Digital Assets for 1 Billion Rubles Issued in Russia in a Month

Platforms authorized by the Russian government issued digital assets worth around a billion rubles in April, the local press reported. The spike in the volume has been attributed to Russian companies experimenting with new financial instruments amid limited access to traditional…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov States De-Dollarization ‘Can No Longer Be Stopped’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has spoken on the current shift to national currencies and the de-dollarization international markets are currently experiencing. In a press conference after addressing the UN Security Council on April 25, Lavrov stated this shift could not…

BRICS Currency Will Erode US Dollar’s Dominance, Former White House Economist Warns

Former White House economist Joseph Sullivan has warned that a BRICS currency would erode the U.S. dollar’s dominance. If member nations use only a common BRICS currency for international trade, “they would remove an impediment that now thwarts their efforts to…

Gold Slides on Higher US Treasury Yields, Dollar

Prices of gold, and other precious metals, fell on Wednesday due to stronger U.S. yields and national currency. The decline comes on the backdrop of expectations of new interest rate increases next month amid persistent inflation in the United States and…

Core Inflation on Upward Trend, Further Rate Hikes Expected, ECB Execs Say

Amid underlying inflationary pressures, further interest rate increases may still be needed, members of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council have admitted. At the same time, the cycle with the highest hikes may soon be over, the officials indicated. End of…

Saudi Arabia and OPEC Reveal Surprise Oil Production Cut; White House Insists Cuts Aren’t Advisable Right Now

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia and several major oil producers announced their plan to cut oil production by 1.15 million barrels per day, starting in May and continuing until the end of 2023. According to the Saudi Energy Ministry, the move was…

ESG Analyst Daniel Batten Reveals Dynamic Charts Showing Bitcoin’s 52.6% Sustainable Energy Use

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analyst Daniel Batten said Tuesday that the computational backbone of the Bitcoin network now uses 52.6% sustainable energy. Batten and onchain analyst Willy Woo created Dynamic Bitcoin ESG Charts to showcase the protocol’s progress. Contrary to…

North Korea Stole Record Amount of Crypto Assets in 2022, UN Report Unveils

The regime in North Korea has managed to steal more cryptocurrency last year than in previous years, according to a draft U.N. report. Despite the difference between quoted estimates, the authors conclude that 2022 was a record-breaking year for crypto theft,…

White House Publishes ‘Roadmap’ to Mitigate Cryptocurrency Risks

The White House has published a “roadmap to mitigate cryptocurrencies’ risks.” The roadmap calls for authorities to “ramp up enforcement where appropriate” and Congress “to step up its efforts” to regulate the crypto sector. It also notes that legislation should not…

East African Community to Decide on Regional Central Bank Launch in 2023

The East African Community (EAC) will decide during the course of the year 2023 when and where it will locate the envisioned regional central bank, the regional intergovernmental organization’s Peter Mathuki has reportedly said. The setting up of the regional central…