Regulatory News
European Parliament: The European Parliament has published a comprehensive analysis detailing the ECB's advancements with the digital euro. The report also raises additional concerns for legislators, particularly regarding offline transactions and security. It references the ECB's Fourth Digital Euro Progress report and discusses options for a central or distributed ledger system.
CoinTelegraph: The UK's new Travel Rule, effective as of September 1, is designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in the crypto space. Crypto asset businesses in the UK are now required to withhold certain crypto transfers to comply with this regulation, which mandates the collection, verification, and sharing of information related to crypto-asset transfers by virtual asset service providers (VASPs) based in the UK. This rule also applies to inbound payments from overseas jurisdictions that have not implemented the Travel Rule, and it is part of a global effort to enforce Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing rules for on-chain activities.
Bank of International Settlements (BIS): The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) published a report on the risks of crypto assets in emerging markets. It suggests policy options like banning, containing, or regulating crypto markets and calls for increased cooperation among authorities for better monitoring. The report highlights various risks arising from the exposure of traditional finance to crypto assets.
Portal do Bitcoin: The Director of Regulation at the Central Bank has advocated for the implementation of asset segregation as a security measure for the cryptocurrency market in Brazil. He emphasized that the Central Bank is exploring ways to enforce this segregation, even if it's not through a specific law. He also highlighted that the final regulations for the cryptocurrency sector are expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2024 and will impact around 50 companies. Moreover, he mentioned the challenge of regulating foreign companies operating in Brazil, given the global nature of internet access.
Bank of England: The Bank of England's Quarterly Bulletin addresses the potential risk of a single dominant digital currency, either a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or a stablecoin, stifling innovation in the digital money space. To prevent this, the Bank intends to promote coexistence between CBDCs and stablecoins, emphasizing the importance of interoperability.
CoinTelegraph: A group of British MPs is urging the government to abandon plans that would allow AI developers to use existing creative works without copyright protection. They argue that such exemptions risk devaluing artistic content and call for stronger protections for artists in the face of expanding AI technologies. This follows concerns raised by the creative industry, including musicians and authors, about potential harm to their work and rights due to AI's influence.
Industry News
Finance Magnates: SWIFT, a global provider of secure financial messaging services, has successfully demonstrated the capability of its infrastructure to enable the seamless transfer of tokenized assets across various public and private blockchains. This achievement follows collaborative trials with major financial institutions like ANZ, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citi, and Clearstream. SWIFT's solution aims to address the challenge of interoperability in managing tokenized assets, potentially unlocking opportunities for these assets to revolutionize the asset management industry and grow on a global scale.
Finance Magnates: The UAE is teaming up with Mastercard to boost artificial intelligence (AI) development in the region, focusing on digital security and combating financial crime. Mastercard's newly launched Global Center for Advanced AI and Cyber Technology in Dubai will work closely with the UAE government to develop AI solutions and nurture local AI talent. This partnership is aligned with the UAE's goal to become a leader in AI technology and is expected to drive significant economic growth in the Middle East.
Decrypt: The parent company of Lufthansa has introduced an NFT-based loyalty program called Uptrip, allowing passengers across its airlines to collect digital cards linked to destinations, aircraft, and holidays. Accumulating specific thematic card collections unlocks various perks, such as free in-flight Wi-Fi, access to exclusive airport lounges, and redeemable air miles. Uptrip, built on the Polygon blockchain scaling network, has already tested with over 20,000 users, collecting more than 200,000 digital trading cards, and joins a growing list of companies adopting Polygon for NFT-based loyalty programs, including Starbucks, Nike, McDonald’s, Reddit, and Coca-Cola
Reuters: France's data watchdog, CNIL, conducted "checks" at the Paris office of Worldcoin, a digital currency firm co-founded by Sam Altman, the founder of ChatGPT, amid ongoing global regulatory scrutiny. CNIL began investigating Worldcoin in July, particularly focusing on the legality of its collection of biometric data. Worldcoin requires users to provide iris scans for a digital ID and, in some cases, for free cryptocurrency, with over 2.1 million people signed up for its services. The Worldcoin Foundation emphasized its commitment to privacy and regulatory compliance in response to the probe.
International Investment: An international operation led by the FBI, the Department of Justice (DoJ), and the National Crime Agency (NCA) has successfully taken down the Qakbot malware, which facilitated ransomware attacks and caused millions of pounds in damage worldwide. Qakbot infected over 700,000 computers globally, including in the UK, through spam emails. US authorities also seized around $8.6 million in illicit cryptocurrency profits associated with the malware. Qakbot had been used by various criminal groups for at least 16 years to steal personal data and banking credentials from victims.
