With just two weeks left in office, President Donald Trump has sent out a new executive order targeting Chinese payment apps. The Tuesday order bars United States citizens or people located in the U.S. from using nine Chinese payment apps. It continues the White House's earlier efforts to cut off the U.S. market from Chinese-owned apps like TikTok. Yesterday's order repeats earlier concerns of data collection by the Chinese Communist Party: "The continuing activity of the PRC and the CCP to steal or otherwise obtain United States persons’ data makes clear that there is an intent to use bulk data …

The largest manufacturer of slot machines in the world has just received a patent that would allow customers to access crypto payments for gambling. According to records from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, International Game Technology, or IGT, received a patent today for a system that would enable gamblers to transfer crypto from their accounts into a “gaming establishment account.” The patent filing shows payments in Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ether (ETH) as examples for users transferring crypto from their private wallets to wallets connected to casino accounts. “IGT secured this patent to bolster its industry-leading …

A recent tweet from Dash’s official Twitter account has invited criticism that the cryptocurrency, which once advertised its privacy features, is wilting in the face of possible regulatory scrutiny. On Jan. 1, the US-based Bittrex exchange announced in a tweet that it would be delisting Monero, Zcash, and Dash: #Bittrex Customers: The $XMR, $ZEC, and $DASH markets will be removed on Friday, January 15th at 23:00 UTC. Details: https://t.co/8qAdjuwryJ — Bittrex (@BittrexExchange) January 1, 2021 The delistings follow a similar Dec. 29 announcement last week that Bittrex would be delisting XRP following a SEC lawsuit against Ripple, prompting speculation that …

Dash has moved development work on the v0.17 update of its platform to the testnet phase, according to an announcement released on Wednesday. Back in July 2020, Cointelegraph reported that the Dash Core Group was looking to release the platform testnet before the end of the year. As part of the announcement, Dash revealed that the testnet environment is five times larger than Evonet, which is almost exclusively owned by the Dash Core Group. According to Dana Alibrandi, head of product at Dash: “This is the biggest deployment of Dash Platform, and consequently, this release marks the most significant milestone …

Unicas, a joint venture between Indian online crypto banking platform Cashaa and United Multistate Credit Co-op Society, has launched a physical crypto bank branch in Jaipur, India. Back in October, Multistate announced plans to offer both online and physical crypto banking services across its 34 locations in northern India. Users will be able to access both fiat and crypto-asset services at the bank. Unicas will also provide instant digital loans with cryptocurrencies as collateral. According to a Cashaa blog post on Dec. 28, the physical crypto bank branch in Jaipur is part of an initial rollout in 14 locations across …

For a country of 25 million people, Australia punches well above its weight both economically and in the world of blockchain. Australians have long been enthusiastic adopters of new technology, from cellphones to smart homes, so it’s little surprise they’ve embraced crypto too. Chainalysis ranks Australia 20th out of 154 countries surveyed this year for its "The 2020 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report," citing favorable regulation that legitimizes the technology as driving "steady growth in adoption." Australian crypto educator Alex Saunders, founder of Nuggets News, said the Australian crypto community encompasses everyone from hardcore Bitcoin (BTC) maximalists to well-known Ethereans and …

The issues that are holding the blockchain industry back have been well-documented, with slow transaction speeds making these networks unsuitable for use on a mass scale. A requirement to code in niche programming languages has also prevented a sizable number of developers from building on these platforms. We spoke to Professor Ken Huang, who recently became a key business advisor to the ABEY Foundation, to discuss how the organization’s blockchain aims to offer innovative solutions for consumers and developers alike. 1. What are the origins of the ABEY blockchain? Well, ABEY stands for Advanced Blockchain for Enhanced Yields, and the …

The Swedish government is progressing with its central bank digital currency, or CBDC, by launching a formal review of a potential transition to the digital currency. According to a Bloomberg report published Friday, the review will explore the feasibility of moving the country's payments infrastructure to a digital currency. The country features one of the most cashless economies in the world. Sweden’s financial markets minister, Per Bolund, reportedly said that the government expects to complete the digital currency review by the end of November 2022. Anna Kinberg Batra — a former chairwoman of the finance committee at Sweden’s central bank, …

Bitcoin (BTC) payments giant BitPay aims to form a national trust bank, based on its recent filing with the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. “We confirm BitPay has filed an application with the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish BitPay National Trust Bank,” BitPay general counsel and chief compliance officer, Eden Doniger, told Cointelegraph. “A national trust bank is a limited purpose national bank that engages in trust activities.” A representative for the OCC told Cointelegraph that the office received BitPay's application on Dec. 7. With its limited operations, a …

A crypto payments network has unveiled a range of new use cases for its flagship token — expanding its global footprint even further. Electroneum customers can now purchase top-ups for mobile data and airtime in more than 160 countries worldwide. Among the latest nations where the service has gone live include Australia, Cuba, Japan, Namibia, Lebanon and Belgium, underlining the company’s ambition to achieve an international presence. Meanwhile, Guinea Bissau has become the fifth African country where electricity top-ups can be bought from within the Electroneum app. A partnership has also been struck up with a new third-party supplier, unlocking …

Global regulators should grant Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Diem “the benefit of the doubt” to greenlight its launch in 2021, a top executive at Facebook Financial said. David Marcus, the head of Facebook Financial, or F2, said that both cryptocurrency Diem and related crypto wallet Novi could be launched next year. Speaking at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2020 on Dec. 8, he stated that regulators should finally let Facebook move forward with its cryptocurrency: “I don’t think what we are asking for is just immediate trust. I think [...] what we’re asking for is at least to have the benefit of the …

Although he is based in the North Pole, Santa Claus spends much of his December touring the globe, making appearances at countless holiday-themed engagements in the run up to Christmas Eve. In payment for these rendezvous, Santa has long been known to accept tips in a variety of different currencies, assets and edible treats. This year, Santa adds Bitcoin (BTC) to his list of accepted payment methods. A global service called HireSanta now lets people book a Santa performer in exchange for Bitcoin, according to a post from the company’s website: “There are several ways that HireSanta can accept Bitcoin …