1. IMF warns banks to evolve or be ‘left behind’ amid competition from big tech firms
A new IMF paper published Monday said the two most common forms of money today, cash and bank deposits, will “face tough competition and could even be surpassed.” The IMF said policymakers should be prepared for “disruption” in the banking landscape from big tech companies and fintech start-ups. Regulators are already skeptical of Facebook’s planned cryptocurrency called Libra.
[Source: CNBC] ✩✩✩✩
2. Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency attacked at Senate hearing
Facebook’s plan for a cryptocurrency has come under further attack at a US hearing, with politicians calling the company “delusional” and not trusted.
[Source: BBC] ✩✩✩✩
3. France to approve first crypto-issuers as new rules loom
France’s financial watchdog is poised to approve a first tranche of cryptocurrency-related companies under new rules on digital coins, some of the first such regulations to be launched by a major economy.
[Source: Reuters] ✩✩✩✩
4. Germany’s Scholz sounds alarm on cryptocurrencies such as Facebook’s Libra
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday regulators must ensure that cryptocurrencies such as Facebook’s planned digital coin Libra do not threaten financial stability and consumer privacy.
Facebook, which said in June it hoped to launch Libra in 2020, has faced criticism from regulators and politicians who have cited concerns about security, money laundering and consumer protection.
[Source: Reuters] ✩✩✩✩
5. UK’s Head of Treasury: We’re Not Going to Try to Stop Facebook’s Libra
Facebook’s recently-announced cryptocurrency project, Libra, continues to make headlines as high-ranked officials weigh in on the matter. The UK’s Chancellor and Under-Treasurer of Her Majesty’s Exchequer, Philip Hammond, has said that the UK won’t try to stop Libra, but rather to regulate it in light of its transformative potential.
[Source: Cryptopotato] ✩✩✩✩
6. PayPal fires up “Ripple-killer” Xoom app for international payments
PayPal has launched its mobile payments app Xoom across Europe to provide faster and cheaper international transfers. It hopes the new offering with make it cheaper than traditional payment services and more convenient than sending crypto.
[Source: DecryptMedia] ✩✩✩✩
7. ‘Expect Chaos’: Polkadot to Launch Experimental Kusama Network This Summer
An experimental version of blockchain interoperability protocol Polkadot will go live later this summer. Led by Swiss nonprofit Web3 Foundation, the Polkadot team says the “early, unaudited and unrefined release of Polkadot” will be called Kusama.
“Kusama will serve as a proving ground, allowing teams and developers to build and deploy a parachain or try out Polkadot’s governance, staking and validation functionality in a real environment,” Gavin Wood, the ethereum co-founder and creator of Polkadot, said in a blog post.
[Source: Coindesk] ✩✩✩
8. Ripple CEO Defends XRP Following Washington, DC’s Crypto Response
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has taken the opportunity to plug XRP as a solution to the concerns raised by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Speaking on Twitter, Garlinghouse said that he hopes regulators recognize that not all cryptocurrencies are cut from the same cloth in terms of their potential to facilitate crime and money laundering.
[Source: CCN] ✩✩✩
9. Binance Planning to Launch a Crypto Exchange in South Korea
Binance, one of the largest global crypto exchanges by volume, is eying to enter the South Korean market by opening a new branch in the country.
According to the local news outlet Block In Press, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao confirmed the exchange’s plan to expand into the new market and is already working with some local partners to ease the process.
[Source: FinanceMagnates] ✩✩✩
10. UK regulator looking to hire series of cryptocurrency specialists
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has posted two job listings for candidates with in-depth crypto knowledge. The UK regulator has been working on a number of crypto-related projects and is set to issue extensive guidance on the space in the coming months. The hires could be a sign that the regulator is gearing up to provide greater scrutiny of digital assets and potential abuses
[Source: TheBlock] ✩✩✩
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