Ripple Takes On Europe With Spanish Bank BBVA Custody Deal

Ripple, the US blockchain firm behind the XRP cryptocurrency, will provide crypto custody services to Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA). According to a Tuesday announcement, Ripple’s agreement to provide crypto custody services to BBVA follows the bank’s recent announcement of its Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) retail trading and custody service. BBVA will rely on Ripple’s institutional custody service to power services to its customers. BBVA’s head of digital assets, Francisco Maroto, said that Ripple’s custody service allows it to meet the necessary standards to “directly provide an…

France’s 3rd Largest Bank Launches Tokenized Debt on Tezos

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European Central Bank releases results of digital euro consultation

The European Central Bank has published the results of a public consultation on a potential digital euro as the institution inches closer to deciding whether to formally study such an initiative.  According to a Wednesday announcement, the ECB received more than 8,200 responses to its public digital euro consultation — a personal record for the bank regarding participation in a public consultation. 47% of total responses came from Germany, with a significant amount also coming from Italy and France, accounting for 15% and 11% of total responses, respectively. The majority of respondents…

Crypto Capital Co-Founder Rejects Plea Deal in Shadow Bank Case

Crypto Capital co-founder Reginald Fowler has rejected a plea deal with the US government in an ongoing case in which he is accused of operating a “shadow bank” for several crypto exchanges. Fowler was indicted in April 2019, along with Israeli national Ravid Yosef, for allegedly running a shadow bank for several cryptocurrency firms, including Bitfinex and Tether, which are currently embroiled in a separate case in which they are accused of creating “the largest bubble in human history.” According to a letter submitted by the prosecution on January 31, the…

Bank of England is Planing to Adopt Digital Currency

It seems like the banking industry is slowly adopting cryptocurrencies. A group of central banks has come together to assess the potential pitfalls of relying on digital currency, and one of them is the Bank of England. Central Banks Considering Idea of a Central Bank Digital Currency The Bank of England is examining how it can adopt Bitcoin, and a delegation will be meeting other officials from various banks to review this. They will be meeting the European Central Bank, Swiss National Bank, Bank of International Settlements, the Bank of…

a Stablecoin Gets Sharia Certified, the IMF Considers Central Bank Digital Currencies

Coming every Sunday, the Hodler’s Digest will help you to track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions, and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link. Top Stories This Week Swiss Crypto Firm X8 AG Receives Islamic Finance Certification for Sharia-Compliant Stablecoin Swiss-based fintech firm X8 AG has received a certification from the Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) for its Ethereum-based stablecoin. According to the X8 director and co-founder, the ETH-based crypto asset is…

Industrial-Scale Adoption of Blockchain Likely in 1-2 Years, Says CEO of Russia’s Largest Bank

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Industrial-scale adoption of blockchain technology will surge in the next year or two. That’s the prediction of bitcoin advocate Herman Gref, the CEO of Sberbank — Russia’s largest bank and the third-largest bank in Europe. Gref said the hype surrounding blockchain has waned a bit, but its many uses will be applied in the near future. In other words, blockchain has moved beyond theory and is ready to be put into practice. “The hype surrounding the technology has passed, and it has entered a stage of industrial development,”…

IMF Head Makes Case for Central Bank Digital Currencies In Recent Speech

With contributing reporting from Jimmy Aki. Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), suggested a new course of action for central banks around the world: turn their fiat currencies digital. The IMF chair gave a speech at the Singapore Fintech Festival on November 14, 2018, titled “Winds of Change: The New Case for Digital Currency.” In it, Lagarde stated, “I believe we should consider the possibility to issue digital currency. There may be a role for the state to supply money to the digital economy.” She continued to…

Australia’s Science Agency & Commonwealth Bank Trial Blockchain ‘Smart Money’

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn A trial conducted by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the Data61 unit of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has proven that blockchain-powered smart money possesses immense social and economic benefits for Australia’s insurance scheme for persons living with disabilities. In the proof of concept, it was demonstrated that participants in Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) benefited from increased choice and control using the smart money that they accessed via a prototype app. Not only were administrative costs reduced but the risk of…

Swiss Crypto Bank Startup Expects to Receive Banking, Securities Dealer License in 2019

The CEO of Swiss startup SEBA Crypto AG said in an interview that five “large asset managers” from both Germany and abroad have shown interest in their cryptocurrency bank, Swiss financial media outlet Cash reports Nov. 12. Back in September, the company had raised $103 million to set up a bank offering cryptocurrency-related services. At the time, CEO Guido Bühler had noted that the bank sees itself as a bridge between cryptocurrency assets and the traditional financial world. In the November interview, Bühler noted that SEBA Crypto AG expects to…