Fintech Daily Digest

Tether is planning to issue a stablecoin pegged to the Chinese renminbi, according to a trader with ties to the company.

A new blockchain startup called Securitize has been recently approved as a transfer agent by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This means that the company will now be able to act as an official keeper for records involving ownership changes in securities.

Crypto pioneer David Chaum is issuing a new digital currency, Praxxis that has the security, speed, and scalability to grow into a replacement of physical cash. The digital asset is built on the so-called Elixxir blockchain, launched early last year.

Antitrust regulators at the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, have sent out a questionnaire to determine whether Facebook's proposed stablecoin Libra is an anticompetitive project.

A rag-tag team of Israeli entrepreneurs is looking to leverage Facebook's cryptocurrency project for profits, even without the $10 million required to join the Libra Association. So far the newly established startup, Libracamp, has received more than 80 applications to participate in a virtual bootcamp for Libra developers starting in November.

Smart contracts could soon get a boost in bitcoin as prominent programmer Pieter Wuille has unveiled a new coding language designed specifically for their use. The 'Miniscript' language aims to make it easier for programmers to write up "smart contracts" or conditions for spending bitcoins.

The number of projects utilizing a proof-of-stake governance mechanism has increased recently, as new projects hope to increase scalability and reduce the high energy consumption often associated with proof-of-work networks.

Transfer volumes across stablecoin platforms have risen considerably in 2019. While the number of on-chain transactions across tracked stablecoins still trail that of Venmo, the aggregate total on-chain transfer volume across the largest stablecoins has now surpassed Venmo's total payment volume .

"Undoubtedly, technological innovation can bring important improvements in productivity and convenience to the financial services industry. It serves as a catalyst for structural change and thus requires careful monitoring of market dynamics and implications for risk. Going forward, I see four main priorities for regulators and supervisors..."

Fnality is pleased to announce key additions to the senior management and advisory team. Gary Chu joins as General Counsel and Adam Clarke as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), with Daniel Heller joining as Head of Regulatory Affairs.

WhatsApp is in advanced talks with several digital payments firms including ride hailer Go-Jek, mobile payments firm DANA, backed by China's Ant Financial, and fintech startup OVO, which is owned by Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group and is also backed by ride hailing company Grab, sources said.

Speaking at the Digital Banking Summit Innovation and Excellence Awards 2019 in Accra yesterday, Dr Opoku-Afari said adopting digital technology by players in the banking and financial space could help promote transactional efficiency in the delivery of financial services as well as scale up and broaden financial access to all segments of the society.

'Satoshi' confirmed himself to be Bilal Khalid - as was previously discovered in a check of the domain name registrar for the 'Satoshi Reveal' website. We also find out the reason why he can't access his $19 billion fortune (he lost his private keys).

"There are really quite stark differences between what Libra's proposing and what we see as a central bank digital currency. On our side it is important to be regulated. You can with a central bank digital currency tell clients that it's legal tender-meaning it has to be accepted and is regulated and backed by assets on a central bank balance sheet. This is really key."

"The appropriate response to Libra or the larger crypto phenomenon is not a binary yes or no. Rather, it's to engage in a wide and deep debate on how to create technology-enabled monetary solutions that better serve humanity. So far at least, the traditional banking sector has not been up to the challenge, preferring instead to use compliance requirements as a fig leaf to protect what is an all but entrenched oligopoly."

"The World Bank has raised an additional AUD 50m for its Kangaroo bond due August 2020 - the first bond created, allocated, transferred and managed through its life-cycle using distributed ledger technology."

Santander is expanding its use of Ripple's technology. The Spanish bank is building a "payment corridor" that would let customers in Latin America send money to the U.S. instantly for free via One Pay FX, a mobile app that uses Ripple's xCurrent software.

Telegram's long-awaited blockchain, Telegram Open Network, is said to be scheduled to launch Oct. 31, but the yet-to-be-issued gram tokens are already trading in an unauthorized secondary market.

"Binance today announced its plans to initiate an open blockchain project, Venus, an initiative to develop localized stablecoins and digital assets pegged to fiat currencies across the globe. Binance is looking to create new alliances and partnerships with governments, corporations, technology companies, and other cryptocurrency companies and projects involved in the larger blockchain ecosystem, to empower developed and developing countries to spur new currencies."

The latest self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto overpromised and underdelivered in Part 1 of his "big reveal" - probably to the surprise of no one in crypto. In a meandering blog post, the self-proclaimed bitcoin inventor did not reveal his real name, nor did he produce a photo of himself. So we're still no closer to learning his true identity than we were before the "reveal."