The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is on track to debut the central bank digital currency (CBDC) after announcing the digital rupee project in February this year. The central bank of India will launch the digital rupee pilot for the wholesale segment on Nov. 1, the RBI reportedly announced on Monday. The pilot will involve nine locally operating banks, including the biggest Indian bank, the State Bank of India. According to a report by Reuters, other banks in the pilot will also include Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC …

In an announcement on Twitter, Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, said the network will be a major component to Kazakhstan's latest Web3 endeavor. The Binance founder tweeted that the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) will integrate its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital tenge, on the BNB Chain, the underlying blockchain of the Binance network. National Bank of Kazakhstan (NKB) will integrate their CBDC on @BNBchain. #BNB https://t.co/33WMKwAczm — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) October 27, 2022 The NBK launched a CBDC pilot which included the participation of local merchants and consumers. Zhao said he looks forward to …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is introducing proposals to better regulate the cryptocurrency industry in the aftermath of the bankruptcy of the Singaporean crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). The central bank of Singapore has issued two consultation papers on proposals for regulating the operations of digital payment token service providers (DPTSP) and stablecoin issuers under the Payment Services Act. Published on Oct. 26, both consultation papers aim to reduce risks to consumers from crypto trading and improve standards of stablecoin-related transactions. The first document includes proposals for digital payment token (DPT) services or services related to major …

Over the years, several cryptocurrency companies have claimed that deposits with them were insured by the United States Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as if they were regular savings accounts. While so far, no crypto firm has been able to offer depositors this type of insurance, some speculate it could be the key to mass adoption. The most notable case is that of bankrupt lender Voyager Digital, which saw regulators instruct it to remove “false and misleading statements” regarding FDIC insurance. Crypto exchange FTX has been a beacon of hope looking to backstop contagion in the …

This week, Bitcoin’s (BTC) price took a tumble as a hotter-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) report showed high inflation remains a persistent challenge despite a wave of interest rate hikes from the United States Federal Reserve. Interestingly, the market’s negative reaction to a high CPI print seemed priced in by investors, and BTC’s and Ether’s (ETH) prices reclaimed all of their intraday losses to close the day in the black. A quick look at Bitcoin’s market structure shows that even with the post-CPI print drop, the price continues to trade in the same price range it has been in for …

Crypto exchange Blockchain.com has become the latest crypto company to secure preliminary approval from Singapore’s central bank to provide Digital Payment Token services in the city-state. Blockchain.com’s regulatory approval follows hot on the heels of Coinbase, which revealed it had received the same “in-principle” approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Oct. 11. If officially approved, Blockchain.com would join the likes of already licensed companies forDigital Payment Token services including crypto exchanges DBS Vickers and Independent Reserve, digital payment solution provider FOMO Pay, and crypto-friendly payments app Revolut, among others. Blockchain.com CEO and co-founder Peter Smith commended the …

If you were to hang around crypto traders this week, you would hear three phrases repeatedly muttered: “volatility,” “bond prices” and the potential of a “sharp move” in Bitcoin (BTC) price. Multiple analysts have placed emphasis on Bitcoin’s range-bound price action, leading some to question whether this is a sign of a market bottom, or even a decoupling from equities markets. In a recent “The Week On-chain” newsletter, Glassnode analysts said: “Recent weeks have seen an uncharacteristically low degree of volatility in Bitcoin prices, in stark contrast to equity, credit, and forex markets, where central bank rate hikes, inflation, and …

Three economists were awarded the Nobel Prize in economic sciences on Oct. 10 for their discoveries which are said to have improved “how society deals with financial crises." Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig conducted research on the economic role played by banks during times of financial crisis. According to the Nobel Prize Organization, this research included an important finding on why it is not only important but “vital” to avoid the collapse of banks. Tore Ellingsen, the chair of the committee for the prize in economic sciences, said that: “The laureates’ insights have improved our ability to avoid …

Bitcoin has been projected as many things since its inception in 2009. However, the most talked about aspects have been a fungible form of future money and an inflation hedge. The last Bitcoin (BTC) halving cycle (a block reward halving event that happens approximately every four years) coincided with the raging COVID-19 pandemic, which solidified many people’s belief in the nascent tech as a true hedge against inflation and worldly disorders. One year down the line, however, BTC has lost 75% of its market capitalization and not many would agree with the inflation hedge theory. During the last year’s bull …

This week, Bitcoin (BTC) raised investors’ hopes and then left them high and dry again. Traders placed a majority of their attention on BTC price pushing through a long-term descending trendline resistance, but according to Cointelegraph analyst Ray Salmond, “BTC price simply ‘consolidated’ its way through the trendline by trading in a sideways manner where price has been range bound between $18,500 and $24,500 for the past 114 days.” At the time of writing, BTC’s price continues to battle at $20,000, and it’s uncertain whether or not the level will hold as support. Data from on-chain analytics firm Whalemap shows …

The United States nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000 in September, marginally below the Dow Jones estimate of 275,000, but the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% compared to the forecast of 3.7%. Some analysts believe the report shows that the jobs market remains strong in spite of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow down the economy and that could encourage the Fed to go ahead with another aggressive rate hike in its next meeting in November. This led to a sharp fall in the U.S. equities markets on Oct. 7. Although Bitcoin (BTC) has traded in close correlation with the U.S. …

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has outlined proposed features and reasoning behind its in-development central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a 51-page note published on Oct. 7. The country’s central bank is looking to raise awareness of CBDCs, which are being developed by a number of central banks around the world, and to clearly define the objectives and choices as well as potential positive and negative elements of introducing a digital rupee in India. The document summarizes the key motivations for the issuance of an Indian CBDC, highlighting trust, safety, liquidity as well as settlement finality and integrity as …