Within a few years, a younger generation of financial services customers are going to be able to walk into a bank and gain access to credit products, savings accounts and investments that can host both crypto and fiat assets. In fact, the inroads that will allow for all of this to happen are already breaking ground. You probably already know that Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange based out of San Francisco, is now the first-ever cryptocurrency business in the United States to become a bank. For now, being an officially chartered bank means that Kraken will be able to offer more …

Japanese banking officials continue to voice concern over China’s progress in the development of its central bank digital currency. Kenji Okamura, vice-finance minister for Japan’s international affairs, warned the global community of the potential risks of China’s digital yuan, Reuters reported Oct. 9. Okamura said that China’s digital yuan initiative is “moving at a relatively fast pace” as the Chinese government presumably aims to be the first global jurisdiction to adopt a CBDC. “First-mover advantage is something we should be afraid of,” Okamura said at a digital seminar backed by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, adding: This advantage …

The Singapore-based multinational banking entity DBS and Standard Chartered have completed the proof-of-concept of their blockchain trade finance platform called the Trade Finance Registry. The two entities developed the PoC in collaboration with 12 other banks on top of the blockchain platform of Singapore-headquartered company Dltledgers. Dltledgers told Cointelegraph that the banks involved in the project now intend to launch the platform for commercial use by central banks around the globe. While the platform will first be used by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the entities involved in the project also plan to propose it to central banks from the …

Russia’s Ministry of Finance is continuing to push regulations for the cryptocurrency industry by proposing new tax requirements. The ministry now reportedly wants to introduce criminal liability for failure to declare taxes on crypto, including prison terms of up to three years. According to a Sept. 24 report by Kommersant, the ministry proposes that individuals who fail to report an amount of over 1 million Russian rubles ($13,000) in annual crypto operations should serve a three-year prison term or hard labor. The ministry also proposed major fines for smaller unreported amounts. As such, any physical or legal entity in Russia …

The European Central Bank has warned the global community about the risks of so-called “stablecoin runs.” Analogous to the term “bank runs” in the traditional financial system, stablecoin runs could occur if end users lose confidence in the issuer or its network, the ECB writes in a report released Tuesday. In traditional finance, a bank run occurs when a large number of customers withdraw their deposits simultaneously over concerns of the bank’s solvency. As more people withdraw their funds, the probability of default increases, triggering more withdrawals. The ECB goes on to say that, during such a run, some parts …

Regulated Brazilian fund manager Hashdex has inked a deal with Nasdaq to launch the world’s first crypto asset exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX). The stock exchange announced it had approved the ‘Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index’ on September 18, revealing that 3 million Class E shares will be issued for trade on the platform. Cointelegraph Brazil confirmed the Nasdaq partnership and ETF with Hashdex’s chief executive, Marcelo Sampaio According to local media outlet Infomoney, the fund should be live and trading on the BSX by the end of the year. The report notes that Hashdex chose to …

Food-related DeFi projects have slowly taken over crypto in the last quarter, with many of these projects suffering from contentious issues, like the Uniswap fork, SushiSwap's vampire attack, and the market dump of $13 million worth of Ether (ETH) by lead developer Chef Nomi. Then there’s the infamous Hotdog DeFi meme coin which dumped 99.9% hours after listing. These quick pump and dump style projects have the capacity to give DeFi a bad name but taking a closer look at the list of food themed projects reveals that not all of the offerings are rotten. On Sept. 11 a new …

A subsidiary of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has joined a blockchain-based platform for commodity trade finance. Sberbank Switzerland AG has signed an agreement with Swiss trade finance platform Komgo to apply its blockchain-powered trade finance service. Representatives from Sberbank Switzerland told Cointelegraph that the collaboration with Komgo addresses the growing digitization of trade finance. Evgeny Kravchenko, head of trade finance at Sberbank, outlined that commodity trade finance is a strategic business of Sberbank Switzerland. According to the executive, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States countries are the company’s key markets, while Sberbank Switzerland also supports trade flows globally. “In …

In 2020, as a result of the economic crisis caused by the spread of COVID-19, the world financial system is facing an increasing number of problems. The authorities of large countries have applied monetary policies of quantitative easing, which has led to a decrease in the value of fiat currencies and a loss of public confidence in them. At the same time, the profitability of bank deposits has dropped to their lowest levels. Meanwhile, alternatives to traditional banks are now gaining popularity. Among them are decentralized finance products: cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, and lending, trading and deposit services. Their indisputable advantages …

Of all the developments in blockchain technology over recent years, enterprise adoption has perhaps been the most anticlimactic. As the initial coin offering bubble started to inflate during 2017, blockchain entrepreneurs and commentators alike were hyping the technology as a solution for almost every industry and business problem in existence. Fast-forward to 2020, and progress in enterprise blockchain has been lethargic at best. Almost without exception, notable implementations of enterprise “blockchain,” such as IBM’s Food Trust or Maersk-led Trade-ins, have used distributed permissioned ledgers. Proponents of blockchain technology point to various reasons why businesses have been slow to adopt decentralized …

Following the news of Fidelity Investments' Bitcoin (BTC) fund filing, Mike Alfred, CEO of analytics outfit Digital Assets Data, described continued hesitancy in mainstream finance when it comes to Bitcoin. "Many in the traditional financial services/asset management/wealth management verticals remain deeply skeptical of Bitcoin and the ecosystem," Alfred told Cointelegraph on Sept. 10. "One commenter on my LinkedIn yesterday even called Fidelity's move 'Abby's folly,'" he said, which takes a shot at Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson in reference to her activities and position as an early Bitcoin adopter. A mainstream financial services entity, Fidelity, with its daughter company, Fidelity Digital …

Amid the ongoing craze around decentralized finance, or DeFi, a blockchain startup in China is launching a global DeFi initiative. Conflux Network, a permissionless blockchain startup, has launched a new DeFi-focused association focused on international cooperation of major industry players. Called “Open DeFi,” the new alliance aims to connect Eastern and Western DeFi markets, uniting China-based blockchain leaders and global DeFi startups to streamline cross-border market growth, sustainability and innovation. According to a Sept. 3 announcement, the new alliance is supported by the Chinese government through the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee. Initiated by Conflux Network, Open DeFi comprises a …