Facebook’s Libra has pushed central banks to consider two major issues in global payment systems, an exec at the European Central Bank (ECB) said. Benoit Coeure made his remarks at a hearing of the Committee on the Digital Agenda in the German parliament on Sept. 25. According to Coeure, an ECB board member and chair of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure, global payment systems still lack access and efficiency of cross-border retail payments. As such, 1.7 billion adults globally have no access to basic payment services despite 1.1 billion of them having a mobile phone and one in …

The ripples of the Libra effect are beginning to lap against the shores of Europe, with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire suggesting that Europe should throw its hat into the ring and launch its own digital currency. Le Maire’s announcement comes at a time when EU politicians are becoming increasingly vocal about Libra and digital currencies in general. Speaking at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Helsinki, Le Maire told journalists that he would discuss the feasibility of a European public digital currency with his counterparts in October. Charles Hoskinson, CEO of blockchain engineering startup IOHK, explained to …

The Boerse Stuttgart Digital Exchange (BSDEX) has launched for select users in Germany. Fully regulated under the German Banking Act In a Sept. 23 news release, the Boerse Stuttgart Group — Germany’s second-largest stock exchange — announced that trading has begun. The exchange, which is regulated under the German Banking Act, will initially allow users to trade the euro/Bitcoin (BTC) pair. BSDEX will gradually open up its trading venue to other retail and institutional investors, eventually followed by the entire European Union. Dirk Sturz, the CEO at BSDEX, added: “The market in cryptocurrencies is worth billions, and more digital assets …

The German-speaking world saw a number of crypto and blockchain events this week, with the German Federal Government releasing its blockchain strategy and local companies and associations launching new industry initiatives. Here is the past week of German crypto and blockchain news in review, as originally reported by Cointelegraph and Cointelegraph auf Deutsch. New DLT public offering is approved by Liechtenstein On Sept. 16, German crypto investment startup Neufund rolled out its blockchain-based public offering platform, following clearance from the Financial Monetary Authority in Liechtenstein. As part of the first offering, Neufund’s platform was implemented by Greyp, a mobility firm …

Non-profit blockchain organization Iota Foundation has released a platform enabling a decentralized and autonomous industrial marketplace. World’s first autonomous and decentralized virtual marketplace Dubbed the Industry Marketplace, Iota’s new product is a joint initiative that aims to accelerate industrial automation and commercial machine interaction, the organization announced in a blog post on Sept. 19. Serving as a vendor and industry-neutral platform that automates the trade of physical and digital goods and services, the blog claims the Industry Marketplace to be the world’s first autonomous and decentralized virtual marketplace. The initiative is a collaboration between a number of firms, including German …

Germany’s government has approved a blockchain strategy that aims to prevent stablecoins from becoming alternative currencies and threatening state sovereignty. Reuters reported on Sept. 18 that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet passed the strategy earlier today, in an apparent bid to mitigate the risks posed by the forthcoming Libra cryptocurrency from social media giant Facebook. We will not leave currency issuance “to private companies” Reuters cites Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as saying that, while the government wishes to further strengthen Germany as a leading technology location and foster blockchain innovation, the state remains cautious about prospective digital currency issuance from the …

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz stated that policymakers cannot accept parallel currencies such as Facebook's proposed Libra stablecoin. Prevent stablecoins from becoming alternative currencies As reported by Reuters, on Sept. 17, German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said during a panel discussion in Berlin that Facebook’s planned crypto coin Libra will be clearly rejected. He said: “We cannot accept a parallel currency. [...] You have to reject that clearly.” According to a document seen by Reuters, German regulators are working closely with their European and international allies to make sure stablecoins will not become alternatives to traditional currencies. …

German crypto investment startup Neufund has launched its blockchain-enabled public offering platform featuring a Porsche-backed firm as the first issuer. 10 euro minimum investment Within the first offering on Sept. 16, Neufund’s platform will be used by mobility firm Greyp, a company backed by sports car giant Porsche, Camel Group and T-mobile, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph today. Neufund’s platform has acquired clearance from the Financial Monetary Authority in Liechtenstein to host public offerings with a minimum investment of just 10 euro, enabling high accessibility to investors. Firms from most countries can join While the platform’s offerings …

The German-speaking world continues to see lots of developments in the crypto industry, as a Liechtenstein-based exchange is tokenizing a $25 million movie fund with actor Wesley Snipes, Austrian textile manufacturers use blockchain to go green and a Swiss crypto finance company expands its business into Asia. Here is the past week of crypto and blockchain news in review, as originally reported by Cointelegraph auf Deutsch. A Liechtenstein exchange is tokenizing a $25 million movie fund Liechtenstein Cryptoassets Exchange is tokenizing a $25 million movie fund together with Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes. The news was reported by Cointelegraph auf Deutsch …

The government of Germany has spoken against the authorization of the development of Facebook’s forthcoming Libra stablecoin in the European Union. As German weekly news magazine Spiegel reported on Sept. 13, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) parliamentarian Thomas Heilmann — who is responsible for the blockchain policy of the CDU and Christian Social Union in Bavaria set to be approved later in September — the government will deny projects like Libra. “Not to allow market-relevant private stablecoins” Heilmann stated that it was agreed in the grand coalition "not to allow market-relevant private stablecoins." He further explained: "Up to now, the …

The German-speaking world continues to see lots of developments in the crypto industry, with the German government clarifying proposed regulations, Switzerland adding a new blockchain hub, while Bitcoin (BTC)-scammers are using Austrian celebrities in fake crypto ads. Here is the past week of crypto and blockchain news in review, as originally reported by Cointelegraph auf Deutsch. German government explains proposed regulations for crypto wallets and exchanges Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reported on Sept. 3, that, in reply to a request by the Free Democratic Party, the German Federal Government announced further details on planned regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers. …

Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP) wants to pay cryptocurrency to anyone who removes carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Get paid to fight climate change According to a report by local news organization Welt on Sept. 2, the FDP recognizes that it is no longer enough to only focus on putting less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It said that, if the world wants to slow down global warming, it will also need to retrieve greenhouse gases that have already been emitted. The party in Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, has proposed creating a new digital currency called …