Fintech Daily Digest

"It is evident that the government and regulatory push in Vietnam towards mobile money as a means of increasing financial inclusion and enhancing digital society is unwavering."

Facebook seems to think its new digital currency Libra will be used mainly for purchasing goods and services and for current account transactions. But it will probably be used mainly for capital account transactions. Do we really want to eliminate frictional costs on the capital account?

Coinbase is exploring plans to set up its own "captive" insurance company. At the start of this year, insurance broker Aon began establishing captive companies in the Cayman Islands, working with a handful of cryptocurrency firms. Aon says a captive structure can help firms get access to additional coverage at more reasonable prices.

The Malta Financial Services Authority issued a consultation document aimed at adopting a supervisory approach relating to Security Token Offerings, where introduced a further classification into Traditional STOs (TSTOs) and Other STOs (OSTOs) - a digital representation sharing some qualities of traditional transferable securities.

Taiwan issued its first virtual banking licenses to three consortiums led by Taiwan and Japanese investors, its financial authorities said on Tuesday, following moves by regulators in other Asian markets to issue such licenses.

Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook is reportedly working on a back-door content-scanner for WhatsApp, tantamount to a wiretapping algorithm. If the reports are correct, Facebook will scan your messages before you send them and report anything suspicious.

Philippines-based UnionBank has launched a payments-focused stablecoin pegged to the Philippine peso, dubbed PHX, that is being implemented on UnionBank's i2i platform.

The latest order by Hangzhou Internet Court suggests that owning bitcoin is not illegal in China as it gave the flagship cryptocurrency the status of a "virtual property.

Chile-based peer-to-peer remittance company CurrencyBird has joined RippleNet, Ripple's global blockchain-based network of payment providers.

Facebook says in the risk factors section of its latest quarterly report that it can't guarantee Libra "will be made available in a timely manner, or at all."

On Monday, Whale Alert, a cryptocurrency transaction tracking bot, tweeted that a Bitcoin whale known as 'Unknown Owner 26' moved $468.5 million worth of Bitcoin (49,756) for just $374.98.

"Cambodia launched the pilot of a blockchain-powered payment system this week, as the South-east Asian country aims to reduce money transfer costs and improve financial inclusion. The application, know as the Bakong Project, connects financial institutions and payment providers, enabling users to pay and make transactions in real time without fees, according to Cambodia's central bank."

"All financial market participants need to be incentivised to manage risks associated with clearing properly, and regulators must take care not to put too much of the burden on one actor only - in this case, CCPs. The FSB will issue a further consultation on this topic next year."

Ping An built an empire around safe and staid products like life insurance. Now it's betting its future on inventive uses of big data-and gearing up to do battle with fast-growing tech giants like Alibaba.

"We urge you to support regulation that does not disadvantage U.S. companies using these technologies to innovate responsibly, and classifies digital currencies in a way that recognizes their fundamental differences - not painting them with a broad brush."

The new hardware wallet comes from YOUNIQX Identity, a subsidiary of the Vienna-based Oesterreichische Staatsdruckerei. Called Chainlock, the device is a 100% offline wallet offers private key generation in a high-security enclave that OeSD said means the keys cannot be viewed by any outside party - even YOUNIQX or OeSD employees.

A new generation of technology companies, called govtech, is using new technologies applied to public services, and designed for local and central governments. These tech-enabled solutions promise greater efficiency and transparency in the way the citizens engage with the administration, transforming the way nations distribute welfare, keep citizens safe, provide healthcare, and deliver key public services.

Even though the bitcoin market has evolved significantly over the last two years, a majority of BTC is owned by a small number of individuals. They can exert pressure on the markets to form patterns and lure unsuspecting traders to take their bait.

"To the extent permitted by applicable law, Governmental Authorities, and technology and mobile platforms, the Parent shall use its reasonable endeavours to facilitate the use of Tokens as the principal currency used on Telegram Messenger by building TON Wallets into Telegram Messenger."

Currency Bird is the first transfer company in Chile to join the global network of Ripple, of which recognized institutions like MoneyGram, American Express, Banco Santander, Standard Chartered Bank, and Banco Itaú are already part of.