In an apparent first, Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange Kuna has released a stablecoin pegged to local fiat currency, the Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH). Dubbed UAX token, the new stablecoin is pegged to the hryvnia on a 1:1 ratio and is based on the Ethereum blockchain, according to an official announcement by Kuna exchange on Feb. 20. According to Kuna, UAX is now being tested by select Kuna users in an open beta that will last until March 20, 2020. The aim of the first phase of UAX implementation is to integrate with market players, technical testing on decentralized finance platforms as well …

It has been reported that China has started a quarantine of its used bank notes to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the crypto community began to pick up on the news commenting that the use of Bitcoin as a means of payment should fix the issue. More confirmed cases of the epidemic outbreak Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, recorded a dramatic spike of almost 15,000 new cases and 242 new deaths in just 24 hours after provincial authorities changed their method for diagnosing cases on Feb 13. Dovey Wan, founding partner of Primitive Crypto claimed …

The United States intelligence community is seeking a researcher to model risk scenarios for how and why the dollar could lose its global supremacy, and how best to respond. The role was advertised on Feb. 14 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The successful candidate will be tasked with evaluating threats to the dollar’s status as world reserve currency — most notably cryptocurrencies and the rise of major new economies such as China and India. Candidates have until Feb. 28 to apply for the role, which forms part of an intelligence community (IC) postdoctoral research fellowship …

Bitcoin (BTC) would benefit from global central banks issuing their own cryptocurrencies, the founder at the world's largest digital asset manager believes. Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of digital currency asset manager Grayscale Investments and blockchain venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG), has again expressed his bullish stance on Bitcoin in the latest Grayscale investor call on Feb. 12. During the call titled “The State of Digital Currencies,” Silbert spoke of a number of important digital asset-related issues including Bitcoin’s role in generational shift in wealth, stablecoins, decentralized finance and central bank digital currencies (CBDC). What are central bank …

Binance has further expanded its services for Russia’s fiat currency. The exchange is adding Russian ruble pairs for its peer-to-peer trading platform, a Feb. 11 announcement reads. The platform is available via Binance’s mobile app for iOS and Android. Users can now buy and sell Tether (USDT), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Coin (BNB) for rubles through a network of peers with zero transaction fees. Binance P2P was launched in October 2019 to facilitate fiat-to-crypto access across the world. While initially serving Chinese users paying in Chinese yuan, the platform later expanded to accommodate Vietnamese dong and now, the …

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is planning to further bolster its fiat-to-crypto gateways by hiring a former TradingView exec. Iskander Malikov, a former chief operating officer at major trading chart analysis service TradingView, has joined Binance as the new director of fiat, the exchange announced Feb. 6. Former TradingView COO to focus on fiat-to-crypto gateways in Europe and CIS After serving for over three years at TradingView, Malikov will be now focused on fiat-to-crypto channels in regions across Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The former TradingView executive will primarily work on establishing new gateways …

The United States Marshals Service (USMS), a federal law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Justice, will auction more than 4,000 confiscated Bitcoins (BTC). According to the official USMS website, the authority is planning to sell “approximately” 4,040 Bitcoins (4,040.54069820), requiring a $200,000 deposit in order to take part in the auction. The USMS said it will return the deposits to non-winning bidders, promising to initiate the return of losing bid deposits within five business days after transferring bitcoins to the winning bidder. At press time, the total amount of the auctioned Bitcoin is worth around $37.4 million, according …

Cash is unlikely to disappear anytime soon despite declining use as a payment method and the surge of digital currencies, Germany’s largest bank says. Deutsche Bank, a German multinational investment bank that previously predicted that cryptocurrencies will replace fiat by 2030, now claims that cash “will be around for a long time” as a preferred method of payment. Deutsche Bank Research issues three reports on the future of payments The bank has forecast a tentative future for cash in one of its recent “The Future of Payments” reports carried out by Deutsche Bank’s research arm Deutsche Bank Research. Titled “Cash: …

The average budget deficit of the United States will “never” be less than $1 trillion per year in the future — or 4.5% of GDP, worrying data on the fiat economy shows. Compiled by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and shared by crypto hedge fund manager Travis Kling on Jan. 21, statistics reveal that the annual deficit is set to hit $12.2 trillion for the entire 2020s. Deficit as GDP share up 55% in 50 years “Such deficits would be significantly larger than the 2.9 percent of GDP that deficits averaged over the past 50 years,” the CBO itself …

The central banks of Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, European Union, Sweden and Switzerland created a group with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to jointly research central bank digital currencies (CBDC). According to a press release published by the Bank of England on Jan. 21, the aforementioned institutions will share their experience with other group members as they study potential use cases for CBDCs in their respective jurisdictions. The announcement states: “The group will assess CBDC use cases; economic, functional and technical design choices, including cross-border interoperability; and the sharing of knowledge on emerging technologies. It will closely coordinate …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has partnered with a real estate firm in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to allow real estate investors to pay in cryptocurrencies. The Singapore-based crypto exchange has entered a partnership with fäm Properties, a tech-driven real estate agency based in Dubai, to offer crypto payment options for its real estate investors, UAE-based business publication AMEinfo.com reports Jan. 12. Crypto to enable more stability and liquidity in the real estate market Specifically, the partnership enables fäm Properties to accept payment in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP and other major cryptos including stablecoins, the report reads. …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance added support for Australian dollars (AUD) and Thai baht. Binance announced support for the national currencies in separate releases on Jan. 7. Thai digital asset exchange Satang Corporation will process Thai baht transfers, while Australian dollar transfers will be facilitated by Banxa, a company specialized in internationally compliant fiat-to-crypto gateways. Satang’s fiat processing service is integrated into Binance’s trading platform by means of a recently launched application programming interface that allows users to deposit and withdraw baht directly to their accounts. Satang CEO and co-founder Poramin Insom said that the collaboration will help the adoption of …