As Russia continues pushing de-dollarization, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA Russia) is reportedly considering replacing the United States dollar with not only traditional fiat currencies but also digital currencies. Aleksandr Pankin, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, reiterated the country’s plans to reduce the U.S. dollar share in Russia’s international reserves and its usage in settlement with foreign partners in a Tuesday interview with local news agency Interfax. The official said that MFA Russia isn’t excluding the possibility of replacing the U.S. dollar with “some digital assets” alongside other currencies: “It’s possible to replace the U.S. dollar with …
Peer-to-peer Bitcoin (BTC) volume in Nigeria continues to rise as Africa’s largest economy remains a bastion for crypto adoption. According to Quartz Africa, data from the Bitcoin P2P marketplace Paxful show the country ranks second only to the United States in trading volume. Since 2015, Nigerians have traded over 60,200 BTC on the Paxful platform amounting to about $566 million in volume over the period. Data from Coin Dance shows trading activity for the week ending Dec. 12 at 886.3 million naira (about $2.3 million). Bitcoin’s growing appeal among Nigerians is likely due to a confluence of factors, chief of …
Bitcoin (BTC) trading is opening new avenues for citizens in communist-run Cuba, which has been financially isolated for years under a United States trade embargo. A Sept. 12 report from U.S. News claims that, with the recent advent of mobile internet in the country, Cubans are increasingly using cryptocurrencies to make online purchases, as well as to invest and trade. “Opening new doors” in retail Without access to debit or credit cards for international use, cryptocurrency-enabled purchases are a welcome opportunity for consumers. In an interview with U.S. News, local resident Jason Sanchez said cryptocurrencies were “opening new doors” for …
Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) like Russia’s digital ruble do not pose any threat to United States sanctions, according to U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Adeyemo argued that the U.S. dollar “will remain the dominant currency in the world” despite the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies. Adeyemo pointed out that digital assets provide an “opportunity in lots of ways” for the U.S. economy, but it’s also associated with many challenges like money laundering. However, there are ways to combat this in order to benefit from the growing industry, the official said: “We do think …
After the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan in August last year, many international non-governmental organizations and services stopped operating in the country. Among them were payment services like Western Union and Swift. Many Afghans subsequently began to learn about cryptocurrencies and the underlying blockchain technology to — at the very least — receive remittances from abroad. As electronic payment services like PayPal and Venmo have never been available in the 5,000-year-old country, Afghans have lost many opportunities in the online business world. “We lost many opportunities like blogging, affiliate marketing and online dropshipping because most of them pay with …