10 Southeast Asian Nations Challenge Dollar Dominance With Push for Local Currencies

The leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have agreed to “encourage the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions.” The group comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore,…

Saudi Arabia Joining BRICS Would Accelerate Chinese Yuan’s Use as Trading Currency, Says Professor

Professor Ashok Swain of Uppsala University’s Department of Peace and Conflict Research says Saudi Arabia joining the BRICS economic bloc “would accelerate the bilateral trading being conducted using the yuan as the trading currency. ” How Saudi Arabia Joining BRICS Could Boost…

Treasury Secretary Yellen Warns US Could Default on Its Debt by June 1

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the Treasury will not be able to pay all of the government’s debt “as early as June 1, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time.” Yellen also…

Russia Launching Payment System With ‘No Restrictions’ — Digital Currencies to Be Completely Unrestricted

Russia is launching a new payment system that is “bound by no restrictions” where digital currencies could be used in cross-border payments, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. “Two parties come to an agreement, make settlement payments, and no other country…

Russia to Increase Reliance on National Currencies in Energy Trade, Vows to Move Away From the US Dollar

Russia will increase its reliance on national currencies to settle payments for its energy resources, moving away from the US dollar, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Novak noted there is a great interest in acquiring Russian energy resources,…

ECB President Lagarde Warns of ‘Major Disaster’ If US Defaults on Debt Obligations

There is a lot of discussion lately about the U.S. government’s debt ceiling and whether Congress will act before defaulting. In a recent interview, Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), said she is confident the U.S. can…

Bitcoin Millionaire Tim Draper Advises Startups to Keep Bitcoin as a Hedge Against a ‘Domino’ Run on the Banks

Tim Draper, a venture capitalist and bitcoin millionaire, has included bitcoin as part of a series of cash management recommendations offered to startup founders. Draper recommended having at least two payrolls worth of cash in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to avoid…

Bitcoin Proponents Slam Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman After Venmo Payment Issue

Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman complained on Twitter Wednesday that he was experiencing issues with the centralized payment processor Venmo. His tweet was followed by a barrage of bitcoin supporters who insisted that Krugman was now realizing the importance of censorship-resistant…

SEC Files Emergency Action Against Bkcoin in $100 Million Crypto Fraud Scheme

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action against Miami-based investment adviser Bkcoin and one of its principals, Kevin Kang. “The defendants disregarded the structure of the funds, commingled investor assets, and used more than $3.6 million…

Xapo Bank Integrates Lightning Network Payments Through Lightspark Partnership

On March 2, Xapo Bank announced its partnership with Lightspark, a company led by David Marcus, former crypto boss at Facebook. The partnership aims to extend the utility of bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Xapo revealed on Thursday that it is…