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Major Vietnamese bank HDBank has now become the first bank in the country to issue letters of credit, or L/C, using blockchain technology. According to a Wednesday report by local media outlet Viet Nam News, the issuance, document presentation and successful payment of L/C on the blockchain marks a major milestone toward HDBank’s stated goal to become …

Vietnamese bank issues its first letters of credit on the blockchain Read More »

Digital-asset regulation has been a hot topic in 2020 and shows no signs of cooling. A recent G-7 meeting concluded that the sector faces an ongoing need for regulation. In addition to talking about COVID-19 and economic issues, the group “also discussed ongoing responses to the evolving landscape of crypto assets and other digital assets …

World governments agree on importance of crypto regulation at G-7 meeting Read More »

China’s central bank and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, or HKMA, are in the preliminary stages of piloting the digital yuan for cross-border payments — underscoring another key development in the rollout of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. In a media release that appeared on the HKMA website on Friday, chief executive Eddie …

China’s central bank plans digital yuan pilot for payments to Hong Kong Read More »

China Construction Bank, the world’s second-largest bank by assets, is cooperating with Malaysian and Singaporean partners to test blockchain technology for use in the bond market. As previously reported, China Construction Bank’s branch in Labuan, Malaysia, had initially pursued a partnership with a Labuan-based fintech firm to issue what was hailed as prospectively the first-ever blockchain-based digital …

China Construction Bank’s blockchain bond efforts take a new direction Read More »

Olsztyn, Poland is reportedly the first city in the world to leverage Ethereum’s blockchain to aid the provision of emergency services, offering yet another tangible use case for distributed ledger technology.  Olsztyn has completed a successful trial run of SmartKey, a bridging technology that connects blockchain with physical assets, to aid in police, fire and ambulance services. …

Polish city becomes first to adopt Ethereum blockchain for emergency services Read More »

Japan’s three largest banks, as part of a group of 30 private sector actors, are set to collaborate on an experiment with a digital yen. The group consists of banks, various Japanese brokerages, utility and telecom firms and retailers, according to a Reuters report published on Nov. 19. For the purposes of the experiment, the private banks …

Japan’s megabanks to lead experiment with digital yen Read More »

The Treasury Department of the United Kingdom has revealed it is drafting proposals to regulate private stablecoins while also researching central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, as an alternative to cash. In an announcement published on Nov. 9, U.K. Treasury Chancellor Rishi Sunak noted the forthcoming regulatory proposals alongside other goals for the country’s financial services industry — including a …

UK drafting stablecoin regulations and researching a CBDC Read More »

Major financial services corporation China UnionPay, an analog to card providers like Visa and Mastercard, has partnered with the South Korean payment provider Danal to launch a cryptocurrency-supporting digital card. Danal’s crypto wallet Paycoin and its crypto token of the same name will be the interface for the new, prepaid mobile card. Paycoin has indicated …

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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 …

Bitcoin ATMs are booming in this Latin American country Read More »

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 …

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