The Weekly Pen: Searching for Stability

Week 16 wrapped up last week and presented to you in the new. A glitch in the chain of life, call it what you may, but here it is. A week full of surprises, eventful endeavors from the world of global finance and economy, and the dual battle between the standards of payments and currencies. The week mostly colored with advancements in the EU crypto regulation, the future of stablecoins, and CBDCs. Dear readers, without further ado. Have a good read.

Week 16 wrapped up last week and presented to you in the new. A glitch in the chain of life, call it what you may, but here it is. A week full of surprises, eventful endeavors from the world of global finance and economy, and the dual battle between the standards of payments and currencies. The week mostly colored with advancements in the EU crypto regulation, the future of stablecoins, and CBDCs. Dear readers, without further ado. Have a good read.

GLOBAL ECONOMY#

Bank of Korea given right to investigate local crypto firms

Chinese city public servants to receive digital yuan salaries

Ukraine plans to adopt EU’s new cryptocurrency regulations

Belarus to decide on issuing CBDC by year’s end

Israel’s Central Bank says CBDC could be issued if stablecoin use increases

ECB to keep raising interest rates unless wage growth slows

Evidence shows China is on the quest to Dethrone US Dollar

Russia plans to permit foreign crypto mining

UAE mandates VASP licenses for crypto firms

POLITICS#

SEC Charges Crypto Asset Trading Platform Bittrex for operating an Unreg. exchange broker, and clearing agency, In Liechtenstein

Crypto-assets: green light to new rules for tracing transfers in the EU

EU lauds 'comprehensive regulation as MiCA crypto law passes

EU crypto regulations pass as policymakers claim an advantage over US

SEC chair Gary Gensler defends crypto crackdown in contentious House hearing

Stablecoin debate divides along party lines during House hearing

SEC wins $2.8M in suit over alleged crypto token price manipulation

Biden’s comms director barred from former crypto clients

UK may have crypto regulation within a year

Indian Finance Minister Advocates for a Global Consensus on Crypto Regulations

Texas Digital asset service provider bill passes House vote

SEC’s Gary Gensler says he has never owned crypto

CRYPTO#

FTX Crypto exchange restart plan draws possible bid from tribe capital

Coinbase could move away from the U.S. if no regulatory clarity

Coinbase to shift investment focus oversee whilst battling in court with SEC

Gemini to open a crypto derivatives platform outside the U.S.

Crypto’s path to Wall Street could get easier with new plumbing

Researchers find cryptocurrency ’signatures of maturity’ similar to the equities market

Hong Kong court rules cryptocurrencies as property

Kraken receives virtual asset service provider authorization in Ireland

Ripple might ”follow suit” Coinbase’s lead by leaving The United States

Coinbase obtains license to operate in Bermuda

PAYMENTS#

Bank of England hints at limits on stablecoin payments

House set to examine the future of US stablecoins

Ryan Reynolds adds Nuvei to his investment portfolio

Zimbabwe to introduce gold-backed digital currency

Bank Of Russia to set up entities for crypto mining and cross-border settlement

Georgian vendors get crypto payments option with new partnership

Ripple survey shows payment leaders see crypto potential

BANKING#

Apple and Goldman Sachs offer US savings accounts with 4.15% annual interest

Depositors pull nearly $60bn from three US banks as Apple raise pressure

Banks Knock CBDC as a potential drain on deposits

Bank of England preparing for greater role of tokenization in finance

NYDFS says the ’Dual Banking system’ should oversee stablecoins

Federal Reserve governor says CBDC risks likely greater than benefits

FINANCIAL MARKETS#

African Blockchain ventures outpace global funding growth

Credit Suisse logged asset outflows of more than $68 billion during the first-quarter collapse

Citadel is up again in 2023 following a record yearVoyager’s $1B deal with Binance

US moves forward after deal with Feds

Former Goldman Sachs executive predicts 1BN users to flood crypto markets this cycle

$190BN teachers’ fund writes off massive crypto investment loss after collapsing of FTX

INVESTMENTS#

March banking chaos gave short sellers their biggest profits since the financial crisis

New Trump NFT sells out on day one

Binance.US takes a step closer to acquiring Voyager Digital

Trades are ”FED” up with Trump NFT’s

Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy protection

’Smart Money’ Eyes BTC bull run

Taylor Swift sidestepped FTX debacle with a simple question

DEFI#

Romania plugs into Web3 with a national NFT marketplace

Games and tokenization are driving NFT industry's maturation

Solana launches emissions dashboard to spur blockchain carbon footprint transparency

TransUnion to begin providing identity-providing credit scoring for DeFi lending

Multichain token systems can improve liquidity

SafeMoon hacker agrees to return 80% of stolen funds

Solana sets the standard for sustainability with real-time carbon emissions data

First-ever NFT insider-trading case heads to trial

TECH#

Citi India processes letter of credit on blockchain cuts time by 90%

Intel Bitcoin mining chips discontinued despite chip efficiency

Crypto developers expose ’absolutely horrible’ flaws in Societe Generales euro stablecoin

Mattel to launch P2P virtual collectibles marketplace

- Till we yield again

*Disclaimer: This article is not financial or investment advice, nor should it be perceived as such. Penning Group and the author shall not be held accountable for any misinterpreted information by the reader. If you are interested in learning more about investing in the DeFi space and in general, please get in touch with us.