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Central Bank of Chile studies issuance of digital currency

The Central Bank of Chile revealed that it is studying how to issue a national digital currency, the digital peso. The bank issued a report entitled “Issuance of a central bank digital currency in Chile”, where it explores the possibility of creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the future, the mechanism it could use and how it will consult. all sectors of the economy on this issue.

Central Bank of Chile considers CBDC issuance

More banks in Latin America are considering issuing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to take advantage of the different opportunities that may present themselves. The Central Bank of Chile has just released a new report studying the opportunities and disadvantages that issuing a digital peso can bring. The report, entitled “Issuance of a digital currency by the Central Bank of Chile”, also studies the different forms that this currency can take.

The document, prepared by the bank’s payments group, is “framed in a context of increasing digitalization of payments, which has been driven by rapid technological progress and the incorporation of new instruments and players in the payments market”. In this regard, the report concluded that:

Issuing a CBDC would make it possible to leverage the benefits associated with digital transformation, while mitigating some of its risks. In particular, a CBDC could contribute to the development of a more competitive, innovative, integrated, inclusive and resilient payment system.

The report also calls for a deeper analysis of the cost-effectiveness of issuing this currency.

More studies needed

While many central banks around the world are studying and researching the issuance of digital currencies, many have not moved on to the implementation phase. The document needs further analysis and study in this regard, since there are practically no norms or guidelines for good practices on how to proceed in the construction of a project of this type.

Currency digitization can also have unforeseen negative impacts on the national economy, so any future implementation would have to be “carefully scrutinized”. However, the central bank considers that this is the time to face this task and start working on its technical capabilities, and move forward in the development of projects aimed at testing different implementations of the currency.

The bank also indicated that it will continue to consult and maintain an open dialogue with all institutions in the economic area. Brazil and Mexico are other Latin American countries that are also working to establish their own CBDC.

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Abu Dhabi-based Matrix Goes Live With More ADGM Approved Virtual Assets

Matrix, a global multilateral virtual asset trading platform, lists two new assets: XRP and XLM. The listings are part of Matrix’s attempt to bring a broader range of options to traders and investors around the world. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the leading global jurisdiction for virtual assets, has approved these assets for listing on the regulated Matrix platform.

ADGM is an award-winning financial center and an International Financial Free Zone. With the Government of the Registration Authority (RA), the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and the ADGM Courts, ADGM upholds a fair and transparent trading ecosystem. ADGM’s thorough regulatory practices ensure that all approved assets are consistent with its internationally recognized standards.

Matrix expands its list of supported virtual assets to include:

XRP, the native currency of RippleNet, a blockchain-based payment network,

Lumen (XLM), native currency of Stellar, a decentralized protocol for exchanging cryptocurrencies for fiat.

“Our goal at Matrix has always been to offer retail and corporate investors a single platform with the security of regulatory oversight,” says Vasja Zupan, President of Matrix. “We are excited to expand our range of tokens and stablecoins as the first Multilateral Trading Center in ADGM to expand our virtual asset offering, with even more additions in the works. We pride ourselves on providing peace of mind to investors through safe and expanding regulated trading options for our community.”

About the matrix

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Matrix is ​​a globally operated and regulated multilateral trading engine and custodian dedicated to providing a compliant, secure and fast virtual asset trading experience. Matrix obtained its license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in relation to Virtual Assets. Matrix provides AML/KYC compliance, regulatory monitoring, and offline storage to protect the platform and users, as well as multi-node disaster tolerance, remote disaster recovery, and multi-server failover to ensure business system stability and reliability. Leveraging its high-performance core matching engine, Matrix is ​​able to fulfill large volumes of trade orders. Matrix is ​​one of the few global trading platforms that supports global fiat deposits, allowing for faster trading. For more information visit https://www.matrix.co/

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The largest digital bank in Latin America will allocate 1% to BTC and offer cryptocurrency investment services

In addition to buying Bitcoin, Nubank will offer BTC and ETH investment services to its more than 50 million customers.

Nubank, the largest digital bank in Brazil and Latin America, announced that it has partnered with Paxos to allow the bank’s customers to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies directly through Nubank.

Along with the launch of the new cryptocurrency transaction services, Nubank announced that it will allocate approximately 1% of its equity in Bitcoin (BTC) through the ATM of Nu Holdings, the company that controls the Nubank Group.

“This move reinforces the company’s belief in Bitcoin’s current and future potential to disrupt financial services in the region,” Nubank said, as translated by Cointelegraph.

According to a Nubank statement sent to Cointelegraph, the purchase of Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) can be made from $0.2 (or 1 BRL) and will be available in May. The cryptocurrency investment service will be fully implemented at the end of June.

“There is no doubt that cryptocurrencies are a growing trend in Latin America,” explained Nubank founder and CEO David Vélez. “We have closely followed the market and we believe that there is potential for transformation in the region.”

Nubank also reported that the integration with cryptocurrencies aims to expand and improve access to this growing market, eliminating the complexity and friction for customers to buy, hold and sell digital currencies through the app without the need to open new accounts or transfer money.

The company confirmed plans to expand beyond BTC and ETH offerings in the future, but did not detail which assets will be included.

Through a set of APIs, Paxos will allow Nubank to offer cryptocurrency-enabled services to customers, as Mercado Livre and PayPal also do in partnership with Paxos.

It is said that Nubank has more than 50 million customers in Brazil alone. According to Paxos, its partnership with the digital bank represents an important strategic move as Latin America continues to transform into a cryptocurrency hub.

Brazil is firmly committed to digital money!

Nubank and Bitcoin

While this is the first time that Nubank has offered customers the ability to buy BTC and ETH directly, the bank is not new to digital assets. Through Nulinvest, a platform that Nubank acquired in 2020 when it was called Easynvest, the bank already allows clients to buy investment funds with exposure to the digital asset market.

With the acquisition, Nubank also started offering QBTC11, an exchange-traded fund allocated 100% in Bitcoin, managed by QR Asset Management and belonging to the QR Capital group.

Meanwhile, a securities filing earlier this year revealed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought $1 billion worth of Nubank stock in the fourth quarter of 2021. The move is said to have given Oracle of Omaha indirect exposure. to the digital asset market.

Related: Coinbase Will Supposedly Buy $2.2 Billion Brazilian Unicorn Behind Bitcoin Market

Nubank is not the only local financial institution looking to offer cryptocurrency investment services. Another Brazilian bank that will also offer Bitcoin investment services to its clients is BTG Practual. The bank’s president, Roberto Sallouti, recently announced that the bank will launch its own cryptocurrency exchange in about two months.

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OK Coin Is Leasing a Large Office in San Jose, CA

OK Coin – a popular and large digital currency trading platform – has agreed to take up office space in downtown San Jose, part of the Silicon Valley in northern California. The region is known for hosting a wide array of many of the world’s leading tech companies including Apple, Facebook, and Google.
OK Coin Leases Large San Jose Office Space

The office address is 160 W. Santa Clara St. and consists of 35,000 square feet. In other words, it’s pretty darn big. OK Coin appears to be one of several crypto companies now looking to stage a physical comeback of sorts.

The coronavirus pandemic hit industries all over the world, and crypto was no exception. Many of the world’s leading digital currency platforms – including Coinbase, Kraken, and others – called regions such as San Francisco home, but were ultimately made to close their physical offices after the pandemic began. From there, several have worked to maintain physical presences, but this has been rather difficult. A lot of them now only employ remote workers.

This has caused several problems for these companies in that they no longer have valid customer service departments, and if they do, they are hard to get a hold of given the displacement situations surrounding those departments.

Coinbase, for example, is now being hit with a class-action lawsuit after a customer’s account was hacked. The client claims he tried very hard to get in touch with Coinbase, but its lack of customer service abilities made it nearly impossible to do so. He’s now filing suit against the crypto giant, claiming little was done to assist in the recovery of his stolen assets.

Mark Ritchie – president of Ritchie Commercial, a real estate leasing company – says that he’s excited by the presence of OK Coin in the downtown area. He says the whole region has looked like something of a ghost town given how many businesses have had to close their doors in the wake of COVID, and he’s hoping the area starts bouncing again soon. He said:

It’s good to get a fresh office tenant to move into downtown San Jose. This is a significant office lease for downtown San Jose. Hopefully it’s the first of many.

It’s estimated that OK coin will be able to employ close to 200 people with a lease this size. Bob Staedler – principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy – explained in an interview:

The downtown San Jose office market is poised for a comeback. The improvement in the market is real and it is sustainable.

Is Crypto Making a Physical Comeback?

Already, OK Coin is moving into the office. Scott Knies – executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association – said:

This is great to see. What downtown San Jose needs more than anything is people, especially people back in the offices.

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More than 100,000 Cubans turn to cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions

Strict US sanctions restricting Cuba’s ability to conduct international trade have led more than 100,000 Cubans to turn to cryptocurrencies as an alternative path to financial freedom.

Companies chose cryptocurrency

US sanctions imposed on the communist country of Cuba prevent the use of internationally accepted credit and debit cards. Online payment channels like Paypal, Revolut and Zelle are also banned in the country. Therefore, a significant part of the population, feeling the restrictions imposed by sanctions, chose cryptocurrency as an alternative means of transaction. These Cubans, who include many small business owners, have benefited from the advent of mobile Internet that arrived in the country just three years ago. The spread of smartphones and mobile internet in this island nation was quite expansive as it opened other payment channels and financial freedom to a largely unbanked population. Local entrepreneurs believe that thanks to digital currencies, their operations are no longer dependent on payment service providers, which ends up rendering all bans inconsequential.

Dr. Emily Morris, an economist at University College London, believes that the fact that Cuban citizens are turning to cryptocurrencies is not surprising. she said,

“If you can transact directly between two parties that don’t have to go through a bank, that would be interesting.”

Cryptographic Regulations in Cuba

The previous lack of regulation in the country has resulted in an increase in cryptocurrency activity, especially during the initial months of the pandemic. Local cryptocurrency exchanges have seen an influx of customers, nearly doubling on a monthly basis. In 2021 there was talk of the Cuban government investing in cryptocurrencies. Shortly after, it was announced that the central bank of Cuba would fulfill the mission of exploring the regulation of cryptocurrencies. The bank would also establish an action plan to register and license crypto service providers in the country. It was also revealed that cryptocurrency payment authorizations would only be granted in matters of “socio-economic interest” in order to monitor all cryptocurrency operations and prevent illegal and fraudulent activities.

Earlier this month, the Cuban central bank announced its intentions to implement a regulatory framework for digital assets, starting with a compulsory license for virtual asset service providers. The country’s central bank has already issued a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has also expressed his favorable views on the sector and is reportedly studying the legalization of cryptocurrency payments. This has led to speculation that Cuba could be following in the footsteps of El Salvador, the Latin American country that adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.