Ampleforth (AMPL) is a cryptocurrency built with an elastic supply that expands and contracts depending on demand. According to its co-founder Evan Kuo, the team was trying to learn from the failures of the gold standard and Bitcoin (BTC) to create a more flexible monetary system. Investors hoard Bitcoin & gold Although many in the crypto space perceive the finite inelastic supply of Bitcoin and gold as a major advantage over fiat, Kuo disagrees: “The only problem with gold arises when you start to use it as a base money or building block as part of a financial infrastructure.” Since …

Opera, a popular web browser, continues to expand its cryptocurrency integration by extending crypto wallet top ups to the United Kingdom. After introducing the service to the United States and some European countries earlier this year, Opera now provides crypto purchases in the U.K. through a partnership with crypto processor Ramp. Direct to the source As announced to Cointelegraph on July 24, the solution implements European Open Banking APIs and enables low-fee crypto top-ups via bank accounts or digital banking app Revolut. Charles Hamel, head of crypto at Opera, says that at the launch U.K. customers will be able to …

Amid the massive growth of stablecoins in 2020, the cryptocurrency community is setting up an international stablecoin organization in Switzerland. Called the World Stablecoin Association, or WSA, the Geneva-headquartered organization is to be launched by cryptocurrency exchange VirgoX and blockchain capital markets firm Global Digital Assets, or GDA Capital. The WSA announced this new to Cointelegraph on July 23. Adding key stablecoin projects Adam Cai, CEO of VirgoX, outlined that the ultimate goal of the initiative is to build a true, unbiased global association composed of all major stablecoin projects. According to Cai, the WSA is already in discussion with …

Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies will not get their big break thanks to the problems with the fiat economy, says veteran trader Peter Brandt. In a series of tweets on July 22, the popular commentator forecast that in future, the world will resort to so-called special drawing rights (SDRs) based on multiple fiat currencies. Bye bye gold standard Similarly, a return to the gold standard will not occur, Brandt claimed, while the SDR setup would likewise not include Bitcoin or altcoins. SDRs were created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the late 1960s as an extension to member states’ reserves. …

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is considering purchasing or setting up its own bank. The company’s CEO Changpeng Zhao, or CZ, revealed the news during an AMA session hosted by Binance-owned CoinMarketCap on July 22. Could it happen? During the AMA, CZ highlighted that the idea of purchasing or building their own bank has been circulating around Binance for a while. When asked about Binance’s plans to “ever launch a bank with all the world products,” CZ answered that “the idea of buying a bank came up like a thousand times.” CZ elaborated that bank acquisition ideas have been …

Thailand’s central bank has reportedly entered a new phase in the development of its central bank digital currency, or CBDC. The Bank of Thailand, or BOT, has reportedly deployed its CBDC, and has been using the digital currency for financial transactions with some large businesses, local English-language newspaper The Nation reports July 16. Thailand to roll out CBDC testing with the Hong Kong’s central bank in September The bank has entered the third phase in development of the digital baht and plans to expand to more businesses, BOT assistant governor, Vachira Arromdee, reportedly announced on Wednesday. According to the report, …

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, or MUFGt, the fifth largest bank in the world, is reportedly planning to issue its own digital currency in the second half of 2020. Initiated back in 2015, the digital currency project was originally designed to run on a blockchain network and facilitate instant peer-to-peer transactions. Following multiple delays, the initiative is now scheduled to be rolled out no later than 2020, Cointelegraph Japan reports on July 13. “We think that everyone will be able to use it openly” Hironori Kamezawa, president and CEO at MUFG, announced the new plans on Monday to local news agency, …

Chiliz (CHZ), a major sports-focused digital currency, is getting its first listing on a Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange. Mercado Bitcoin, the largest crypto trading platform in Brazil, will soon roll out Chiliz trading against the local currency, Brazilian real (BRL). Chiliz token is the first utility token listed on Mercado Bitcoin As officially announced on July 13, Mercado Bitcoin users are already able to make Chiliz deposits with BRL. Trading will be launched on July 14. Chiliz token is the seventh digital currency supported on Mercado Bitcoin exchange. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the platform features major cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC), …

Binance’s CEO has just demonstrated the first use of Binance Card, a cryptocurrency debit card that was first announced by Binance in April 2020. In a July 10 tweet, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed that he is taking part in Binance Card beta testing, featuring transactions involving Binance’s native token, BNB. In the tweet, CZ noted that the beta test features “all real transactions” including Amazon’s audio store Audible, Uber alternative Grab, and a major e-commerce platform, Lazada. CZ also said that the BNB payments were completed directly from his Binance account, while merchants accepted the payment in fiat. “Binance …

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has completed its second acquisition in 2020. Both acquisitions appear to further indicate Binance’s interest in crypto debit card issuance. After acquiring the industry’s most popular website, CoinMarketCap, in April 2020, Binance has now acquired Swipe, a Philippines-headquartered firm focused on crypto-to-fiat Visa debit cards. Binance and Swipe officially announced the acquisition on July 6, claiming that the new collaboration will push “further mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies” by bringing the gap between fiat and digital assets. Binance and Swipe “will be working closely together to launch crypto debit cards” While the official announcements do …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance has added support for deposits in 15 additional fiat currencies to its platform. According to a July 7 announcement, Binance added support for the United Arab Emirates dirham, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, Czech koruna, euro, British pound, Hong Kong dollar, Danish krone, Hungarian forint, Mexican peso, Norwegian krone, New Zealand dollar, Polish złoty and Swedish krona. Binance added the new currencies through a partnership with crypto asset and fiat money institutional custodian Etana Custody. Binance CFO Wei Zhou told Cointelegraph that users can transfer the funds via SWIFT wire transfer, adding, "After linking Binance …

OKEx, a major global cryptocurrency exchange, is embracing the Latin American crypto market by launching a fiat gateway for three local currencies. According to a July 3 announcement, OKEx users can now buy Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in exchange for the Argentine peso (ARS), the Brazilian real (BRL), and the Mexican peso (MXN) via a direct bank transfer. OKEx implements Settle Network’s Latamex tool OKEx’s partnership with a company called Settle Network allowed them to enable these features. Settle Network is claimed to be the largest digital settlement network in Latin America. The new service is provided through Latamex, …