Grayscale Investments Files for 3 New Exchange Traded Funds

On May 9, digital currency fund manager Grayscale Investments announced the establishment of the Grayscale Funds Trust and submitted registration filings for three exchange-traded funds with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Grayscale Introduces Grayscale Funds Trust and Files for 3…

Nigeria-China Currency Swap: Activist Lawyer Accuses IMF and World Bank of ‘Economic Sabotage’ to Promote US Dollar, Urges Nigeria to Join BRICS

Nigerian human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) of sabotaging the currency swap arrangement between China and Nigeria. Falana said the Nigerian central bank and the two global financial…

President Raisi Calls on Central Bank of Iran to Ditch US Dollar in Trade, Shift to National Currencies

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi has called on the Central Bank of Iran to lay the groundwork necessary to ditch the U.S. dollar for bilateral trade settlements and to make the switch to use the Iranian real whenever possible. The Central Bank…

Binance Announces Lightning Network Withdrawal Implementation Amidst Bitcoin Network Congestion Issues

Binance has announced its intention of implementing Lightning Network, a layer 2 Bitcoin scaling protocol, on its platform after experiencing an episode of congestion regarding withdrawals on the Bitcoin network. The exchange had to pause bitcoin withdrawals twice due to a…

Latam Insights: Bolivia Sells Gold for Dollars, Argentina Bans Fintech Crypto, Fitch Upgrades El Salvador’s Credit Rating

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue, Bolivia passes a law to sell gold for dollars, the Central Bank of Argentina bans fintech…

Bitcoin Network Overwhelmed by 390,000 Unconfirmed Transactions and Surging Fees

In just under two weeks, the number of unconfirmed transactions on the Bitcoin network has skyrocketed from 134,000 to over 390,000, causing a bottleneck in the mempool. This surge in unconfirmed transactions has resulted in a staggering 343% increase in transaction…

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…

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…

Former SEC Enforcement Chief: Coinbase’s Arguments ‘a Surefire Loser’ and Possibly Criminal

According to John Reed Stark, crypto exchange Coinbase’s assertions that its business activities were endorsed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when it approved its initial public offering are “a surefire loser.” According to Stark, the SEC’s approval of…