In the News Last Week: 1 July 2023
1 July 2023
Welcome, and thank you for being part of the MyZucoins community! We are sharing what we have been reading for the last week.
Just a quick heads-up, MyZucoins has some exciting news to share in our Monday update. This is something you definitely won't want to miss, so make sure to check your email or visit our website for the latest update. We're thrilled about what's on the horizon and can't wait to share the details with you. Stay tuned!
Zucoins Releases v170 of the Wallet App: Sharing the App Made Easy
Adding the ability to easily share the wallet app to others, this process has now been significantly simplified. We've had lots of great feedback on this in the past 24hrs, thanks for all of the kinds words—we've passed it onto the team!
Splitchain's Caching Network Capacity Has Been Doubled
There is a lot more capability primed and nearly ready to go, but this is a welcome update to the network that underpins Zucoins. One of the main pieces within Splitchain is how it temporarily caches data for peer-to-peer transactions. This is done so others on the network can find relevant data if you close your wallet app or turn your phone off. It's super handy and adds to the system's reliability, making the transaction experience much smoother.
IMF Capitulates on Bitcoin Bans, Says They're Not Effective
The IMF is now suggesting that crypto bans may not be the best move after previously saying that countries should consider it. Read more here.
A Look at Big Institution’s Crypto Exchange
EDX Markets, a noncustodial crypto exchange backed by Citadel Securities, Fidelity Investments, and Charles Schwab, made headlines earlier this week as it recently started settling trades. This exchange operates a bit differently than others, enabling firms to negotiate prices and execute trades without holding customer assets directly, mitigating certain custodial risks. EDX targets institutions, providing API-based trading access rather than a traditional user interface. This thread goes in-depth and breaks down the background of this exchange and the different components of the system. Read more here.
Powell: Stablecoins are a form of money the Fed needs to regulate
The central bank head appeared before lawmakers Wednesday to defend his monetary policy.
More on-ramps are being regulated. Read more here.
Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Has Ties to SEC Darling Prometheum—Here's How
It began when Feng Xiao, then-CEO of Wanxiang Blockchain Labs, befriended Buterin and purchased $500,000 worth of Ethereum in 2015. Read more here.
Crypto Twitter is in shock that Vitalik Buterin was the Chief Scientist for Wanxiang. I don't think they realize yet that it was Wanxiang that set up and funded the wallets for both the Ethereum Foundation, & Vitalik Buterin. Read more here.
UK Crypto, Stablecoin Laws Approved by Parliament's Upper House
The Financial Services and Markets Bill stands to recognize crypto as a regulated activity and stablecoins as a means of payment under existing laws. Read more here.
Ethereum developers consider raising max validator limit from 32 to 2,048 ETH
This change would help larger node operators manage their resources more efficiently and provide auto-compounding validator rewards, boosting staking yields. However, it also carries risks, such as higher penalties for errors. Currently, the network has 600,000 active validators and 90,000 more waiting for activation. If this proposal were to go through, it would decrease the count of individual validator nodes running, giving a more accurate picture of the number of entities actually staking. Read more here.
Mastercard submits fresh trademark application for crypto tech
According to these filings, the company plans to create an API to streamline blockchain transactions and crypto trading, bolstering its growing presence in the sector. Read more here.
Crypto is not dead: Fortune 500 companies bullish on the space
More than 80% of Fortune 500 companies have crypto initiatives, a Coinbase report shows. Read more here.
Tokenization Could Be a $5T Opportunity Led by Stablecoins and CBDCs: Bernstein
About 2% of global money supply, via stablecoins and CBDCs, could be tokenized over the next five years, which is about $3 trillion, the report said. Read more here.
Mastercard to continue crypto foray with beta launch of blockchain app store
The credit card giant is expected to release the product's beta version this summer.
Developers will be encouraged to create apps on Mastercard’s permission blockchain, which is built on Ethereum, Fortune reported.
The first round of such apps will be powered by “tokenized bank deposits,” according to Dhamodharan.
Tokenized bank deposits are gaining traction among central banks and commercial banks like JPMorgan Chase.
Funny how a couple of years ago, people were saying there was no market for a centralised blockchain because you can just use a typical database.
Interesting:
MTN will also be utilizing the company’s transaction verification tool, Mastercard Crypto Credential, Dhamodharan wrote.”
At its debut, the tool was designed to provide aliases to aid in sharing wallet addresses while using metadata to define wallet attributes. The setup is designed to prevent unintended transactions from being carried out.”
Mastercard, in the statement, emphasized safety and the need to have “safe transfers of tokens and assets.” This comes on the heels of major exploits, including the $200 million Euler hack in March and the $160 million Wintermute hack.”
It sounds like they are making their own username system they centrally manage to make things less prone to get wrong.
Our approach instead uses 2FA built into the layer one system, superior. And with contracts locally stored, you never need a central username system for safety. Read more here.
Swiss CBDC Will Be Real Money Equivalent to Bank Reserves, Says Central Bank Chair
Switzerland will soon join the growing list of countries piloting a CBDC. Read more here.
EU Reaches Agreement on Crypto Asset Regulations in Banking
The EU has reached a political agreement on regulations to safeguard the financial system from “unbacked cryptocurrencies” and strengthen banks." Read more here.
Disclaimer: Of course, this is not advice, financial or otherwise. It’s also important to consider the risks and challenges associated with any potential benefits.