The supply of the Coinbase-backed stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) has grown by 250% since the start of 2020, including an 80% expansion in just the past two months. After starting the year with a nearly $520 million market cap, USDC now ranks as the 16th-largest crypto asset with a $1.86 billion capitalization — beating out all other major stablecoins except for the $14.5 billion Tether (USDT) by at least four times. Meanwhile, other stablecoins (most of which are pegged to the value of $1 US) have also seen significant growth this year, with DAI and Binance USD expanding by 970% …

Three to five nations worldwide will entirely replace their fiat currency with a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, by 2030, a European think tank predicts. Dutch fintech-focused non-profit think tank dGen released a report devoted to geopolitical trends of CBDCs on Sept. 9. Titled “CBDCs: Geopolitical Ramifications of a Major Digital Currency,” the 30-page report takes a deep dive on the status of major global fiat currencies like the United States dollar, the euro, and China’s yuan. Compiled with support from institutions like the European Central Bank (ECB), Standard Chartered Bank, and the Frankfurt School, the report makes some …

While Facebook’s Libra project might have shaken the United States government the most, the aftershocks were felt all over the world. The European Union was no exception: The publication of the first Libra white paper in 2019 led to the acknowledgment that the EU was not prepared for what appeared to be the first global stablecoin that would have a direct effect on the European financial market, retail payments and its overall economy. In the words of both the European Council and the European Commission (the EU’s supreme political body and executive arm, respectively), “No global ’stablecoin’ arrangement should begin …

The European Union and the European Central Bank wanted to create a unitary legal framework that would limit the anonymity of cryptocurrency transactions, especially in the spectrum of money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion. The simplest method of control and probably the only one possible in the case of digital currency transactions is by checking the route of fiat currencies. Any purchase of digital currency with fiat money and vice versa is monitored through exchange providers. As there is no legal framework in the EU to provide a definition and regulation on digital currencies, digital foreign exchange services and …

Real innovations and breakthroughs don’t happen in the blink of an eye. Bitcoin (BTC) took many years to get to mainstream users since its inception in 2009. The bull market run in 2017 drastically improved crypto market volumes, but institutions still regarded it as another “dot com” bubble. Later, when distributed ledger technology, or DLT, was more widely accepted, a new type of digital asset aimed at bringing stability to the crypto market gained full recognition. Stablecoins had been (and still are) issued by private firms, but many failed to operate successfully for various reasons in 2020. Now, governments are …

Famed currency speculator George Soros, who in 1992 broke the Bank of England to emerge a billionaire overnight by forcing the pound out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, believes: “We will not go back to where we were when the pandemic started. That is pretty certain. But that is the only thing that is certain. Everything else is up for grabs.” Giles Coghlan, the chief currency analyst at HYCM, had the following to say: “The volatile market conditions that have come about as a result of COVID-19 has investors looking for safe haven assets to protect their capital. The …

The European Central Bank (ECB) may be fearing default as rumors circulate that it plans to plant at least half a trillion euros of “bad” debt in a “bad bank.” As Reuters reported on June 10 citing two people familiar with the matter, the ECB now wants to quarantine its financial junk. ECB praises “useful” asset management firms The reason, the sources say, is that rising unemployment may fuel the risk of mass defaulting on debt obligations. Even excluding the coronavirus unemployment surge, the Eurozone already has $500 billion of debt which is unlikely to be repaid at all. This …

Another day, another trillion dollars — the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced it will double its coronavirus purchase program to €1.35 trillion to the dismay of Bitcoin (BTC) proponents. In a press release on June 4, the ECB became the latest central bank to up its controversial response to coronavirus, adding €600 billion to the so-called pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP). ECB: “flexible” asset purchases will continue Launched in March and originally worth €750 billion, PEPP is a mass buy-up of public and private sector securities. Similar to the actions of the Federal Reserve, the scheme has so far …

A number of countries such as China and Sweden are already experimenting with central bank digital currencies, which are also referred to as CBDCs. The implementation of this new type of money requires a number of aspects including technology advancement and specific regulation. According to a key official at the European Central Bank, the main challenge of CBDC is philosophical rather than technological. Yves Mersch, an executive board member at the ECB, has again discussed CBDC issues at an "ask me anything" session hosted by Consensus: Distributed on Monday. At the session, the ECB executive reiterated that the central bank …

Major cryptocurrency event, Consensus 2020, has officially kicked off in virtual mode. Consensus: Distributed, Coindesk’s first ever fully virtual conference, featured European Central Bank (ECB) key legal official, Yves Mersch, as the first speaker. On May 11, ECB board member Mersch delivered an exclusive keynote devoted to central bank digital currencies (CBDC), a central bank digital currency that can be used by consumers. Speaking at 6:45 a.m. ET, the ECB official outlined that the bank is mainly focused on a retail implementation of CBDC. The ECB voices its focus on retail CBDC implementation Opposing retail CBDCs to wholesale central bank …

In a recent in-depth report on global stablecoins, the European Central Bank, or ECB, pushed for clear regulatory parameters for stablecoins, citing risks as well as gaps in current regulations. "In order to reap the potential benefits of global stablecoins, a robust regulatory framework needs to be put in place in order to address these risks before such arrangements are allowed to operate," the ECB wrote in its May 5 report. The deep dive sees potential, but not without risks The ECB's report noted several benefits around international stablecoins, including speed and simplicity — aspects the public deems important. The …

A blog post from the European Central Bank (ECB) discusses the importance of resilient payment mechanisms. While the report focuses on legacy systems, it also mentions novel blockchain-based technologies like the digital euro. Published on April 28 and authored by Fabio Panetta, a member of the bank’s executive board, the report highlights that the continuity of payment systems is a critical task for the central bank, especially in times of crisis. The traditional competitor to blockchain technology The report focused heavily on praising the Target Instant Payment System (TIPS), launched in November 2018. This instant payment network launched by the …