Finance

Privacy coins have been a quite controversial topic for long. While many users favour them as a way to preserve their privacy, cryptocurrency exchanges and regulators are against them. But do they really pose a threat?

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC), an autonomous agency that protects cryptocurrency investors and the national banking and financial system, is going to file a court case against Ripple Inc.

Russian authorities and regulators have been in a series of talks about releasing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) dubbed digital ruble for a long time.

The existing interaction between banks and cryptocurrency companies is not the best so far, and there are little to no efforts being put in place to address this issue. Some central banks are giving orders to other financial institutions not to deal in cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin. Bans and warnings have been issued by banks to keep away from using or trading cryptocurrencies.

The Central bank of Lebanon (BoL) is planning to release its state-backed digital currency known as digital pound. The bank is now the latest financial regulator to embrace the roll out of a central bank digital currency CBDC. The official launch is planned for 2021.

Decentralized finance (defi) burst onto the scene in 2020, as investors rallied behind the enormous potential of peer-to-peer financial services.

Privacy coins have been the lasting concern of the governments and financial authorities. Their enhanced anonymity features allow to use the coins for illegal purposes such as tax evasion, money-laundering, terrorism financing, drug trading, cryptojacking, etc.

Global digitization and coronavirus pandemic have created the need for innovative solutions to replace some traditional ones. Digital identification (ID) is one of such significant solutions trending in the world.

The European Central Bank Governing Council is advancing the work on the possible issuance and circulation of a digital euro, a type of central bank electronic money that would foil cash, not substitute it. Authorities want people to access and use these two types of money together, to offer greater choice and easier access to means of making payments.