Auckland-based financial service provider Techemynt announced the launch of a stablecoin reportedly backed by the New Zealand dollar. In a statement from Techemynt today, the firm announced it had launched a cryptocurrency backed 1:1 by the New Zealand dollar and deployed on the Ethereum blockchain by Blockchain Labs. Techemynt is a registered financial service provider with the country’s major financial watchdog, the Financial Markets Authority. The firm said it would be offering the $NZD stablecoin directly to any customers who want to purchase more than $100,000 NZD worth — roughly $70,000 USD. Crypto users can also find the token on …

Major South Korean commercial bank Shinhan Bank is looking to collaborate with the country’s central bank on developing a national digital currency. Shinhan Bank has developed a blockchain-based pilot platform for a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, in partnership with LG Corporation’s IT services arm, LG CNS, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Monday. Shinhan Bank and LG CNS created a virtual CBDC model where the Bank of Korea issues a CBDC, while other banking institutions like Shinhan Bank act as financial intermediaries. The bank emphasized that CBDC intermediaries would be an integral part of a digital won ecosystem, …

In an announcement on Wednesday, VersaBank said it plans to launch a digital currency called VCAD, which will reportedly be backed by Canadian dollars deposited with the bank. The Canadian bank claimed that VCAD would effectively be "the first digital currency to represent a fiat currency" issued and backed by a North American bank. VersaBank said it had partnered with Canada Stablecorp, a joint venture between investment fund manager 3iQ and blockchain firm Mavennet, to launch the "stablecoin." The bank plans to make VCAD available to the public “in the coming months” by issuing the digital currency to its “financial …

China’s central bank is pushing exposure to its ongoing national digital currency pilot by enlisting two major private banks in the project. According to a Monday Bloomberg report, MYbank and WeBank will help the People's Bank of China extend its user exposure in the ongoing pilots of its central bank digital currency, the digital yuan. As part of the integration, MYbank’s service will soon be introduced to the PBoC’s digital yuan app, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The e-wallets by MYbank and WeBank will reportedly have exactly the same functions as those from the six state-owned lenders in …

The Bahamas is moving to make its national digital currency more accessible by launching a prepaid card for the “sand dollar.” The Central Bank of The Bahamas has partnered with global payment giant Mastercard and local payment startup Island Pay to create a card that supports the sand dollar central bank digital currency. According to a Wednesday announcement, the card is running under a new program from Mastercard and Island Pay, allowing users to convert the digital currency to traditional Bahamian dollars and pay for goods and services. The new card will be accepted for payments across the Caribbean region …

Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, recently announced that it has extended an ongoing pilot aimed at creating a digital version of the Swedish krona until 2022. In combination with professional services firm Accenture, the “e-krona” pilot program was created to address what the Riksbank sees as “the marginalization of cash”: “The Riksbank sees potential problems with the marginalisation of cash and has therefore initiated a pilot project to develop a proposal for a technical solution for a central bank digital currency, an e-krona that can work as a complement to cash." The recent announcement states that no decision has been …

Major Russian mobile network operators like MegaFon and Beeline are considering how the digital ruble will function on their mobile devices. According to a Feb. 16 report by local news agency Izvestia, Beeline and MegaFon proposed to set up smartphone wallets for Russia’s central bank digital currency. The carriers also suggested additional services like linking a digital wallet to a customer’s phone number. This would allow users to store digital rubles directly on their smartphones as well as transfer and pay with the digital currency using smart devices, a spokesperson for MegaFon said. According to Izvestia, both MegaFon and Beeline …

A Chinese banking institution has completed the development of a hardware wallet for the country’s central bank digital currency, the digital yuan According to a Feb. 7 announcement by Xiong’an authorities, the Xiong’an branch of the Agricultural Bank of China in Hebei has produced the first hardware wallet designed for the digital yuan. The product was developed by the Party Working Committee of the Xiongan New Area and the People’s Bank of China branch in Shijiazhuang. New areas in China are urban districts that are provided special economic support by the central government. They are divided into state, provincial and …

Just one week after asset manager Blackrock appeared to be preparing to invest in Bitcoin futures, CEO Larry Fink has some mixed messages on crypto. In an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Fink referred to Bitcoin (BTC) as a volatile asset within "a very small market." The CEO’s remarks continued, with fascination over the media coverage of Bitcoin, given that the “asset category is so small compared to other asset categories.” “[Bitcoin] could be another store of wealth, but right now it’s still untested,” said Fink. “It has huge volatility, moving in 5-6% increments with small dollar investments moving it.” …

Less than a year after the Indian supreme court overturned the Reserve Bank of India’s ban on crypto businesses, the bank’s position on digital assets is looking slightly more bullish. According to a booklet on payments released today by the RBI, the bank is “exploring the possibility as to whether there is a need for a digital version of fiat currency.” The bank added that if it found a need, it would look into ways to put digital currency into use. The RBI booklet acknowledged the popularity surrounding cryptocurrencies worldwide but claimed that Indian regulators and local government bodies are …

The Chinese national blockchain project, the Blockchain Service Network, is planning to pilot integration with global central bank digital currencies. According to a Jan. 15 blog post, the BSN is looking to build a universal digital payment network, or UDPN, based on CBDCs of various countries as part of its 2021 roadmap. Currently at the design stage, the beta version of UDPN is expected to launch in the second half of 2021. The BSN plans to complete the UDPN development in five years. With the UDPN, BSN aims to enable a standardized digital currency transfer method and payment procedure. The …

The mainstream has taken a growing interest in cryptocurrency as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) continues to reach all-time highs. To put this interest into perspective, researchers at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance recently found that 101 million people across the globe currently hold Bitcoin and other digital assets. The report states that in 2018, findings estimated the number of identity-verified digital asset users to be about 35 million globally. With such growth underway, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that crypto holders would get the idea of gifting cryptocurrency this holiday season. Social distancing requirements amid the pandemic …