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Bitcoin ATMs are booming in this Latin American country

Colombia now has the largest number of Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs in Latin America. According to CoinATMRadar, Bogota, the nation’s capital, has 34 ATMs, followed by Medellin with 11, and Bucaramanga and Cali with 4 each. Other cities with one ATM at least include Armenia, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Cúcuta, La Hormiga, and Pereira. Until recently, countries such as Venezuela …

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The Bahamas launches world’s first CBDC, the ‘Sand Dollar’

The Central Bank of the Bahamas has announced the country’s “Sand Dollar” — a state-backed virtual currency — is now available nationwide. According to an Oct. 20 Facebook post from Project Sand Dollar, the central bank digital currency (CBDC) became available to all 393,000 residents of The Bahamas from roughly 10:00 PM UTC. This makes The Bahamas …

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Better to get it right than to be first with CBDC, says US Fed chair

The United States will not be issuing a digital dollar until the Federal Reserve resolves all questions around a potential central bank digital currency, or CBDC, according to the Fed’s chairman, Jerome Powell. Powell claimed that he is not worried about other countries having a first-mover advantage when it comes to issuing CBDCs. Speaking at …

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European Central Bank seeks public input on digital euro

The European Central Bank launched a public consultation on a potential digital euro on Oct. 12.  Developments on the central bank digital currency front in the Eurozone have picked up pace amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the central bank has framed its introduction to the public consultation with the claim that the issuance of a CBDC could …

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Bitcoin use rise in Egypt amid economic recession

As the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the Egyptian economy into recession and deepening unemployment, more and more Egyptians see the benefits of trading and mining Bitcoin as an alternative source of income. According to Al-Monitor, many Egyptians, particularly young people, are interested in cryptocurrencies. Wael al-Nahhas, an economist and financial advisor to several investment institutions in Egypt, …

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Thai central bank issues $1.6B in government bonds on IBM blockchain

The Bank of Thailand launched the world’s first blockchain-based government savings bond issuance platform using IBM’s blockchain technology. Within two weeks of the launch, the central bank sold more than $1.6 billion worth of savings bonds, as per IBM’s official announcement on Oct. 5, 2020. The use of blockchain technology is said to have reduced the bond …

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Blockchain legislation passes the House, heads for Senate

The updated Consumer Safety Technology Act, which now includes the Digital Taxonomy Act and the Blockchain Innovation Act, has passed in the House of Representatives and is now headed for the Senate as of Tuesday afternoon. The Digital Taxonomy Act provides definitions for the terms “digital asset” and “digital unit” and would task the Federal Trade Commission with …

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Wirex announces multi-currency crypto card with support from Mastercard

Wirex —  the first cryptocurrency platform to be granted a Mastercard principal membership — will release a new multi-currency card on the heels of the membership. Wirex is a London-based crypto payment processor and is regulated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, with a license to issue crypto cards in Europe.  The multi-currency Wirex Card will be supported by Mastercard and linked to …

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Stablecoin market cap increases by $100M every single day

The rise of DeFi protocols and the demand for tokens in liquidity pools may be contributing to a huge surge in the supply of stablecoins. According to an Sept. 3 tweet from Coin Metrics co-founder Nic Carter, the current supply of stablecoins Binance USD (BUSD), Dai (DAI), HUSD, Paxos Standard Token (PAX), USD Coin (USDC), USDK, Tether (USDT), USDT_ETH, …

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Vienna and Singapore stock exchanges embrace Bitcoin and Ethereum

The Vienna Stock Exchange, or Wiener Börse, has become just the third “official regulated market” worldwide to list a Bitcoin (BTC) product. The exchange listed 21 Shares AG’s Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded products (ETPs), ‘ABTC’ and ‘AETH’, on September 1. Thomas Rainer, Wiener Börse’s head of development, emphasized that the listing allows “experienced, local investors” to …

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