Search Results for: israel

BIS Releases Report On ‘Project Icebreaker’ — Develops Cross-Border Retail CBDC Payment Model

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The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released a report summarizing the “Project Icebreaker” trial, which explored the potential advantages and difficulties of utilizing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) in cross-border payments. The experiment was designed to test “the…

Israeli Startup Chain Reaction Raises $70 Million to Build Blockchain Silicon

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Chain Reaction, a Tel Aviv-based blockchain startup, announced it has raised $70 million as part of its Series C funding round. The objective of the company is to expand its engineering staff to accelerate the production of its blockchain-focused silicon and…

Starkware Plans to Open Source Key Tech Linked to Starknet Prover

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At the Starkware Sessions 2023 event, held at the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv, Israel, Starkware co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson informed the audience that the company intends to open source “key tech” linked to the Starknet Prover. During the event, the co-founder…

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

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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…

Leading European Tire Retreader Vaculug to Accept Crypto Payments

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Vaculug, a British company that brands itself as Europe’s largest independent tire retreader, will now accept cryptocurrencies for its products and services. Its management says the business must move with the times and offer customers more options than pounds and pence….

Israel Prohibits Cash Deals for Amounts Starting as Low as $1,700

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New legislation introducing tighter restrictions on payments with large sums of cash will enter into force in Israel on Monday. The goal, as stated by the country’s tax authority, is to improve the fight against organized crime, money laundering, and tax…

Czech Central Bank Plans Tenfold Increase in Gold Holdings, New Governor Says Precious Metal ‘Good for Diversification’

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The incoming governor of the Czech National Bank (CNB), Aleš Michl, has said he plans to increase the institution’s gold holdings almost tenfold from the current 11 tonnes to 100 tonnes. Michl also said he will ask the bank’s foreign exchange…

Crypto and Blockchain Firms Constitute 16% of UAE Free Zone’s Record Q1 Company Registrations

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Crypto and blockchain firms constituted 16% of the 655 new company registrations that were recorded in Q1 of 2022, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has said. The surge in crypto-related registrations also coincided with a quarterly period in which the…

‘100x Lower Than L1 Fees’ — Alchemy Integrates Ethereum L2 Product Starknet to Increase Web3 Scalability

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According to the startup Starkware, the team’s Ethereum layer two (L2) service Starknet has been integrated by the blockchain API and node service Alchemy. Developers can now leverage Alchemy’s infrastructure tools alongside Starknet’s zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup technology. Israel-Based Startup Starkware Partners…

Bank of Israel: Adoption of CBDC Will Not Materially Affect the Banking System

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Israel’s central bank says the public’s adoption of the digital shekel is not expected “to materially affect the banking system.” The bank, however, warns that any issuance of such digital currency will likely result in a decline of the volume of…