Conducted on a public blockchain, the trade included the purchase and sale of tokenized Singapore government securities (SGS), the Singapore dollar (SGD), Japanese government bonds and the Japanese yen (JPY). The project has …

Ever since El Salvador legalized Bitcoin (BTC) as mainstream tender, President Nayib Bukele used Twitter on numerous occasions to announce the country’s BTC acquisitions. However, ALAC El Salvador — a non-governmental anti-corruption bureau — was recently denied information from a state development bank, BANDESAL, regarding El Salvador’s Bitcoin purchases and sales. As a development bank for El Salvador, BANDESAL created a $150 million trust fund to guarantee the convertibility to dollars for citizens and merchants. The request for disclosure of El Salvador’s Bitcoin acquisition was denied on the grounds of confidentiality. ALAC El Salvador refuted the denial by highlighting that …