The cryptocurrency market remains rangebound with a slight bearish bias with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $25,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $26,085, up 0.20% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) was trading flat at $1,651. XRP remained unchanged in the same period to trade at $0.5200.
Major cryptocurrencies, that have gained ground in the past 24 hours, are ChainLink (LINK – $5.95, 0.40%), IOTA (IOTA – $0.1489, 1.30%), Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00000819, 2.80%), Solana (SOL, $20.53, 0.30%), Cardano (ADA, $0.2656, 1.70%), VeChain (VET, $0.01588, 0.80%), and Avalanche (Avax- $10.44, 3.80%), Stellar (XLM, $0.1193, 0.10%), Binance Coin (BNB – $217.93, 0.10%), EOS (EOS – $0.5879, 0.90%), and Polkadot (DOT, $4.62, 3.70%).
Major cryptocurrencies, which have lost ground in the past 24 hours, is Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $190.85, -1.90%).
Government Level Initiatives
Bank of England Initiates Working Groups for Digital Pound Studies
The Bank of England is setting up two working groups for offline payments and retailer requirements as a portion of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) studies. The central bank published requests for information (RFI) from vendors (suppliers) on these digital pound studies, calling for an opinion by September 3.
Both the working groups and the CBDC Engagement Forum are distinct, but the former’s work output might be given to the latter. Furthermore, the BoE is also establishing an Academic Advisory Group and has requested applications by September 3.
With respect to RFI, for offline transactions, the central bank is interested in knowing the viability of CBDC, the risks involved, and the manner in which risks can be negated. The central bank also intends to know the usage scenarios, primarily pertaining to financial inclusion, as well as other domains. Notably, the BoE wishes to know whether it needs to be a part of the core digital pound design. In particular, the BIS has published a book on this subject.
With respect to retailers, the central bank prefers to know the factors that will encourage vendors to accept the digital pound. The central bank is also interested in knowing the options for in-house payments, advantages and disadvantages, and also the manner in which e-commerce payments can be enabled.
Digital Yuan Usage Surges in Corporate and Government Sectors in Jiangsu
As per the latest Chinese digital yuan statistics, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) usage is rising in corporate and government activities. On the basis of a small bouquet of figures in a single province, the average value of top-ups by individuals was the equivalent of $13. This compares to a top-up of $9,550 by corporations and governments. Furthermore, the number of enterprise-level top-ups was higher than that of individuals.
The statistics are purely based on transactions carried out in the media and telecoms industry between January and July this year in Jiangsu province. The figures indicate that the industry processed 2,700 top-up payments, adding up to 257,800 yuan, translating to $13 per personal top-up. Being the recharge figure, the value of transactions will be considerably smaller.
On the contrary, government and enterprise payments were considerably higher at 200 million yuan for 2,887 settlements, translating to $9,550 per transaction.
Singapore’s MAS Unveils Regulations for Major Single-Currency Stablecoins
Following last year’s discussion, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has unveiled its stablecoin regulatory infrastructure. The rules apply to single-currency-based (Singapore dollar or any of the G10 currencies) stablecoins released in Singapore with over S$5 million in value. The infrastructure has necessary clauses related to stablecoin reserve management, issuer’s capital, third-party attestations on a monthly basis, redemption of stablecoin, and other disclosures.
The regulator will permit compliant stablecoins to utilize the “MAS-regulated stablecoin” label, but on the condition that the tokens are issued only in Singapore. Stablecoins issued outside the Singaporean borders will also be allowed in the country, but subject to the Digital Payment Token (DPT) law. Stablecoins in non-G10 currencies can also be issued in the country, but outside of the regulatory framework, as it is difficult to guarantee that there are adequate liquid assets backing the stablecoin.
Private Sector Initiatives
SETL Joins Banco Bradesco-Led Consortium for Brazil’s Digital Real Trial
Blockchain firm SETL has enrolled itself as one of the participants in Brazil’s digital real (central bank digital currency) trial. The consortium is headed by Banco Bradesco, with the other prominent member being Interbank Clearing House NUCLEA. In May, the country’s central bank, Banco Central do Brasil, revealed the list of 16 participants taking part in its CBDC simulations. Furthermore, a week before, the central bank introduced the digital real brand, named Drex.
As Brazil already has a solid retail mobile payment mechanism, pix, in place, the objective of Drex is to develop an interbank CBDC. With respect to payment processing firms, retail access will be allowed through bank deposit tokens and tokenized e-money features. Overall, the primary goal is to minimize the cost of financial services and broaden the spectrum of choices by fostering blockchain and tokenization. This has increased the need for an asset that can aid on-chain settlement.
SETL is one of the firms that founded the Regulated Liability Network (RLN) and is the firm behind the RLN technology. One of the objectives is to ensure interoperability between various blockchain technologies. Notably, the core digital real network runs on the Hyperledger Besu (enterprise-level Ethereum blockchain platform).
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