This month in Digital Assets
Once a month our team summarizes here the market movements and what we have been following for our client and ourselves. We have hand-selected what we believe to be must-reads of this month to ensure you are all caught up on the most recent developments. Articles are grouped per region to facilitate your pick based on interest.
Russia’s war in Ukraine
1. Sanctions-dodgers hoping to use crypto to evade detection are likely to be disappointed
2. What is SWIFT? What does ejecting Russia achieve? Can Russia evade sanctions through Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets?
3. Russia is considering selling its oil and gas for bitcoin as sanctions intensify from the West
North America:
1. The White House: Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets
2. US e-cash: Bill proposes digital currency that replicates cash, bypasses the Fed
3. Bank of Canada and Massachusetts Institute of Technology announce joint Central Bank Digital Currency collaboration
4. Bored Ape creator's purchase of CryptoPunks means it now owns two of the top-selling NFT projects
5. Exxon is mining bitcoin in North Dakota as part of its plan to slash emissions
Europe:
1. Proposal Limiting Proof-of-Work Is Rejected in EU Parliament Committee Vote
2. HSBC Enters the Metaverse Through Partnership With The Sandbox
3. Bank of England and Massachusetts Institute of Technology joint Central Bank Digital Currency collaboration
4. EU Parliament Passes Privacy-Busting Crypto Rules Despite Industry Criticism
Middle East and Africa:
1. Bank of Ghana lays out core design principles for CBDC pilot
2. Qatar exploring CBDC’s and digital banks
3. Binance and FTX win approvals of their licenses to operate in the Middle East
Asia-Pacific:
1. India finance budget: Digital Asset taxation
2. India finance budget: Launch of CBDC in 2023
3. China CBDC in Olympics - More than $300,000 of China’s new CBDC is being spent at the Olympics every day
Latin America:
1. Several developments in CBDCs in Latin America
2. El Salvador prepare to launch it’s Bitcoin Bond, and the adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender
3. Caribbean Digital Currency Resumes Trading After 2-Month Outage
Global:
1. List of public consultations on digital assets from Europe, Australia, OECD, and the US Federal Reserve
RUSSIA’s WAR IN UKRAINE:
The narrative around the war in Ukraine and crypto has evolved over the past month, showing yet another use case for cryptocurrencies and further demonstrating the convergence between traditional financial services sector and infrastructure and that of digital assets. Nonetheless the debate around the extent to which the crypto industry should be regulated as Russia is potentially changing its take on bitcoin.
Sanctions-dodgers hoping to use crypto to evade detection are likely to be disappointed
When the West imposed sanctions on Russian banks, companies and elites, concerns about them turning to crypto in order to evade these sanctions were raised. While Russians might be buying more crypto, the fact is blockchains being transparent in nature, and transactions being on the public domain, crypto effectively makes it even easier to track suspicious activities. Moreover, the crypto industry responded favorably to the White House’s call for sanctions should digital assets be leveraged by Russians to facilitate wealth transfer, with Binance freezing 25,000 Russian accounts, notably of people being targeted with these sanctions.
That being said, we believe this points to another important point: the approach to regulating the crypto industry matters. Being rather hostile to digital assets, Russia has effectively led to a lack of the necessary infrastructure to allow Russians to convert any significant amounts of wealth into crypto, as the Economist discusses in its updated article.
Lastly, the war in Ukraine showed that crypto can help facilitate rapid access to funds, but also to move “money out of war zones to buy supplies,” a process that was facilitated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who signed into law a bill that legalizes the cryptocurrency sector in the country.
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/why-crypto-is-unlikely-to-be-useful-for-sanctions-dodgers/21808188
https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/17/22982608/ukraine-crypotcurrency-sector-legalized-zelenskyy-signs-bill
What is SWIFT? What does ejecting Russia achieve? Can Russia evade sanctions through Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets?
In this article, the Digital Pound Foundation effectively summarizes why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do not represent a viable means for Russia of bypassing the SWIFT network. Obvious issues, some of which discussed above, pertain to: 1) Infrastructure; 2) Transparency; and 3) Liquidity.
The article concludes: While alternative systems to SWIFT (e.g. CIPS or SPFS) could possibly facilitate some of the international payments, technical, logistical and regulatory reasons make it an unlikely viable option to a larger scale. “Crypto is also not an obvious solution at the institutional level.”
https://digitalpoundfoundation.com/what-is-swift-what-does-ejecting-russia-achieve-can-russia-evade-sanctions-through-bitcoin-and-other-cryptocurrency-assets/
Russia is considering selling its oil and gas for bitcoin as sanctions intensify from the West
Nonetheless, Russia’s tone towards crypto and particularly bitcoin might be shifting. As Russia is facing tough sanctions from the US and its NATO allies, the chair of Russia’s duma committee said that the country would be willing to offer flexible payment options, such as buyers national currency or Bitcoin, to “friendly” counterparts such as China and Turkey, whereas other countries would need to pay for their imports in Russian ruble or Gold.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/24/russia-might-take-bitcoin-as-payment-for-oil-and-gas-as-sanctions-rise.html
NORTH AMERICA
The White House: Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets
On March 9th, 2022, The White House issued the Executive Order (EO) on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets. The content of the 13 pages executive order, unsurprisingly overall well received by the crypto industry, reinforces the importance of striking a balance between innovation and regulation. To achieve its purpose of greater financial inclusion, to be a sustainable innovation, in all its meanings, and to act as a trusted alternative to complement existing infrastructures and services, digital assets and their underlying and complementary infrastructures must combine with the adequate level of governance. The EO acknowledges that the path towards mainstream adoption of digital assets requires a clear regulatory framework, and it sets out a timeline to do just that.
However, the importance of the executive order and associated Presidential actions also lies in its acknowledgement that digital assets are intrinsically financial innovations, innovations that are already part of the economy, not something in the distant future. And the adequate answer to innovation is not simply to ban it, nor to blindly accept it. Rather, it lies, at least from a governmental standpoint, in ensuring that the technological blinspots or weak points are mitigated through adequate regulation, strong governance models, transparency and information sharing. Our summary of the EO can be found here, along with what we believe could be the implications for key players of the crypto ecosystem:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/03/09/executive-order-on-ensuring-responsible-development-of-digital-assets/
US e-cash: Bill proposes digital currency that replicates cash, bypasses the Fed
Meanwhile, a new bill was introduced, the Electronic Currency And Secure Hardware Act (ECASH Act), to create a “true digital analogue” of the US (physical) dollar which would be issued by the Treasury. Focus is set on preserving privacy and anonymity in transactions. Rather than being built on a distributed ledger, the digital dollar would be token-based, such that if the phone or card that carries it is lost, the digital dollar would also be lost.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-e-cash-bill-proposes-digital-currency-that-replicates-cash-bypasses-the-fed
Bank of Canada and Massachusetts Institute of Technology announce joint Central Bank Digital Currency collaboration
Is a Canada USA CBDC bridge in the works?
The Bank of Canada is collaborating with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a 12 month project on CBDCs. The recent collaboration of Bank of Canada with MIT as mentioned may help them gain and share insights on their respective research. MIT Media Lab has been working on the digital currency initiative since April 2015, researching how CBDC would work and experimenting with different technologies. Project Hamilton is a multi-year, collaborative research project between the MIT Digital Currency Initiative and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The goal of Project Hamilton is to investigate the technical feasibility of a general purpose CBDC that could support a payment economy at the scale of the United States, as well as to gain a hands-on understanding of a hypothetical CBDC’s technical challenges, opportunities, risks, and tradeoffs. Since MIT is also involved in the Digital Dollar initiative, can we see a potential CBDC bridge between USA and Canada? We may have to wait and watch till mid 2023 to find out more details.
https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2022/03/central-bank-digital-currency-collaboration/
Bored Ape creator's purchase of CryptoPunks means it now owns two of the top-selling NFT projects
Bored Ape Yacht Club creator, Yuga Labs, bought CryptoPunks and Meebits. This purchase gives a lot of power to YugaLabs who end up with the two biggest collections of NFT, namely Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks. The Bored Ape Yacht club collection is currently worth $2.9 billion in trading volume, while CryptoPunks is worth $2,1 billion, and Meebits has a total of $384 millions of sales.
This purchase has generated a lot of attention in the NFT sphere. After the announcement of the acquisition, Yuga Labs launched its own token, the ApeCoin. This token can be claimed by Bored and Mutant Ape Yacht Club holders. The price of the ApeCoin is currently at $14.82, but remains highly volatile. In addition to the acquisition of CryptoPunk and Meebits, Yuga Labs is currently looking to enter the metaverse, with its own universe called Otherside set to launch in April 2022.
With all the developments Yuga Labs has made in the past few months, it's clear that this is a day to watch in the world of NFTs and the metaverse. Together with the acquisition of CryptoPunks this makes Yuga Labs the owners of the most popular NFT projects in existence.
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bored-ape-yacht-club-nft-cryptopunks-meebits-opensea-larvalabs-yugolabs-2022-3
https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/apecoin-ape/
https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/yuga-labs-bored-apes-metaverse
Exxon is mining bitcoin in North Dakota as part of its plan to slash emissions
Similar to some other oil producers and Bitcoin miners, Exxon Mobil is looking to utilize unused natural gas, which otherwise would go waste, to mine Bitcoin.
Currently, Oil companies flare or burn the excess gas rather than releasing the gas directly into the atmosphere to prevent a runaway greenhouse effect. But even with flaring, some gas escapes directly into the atmosphere thereby directly impacting climate change; whereas a bitcoin mining operation would potentially utilize all of the gas for electricity, thus reducing negative climate impacts.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/26/exxon-mining-bitcoin-with-crusoe-energy-in-north-dakota-bakken-region.html
https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/exxon-is-trying-out-a-program-that-will-use-leftover-natural-gas-to-power-bitcoin-mining/articleshow/90503369.cms#:~:text=Exxon%20Mobil%20and%20Crusoe%20Energy,move%20made%20by%20competitor%20ConocoPhillips.
EUROPE
Proposal Limiting Proof-of-Work Is Rejected in EU Parliament Committee Vote
The European Union (EU) avoided a ban on Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies after it rejected a proposed rule to limit the use of proof-of-work based cryptocurrencies.The main reason for this provision was due to the intense energy consumption of this type of protocol. The EU wants to make the shift to protocols with more environmentally friendly mechanisms.This vote was in connection with the upcoming publication of the Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework, which is a report on the EU regulatory aspects of digital assets.
It should be noted that ether, which is a proof-of-work based crypto-currency, is making the shift to proof-of-stake. This shift is possible for ether, but it is still unclear if it could be done with bitcoin. Regarding the shift of Ethereum to proof-of-stake, it was named a top technological breakthrough by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The shift of this project has been projected to have a drastic impact on its energy consumption, such as to cut energy used by 99.95%.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/03/14/proposal-limiting-proof-of-work-is-rejected-in-eu-parliament-committee-vote-sources/
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/mit-names-ethereum-pos-top-technological-breakthrough-in-2022-1031242952
HSBC Enters the Metaverse Through Partnership With The Sandbox
HSBC, the London head-quartered bank, announced the acquisition of a plot of land in Sandbox, one of the largest virtual worlds in the metaverse. By entering the metaverse, this makes HSBC the first global financial services provider to enter the virtual world. This announcement comes after JP Morgan opened a lounge in another popular virtual world, Decentraland. HSBC is planning to use the plot to engage with sports, esports, and gaming enthusiasts.
In addition, the world’s second-largest payments processor, American Express, filed several trademark applications linked to NFT (Non-fungible Token), and Metaverse. American Express does not yet have concrete plans to launch services in the metaverse, but is closely monitoring this technology for the benefit of its customers.
The metaverse can bring many benefits to different industries, including banking. For financial institutions, by entering the metaverse, they could improve the customer experience, more engagement, new services and revenues, etc. However, we think that industries should also watch the possible risks of it, such as problems related to privacy, and cybersecurity.
Picture source: https://www.ledgerinsights.com/hsbc-buys-nft-land-in-sandbox-metaverse-game/
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/16/hsbc-enters-the-metaverse-through-partnership-with-the-sandbox/
https://decrypt.co/95193/american-express-files-trademark-applications-for-metaverse-and-nft-logos
Bank of England and Massachusetts Institute of Technology joint Central Bank Digital Currency collaboration
Is the European Central Bank going to follow suit?
The Bank of England is collaborating with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a 12 month project on CBDC. As mentioned earlier in this newsletter, MIT also signed a similar collaboration with Bank of Canada for technology approaches to determine how CBDCs work. The objective is to explore potential technical challenges, trade-offs, opportunities and risks involved in designing a CBDC system. This work is focused on exploratory technology research and is not intended to develop an operational CBDC. With England also collaborating with MIT, can we see Europe and other G7 countries follow suit? What might be more interesting is if MIT prescribes a standardized CBDC technology framework to enable cross border payment interoperability between countries.
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2022/march/boe-and-massachusetts-institute-of-technology-joint-cbdc-collaboration
EU Parliament Passes Privacy-Busting Crypto Rules Despite Industry Criticism
The European Union lawmakers voted in favor of the possibility of banning anonymous crypto transactions, which means that crypto exchanges like Coinbase will need to report to authorities any crypto transaction over EUR 1,000. Another proposal has been made to end money transfers to non-compliant crypto exchanges under the new law.
This law not only goes against the idea of crypto innovation, but also infringes on privacy. In addition, the rule is in contrast to President Biden's executive order, which rather seeks to promote innovation in this field while ensuring careful study of how to best regulate.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/03/31/eu-parliament-votes-on-privacy-busting-crypto-rules-industry-rails-against-proposals/
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Bank of Ghana lays out core design principles for CBDC pilot
Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, is currently in the pilot stage of its CBDC project as it is looking to digitize its economy and government services in a bid to increase transaction fluidity, and create a robust payments system while reducing corruption. The Bank of Ghana (BOG) is planning to pilot a two-tier token-based retail CBDC the eCedi. (The Ghanaian Cedi is the unit of currency of Ghana, with the eCedi being the digital version of the same)
To ensure widespread adoption and provide accessibility to the rural population and the unbanked (>40% of total population live in rural areas), the eCedi design would ensure that it can be either be used online with a digital wallet app managed by a financial institution or offline using physical hardware wallet such as a contactless smart card.
As the BOG wants to ensure a CBDC retains the usefulness and operability of cash, the CBDC design would include cash-like features such as the ability to make low-value payments, and have universal accessibility. And, to reduce the economic risks from banking disintermediation the BOG, as per its objectives, would also integrate the CBDC with the existing payments system thus preventing a collapse of the banking ecosystem.
https://www.bog.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CBDC-Joint-Press-Release-BoG-GD-3.pdf
https://www.bog.gov.gh/news/design-paper-of-the-digital-cedi-ecedi/
https://www.bog.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/eCedi-Design-Paper.pdf
Qatar exploring CBDC’s and digital banks
As the world and its neighbors are moving towards a more digitized economy and online payments, The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is exploring CBDC issuance and issuing digital bank licenses as it looks to digitize its economy and payment systems.
The country is still in the initial stages of exploring the use and impact of a CBDC within its economy and is expected to finalize on its CBDC direction in the next couple of months. To further its research and test various solutions QCB has also initiated a regulatory sandbox where participants could assess various solutions.
With many Middle Eastern economies adopting blockchain technology solutions and the region being a major energy supplier to the world, the region’s adoption of blockchain solutions could have a ripple effect throughout the world.
https://coingeek.com/qatar-exploring-cbdc-as-it-digitizes-payments/
https://cryptopotato.com/qatar-plans-to-issue-digital-bank-licenses-and-explore-a-cbdc-report/
https://cointelegraph.com/news/qatar-exploring-digital-banks-and-central-bank-digital-currencies
Binance and FTX win approvals of their licenses to operate in the Middle East
Binance, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, has said that it has received approval for a license to operate in Bahrain. Meanwhile FTX has received its license approval to operate in Dubai, UAE.
Many Middle Eastern economies are stepping up their regulatory frameworks on cryptocurrencies as adoption increases and recently, Dubai has set up the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), a new agency designed to regulate cryptocurrencies and crypto licensing.
These moves could potentially be seen as positive steps in the middle eastern region as regulators are endorsing crypto firms and could potentially improve crypto adoption.
https://bitcoinist.com/binance-to-gets-crypto-license-in-bahrain/
https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/news/binance-and-ftx-win-licenses-to-operate-in-the-middle-east
https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2022/03/dubai-issues-new-regulator-for-virtual-assets
ASIA-PACIFIC
India finance budget: Digital Asset taxation
Few favor the move that digital assets are being regulated but others cite the higher slab taxation may be a deterrent to users
India recently amended their tax legislation to include taxation of digital assets which will begin from 1st April 2022 onwards. The government has defined digital assets broadly to include crypto related assets such as bitcoin, ethereum, security tokens, Non-Fungible-Tokens etc.. In most cases, the capital gains of these assets will attract tax at the rate of 30% on the capital gains with no deduction for expenses and no set off of losses. This seems to be a punitive taxation move on crypto users by the government. This move may be motivated by the growing 100M+ crypto users in India, a need to deter the public from investing in this new asset class, and also to share a part of the gains that the users are making. Moreover, Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) at 1% would be applicable for such transactions. Gifting of digital assets also will be taxed. This might be a cumbersome process for individuals and entities to track and comply with and there might be a need for tax consultants who are also aware of the digital asset space. These taxation rates and applicability of tax are subject to basic level exemption limits and exceptions which are detailed in the finance bill. Few favor the move, mentioning that the government has started to regulate the space and removed the possibility of banning digital assets as was previously on the cards. Others are seeing this as a punitive measure by the government to deter users from trading or investing in digital assets.
https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/Budget_Speech.pdf
https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/Finance_Bill.pdf
https://brokerchooser.com/education/crypto/crypto-countries
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/30-tax-on-digital-assets-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/89267925.cms
India finance budget: Launch of CBDC in 2023
Ms. Nirmala Seetharaman, India’s finance minister mentioned in her budget speech that India will be rolling out its CBDC by March 2023. The effects of the launch of the CBDC include, as highlighted in the speech, big boost to the digital economy and more efficient and cheaper currency management system
The RBI act has been amended in the finance bill 2022 to include CBDC as a form of bank note.
Similar to China, India has come to a conclusion to launch a CBDC even though it has a vibrant payment ecosystem in place. Once India launches its CBDC, 18% of the world’s population will get access to the novel form of monetary instrument.
https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/Budget_Speech.pdf
https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/Finance_Bill.pdf
China CBDC in Olympics - More than $300,000 of China’s new CBDC is being spent at the Olympics every day
The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 has enabled the Chinese government to further test their central bank digital currency. The e-CNY or digital yuan has started its piloting process from April 2020 and during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics widened its transactional use for all participants - from citizens to athletes, coaches, and media personnel covering the event.
The successful pilot of CBDC at the Beijing winter Olympics instilled more confidence in the wide range of potential use for digital currency and proved its versatility for its users and the central government. The research, development, and application of digital renminbi (RMB) can help better fulfill people’s demands for fiat currency in digital economy scenarios and improve the convenience and security of retail payments, propelling the development of China’s digital economy. Though issues around consumer privacy and other related concerns are still being raised.
https://www.dmcnews.org/altcoin/1312/all-winter-olympics-merchants-now-accept-digital-yuan-say-chinese-banks/
https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/more-than-300000-of-chinas-new-cbdc-is-being-spent-at-the-olympics-every-day/articleshow/89655765.cms
https://news.bitcoin.com/pboc-central-bank-digital-currency-usage-beijing-winter-olympics-2-million-digital-yuan-per-day/
https://authorityngr.com/2022/02/26/digital-yuan-injects-fresh-dynamism-into-chinese-economy/
SOUTH AMERICA
Several developments in CBDCs in South America
The Brazilian central bank has selected several suppliers for the development of CBDCs. Among the 9 providers chosen, some are crypto exchanges and banks, including Mercado Bitcoin, AAVE, Santander Brasil and Itaú Unibanco. Following this selection, the implementation phase will begin on March 28 and is expected to end on July 27. Recall that in February, the Brazilian Senate had taken steps to regulate digital assets, including crypto-currencies. If the bill passes, it will make Brazil the largest country in South America to regulate crypto-currencies. Apart from the central bank of Brazil, there are also CBDCs developments in Jamaica. To help with promotion and adoption, the first 100,000 citizens who use the new Central Bank Digital Currency platform, Jam-Dex, will receive a deposit of $16 from the government.
In terms of communication and promotion, the Central Bank of Jamaica stands out. In fact, it has even created its own television show that is broadcast throughout the country. The roll-out of the Jam-Dex was planned in early 2022. These developments in South America continue to make it the region with the most live projects.. This is not surprising, given that financial inclusion is a primary focus of CBDCs and that 45% of the population in Latin America remains unbanked.
Picture source: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/03/central-bank-of-brazil-selects-9-partners-to-assist-in-creation-of-a-cbdc/
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/03/central-bank-of-brazil-selects-9-partners-to-assist-in-creation-of-a-cbdc/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-22/brazil-s-senate-takes-first-step-toward-regulating-crypto
https://jis.gov.jm/2500-incentive-for-jamaicans-to-get-digital-wallet/
https://www.centralbanking.com/awards/7930171/communications-initiative-bank-of-jamaica
https://www.retailbankerinternational.com/analysis/latin-america-and-the-rapidly-shrinking-unbanked-population/
El Salvador prepare to launch its Bitcoin Bond, and the adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender
El Salvador had announced the launch of its first so-called "bitcoin" bond, which was scheduled between March 15 and 20, 2022. However, the El Salvador government decided to postpone the launch due to the market conditions, such as the price of bitcoin and the war in Ukraine.
In September 2021, El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender. More than six months later, adoption of this payment method continues to be lacking across the country. Indeed, the transition has brought several challenges. According to a government report, more than 4 million users had wallets that were verified, yet nearly 86% of the businesses that were contacted said they had never conducted a bitcoin transaction. There are several reasons for these adoption problems, including a lack of understanding of the technology, as well as a loss of money as a result of the crypto-currency's decline in value. Recently, there were rumors that the central bank of Honduras was studying the possibility of using bitcoin as a legal tender. However, these rumors were quickly denied by the latter, which is instead studying the possibilities of issuing its own CBDC.
https://restofworld.org/2022/el-salvador-bitcoin/
https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/03/25/4-reasons-why-bitcoiners-should-pass-on-el-salvadors-bitcoin-bond/
Caribbean Digital Currency Resumes Trading After 2-Month Outage
ECCB's DCash CBDC has been brought back online after a two-month outage. The problem was due to a certificate expiration in Hyperledger Fabric, which is the blockchain where DCash is hosted. While there is not much clarity on what happened, there is a lot to learn from this situation, and the risk associated with launching a new currency should not be taken lightly, especially the technical risk. For this reason, central banks should carefully study the aspects of CBDCs before launching their own CBDC.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/caribbean-digital-currency-resumes-trading-after-2-month-outage-1.1735127
REGION: Global
List of public consultations on digital assets
PULSE CHECK ON OUR ARTIC FRIENDS IN ANTARCTICA
ha ha…!
Thankfully, our friends in Antarctica are still not aware of Bitcoin or Dogecoin trying to topple the global financial ecosystem... One can only imagine what a pengu coin can do!
OTHER READS
Alberta sets sights on being new frontier for cryptocurrency entrepreneurs https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6399255
BrokenChooser Crypto-awareness score: https://brokerchooser.com/education/crypto/crypto-countries
Bank for International Settlements: Project Dunbar: https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/dunbar.htm
BLOCKZERO IN THE COMMUNITY
Arun Balu Pazhayannur, Manager at BlockZero, had the opportunity to provide a presentation on Digital Assets to fellow and associate Chartered Accountants and future women leaders of India.
Presentation 1: Overview of Digital Assets
Organized by: Southern India Regional Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
Audience: 140+ Chartered Accountants
Duration: 2 hours
Key message: Digital assets are here to stay and grow and it is time to embrace this ecosystem.
Objective: To provide an overview of the digital asset ecosystem, how it is evolving, and provide guidance on what type of services are required in the market.
Presentation 2: Basics of Digital Assets
Organized by: Shrimathi Devkunvar Nanalal Bhatt Vaishnav College For Women (SDNB Vaishnav), Chennai, India
Audience: 100+ Undergraduate students
Duration: 2 hours
Key message: Digital asset is a new space that can be explored by students as a career.
Objective: To provide an overview of the digital assets, its evolution, the ecosystem, potential risks and career guidance on what type of skills to develop to enter this space.
WHO ARE WE:
BlockZero is a boutique consulting firm specializing in the evolution of the financial infrastructure through digital assets, digital currency, stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
BlockZero advises global financial institutions, central banks and financial technology companies in the exploration, experimentation, technical implementation and rolling out of digital asset-based infrastructure.
If you would like to learn more about us, please visit our website at https://www.blockzero.ca/