One of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges by trading volume believes digital currencies can provide financial freedom to consumers in countries where instability and inflation are making fiat payments impractical. In the world of digital technology dominance, traditional global financial systems are facing hard times to transform in order to interact with the overwhelming demands around the globe, especially to developing countries. Issues such as a lack of access to stable banking and the high cost of currency exchange and remittances for migrant workers sending funds back home all contribute to perpetuating existing inequalities. However, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology could …

United States telecom and media giant AT&T now accepting cryptocurrency for paying phone bills online, according to an official press release on May 23. AT&T will process bills paid in cryptocurrency using crypto payments platform BitPay. BitPay is a platform that converts cryptocurrencies to fiat and is used by over 20,000 businesses. AT&T is reportedly the first United States-based business in the wireless network industry to offer bill payments with BitPay. Kevin McDorman, vice president of AT&T Communications Finance Business Operations, said, “We have customers who use cryptocurrency, and we are happy we can offer them a way to pay …

Major global crypto exchange Huobi has launched a regulated over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk for institutional investors, according to a blog post on May 15. The new OTC crypto trading platform, Huobi OTC Desk, is fully regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (FSC), and enables major fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto trading pairs. Unlike the existing Huobi’s OTC retail products, the new OTC trading desk enables a principal OTC trading process under Huobi Technology, Huobi’s regulated OTC trading entity in Gibraltar, while the existing OTC offering on otc.hbg.com enables peer-to-peer (P2P) tradings under Huobi Global, the firm clarified. Jeff Adams, Senior Sales …

In Spain, eight people have been arrested for allegedly operating a money laundering scheme involving cryptocurrencies, Europol announced in a press release on May 8. Per the release, the group laundered money by exchanging fiat currency to crypto assets. The individuals reportedly used cryptocurrency ATMs and split funds into smaller sums to introduce them into the financial system without having the transactions reported as suspicious. Participants reportedly carried cash, depositing it in several bank accounts and moving it around through different accounts before exchanging it for crypto. Large transfers were sent to accounts from corporate entities owned by the alleged …

The custodians of global financial order have been prominent in crypto news recently. The weekend kicked off with the announcement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) joining forces with the World Bank to launch a private blockchain coupled with a “quasi-cryptocurrency” for training purposes, then continued with the Spring Meetings of the two organizations’ Boards of Governors in Washington, D.C., which ran throughout the whole week. Although it would be an overstatement to claim that distributed ledgers were particularly conspicuous on the forum’s overall agenda, the program included a series of fintech workshops, as well as at least a couple …

A fintech company says it has reached several milestones that help crypto enthusiasts capitalize on the current bull market, as it complements its crypto lending service with wallets, blockchain integration and crypto-fiat conversions. YouHodler offers cash loans of up to $30,000 to consumers who are willing to use their cryptocurrency as collateral. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, this gives people the chance to unlock liquidity and access funds without selling their assets. The platform says suggestions from its community are instrumental in its ambition to unveil new features — and as a result, it is now accepting Stellar (XLM) as …

Tether (USDT), the most used fiat-pegged stablecoin, has hit an all-time high by the number of daily transactions, according to blockchain data provider Coin Metrics. On March 31, the amount of Tether transactions hit a high of 38,150, representing a new milestone in the adoption of the major stablecoin launched in 2015. All-time transaction volume of Tether. Source: Coin Metrics At press time, Tether is ranked the second top cryptocurrency by daily trading volume at $9.4 billion, while Bitcoin’s (BTC) daily trading volume amounts to $10.2 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Tether has long been the subject of controversy …

A contract-for-difference (CFD) broker says its platform is one of the first to operate in both crypto and fiat currencies — with a simple interface that’s designed to appeal to new and advanced traders alike. SimpleFX says that it already boasts more than 200,000 active traders around the world and aspires to become “the go-to app for the new generation of mobile-first traders.” In order to achieve this objective, the company has added social features that deliver a social element to its platform — giving experienced traders an opportunity to gain influence, mentor their followers and earn a reputation. Known …

Central banks should leave issuance of digital currencies to corporations such as Facebook and JPMorgan, according to a blockchain and financial partner at PwC France, Forbes reports March 22. According to PwC France’s Pauline Adam Kalfon, central banks should stay away from the issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) until large corporations test out the tokenization of fiat currencies themselves. Only when cryptocurrencies are "battle-tested by corporations,” should central banks make a move towards the crypto space, Kalfon argued, adding that it will reduce the likelihood of potentially negative consequences on the economy arising from any central bank issuing …

Price correlations among major cryptocurrencies increased against the U.S. dollar (USD) but fell in Bitcoin (BTC) terms, a new report from cryptocurrency exchange Binance revealed on March 20. Part of an investigation into price trends within crypto markets since 2017, Binance found that behavior among assets is diverging depending on whether returns are denominated in USD or BTC. Specifically, USD returns from holdings were more correlated among cryptocurrencies within the three months of 2019 ending March 1 than in 2017. BTC returns, by contrast, are less correlated in current conditions than they were eighteen months ago. “Correlations in BTC returns …

Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of payments company Circle, has said that as the sector continues to see new market entrants, stablecoins using an open standards approach will prevail. Allaire made his remarks during an interview with Fortune’s crypto-focused segment The Ledger on March 19. As reported, Circle launched its USD-backed, ERC-20 stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) last fall, via the consortium Centre, which counts crypto exchange Coinbase and mining firm Bitmain as members. Centre is also the name for the token’s open network and open source protocol, which provides interoperability in a bid to secure wide ecosystem support for the …

Developers behind stablecoin Tether (USDT) have drawn scrutiny today, March 14, after social media users noticed they had removed previous claims that the altcoin was fully backed by United States dollars. Tether, which has faced various publicity hurdles over the transparency of its holdings, had de facto guaranteed that each of its USDT tokens had an equivalent 1 USD in the bank. Intended as the opposite to fractional reserve banking, as Cointelegraph reported in December last year, documents had further confirmed the validity of Tether’s backing claims. Now, however, a new update, date unknown, to its website suggests USD holdings …