by Marie Huillet, Coin Telegraph:
A new report published on Jan. 8 by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has found that seventy percent of central banks worldwide are conducting research into central bank digital currency (CBDC) issuance. However, concrete plans for implementation and motivations vary considerably across contexts.
The BIS is an organization based in Switzerland made up of 60 of the world’s central banks, and has to date devoted a number of major reports to both decentralized cryptocurrencies and CBDCs. The latter are distinct from the former in that they are digital currencies issued by a central bank, whose legal tender status depends on government regulation or law.
by Ana Alexandre, Coin Telegraph:
Bitcoin (BTC) automated teller machine (ATM) manufacturer Lamassu has moved to Switzerlanddue to regulatory difficulties in other countries, according to a blog post published Jan. 1.
Lamassu — now called Lamassu Industries AG — has moved to the Swiss canton of Lucerne, because the firm wants “to be in a place where rules are well defined and regulators are pro-innovation.”
Lamassu revealed in the post that its applications to open an account were rejected by 15 banksbecause it produces terminals for Bitcoin, while not taking part in trading or storing digital currencies. Additionally, the company was purportedly rejected by payment processor Stripe for having the word Bitcoin on their site.
by Adrian Zmudzinski, Coin Telegraph:
An Indian government panel has reportedly suggested a new legal framework within the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that completely bans cryptocurrencies in the country. English-language Indian media outlet CNBCTV18 reported on the framework on Dec. 6.
The article cites an unnamed source as noting that “the panel has categorically said that all such currencies should be treated as illegal” and that “any kind of dealing in such currencies should be treated as” such.
CNBCTV18 notes that the Indian government had created a panel to create “norms” for digital currencies — headed by secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) Subhash Chandra Garg — which submitted its report to Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley.
by Meadow Clark, Intellihub:
China’s social credit system is in full swing and has already blacklisted more than 15 million Chinese residents from travel. Is it coming soon to the U.S.?
Recently, The Organic Prepper reported some shocking news of China’s newest rollout: a social credit system.
It’s a system of surveillance and governance using a social scoring system based on the state’s perceived trustworthiness of the individual. Not only are social media and financial accounts tied into a person’s “score” – much like a credit score number – but also friends and associates are compelled to distance themselves from an offending person, otherwise, their score can be dropped too.
by Peter Schiff, Schiff Gold:
Bitcoin dropped below $4,000 as a massive selloff in the cryptocurrency market continued over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The price of a bitcoin fell as low as $3,604 during the sell-off. It has lost some 80% of its value from highs reached late last year when the price of bitcoin eclipsed $20,000. Bitcoin has fallen 40% in just two weeks of November. It was the worst price drop since April 2013.
Other cryptocurrencies including ethereum and ripple have seen similar price drops.
