Fintech Daily Digest

Good digital ID requires the following four attributes: it can be verified and authenticated to a high degree of assurance, it is unique, it is established with individual consent, and it protects user privacy and ensures control over personal data.

With an estimated population of 110 million, and an average age of 18, Africa's second most populous country, Ethiopia has been the continent's sleeping giant on the tech scene. However, Ethiopia's first ever tech event, 'Startup Ethiopia', and the 'Innovate Ethiopia' week around it, showcased the country's brimming potential and seems to be a harbinger of things to come.

Riksbank's Hanna Armelius: Central banks need to consider issuing digital currencies or leave citizens vulnerable to market power. Cashless societies could leave payment systems vulnerable to "increasing monopoly power … if there's no sort of competition from central bank money."

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance has launched the CBECI. The index provides a real-time estimate of the total annual electricity usage of the Bitcoin network and enables live comparisons with alternative electricity uses in order to put numbers into perspective.

Exactly what kind of money will Libra be? The white papers under-specify the core mechanism that is supposed to control the value and quantity of Libra. Is the Libra Reserve really like a currency board? Or is Libra meant to be like a mutual funds share, redeemable (by authorized resellers, not by the public directly) at the net asset value of a low-risk mutual fund diversified across several fiat currencies?

Markus Brunnermeier et al., argue that new kinds of currency areas will emerge, held together by digital interconnectedness, and cutting across borders, increasing currency competition and, in the process, possibly redefining the international monetary system.

IBM, in partnership with four Australian financial services companies, has launched an eight-week pilot for a blockchain-powered platform designed to streamline bank guarantee process. Lygon is a blockchain-based platform that digitizes the issuance and management of bank guarantees in the retail property lease sector. Per the release, digitizing the process will reduce the risk of fraud, decrease potential of errors, as well as increase transparency and security.

IBM, in partnership with four Australian financial services companies, has launched an eight-week pilot for a blockchain-powered platform designed to streamline bank guarantee process. Lygon is a blockchain-based platform that digitizes the issuance and management of bank guarantees in the retail property lease sector. Per the release, digitizing the process will reduce the risk of fraud, decrease potential of errors, as well as increase transparency and security.

Facebook's blockchain head, David Marcus, wrote a blog post trying to clear up some common questions about Libra. Among the points: Facebook won't control the currency, and it's meant primarily to help unbanked and underbanked people participate in the financial system. If Facebook benefits, it will be because people find it easier to transfer money using Facebook products.

In June, CME bitcoin futures set a new record for open interest amid a surge of new account sign-ups. More than 2,960 accounts have traded their bitcoin futures since launch, and more than 950 new accounts have created in 2019. In addition, the there are now 49 entities that hold contracts worth at least 25 BTC.

CipherTrace and Shyft have launched a blockchain-based identity and attestation platform aimed to help crypto firms meet the new FATF "travel rule" while still maintaining user privacy. The firms will build KYC and AML ecosystem in which participating exchanges can securely transfer Proof of Knowledge without disclosing personally identifying information.

Compared with Bitwise, which released a follow-up fake volume report in May 2019, Alameda thinks more crypto volume is real. For large exchanges like OKEx and Huobi, which were founded in China, Alameda estimates about 70% of their transactions are authentic. Bitwise is much more skeptical, as is the Blockchain Transparency Institute, which has estimated that more than 60% of Huobi's volume is fake and more than 90% of OKEx's volume is fabricated.

Prime Factor Capital is the first crypto hedge fund approved as a full-scope alternative investment fund manager by the UK FCA. The firm will abide by European regulations under which the firm will be allowed to hold more than EUR 100 million in assets under management.

In recent months, some cryptocurrency firms have begun touting structured products linked to the price of bitcoin, with complex formulas determining how much they pay out. It is still a small market, and the firms say their products aren't aimed at mom-and-pop investors. But the trend is raising red flags among some market veterans.

Luxembourg-based Argento has launched a series of bitcoin (BTC) bonds. Various durations are available, conspicuously named after crypto-specific phenomena such as FOMO, HODL and MOON.

Cuba's Communist government said on Tuesday it was studying the potential use of cryptocurrency as part of a series of measures to boost its economy amid a deepening crisis exacerbated by U.S. sanctions.

A brief outage Tuesday morning at 10:00AM Eastern took down a number of crypto information and trading sites including Coinbase and CoinMarketCap. The issues cleared up around 10:18AM and most sites seem to be running again.

Fresh from the Financial Conduct Authority on Wednesday: a proposal to ban the sale, marketing and distribution of derivatives and exchange traded notes linked to "cryptoassets" for retail consumers.

The backlash against Facebook's Libra project has begun. The House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Services has written to Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and the chief executive of Calibra, David Marcus, asking for a moratorium on the development of both Libra Coin itself and Facebook's bespoke wallet, Calibra.

The real problem with our existing currencies and financial arrangements, which serve as a means of payment as well as a store of value, is the lack of competition among, and regulation of, the companies that control transactions. As a result, consumers - especially in the US - pay a multiple of what payments should cost, lining the pockets of Visa, Mastercard,