Crypto wallet banking and donation app BABB has announced on April 20 that they have incorporated a cash-out fiat gateway with GBP/EUR conversion in 36 countries in Europe. According to the official announcement, users can convert fiat currency (£/€) into BAX, which is the BABB’s native token, and then be sent without having to go through interbank networks, in addition to not carrying FX conversion fees. The tokens can then be converted to fiat and withdrawn to a bank account in 36 new countries in Europe, including Switzerland, Germany and the U.K. An alternative to the traditional remittance system Regarding …

As part of a recent lengthy position paper on crypto, a South African regulatory body called the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group, or IFWG, mentioned crypto as a possible but unlikely risk to the country's monetary system at present. In its April 16 paper, under a section titled "the risks of crypto assets," the IFWG said: "The risk of a parallel, fragmented, non-sovereign monetary system: The risk with potentially the widest-ranging implications is the threat to the existing financial system, in which central banks ensure an efficient monetary system through the execution of monetary policy and influence the supply of money …

Bitcoin (BTC) advocates are warning of money losing all sense of value as the United States weighs yet another giant stimulus package. The U.S. would spend $400 billion on new stimulus measures to pay every adult $2,000 a month pocket under a new government plan. Bitcoin 1-day price chart. Source: Coin360 Congressmen: $2K handouts “not just one time” In a live stream on April 14, two Democrat congressmen have submitted the Emergency Money for the People Act, which would ensure a universal basic income for Americans over 16 for at least half a year. “We’ve got to put money in …

John McAfee, arch libertarian, tax fugitive and staunch advocate of cryptocurrencies, is offering 101 survival tips in lieu of investment advice during the pandemic crisis. McAfee appeared on the left-wing podcast Aufhebunga Bunga on April 14, in an episode devoted to the political, economic and civic fault lines that have been exposed by the COVID-19 crisis. Podcast co-host Phil Cunliffe, a senior lecturer at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent, turned the discussion towards what the present conjuncture could mean for the digital economy and cryptocurrency sector in particular. Hinting at the quantity theory …

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, recently posted a video urging the public not to rush to banks for cash withdrawals. Does this relate to crypto? “Your money is safe at the banks,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said in a video posted on Twitter by the government agency. “The last thing you should be doing is pulling your money out of the banks now, thinking that it’s going to be safer someplace else.” “When I first watched the video, I thought it was from SNL [Saturday Night Live] or The Onion – that’s how ridiculous it is,” Wilshire Phoenix …

In a recent TED interview, Bridgewater Associates co-chairman and co-CIO, Ray Dalio, labeled cash as a risky place to park wealth, although he failed to mention Bitcoin (BTC) as an alternative. "Do not think that cash is a safe investment," Dalio told TED interviewer Corey Hijam in an April 9 interview. "Cash is a seductive investment because it doesn't have as much volatility, but it taxes you and your buying power about 2% a year," Dalio said of the U.S. dollar's stability, paired with its annual inflation rate. Tough times lead a flight to cash As recent coronavirus measures halted …

Morgan Creek Digital co-founder and partner, Anthony Pompliano, expressed his view that the U.S. Federal Reserve may not quite be what it seems. His statement came in response to Robert Kiyosaki’s own claims about the Federal Reserve. “Robert's belief that the Federal Reserve is not a bank, not federal, and has no reserve is directionally correct,” Pomp told Cointelegraph when asked of his own opinions on Kiyosaki’s claims about the Fed. “This is an important point to make sure that people understand as they pursue a deeper understanding of how the economy and money works,” Pomp added. The Fed is …

The national debt of the United States has crossed $24 trillion for the first time in history as Donald Trump’s presidency adds $4 trillion in four years. According to figures from online monitoring resource Trading Economics, the tally now stands at $24.018 trillion as of April 9. The amount is equal to $72,888 for each U.S. citizen, or $193,805 per taxpayer. U.S. massive debt mountain mushrooms The almost incomprehensible size of national debt comes weeks after the Federal Reserve began an unprecedented money printing program. Providing $6 trillion of liquidity, the Fed led responses to the financial impact of the …

Russian authorities have detained a group of online criminals that reportedly sold massive amounts of counterfeit banknotes on the dark web in return for cryptocurrencies. According to an April 7 report from Russian news agency Kommersant, the criminal group has managed to sell more than 1 billion counterfeit Russian rubles, worth around $13 million as of press time. Criminals operated via Russia’s largest darknet marketplace As the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reported to Kommersant, the online perpetrators were operating currency counterfeiting via a darknet store on Russia’s largest darknet marketplace, Hydra. According to the report, the store was operating …

Bitcoin (BTC) will be the only exit from the “global reset” of finance which will allow central banks to even destroy the banking system itself. That was just one conclusion from Simon Dixon, CEO of cryptocurrency funding platform BnkToTheFuture, in the latest episode of financial news program the Keiser Report on April 7. Dixon: “World’s largest regulated Ponzi scheme” is dying Discussing the global coronavirus epidemic and its impact on global finance, Dixon warned that the health aspect of the crisis was by no means its worst. “I don’t want to be dramatic, but this is a global reset in …

In an interview with Morgan Creek Digital founder, Anthony Pompliano, Chamath Palihapitiya, billionaire CEO of venture capital firm, Social Capital, said that now could be Bitcoin’s time to shine. “I think Bitcoin needed a moment like this for it to be relevant,” Palihapitiya said. “It’s still a speculative instrument, and it’s too speculative for it to be reliable,” he explained. Bitcoin is still too turbulent In his interview with Pompliano, Palihapitiya talked about a bevy of topics pertaining to the current global economy. In terms of replacing USD or other global currencies, Palihapitiya explained Bitcoin is still too volatile. “The …

Bitcoin Depot, the largest Bitcoin ATM operator in the world, has begun powering down some of its machines in an effort to halt further spread of COVID-19. As much of the world sits in quarantine, Bitcoin Depot has chosen to temporarily shut off crypto ATMs which specifically reside in high traffic areas. The company is undertaking this push as a way to encourage social distancing. “As we monitor the ongoing situation, the number of locations temporarily taken offline will likely increase,” Bitcoin Depot’s director of product, Alona Lubovnaya, told Cointelegraph in an email, adding: “We are continuing to monitor for …