Ralph Hamers, CEO of Swiss bank UBS, has said he does not fear missing out on crypto. Speaking to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Hamers said, “Clients are looking at different alternatives, and they hear about crypto, and there is a bit of a fear of missing out as well. They read it in the papers, but they also see the volatility.” Commenting on the bank’s approach to providing exposure to crypto for its wealth management clients, the UBS CEO stated: “We don’t offer it actively […] We feel that crypto itself is still an untested asset category.” Back in May, reports …

The European Central Bank, or ECB, joins the growing club of crypto-friendly financial institutions as it announces the decision “to launch a project to prepare for possibly issuing a digital euro.” The ECB’s official tweet noted: “We will look at how a digital euro could be designed and distributed to everyone in the euro area.” According to a press release on July 14, the ECB's governing council has launched the investigation phase of a digital euro project. This phase is planned to last for two years, during which time Eurogroup will design a digital currency focused on “users’ preferences and …

Binance customers in the United Kingdom are once again left without a fiat currency withdrawal option on Binance. According to Financial News on Tuesday, the crypto exchange giant sent emails to affected customers informing them of the problem. However, the exchange reportedly has not given any details as to the reason for the latest suspension of pounds sterling withdrawal but assured customers that it was working to resolve the situation. Back in June, Binance had temporarily suspended cash payouts via Faster Payouts amid warnings from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority about the exchange operating in the country without a license. …

In a joint report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) have proposed to the G20 that a cross-border network of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), underpinned by efficient technological integration and proactive international cooperation, could be of significant benefit to the world economy. The report focuses on broadening the horizon beyond central banks’ individual studies of CBDCs for domestic needs, emphasizing that it is crucial to coordinate work at a global scale and to find common ground between various national efforts to reap the full benefits of digital currency. If tackled …

This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry’s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape and enterprise blockchain integrations. China crackdown: Week 7 The summer of crackdowns continued this week, making it seven weeks since the initial announcement on May 18 that virtual currencies were a risky investment and financial institutions should not provide services for them. The crackdown appears to be having the desired effect, as public interest in the asset class is cooling. This is evident by 90-day lows on WeChat searches for the word …

Spain-based bank Santander’s U.K. business will no longer be allowing its customers to send payments to Binance, citing warnings from the Financial Conduct Authority. Several replies from Santander’s U.K. Twitter help account today said the bank has “decided to prevent payments” to the world’s biggest crypto exchange in an effort to prevent fraud. The bank reportedly told customers they would still be able to withdraw cash from Binance, but it would be “following the FCA’s warning to consumers” in banning payments. Many Santander account holders expressed negative feelings about the bank’s decision: “As one of your long standing account holders, …

Crypto-focused Swiss bank Sygnum Bank hannounced that it has become the first bank in the world to allow its clients to stake Ether (ETH). According to Tuesday's blog post, the firm’s clients can now stake ETH through Sygnum’s institutional banking platform to earn yields of up to 7% annually. Sygnum describes itself as the “world’s first digital asset bank,” having secured a banking license in Switzerland and a capital markets services license in Singapore during August 2019 and October 2019, respectively. The firm asserts that “the vast majority of decentralized products and services run on Ethereum,” noting the decentralized finance …

Barclays’ decision to stop facilitating British customers’ payments to Binance has been met with criticism by the cryptocurrency exchange after a spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the bank acted with “an inaccurate understanding of events.” “We are disappointed that Barclays appears to have taken unilateral action based on what appears to be an inaccurate understanding of events,” the spokesperson said, referring to a recent edict by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) barring Binance Markets Limited from operating in the country. “The FCA notice relates to [Binance Markets Limited], which is a company incorporated in the U.K. and regulated by …

Customers have been reporting that Barclays, a British multinational universal bank, has been blocking payments to Binance cryptocurrency exchange over the last week. The financial services giant has confirmed to cardholders that Barclays debit/credit card payments to the cryptocurrency exchange will not be allowed until further notice. One of crypto investment dashboard Wealth Kode’s co-founders, who goes by Lee on Twitter, posted a text notification from Barclays Monday that read: “As you’ve made a payment to Binance this year, we wanted to let you know that we’re stopping payments made by credit/debit card to them until further notice. This is …

Shinhan Bank, one of the largest banking institutions in South Korea, has entered into a partnership with Klaytn, a global blockchain platform developed by Kakao's subsidiary Ground X. According to the Monday announcement, Shinhan Bank has joined Klaytn’s blockchain governance council and become a member of the co-governance of the Klaytn blockchain. As part of the new partnership, Shinhan will be also involved in the development of Klaytn-based digital services to support fintech innovation. Launched in June 2019, Klaytn is a blockchain service provider focusing on integrating blockchain solutions into enterprise-grade infrastructures. The Klaytn blockchain is a hybrid blockchain network, …

As the Ukrainian government progresses with cryptocurrency-related legislation, a major local e-bank is preparing to launch a debit card featuring Bitcoin (BTC) trading. Ukrainian online banking application Monobank has completed a pilot integration with a cryptocurrency trading platform, Monobank co-founder Oleg Gorokhovsky announced Monday. According to the executive, the new integration will enable Monobank users to buy and sell Bitcoin with a debit card. Monobank expects to release the new feature later this month pending approval from the National Bank of Ukraine, Gorokhovsky noted. Launched in 2017, Monobank operates under the license of Universal Bank owned by tycoon Sergey Tigipko, …

The State Bank of Vietnam is reportedly set to become the latest central bank to delve into explorations of the feasibility and operationality of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Its brief, distinct from other countries, is looking to trial a digital currency that would be expressly built on blockchain technology, rather than a centralized protocol. According to a July 3 report from the English-language daily Viet Nam News, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính announced the initiative as part of his wider e-government development strategy. The central bank is expected to work on the development and implementation of the pilot from …