Finsight Breaking News - Page 22

Finsight Reports Fintech, Blockchain, Markets and Technology. Global overview in one place.

Brazilian Securities Regulator Approves the First Ethereum (ETH) ETF of Latin America

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To track the performance of Ethereum, QETH11 will follow the CME CF Ether Reference rate, the same that is used by the CME Group. The QETH11 will buy Ethereum in the open market and carry out the custody for investors in a safe and secure environment using Gemini’s custodial solutions.The QETH11 provides a gateway for institutional players to gain exposure to Ethereum (ETH) in a secure and regulated environment. The approval for Ether ETF from QR Capital came a month after it launched its Bitcoin ETF (QBTC11) back in June 2021. In a note accessed by Exame, QR Asset Management said:“The Brazilian investor now has the possibility of exposure to the two largest and most valuable digital assets in the world, in a regulated, simple and secure manner. It is no longer necessary to register in exchanges, create private keys or worry about secure custody, since the fund has institutional-level custody in deep cold storage , provided by Gemini – a company specializing in the custody of cryptoactives founded by the Winklevoss twins – a service not very accessible to the common investor”.

Growing Demand for Crypto Derivatives

Brazil is seeing a growing demand for crypto derivative products as digital currencies continue to make faster inroads in the country’s financial system. On the other hand, the country’s struggling economy is pushing investors to investment vehicles like digital assets.Apart from these two ETFs – QBTC11 and QETH11 – Brazil has been investing in ETFs that track a basket of cryptocurrencies HASH11. The positive regulatory approach from Brazil has been welcomed by investors.The approval for QR Capital’s Ether ETF comes when ETH has been trading under pressure. In the last 24 hours, the ETH price has tanked 5.64% moving under $2000.

Paraguay Proposed Bitcoin Law Includes Crypto Registration

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A new bitcoin law expected to be introduced into Paraguay’s legislature tomorrow will require cryptos to be registered with the country’s Undersecretariat of State Taxation, Decrypt reported Tuesday, citing a draft of the bill it said it obtained.

“The purpose of this draft law is to establish legal certainty, financial and fiscal in the businesses derived from the production and commercialization of virtual assets,” a rough translation of the document reads. Decrypt reported that the bill was a leaked draft, without saying how it obtained it.

The bill would also regulate crypto mining as well as trading through exchanges and peer-to-peer marketplaces where participants will be required to register as “obligated subjects,” according to Decrypt’s reporting.

It’s a stark contrast to neighboring Latin American country El Salvador, which last month approved its own version of a Bitcoin Law designed to make the crypto legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar.

“It is important that companies can register these products within their accounting so that they can have their real valuation, additionally [it] helps to optimize the tax collection of this industry, finally giving traceability of what is produced in the country facilitating its tracking by supervisory authorities,” the document says.

Specifically, the rationale of the bill states that crypto mining should be seen as an industrial activity under the purview of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce because of its use of capital, labor, machinery and construction of civil infrastructure.

Congressman Carlos Rejala, who plans to present the bill, told CoinDesk last month that the law would allow crypto mining or exchange companies to finance their Paraguayan operations with digital assets as well as remit dividends abroad and capitalize their crypto profits in domestic banks.

Central Bank of the UAE announces intent to launch a digital currency

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The UAE central bank is planning to roll out a digital currency as part of its 2023-2026 strategy, according to state news agency WAM.

Jurisdictions like ADGM and DIFC have introduced crypto regulations, and last year, the central bank had rolled out a virtual asset scheme. When a central bank introduces a digital currency it is expected to support the industry as assets will back it.

The WAM report said the strategy includes supporting digital transformation in the financial services sector by adopting the latest technologies in artificial intelligence and big data, developing a strong and secure financial cloud infrastructure and supporting the green economy in the UAE.

The new strategy also includes the use of technology in regulatory and insurance systems, in addition to the use of a digital identity infrastructure, to enhance financial inclusion and faster access to financial services.

The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) of the UAE had released a regulatory framework in 2020 for Crypto Assets. The purpose of this regulation is to regulate the offering, issuance, listing, and trading of crypto assets in the state, as well as associated financial activities. However, it excluded the Central Bank of UAE, crypto assets issued by the government and/or public undertakings, a currency, virtual currency, digital currency, unit of stored value, or any other payment unit issued through a system licensed, approved and authorised by Central bank from time to time.

An annual UBS survey of 30 leading central banks, highlighted the fact that though central bank officials have doubts over private cryptocurrencies, they are certain over the prospect of central bank digital currencies or official coins.

About 60 per cent of the respondents (central bank reserve managers) expect at least one G7 central bank to make digital currencies available to consumers in the next half-decade.

Over 80 per cent of central bank reserve managers said over the period, they expect the launch and accessibility of “wholesale” central bank coins to big financial institutions.

Stripe takes first step toward blockbuster listing

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The 11-year-old company, which was valued by investors at $95 billion in a fundraising round in March, has sat out this year’s red-hot market for initial public offerings (IPOs), using private tender offers to allow some of its existing investors and employees to cash out their holdings.

Remaining private has enabled Stripe to keep such financial details as revenue and profitability under wraps. Yet this has also deprived it of using its shares as a publicly traded currency to help finance acquisitions and to incentivize employees.

Stripe has tapped Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP as a legal adviser on its early-stage listing preparations, the sources said. There has been no decision on the timing of the stock market debut, and the next step would be the hiring of investment banks later this year, the sources added. The listing would be unlikely to happen this year, two of the sources said.

Stripe is considering going public through a direct listing, rather than a traditional IPO, because it does not need to raise money, said two of the sources, cautioning that those plans could change.

The sources requested anonymity because the deliberations are confidential. Stripe and Cleary Gottlieb declined to comment.

Founded in 2010 by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison, Stripe processes hundreds of billions of dollars in transactions every year for millions of businesses worldwide. Its list of clients includes Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, Uber Technologies Inc(UBER.N), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM.O). Early investors Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Google’s venture capital arm.

Stripe’s breakneck growth could result in it challenging Chinese technology giants Ant Group (688688.SS) and ByteDance, whose valuations are close to $200 billion, for the title of world’s most valuable startup by the time it goes public.

John Collison told Bloomberg Television in an interview last month that Stripe, which has headquarters in both Dublin and San Francisco, may go public one day but that there were no current plans for a listing.

Crypto exchange Binance temporarily suspends payments from EU’s SEPA network

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The email said that from 8 a.m. universal coordinated time on Wednesday, customers would no longer be able to deposit funds through the Single Euro Payments Area, or SEPA, schemes. The move was due to “events beyond our control”, the exchange said in the email.

“Any deposits attempted via SEPA in the meantime will be returned within 7 working days. SEPA withdrawals are unaffected by this suspension”, Binance said.

The network, which is a European Union project that aims to harmonise euro payments across the region, allows consumers to send euros across three dozen countries. Binance typically accesses SEPA through payment intermediaries.

Binance has recently faced a string of crackdowns on the platform by regulators globally.

Thailand’s financial watchdog filed a criminal complaint against the cryptocurrency exchange on Friday for operating a digital asset business without a licence, and Britain’s financial watchdog recently barred the company from carrying out regulated activities in the country. read more

Japan’s regulator said last month that Binance was operating in the country illegally. Germany’s watchdog said in April it risked being fined for offering tokens connected to stocks.

Join Finsight News at Fintech Week London

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With only a few weeks to go until Fintech Week London returns to the UK capital, plans are ramping up and excitement is beginning to soar. With 5 days of content planned covering the hottest topics in fintech right now, including Green Finance, Payments, AI, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Digital Identity, Open Banking, Big Tech and Big Banks and much, much more, there really is something for everyone.

Finsight is a Media Partner for this event. Book now using the code Finsight15 to save 15% on your physical, on-site ticket. Want to join online instead? The first 100 registrants can register for an all-access online pass for FREE using the code PartnerOnlineGuest. 
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Content sessions will be fully-produced and livestreamed from the event venues, so online participants can rest assured that this won’t be just another Zoom webinar. The virtual event platform Brella will also ensure that all of the attendees across the entire week, whether online or on-site, can benefit from AI-enabled networking with each other.

Join us for disruptive sessions like “The next big things that we haven’t talked about,” with Andrew Vorster from The Banking Scene, Industry Commentator Chris Skinner, Ghela Boskovich from FemTechGlobal and Dr Leda Glyptis from 10x. Here they will examine ideas to come out from the event so far – what did we miss, do they disagree with anything that has been said, have they learnt anything, and is there something to add?

UK-based (in-person or virtual) attendees also have a chance to qualify for a complimentary McLEAR payment ring (RRP £89.99). The sooner you register, the more likely you are to be offered one of these complimentary rings, courtesy of Fintech Week London’s partner, McLEAR.
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Biteeu Set to Become the World’s First Space-based Digital Currency Exchange for Ultra-secure Transactions

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Biteeu announced the successful launch of its digital security infrastructure into space onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket under the rideshare program. The space node created for Biteeu by space-as-a-service solution provider and partner SpaceChain is installed on a YAM-2 satellite carried by the rocket. The mission was made possible by satellite operator Loft Orbital

This marks Biteeu as the first cryptocurrency exchange in the world to leverage the high security of space-grade infrastructure for ultra-secure Bitcoin cryptocurrency transactions, and having its public satellite key backed up on a space node.

Biteeu has obtained the ISO 27001 certification which validates the exchange meets global best practices for its information security management system. Today’s announcement further reinforces the exchange’s commitment to ensuring ultra-secure user privacy with cutting-edge technology. 

Once activated, the space node will be capable of processing mutlisignature Bitcoin transactions. Multisignature technology requires more than one private key in order to authorize a bitcoin transaction from a crypto-wallet address, rendering the transaction more secure than standard single-signature methods.

Various security mechanisms held by the Biteeu space node, including the latency in communication between the ground stations and satellites of up to 12 hours, prevent cyber fraud and theft as hackers are unable to move digital assets out quickly. 

The added remoteness in space, together with the offline end-to-end encrypted satellite communication and the public key stored on the satellite, greatly enhances the security of data and transactions, which can be vulnerable to cyberattacks and hacking if hosted solely on physical Earth-based servers.

“As digital currency becomes a driver in the new age of global commerce, we are seeing limitations of land-based infrastructure with growing security concerns that impede users from realizing the full benefit of cryptocurrencies,” said Shukhrat Ibragimov, Biteeu co-founder and chairman. “By integrating innovative, decentralized space-based technology, we are able to address security vulnerabilities and continuously build the confidence of institutional and retail traders in managing their funds with the best trading experience.”

Hardware and software tests are expected to be completed by November 2021. Upon completion, Biteeu users will be able to authorize Bitcoin multisignature transactions in space through the multisignature wallet. 

The on-orbit satellite network architecture migration is poised to fortify Biteeu as one of the most secure virtual currency exchanges in the world that places user privacy and security as of the utmost importance. Biteeu is operated and managed by Eurasian Space Ventures (ESV), a private company registered in Kazakhstan which aims to serve as an international hub for space projects and related organizations looking to capitalize on the well-established space infrastructure and ecosystem in the country.

ESV and SpaceChain have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for ongoing collaboration and developing joint projects in the field of space technologies over a period of two years.

“The establishment of Biteeu’s multisignature transaction in space encapsulates our continuous effort in upholding the highest levels of data protection for our users and raising the benchmark of security standards in the cryptocurrency market,” said Talgat Dossanov, Biteeu co-founder and CEO. “We are at the forefront of this financial innovation and we look forward to enabling our global users with a more secure, robust platform that can be accessed from virtually anywhere.”

Users who sign up with Biteeu with a promo code spacebiteeu2021 will receive a certificate with a serial number that validates that their names and cryptocurrency wallets have been added to the space project and sent securely to the Biteeu space node on orbit. 

Digital Wealth Manager FinaMaze rolls out two new investment themes: Cryptocurrency and “Inflation Protection”

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FinaMaze, the MENA Digital Wealth Manager, launches two new Opportunistic investment themes: Cryptocurrency and “Inflation Protection”. These new themes complement the successful suite of the recently released China “Dragon Tech Leaders” and “Covid-related” smartfolios, on top of its more traditional cross asset class and generalist smartfolios . 

Responding to the market demand in the cryptocurrency space for stabilized daily performances, FinaMaze extends its risk-calibrating engine to offer unique alternative strategies: the Diversified Crypto Basket, the Mix Crypto/ Blockchain companies, the Market Neutral (Long Altcoins versus Short Bitcoin) and the Contrarian (short) Bitcoin.

“We are getting positive feedback from both the crypto-expert investors and the newcomers. They both value the personalised risk-controls as well as the diversity of the crypto portfolios. FinaMaze Cryptofolios are less volatile and represent an attractive alternative to the direct investments in the cryptocurrencies,” said Mehdi Fichtali, CEO and Founder of FinaMaze.

Serving the more conventional investors, FinaMaze continues to be proactive and innovative in the traditional investment space. Its launch of the “Inflation Protection” smartfolio resolves some of the concerns that investors may have as inflationary tensions keep on building up in the markets.

Mehdi Fichtali commented: “We designed a unique cross-asset-class smartfolio that opportunistically profits from the inflation upsurge. It is investable in one click on the FinaMaze dashboard and includes yield products, commodities, Swiss franc, real estate and structurally Inflation-resistant sectors versus S&P.”

FinaMaze is an AI Digital Wealth Manager regulated by ADGM’s FSRA and launched during the Abu Dhabi Fintech Festival in November 2020. Its hybrid human/ machine model is currently managing over 100 portfolios: from multi-asset class/ generalist to regional/ sectorial/ alpha focused portfolios. FinaMaze smartfolios are tailor-made for each client’s “risk fingerprint”, out of 4,000 possible risk profiles. FinaMaze is intended for sophisticated/ professional clients only. 

Factsheets, rationale and backtests are available to clients upon registration on www.finamaze.com and [email protected]