Facebook’s crypto project Libra will be more similar to email tech than payment services such as PayPal, vice president of product at Calibra said. Speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon on Nov. 5, Kevin Weil, vice president of product at Facebook's Calibra digital wallet unit, emphasized that interoperability — the basic principle of email — will the key concept of Libra. “A journey of years and decades” Noting that any global developer or entrepreneur can build wallets for Libra, Weil encouraged the global community to collaborate on the interoperable protocols. He said: “You and me don’t have to collaborate …
The value of Business-to-Business (B2B) cross-border payments carried out on a blockchain will exceed $4.4 trillion by 2024, after reaching $171 billion this year. According to a press release published by Juniper Research on Nov. 5, the firm’s new report revealed that financial institutions will save $7 billion by 2024 thanks to the advantages of blockchain-based systems. More precisely, the report cites the lower cost, higher transparency, real-time settlement of blockchain transactions and automated Know Your Client checks based on self-sovereign identity. The author of the research, Morgane Kimmich, said: “The implementation of blockchain is part of a wider strategy …
How can I be informed of what’s happening with my crypto transactions? Some crypto exchanges are aiming to deliver full transparency to their users. This attitude toward openness can be especially beneficial for users who are using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for the first time. HitBTC, which bills itself as one of the most advanced crypto exchanges on the market today, has created a System Monitor that delivers live statistics concerning incoming and outgoing transactions for each of the cryptocurrencies it supports. Processing times for the last 100 transactions are provided — detailing the slowest and fastest execution times as …
China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), will use a new system to certify 11 types of fintech hardware and software products relating to digital payments. On Oct. 29, the PBoC alongside China’s market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), jointly released a set of documents for the new nationwide Certification of Fintech Products (CFP) system. The documents include definitions of fintech products that require certification as well as rules for its proceedings. The listed products include embedded application software, cloud computing platforms, user front-end software, security carriers and chips, as well as point of sale …
Ethereum-based decentralized stablecoin DAI is now spendable where VISA cards are accepted and leading stablecoin Tether (USDT) is seeing increasing use by e-commerce organizations. DAI now usable in E.U. stores According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph Oct. 29, collaborative financial platform 2Gether added DAI support to its platform. A spokesperson claimed that this is the first stablecoin added to the platform. As a result of the addition, 2Gether users can now spend their DAI like euros, without fees, anywhere where Visa is accepted with the dedicated card. Furthermore, 2Gether will also enable DAI holders to buy and sell …
Calibra CEO David Marcus recently claimed that the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards of Libra — Facebook’s proposed stablecoin project — will be better than other payments networks. Citing statements from Marcus’ speech at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas, finance publication Finextra reports on Oct. 29 that he explained the nuances of the project during an interview. He said, ”I want to say that the efficacy of sanction enforcing can be much higher on Libra than other payments networks.” Marcus stated that the network’s underlying blockchain technology will allow regulators to better trace transactions and identify suspicious activities, adding: …
Cryptocurrency custody and futures trading platform Bakkt has announced its coming entry into mobile payments with a consumer app. Per an Oct. 28 blog post from the company, Bakkt will follow its recent successes in trading Bitcoin (BTC) futures with a consumer app. According to the company, the app will help consumers “unlock the value of digital assets, as well as ways in which they can transact or track them.” Starbucks on board Though the announcement is vague on the specifics of the app’s functionalities, coffee empire Starbucks is the first major retailer to commit to the new payments application. …
Amid the regulatory storm facing Libra, the project’s hierarchy is looking to change one important detail of the payment system: using fiat-pegged stablecoins rather than a token supported by a basket of national currencies. The Libra Association says such considerations are part of efforts to create a more agile payment platform. Meanwhile, the furor over the controversial Libra has begun to take a more political undertone, both within and outside the United States. Arguments for and against the project now seem to include issues surrounding the trade war between the U.S. and China. In Europe, China’s response to Facebook’s crypto …
There’s no easy way to buy, send or spend cryptocurrency in person — not even for a slice of pizza or a cup of coffee, or so it’s been said. Meanwhile, the number of physical merchant locations that accept crypto payments keeps growing. As of late October 2019, 15,558 business venues worldwide were accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as a method of payment, up 18% from a year earlier, according to Coinmap.org. The crowdsourced heatmap, devised by Satoshi Labs in 2013, draws on input from consumers and merchants. It also offers up some surprises. While Europe remains the hottest continent for in-person …
The Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBOB) is planning to release its own fiat digital currency in order to ensure economies’ resilience in the event of a natural disaster. CBOB governor John Rolle made the statement during his speech at the Counsellors Limited’s Exuma Business Outlook at Sandals Emerald Bay, local news publication the Nassau Guardian reported on Oct. 25. According to Rolle, digital currency has the ability to free the country from dependency on cash — particularly useful after a natural disaster. The Project Sand Dollar The digital currency is being developed under the auspices of Project Sand Dollar …
Stablecoin Tether (USDT) is gaining popularity as a payment method, with some analysts seeing it catching up with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). As Bloomberg reported on Oct. 25, cryptocurrency payments processor CoinPayments registered the rapid increasing of popularity of Tether — a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to a United States dollar — as a means of payment. On the site, which has a 2.4 million user base, Tether currently accounts for 30% of volume, which is 30 times more than a year ago. Tether undermines Ether’s leadership? Bitcoin application as a means of payment has seen a nearly 60% drop …
A professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business says cryptocurrencies will put an end to the windfall that banks currently enjoy from low-interest deposits. In an Oct 24 interview for the university, Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance Darrell Duffies said that one way or another, cryptocurrencies are likely to upend banks’ business model within the next decade. Major disruption inevitable Professor Duffie said the public should not be misled by the relatively still-low levels of adoption of decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC); nor should they take the pushback against Facebook’s Libra as the sign of a moratorium on …