China Pushes Digital Yuan for Wage Payments in Changshu

Changshu, a city in China with more than 1.5 million inhabitants, will pay public workers’ wages with the Chinese central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan. The move marks an acceleration of the adoption plans that Beijing has for the…

Analysts Weigh In on BRICS Currency as Tool to Face US Dollar-Based Sanctions

Analysts have begun considering using a future BRICS currency to sidestep U.S. sanctions and the dollar’s influence in international markets. While the rise of the U.S. dollar was significant to spur an era of economic growth after World War II, the…

Pakistan Banks to Use Blockchain Technology for KYC

Banks in Pakistan plan to launch an electronic platform for know-your-customer procedures that will be operating on a national level. The blockchain-based system will allow them to exchange the personal information of customers through what they describe as a decentralized and…

Investment Fund Focused on Crypto Mining to Be Created in Russia

The establishment of Russia’s first mutual investment fund dedicated to financing cryptocurrency mining operations is underway. According to a report by the Russian press, it will be available to qualified investors and will finance the acquisition of coin minting equipment. Russian…

Google Cloud to Become Tezos Validator and Offer Validation Services

Google Cloud, the remote services division of the software giant, has announced a partnership with blockchain company Tezos to become a block validator (“baker”) in its network. As part of this partnership, Google Cloud will also offer Tezos validation services through…

Zambia Testing Technology to Regulate Cryptocurrency — Government Minister

The Bank of Zambia and the country’s securities regulators are currently testing the technology to regulate cryptocurrencies, a Zambian government minister has said. According to Felix Mutati, cryptocurrency is a revolutionary technology that embodies a future his country desires to achieve….

Brazilians Will Be Able to Pay Taxes With Crypto

Brazilians will now be able to pay part of their state taxes using cryptocurrencies. Banco do Brazil, a mixed ownership bank, is launching the option of paying a set of taxes with crypto, using Bitfy, a Brazilian cryptocurrency startup, as a…

Microsoft Reportedly Shutting Down Industrial Metaverse Focused Group

Software giant Microsoft is shutting down one of its most significant groups dedicated to the development and promotion of the industrial metaverse. According to reports, the company terminated its whole Industrial Metaverse Core group, which was composed of 100 employees, as…

New South African Code Says Crypto Asset Ads Must Include Capital Loss Warning

Crypto asset service providers in South Africa seeking to attract investors via advertisements must “expressly and clearly state that investing in crypto assets may result in the loss of capital.” Influencers working on behalf of crypto asset service providers must “not…

Davos 2023: CBDCs Are the Future of Central Bank Money but They Are Still Not Ready

A World Economic Forum (WEF) panel comprised of central bankers and global tech providers has profiled central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as the future of central bank money, presenting them as one of the solutions for limitations in the payments sector…