Cryptocurrency - Long Reads, News, Articles & Research: Finextra

Stablecoins under MiCA: What it means to be compliant

Rowan Varrall Associate Director at DTI Foundation

Stablecoins under MiCA: What it means to be compliant

In the rapidly evolving world of crypto and digital assets, regulatory frameworks are crucial for ensuring market integrity and investor confidence. Nearly three years after its initial proposal, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation was published in the EU Official Journal in June 2023, establishing a comprehensive EU regulatory framewo...

06 September 2024 /crypto

Stablecoin currency exchanges are impacting traditional FX trading

Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj Assistant Professor at Gillmore Centre, Warwick

Stablecoin currency exchanges are impacting traditional FX trading

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that maintain a peg to traditional fiat currencies like the US dollar or Euro. The most prominent examples by market capitalization are Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), both of which uphold a 1:1 parity with the US dollar. As of July 2024, the total market value of stablecoins has surpassed $160 billion USD. Thes...

14 August 2024 /crypto

Stablecoin: How will it impact the UK payments regime?

Bazil Sansom Research Fellow at Warwick Business School

Stablecoin: How will it impact the UK payments regime?

When I pop to my local newsagents for my Friday night treat, it is still jarring to find I must spend at least £3 when using my debit card. This means instead of one, I have to buy two bars of chocolate. It’s not good for my waistline (even with ‘shrinkflation’), and it is not ideal for the shop owner either. They are trying to cover the fees impo...

16 July 2024 /crypto

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

How to realise the benefits of CBDCs

With a good amount of responses to Finextra’s introductory short read, ‘What is CBDC?’ we follow up to address the prevailing commentary: “What would be the main purpose of introducing digital currency?” The answer to this can be given in terms of the benefits of central bank digital currency (CBDC). In this article we respond to our community by ...

11 June 2024 /crypto

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Is Europe ready for MiCA?

Europe is currently at the tipping point of regulating cryptocurrency. The European Union has passed the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which will establish uniform rules for crypto-assets across the EU market. Some of which many believe consumers have been in dire need of for some time. This is an excerpt from the Future of Digital B...

07 June 2024 /crypto

US Elections 2024: Will a crypto-savvy President be preferred after the FIT21 bill?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

US Elections 2024: Will a crypto-savvy President be preferred after the FIT21 bill?

May 2024 saw the US House of Representatives pass FIT21 – the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act – in what has been dubbed a watershed moment for the nation’s digital asset ecosystem. Moreover, a recent Harris poll of 1,700 people sponsored by bitcoin ETF issuer Grayscale revealed that a staggering 77% believe that a US p...

30 May 2024 /crypto

Hyperbitcoinisation: Fantasy or reality?

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

Hyperbitcoinisation: Fantasy or reality?

The first page of the cryptocurrency history book should open in the early 1970s, when the United States ceased to back the dollar with gold – thus ushering in an era of fiat currency. The status quo has hardly changed since, and to this day money continues to be printed via the issuance of public debt, without tangible limits. This is one of the ...

28 May 2024 /crypto

Ukraine’s crypto adoption: Why alternative finance is increasingly vital

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

Ukraine’s crypto adoption: Why alternative finance is increasingly vital

For those well-read on the economic and financial pressures induced by conflict, it will come as no surprise that Ukraine ranks highly in CryptoCasino’s recent survey of cryptocurrency adoption globally. Researchers analysed each country against four key metrics: percentage of the population holding cryptocurrency, the cost and profit of mining o...

10 May 2024 /crypto

From cash to crypto: Understanding the changing face of money

Vid Hribar Strategic Partnerships and Ecosystems Analyst at RBI

From cash to crypto: Understanding the changing face of money

This piece was co-authored by Gerald Ruschka, digital banking leader at RBI. Money is a topic that often escapes active consideration. When making transactions, whether in-store or online, our primary concerns revolve around the sufficiency of funds and the chosen payment method (for example, cash or card.) – rarely do we contemplate the form of ...

28 February 2024 /crypto

EU CBDC: What do we know so far about the digital euro?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

EU CBDC: What do we know so far about the digital euro?

The European Central Bank (ECB) has been working on developing the digital euro, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that would operate as an electronic equivalent to cash in the EU. The progress on the digital currency has not been without its hiccups, with the ECB recently publishing blog post debunking common myths on the impact of the digi...

21 February 2024 /crypto

CBDCs in fintech services: What are the risks and opportunities?

Vladimir Krasik Global Head of Internal Treasury at Revolut

CBDCs in fintech services: What are the risks and opportunities?

Many central banks around the world are now pursuing projects of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), digital tokens backed and issued by monetary regulators. According to the latest evaluation by the economists at the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), four monetary authorities – those of Nigeria, the Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean, and ...

15 February 2024 /crypto

Crypto disputes on the rise – a 2024 look at litigation, arbitration and regulation

Nell Perks Partner at Latham & Watkins

Crypto disputes on the rise – a 2024 look at litigation, arbitration and regulation

The English courts and international arbitral institutions have observed a steady uptick in crypto disputes (especially fraud claims) as investment in cryptocurrencies has become more widespread. The value of these disputes is on the rise, and they increasingly involve sophisticated commercial entities such as crypto exchanges and lenders, not jus...

31 January 2024 /crypto

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