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Singapore’s Largest Bank To Roll Out Digital Asset Exchange

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Digital Assets are the new everything! Singapore seems to be the latest to jump onto the bandwagon as countries and financial institutions have been steering towards setting up digital asset friendly platforms. The largest bank in the Asian country recently revealed its interest in the crypto-verse. While both tradings of crypto and crypto exchanges are legal in Singapore, DBS revealed that it had joined hands with Singapore Exchange [SGX] to roll out a digital asset exchange.

Singapore Dwells Deep Into Crypto

The largest bank in the Asian country, DBS revealed that it would launch an exchange that focuses on digital assets. The bank sought support from the Singapore Exchange that would acquire a 10% stake in the yet to be launched digital exchange. The digital exchange would be called DBS Digital Exchange and will be made available by next week.

While the exchange has listed an array of assets that would be paired against yet again several fiat currencies, the DBS Digital Exchange will be limited to institutional as well as accredited investors only. Speaking about the same the Group CEO at DBS, Piyush Gupta pointed out that the digitalization of assets paves the way for an array of opportunities to reshape the markets. He further added,

“For Singapore to become even more competitive as a global financial hub, we have to prepare ourselves to welcome the mainstream adoption of digital assets and currency trading. DBS is committed to accelerating the development of a fully integrated ecosystem to facilitate this. We believe that this is the first of its kind integrated offering, which is differentiated in many ways.”

The DBS Digital Exchange would support crypto assets including, Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], Bitcoin Cash [BCH] along with fiat currencies, Singapore Dollar [SGD], US Dollar [USD], Hong Kong Dollar [HKD], and the Japanese Yen [JPY]. Along with this, the exchange will reportedly present its users with Security Token Offerings along with Digital Custody Services.

The announcement also revealed that the platform had garnered approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore [MAS]. Elaborating on the 10% stake of the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX), the CEO of SGX, Loh Boon Chye said that with its latest move, both the platforms hope to “bring trust and efficiency in price discovery to the global digital assets space.”

China Tests Native Digital Currency in Multi-Transfer Country Wide Tests

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The world of cryptocurrencies has taken multiple phase changes over the past few years with the last couple of years seeing a pick-up from traditional departments. One of the most popular innovations in the space was the concept of centrally backed cryptocurrencies.

State-backed digital currencies are not a new idea as countries like Venezuela have been dabbling in the field for quite some time now. Steps taken by China to create its own digital currency have elevated the industry to new heights, with the Red Dragon making rapid progress on the back of new developments.

China’s digital renminbi took the world by storm when it was first revealed by the People Bank of China. The entire cryptocurrency market received a boost when Xi Jinping endorsed the concept of blockchains and the future of digital payments. According to new reports, China has kept its promise of delivering a seamless payment system after conducting multiple large-transfer tests.

Yi Gang, the governor of the People’s Bank of China recently stated that more than 2 billion yuan [approx. $300 million] was spent using the country’s digital currency. The large sum was transferred in 4 million sperate transactions, a feat worth mentioning. The country has placed its bet on the speed of blockchain networks as China also has plans to replace physical cash with virtual currencies.

Officials close to the developments touched on how the digital currency will work. The country has ingrained its statehood in the CBDC as the currency will be first issued by the People’s Bank after which private companies and corporates can make use of it. Speaking at Hong Kong’s Fintech Week, Yi stated that the 2 billion yuan was spent in four cities via 12,000 payment scenarios. In a previous test, the Chinese city of Shenzen saw its citizens using state-provided CBDCs.

The PBoC governor admitted that the banking infrastructure expected the dawn of cryptocurrencies to arrive soon. This is a marked shift from earlier years when anything other than fiat currencies was considered a bane to all financial environments.

BIS And Swiss National Bank To Roll Out CBDC By The End Of 2020

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Governments across the globe seem to be fond of the idea of a digital currency, however, they continue to despise crypto assets. Yet, the introduction of the Central Bank’s Digital Currency [CBDC] into the global financial arena is substantial proof that the world has moved ostensibly towards digitalization. The latest news from the Swiss National Bank reveals that the development of CBDC is heading in a positive direction.

Swiss National Bank Joins Forces With BIS

A recent report revealed that the Swiss National Bank [SNB] and the Bank for International Settlements [BIS] was prepping to test a CBDC by the end of 2020. The collaboration of these banks came to light at the Bund Summit held on Sunday in Shangai. The Head of Innovation Center at BIS, Benoit Coeure spearheaded the summit and revealed that both the banks were going to roll out a CBDC in the proof-of-concept stage.

With the intention of launching a CBDC by the end of this year, Coeure pointed out that the incorporation of proof-of-concept would allow the experimenting of retail CBDC. Researching central bank digital currencies has been overseen by Coeure at BIS. The platform purposes to draw connections between the existing payment systems along with several other elements.

The partnership between the SNB and BIS dates back to 2019. Both the banking giants collaborated to explore the prospects of blockchain-based tokens. For its latest venture, however, BIS aims to bolster its level of blockchain. During the early stages of their partnership, SNB had stated,

“This new form of digital central bank money would be aimed at facilitating the settlement of tokenized assets between financial institutions.”

BIS further announced its plans on joining forces with several other banks across the globe. Hoping to inspect its cross-border abilities, Coeure revealed that BIS would work closely with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority as well as the Bank of Thailand.

While China is well ahead in its CBDC game, other countries along with banks have been trying to catch up with the Asian country.

BitMEX Officials Get Slapped with Criminal Charges as US DoJ Investigates Money Laundering Activities

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The cryptocurrency market has again been mired in controversies, this time involving one of the most high profile companies in the industry. Recent reports revealed that prosecutors in the United States have filed criminal charges against crypto exchange primo BitMEX for flouting money laundering rules.

The case has sent shockwaves across the industry with the decision splitting the industry. According to the report, the top officials of Bitmex were all involved in the charges, including chief executive Arthur Hayes.

In the report put forth by the US Department of Justice, the judges have charges Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed, Benjamin Delo, and Gregory Dwyer, BitMEX’s first employee who eventually became the company’s head of development. All four officials were accused of violating the Bank Secrecy Act instituted by the US federal government.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan stated that the cryptocurrency exchange had taken few or no steps to limit customers on the platform even after warnings of hacks. The hacks were being investigated by the DoJ with the body suspecting that BitMEX was being used to launder money by citizens of countries like Iran. One of the reports said that “BitMEX made itself available as a vehicle for money laundering and sanctions violations”.

Another crucial point that brought BitMEX under the scanner was the fact that the company was incorporated in Seychelles even though its officers were in New York and Hong Kong. Earlier recordings have Hayes clearly claiming that bribing officials in Seychelles would be as expensive as buying a coconut. Hayes and his team of lawyers have come out strongly against the charges with the initial defense expected to be vigorous.

As BitMEX plans to defend itself, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission [CFTC] has filed a separate civil lawsuit to halt BitMEX’s US derivatives business. The CFTC was also joined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] Assistant Director William Sweeney in the case against BitMEX. Sweeney was livid that the company officials had openly talked about bribing government officials and assured the public that justice would be served.

US Authorities Charge Seven International Hackers Over Cyber Crime Including “Crypto-Jacking”

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Hackers and scammers have begun to see the crypto industry as a valuable stage, as the number of crypto-related violations is clearly on the surge.  A recent bust by the United States has put a stop to an array of hacks.

Hackers Eye Crypto Mining Rewards

The United States Department of Justice recently shared an announcement highlighting charges on seven individuals for carrying out hacks on over 100 companies across the globe. The US officials suggested that the alleged criminals included two businessmen from Malaysia and five residents from China. The statement revealed that the hackers operated under the labels, “APT41,” “Barium,” “Winnti,” “Wicked Panda,” and “Wicked Spider.”

The hackers engaged in several illicit activities like theft of source code, software code signing certificates, customer account data, and valuable business information. Along with this, the alleged criminals went on to employ crypto-jacking schemes where they mined cryptocurrencies via victim computers. Over the years, the crypto mining industry has attracted a lot of interest from individuals, thanks to miner rewards. People stealing electricity or software to aid their mining process has caused a huge ruckus across the globe.

Speaking about the latest incident, the Deputy Attorney General, Jeffrey A. Rosen suggested that the officials were looking into disordering the interventions of the cybercriminals. He added,

“Regrettably, the Chinese communist party has chosen a different path of making China safe for cybercriminals so long as they attack computers outside China and steal intellectual property helpful to China.”

The statement further revealed that the hackers had targeted software development companies, video gaming platforms, computer manufacturers, nonprofit platforms, think-tanks, telecommunication firms along with governments as well as politicians. The hackers not only focused on the United States but also steered into Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong, and India.

The five Chinese men charged by the US officials were identified as Tan Dailin, Jiang Lizhi, Qian Chuan, Fu Qiang, and Zhang Haoran.  The Malaysian businessmen were Ling Yang Ching and Wong Ong Hua. All the aforementioned individuals were aged between 32 to 46.

China Initiates Digital RMB Testing to Educate Citizens

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While the United States has often been at the forefront of technological advances, this has not been the case with regard to the digitalization of its national currency. For the most part, policymakers have failed to see the industry in a promising light that has led to the Western Superpower lagging behind its Eastern counterpart.

As the US and China continued to lock horns, in the digital race, it was the latter that appeared to be way ahead. Its trump card? Digital RMB.

The first mover in the space

China has already begun testing the digital Renminbi [RMB] as well as educating citizens about using it. In addition to running trials of the central bank-issued digital currency, it was also reportedly working towards normalizing it across media.

The country has been working on digital RMB for the last six years. It was the growing popularity of Bitcoin that triggered the development. Expanding the “Blockchain and not Bitcoin” narrative, China is all set to increase convenience, security, and anti-counterfeiting level of retail payment, thus accelerating the development of its digital economy.

However, empowering its country’s economy isn’t the only factor that has bolstered the release of its digital currency. One of the many thoughts that Chinese policymakers have in mind is to increase the influence of RMB.

On the other hand, the US is nowhere near with a Digital Dollar. Even the discussions around it were spurred the call to action because of the coronavirus pandemic and Facebook’s Libra.

President of Chamber of Digital Commerce, Perianne Boring, had earlier stated that if the US does not adopt the ” best technology underpinning the country’s financial system and another country leap-frogs their infrastructure, this could jeopardize US’s standing on the world stage.”

Seeking global dominance

With its CBDC, China is set to become the first country in the world to offer a digital sovereign currency. There are candidates already lined up to roll out the CBDC on a large scale, for example, Didi Chuxing the country’s largest ride-hailing platform, food delivery giant Meituan Dianping to name a few.

On the surface, it looks like China is heading for CBDC utilization for domestic purposes. However, it is no secret that China is not quite satisfied with the US Dollar’s dominance and reach in the global financial system.

Let ‘s look at China’s brief timeline overtaking the US over the last decade. It claimed to have “overtaken” the US as the world’s largest trader of goods in 2014. As stated in the book Renminbi Internationalization, China has reportedly implemented a pilot scheme to expand the use of its national currency for trade settlement with the Southeast Asian nation, which later materialized.

However, the main milestone for RMB was when the IMF added the currency to the Special Drawing Right [SDR] basket, an international reserve in 2016.

World Money and Power Politics

One of the most crucial ways in which China seeks to spread the money and rise up as a strong contender to the US Dollar is through the Belt and Road initiative. According to a paper released by Kiel Institute for the World Economy last year, China reportedly holds more than $5 trillion of debt owed by other developing or low-income nations. This is again just an estimation, nearly half of China’s loans go unreported.

While this may bring in repayment failure concerns by the countries in debt, it is one way for China to “internationalize” RMB.

Speculating on the rise of China’s CBDC along the same line, Lucy Gazamarian, Co-chair of the blockchain committee of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong recently stated,

“If [China] wants its currency to flow more freely outside of its own borders, it has the technological capability to do that. There’s so much trade happening in the Belt and Road [Initiative], 60-plus cities, and there is not a universal currency.”

Gazamarian stated that the USD still needs to be translated and most huge transaction need to flow through the USD and further added,

“So there is a case for the CBDC to become a universal payment instrument in emerging countries as part of the Belt and Road, then [maybe] it could rise up as the world’s reserve currency for emerging countries.”

China Set to Include More Regions and Cities in Digital Yuan Pilot Test

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The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has announced that it will broaden its digital yuan pilot test to bigger cities in China. In an official statement on 14 August, the Ministry of Commerce revealed that the CBDC test phase would extend to regions such as China’s capital Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta and Guangdong, on top of the nearby cities of Hong Kong and Macau.

The expanded digital yuan test area will comprise a prospective user base of 29 percent of the country ‘s population, with a combined population of around 41 million in the major four cities. The Ministry also made it clear that the People’s Bank of China is spearheading the digital Yuan pilot program. However, the statement did not specify when testing will begin in the regions mentioned above. As per the statement, the policy structure of the state-issued currency should be concluded before the end of 2020.

China’s DCEP pilot program

The PBoC initiated the testing program of the digital currency early in 2020, beginning with just four Chinese cities including Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Xiong’an New Area. Notably, China’s largest ride-sharing company, Didi, teamed up with the PBoC to drive the adoption of the digital yuan.

Locally, the digital yuan is referred to as the digital currency electronic payment (DCEP), and it is on track to be the first-ever functional national digital currency. In April, the Chinese government experimented with the digital yuan in its transport subsidies scheme for government and enterprise workers in Suzhou, a big city in Jiangsu Province.

China will promote digital yuan during the winter Olympics 

Aside from expanding the digital currency concept pilot across all of its municipalities and cities, the program is on the verge of further broadening. According to reports, the Chinese government is preparing to use the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics as a platform to promote digital yuan.

The winter Olympics commonly referred to as Beijing 2022, will be held in February 2022. In its efforts to promote the DCEP, the PBoC recently partnered with Chinese food giants Meituan Dianping to participate in the pilot program. The PBoC has reportedly teamed up with major industry players such as Alibaba, Tencent and WeChat to implement the digital yuan.

Thai Central Bank Developing Payments Systems Prototype Using CBDC

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Thai central bank has become the latest financial watchdog to join the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) bandwagon. The Bank of Thailand (BoT) announced its project to build a decentralized payments system prototype for commercial use.

According to the announcement, the CBDC prototype will be hosted by the Inthanon Project, the blockchain infrastructure inaugurated by the Bank of Thailand. This will be achieved through a partnership with the country ‘s eight leading financial institutions.

The entire project involves carrying out a feasibility study and creating a procedure for linking Central Bank Digital Currency to the Business Payments System, as per the Thai Central Bank. The prototype project is set to start in July and will continue until the end of the year. The findings of the scheme will then be outlined by the Thai central bank to the public.

Thai Central Bank making a step forward in driving CBDC adoption

The Bank of Thailand sees the project as a significant step forward in expanding the CBDC ‘s realm and driving its adoption to a broader audience, starting with big corporations. The payment system will be linked to the procurement and financial management systems of Siam Cement Public Company and its stockists,

The Thai central bank anticipates that the CBDC prototype will facilitate coherent and more flexible transactions or a faster and more flexible settlement between suppliers. In addition , the Bank of Thai also noted that proof of concept for local wholesale revenue; was finalized in January alongside the cross-border transfer prototype; developed in partnership with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

Development of CBDC’s worldwide

Different central financial authorities are keenly exploring the development of CBDC’s around the world. For instance, the Bank of Korea (BoK) recently established a legal advisory panel for the development of digital currencies.

Furthermore, the Bank of France has partnered with local private banks to run a pilot test for state-issued cryptocurrencies in Europe.

Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority Injects Liquidity into Local Banks Using Blockchain Technology

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On 8 June, the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA) announced that it had transferred funds to domestic banks through blockchain technology. The money was part of the central bank’s effort to inject SAR 50 billion ($13.3 billion) of liquidity into the country’s banking system announced last week.

According to the statement, the use of distributed ledger technology in the financial sector is part of the authority’s efforts to explore and experiment with various upcoming technologies. Indeed, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority is inclined to twiddle with any upcoming technology in order to keep pace with emerging global technology trends. The statement reads:

“SAMA is one of the pioneer central banks to experiment with blockchain technology for money transfers, this move was one of the key innovative initiatives launched by SAMA in its program to enable and develop Fintech in the Kingdom. This includes, among others: The Fintech Saudi Initiative in cooperation with the Capital Market Authority, the introduction of SAMA Regulatory Sandbox, and an array of digital banking services and payments.“

 

 

The adoption of blockchain technology in the finance sector is surging in the entire Middle-East region. Notably, earlier in the year, SAMA and the central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) disclosed a joint digital currency dubbed Aber, that would be distributed in the local banks in the to Arabian nations.

Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority to explore emerging trends 

Furthermore, the latest move by the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority is a big declaration by the authority to the growing use of blockchain technology by central banks all over the world. Blockchain technology is known for its security and transparency traits, which SAMA experienced in the banking liquidation exercise.

In conclusion, the adoption of blockchain technology has been adopted by different central banks and financial institutions across the world. Just recently, a bank in Turkey successfully completed its first trade finance transaction using blockchain technology. Moreover, nearly 40 percent of fintech firms based in Hong Kong leverage blockchain technology.

Bitcoin Shed 9% of its Value- It ‘s a Perfect Time to Invest

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Monday was an exciting day for the crypto-world as bitcoin ultimately broke the $10,000 psychological resistance. Just as people were speculating whether this was a start of a $20,000 ride, the market unexpectedly placed a damper on them-the price of bitcoin fell more than $800 in five minutes, dragging many cryptocurrencies to the red.

While the sudden plump was just another volatile episode of bitcoin, it was the umpteenth time such a huge fluctuation occurred on the market, so naturally, it creates some doubts for bitcoin enthusiasts as to whether bitcoin will see a significant increase in the near future, and how long it will be.

 

bitcoin pr

We often say that the bitcoin market is a rollercoaster ride, but in the last few months, it seems more like a combination of a rollercoaster ride and a merry-go-round that keeps hovering around $9,000 and $10,000. sNow, for spot traders and hodlers, it seems like a really lackluster moment.

So, is it still wise to invest in bitcoin right now? Is there anything we can do in addition to waiting for the price to rise?

Compare with spot trading, leveraged trading is tailored made for volatile markets. Here are some advantages of leveraged comparing with spot trading:

  • Generate Profits on Both the Ups and Downs of the Market

Leveraged trading is more flexible than spot trading. In leveraged trading, you can make profits by speculating the price movement of bitcoin, instead of waiting for the price to increase. You can earn as much as bitcoins even in the bull market. 

  • High Liquidity

While spot trading requires you to prepare a large sum of money, leveraged trading enables you to “borrow” money from the exchanges, so the pressure on your cash flow is much lower. Besides, in spot trading or hodling, it might take days or even months for the market to gather pace and generate profits for you. But with leveraged trading, every small fluctuation is an opportunity to earn money. 

To illustrate, with the 100x leverage provided by Bexplus, you can open a position 100 times bigger than your initial capital. Let’s assume you open a short position 2 days ago with 1 BTC when bitcoin was changing hands at $10,000. With 100x leveraged, your position will worth 100 BTC. Now, the price of bitcoin nosedived to $9,500 in just a few hours. Your profit would be: ($10,000 – $9,500) * 100 BTC / $9,500 = 5.26 BTC. Your ROI would be 5.26 / 1 *100% = 526%. 

beplux

Bexplus – The Go-to Futures Exchange for Beginners and Veterans

Headquartered in Hong Kong and established in 2017, Bexplus is a leading crypto derivatives platform offering 100x leverage in BTC, ETH, EOS, LTC, and XRP futures contracts. 

No spread, no KYC requirements, no deposit fee, Bexplus is trusted by traders worldwide, including USA, Japan, Iran, Singapore, and Sudan. 

Highlighted Features of Bexplus Exchange

  • Intuitive Interface

The user-friendly trading interface caters to the needs of both beginners and veterans. All the necessary data are clearly listed on the right side. For advanced traders, powerful tool-kit can help them better analyze the market. 

exchange

  • Learn to Trade with 10 Free BTC

Upon registration, which takes only about 1 minute, traders will get a real account and a demo account. Even if you’re a beginner, you can still make profits like other veterans! There are 10 replenishable BTCs in the demo account for traders to practice as much as they like. You can also learn how to analyze the market and use the demo account toolkit.

  • Stop-loss and Take-profit

Bitcoin trading has its own risk. Since it is traded around the clock, it’s impossible for us to watch the market all the time. Bexplus’ stop-loss and take-profit options help traders better manage their positions and protect them from huge price swings. 

  • No Deposit Fee, Easy to Convert Your Funds

Bexplus supports Bitcoin, ETH, and 11 other cryptocurrency deposits, as well as USD, EUR, and GBP deposits. With one Visa Card, you can start your journey of accumulating bitcoin. 

  • Best Ranking Mobile Apps

Bexplus mobile app rank in the Top 5 of keyword search results related to bitcoin trading in 56 countries in App Annie. This full-featured app provides you with the same experience when using a computer, only far more convenient. 

mobile

You can check the market, enter or close a trade, or deposit your funds in the interest-bearing wallet wherever you like. Bexplus mobile app has a 24/7 market notification to keep you updated with any huge market movement.  

All data and assets can be accessed through all kinds of devices including Windows, Macbook, Android phones, iPhones, and tablets. Bexplus app is available on Apple App Store and Google Play.

To boost the confidence of bitcoin traders, Bexplus now provides up to 10 BTC deposit bonus to users. Users can get a 100% deposit bonus for every deposit on Bexplus, and the profits gained with the bonus are withdrawable. Furthermore, active users can get 10% off of their transaction fee. You might miss the opportunity to buy bitcoin when it was trading at double-digit, but you still can catch this opportunity to earn handsome money on Bexplus!

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Find out more about Bexplus:

Website: https://www.bexplus.com/ Telegram: https://t.me/bexplusexchange
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Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lingxi.bexplus