Goldman Sachs is performing “extensive research” on tokenization, the group’s chief executive told France’s Les Echos newspaper on June 27. David Solomon said he believes global payment systems are heading in the direction of stablecoins — cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat assets such as the U.S. dollar. Although he stopped short of confirming whether Goldman Sachs has had discussions with Facebook about its upcoming libra cryptocurrency and Calibra wallet, Solomon said his corporation finds the concept “interesting.” When asked whether Goldman Sachs will follow JPMorgan Chase in launching its own virtual currency, Solomon said: “Assume that all major financial institutions around …

The biggest crypto exchange by volume Binance and digital asset Trust company Paxos have integrated a new fiat deposit gateway on Binance’s flagship trading platform. According to a press release published on June 26, the gateway will enable traders to exchange fiat currency for the PAX Standard (PAX) stablecoin on the Paxos platform via wire transfer. The amount will then be reflected directly as a PAX-denominated balance in their Binance accounts. The press release claims that the new fiat on-ramp will foster increased PAX liquidity on the exchange and thus optimize price discovery for traders. All PAX redemptions on Binance …

Throughout May 2019, United Kingdom-based nonprofit organization Oxfam International executed a month-long trial that saw MakerDAO’s DAI stablecoin distributed as a means of exchange among citizens of Vanuatu. The Oxfam initiative, named UnBlocked Cash, was conducted in partnership with MakerDAO, ConsenSys and Australian tech startup Sempo. The Australian government also supported the program. Tsunamis, cyclones and volcanic eruptions comprise a constant concern for the citizens of Vanuatu, with WorldRiskReport describing it as the world’s most at-risk nation to natural disaster for five consecutive years. The month-long program saw 200 residents of the Vanuatu villages of Pango and Mele Maat issued …

Australia’s central bank said bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies would remain outside mainstream payments in a dedicated article issued on June 20. Titled ‘Cryptocurrency: Ten Years On,’ the document from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) appears to commemorate the past decade of bitcoin’s existence while admitting zero faith in its future beyond a niche asset. “Despite achieving some name recognition, cryptocurrencies are not widely used for payments,” its abstract summarizes. “This article examines why Bitcoin is unlikely to become a ubiquitous payment method in Australia, and summarises how subsequent cryptocurrencies have sought to address some of the shortcomings of Bitcoin …

Major fiat-crypto trading platform OKCoin has partnered with fintech firm Simplex to enable global users to make USD deposits via debit or credit card. The news was announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on June 17. As an European Union-licensed financial institution and payments processing provider, Simplex — which has offices in Israel, the United Kingdom, United States and Lithuania — will offer card-enabled USD deposits for OKCoin users outside of Europe, China and the U.S., according to the press release. The partners reportedly plan to extend the service to further countries in the future. According to the …

The Financial Supervisory Authority (FME), Iceland’s sole financial regulator, has approved the first blockchain-powered e-money firm in the country, as the organization announced on June 14. Reykjavik-based Monerium, backed by blockchain software company ConsenSys, has reportedly been approved by the Icelandic financial watchdog to provide fiat payment services using ethereum (ETH) blockchain, crypto media outlet CoinDesk reported June 14. According to the report, Monerium has become the first company to operate under an electronic money framework, a major European regulatory framework that enabled the firm to offer blockchain-powered e-money services across the European Economic Area (EEA). Monerium co-founder Jón Helgi …

Cryptocurrency enthusiast John McAfee's crypto trading platform was immediately targeted by hackers with a denial of service (DOS) attack following its launch, according to an official Twitter post from McAfee on June 12. According to the post, the web servers for the “McAfeeMagic” trading platform, were hit with a cloaked High Orbit Ion Cannon (HOIC) DOS attack. Cybersecurity website Imperva describes an HOIC DOS attack as stressing a network by “flooding target systems with junk HTTP GET and POST requests.” However, McAffee tweeted the same day that the website was operational again. According to the same post, the McAfeeMagic trading …

Global mobile crypto wallet provider BRD has announced a partnership with blockchain payments and infrastructure firm Wyre that will enable its United States-based customers to purchase cryptocurrencies using bank transfers. The news was revealed in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on June 13. According to the press release, U.S. customers will be able to purchase bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and dai (DAI) by directly linking their BRD wallet to their bank account and making a low-fee transfer. The new service is reportedly supported by over 1,700 U.S. banks, and ostensibly allows for purchases to be completed within five minutes. …

The captains regent of the Republic of San Marino, Nicola Selva and Michele Muratori, have issued a governmental decree on blockchain tech for businesses, according to a recent document. The new decree outlines procedures for registering a blockchain-based organization with the “Istituto per l’Innovazione della Repubblica di San Marino,” or San Marino Innovation Institute. According to the decree, blockchain-based organizations in the Republic of San Marino, the EU, or any country not classified as “high risk” and also considered relevant to the purview of San Marino legislation, may apply for registration with the institute. The institute sets out to provide …

Multiple sources are expecting Facebook to launch its stablecoin on June 18, IT and fintech magazine TechCrunch reported on June 6. Citing people familiar with the plans, the publication added strength to existing suggestions from both within and outside the company that its secretive cryptocurrency project would appear this month. Previously, rumors had suggested it would be 2020 before Facebook made a commitment to bring its product, which should focus on remittances, to market. “It’s currently scheduled for a June 18th release of a white paper explaining its cryptocurrency’s basics,” TechCrunch states. That date had also come from Laura McCracken, …

TrustToken, the stablecoin operator behind usd-pegged token trueusd (TUSD), announced a partnership with major cryptocurrency exchange Binance in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on June 4. Per the release, as a result of the partnership, Binance users now will be able to buy TUSD for zero fees and redeem it for fiat currency. A TrustToken representative told Cointelegraph in an email that they are “bringing a direct fiat-to-crypto onramp/offramp to Binance” to users following registration in their app. The spokesperson further noted that Binance also listed the paxos standard (PAX) stablecoin. The spokesperson also claims that “at this time …

Global peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange LocalBitcoins has officially confirmed the removal of trading in local fiat currencies, the firm announced in a tweet on June 4. As previously reported, the Finland-based exchange silently removed cash trading on June 1, which immediately caused some outrage in crypto community. In the official statement, LocalBitcoins noted that its liabilities are determined by the Act on Detecting and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which requires the exchange to follow certain sanctions. LocalBitcoins wrote: “In order to adapt to the current regulatory environment, we had to reconsider our policy on local cash trades as …