The European Union, or EU, plans to incorporate crypto and blockchain technology into its main processes by 2024. Over the next four years, the economic union aims to firm up fresh regulations that will promote blockchain and digital asset usage for international money transfers, according to internal documents that Reuters reported on Friday. The documents detailed: “By 2024, the EU should put in place a comprehensive framework enabling the uptake of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and crypto-assets in the financial sector [...] It should also address the risks associated with these technologies.” Finding that almost 80% of its population transacts …

By way of disclaimer, today’s Law Decoded is going to be especially America-centric. Writing to you from the ghastly swamp that is Washington, D.C., I generally try to keep these newsletters more globally minded, displeased as I am with how often the news cycle acts like this town is the center of the solar system. Thematically, however, the relationship between the capital and the rest of the country is central to this week’s news. U.S. federalism is a critical feature of this remarkably frustrating country. The back-and-forth between federal and state power is one of the defining tensions of these …

The Facebook-initiated Libra blockchain project continues to grow as its governing body adds a new major industry partner. Blockchain Capital, one of the largest venture capital firms in the blockchain industry, has joined the Libra Association, according to an official announcement Friday. Alongside the other 26 association participants, Blockchain Capital will now be working to create a “more equitable payment system” with Libra. Bart Stephens, co-founder and managing partner at Blockchain Capital, said, “Leveraging blockchain technology to improve financial access and promote innovation has been at the core of Blockchain Capital’s portfolio strategy.” The Libra Association was formed in June …

Wirex — the first cryptocurrency platform to be granted a Mastercard principal membership — will release a new multi-currency card on the heels of the membership. Wirex is a London-based crypto payment processor and is regulated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, with a license to issue crypto cards in Europe. The multi-currency Wirex Card will be supported by Mastercard and linked to 19 crypto and fiat currency accounts in the Wirex app. An official release date has not yet been announced. In a bid to encourage the use of cryptocurrency for everyday payments, the company is also upgrading its …

A company that provides Bitcoin payments says it aims to usher Africa into a new digital age and deliver a compelling alternative to fiat currencies. Patricia, a financial solutions business based in Lagos, Nigeria began as a straightforward e-commerce startup. Now, the platform has gone global, and the company estimates that more than 300,000 people use its services to meet their everyday needs. The company also has offices in Ghana, the United Kingdom and the United States. The team behind Patricia uses the power of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to create alternative solutions to existing financial infrastructure, enabling consumers to …

Bitcoin (BTC) payment and wallet company BitPay has chosen to take its company's working atmosphere remote, permanently. BitPay's team is "currently 100% remote due to covid and will be until further notice," the company's chief marketing officer, Bill Zielke, told Cointelegraph. "Then, employees will have option to use our offices or remain remote," he added. "We plan to have office space for meet ups, trainings, customer events, and company gatherings and events." A poll from within the company revealed: "85% of employees preferred to work from home and felt they were more productive," said a Tuesday statement. "This insight coupled …

An organization of state regulators in the U.S. has announced a new streamlined process for money transmitter licensing that will save large operators — including firms — from getting separate licenses in every state. The Sept. 15 announcement from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has set out parameters for state licensing that will involve a single exam administered by examiners from across the country. Nationwide payments firms, meaning those operating as money transmitters in 40 or more states, will be able to get a single license to operate throughout the U.S. There are currently 78 such firms in …

INX, a Gibraltar-based cryptocurrency exchange, is now accepting major cryptocurrencies as part of its initial public offering. The company hopes to raise $117 million from both retail and institutional investors. Starting Monday, the company will accept payments in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and USD Coin (USDC), INX officially announced on Thursday. Since launching the IPO, INX raised $7.5 million by Sept. 10, the firm's representatives said. According to the announcement, more than 3,000 retail and accredited investors registered for the INX token offering in the first three days. INX said the company set the offering price at $0.90 per token, …

Russia’s new cryptocurrency-related law, “On Digital Financial Assets,” or DFA, seems to have had little impact on the local cryptocurrency industry so far. In its current form, the DFA law essentially provides legal status to digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), but prohibits their use for payments in Russia. As the DFA law is poised to be officially adopted in less than four months, Cointelegraph talked to major crypto firms operating in Russia to get their take on how the new law can impact their business. Based on comments from executives at companies like Binance, Waves, Paxful, LocalBitcoins, and Wirex, companies …

With online payments company Wirecard undergoing insolvency proceedings this month, mainstream financial services like VISA, PayPal, and Mastercard are rushing to fill the digital payments void, and be one of the first to offer crypto payment cards, stated experts in the crypto industry. During an interview with Cointelegraph, Jerry Chan, CEO of blockchain service provider TAAL, and Rod Hsu, President & Co-Founder of virtual currency platform Coincurve, both agreed that the competition could be just what the industry needs to shift the way that digital currencies are being used as a method of payment or technology. But Chan goes beyond …

New York-based blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has published new research highlighting there have been up to 200,000 crypto transactions in the past year, worth more than $1 billion between Latin America and Asia. The study Latin America Mitigates Economic Turbulence with Cryptocurrency, analyzed crypto trends in Latin America between July 2019, and June 2020, and shows that banking access issues and the need for remittances are driving unique patterns of cryptocurrency usage, especially in crossborder commercial-related transactions. While North America and Western Europe are the biggest source of fiat remittances to Latin America, East Asia transactions lead the way in …

Financial services giants Visa and Mastercard have shown an increased interest in the trillion-dollar digital payment sector through their recent acquisitions of innovative fintechs. In January this year, Visa acquired fintech firm Plaid for $5.3 billion. The San Francisco-based firm enables data sharing of financial information between different fintech apps like Venmo and Chime, supporting over 2,000 financial institutions. As such, the acquisition could strengthen Plaid’s global wire transfer capabilities. Mastercard has also made some major fintech acquisitions. In June this year, the payment giant announced plans to acquire financial data aggregation startup Finicity for $825 million. Mastercard’s announcement states …