One of the world’s most hostile countries toward Bitcoin (BTC), China has not yet banned the possession of cryptocurrencies, according to David Lesperance, founder of Lesperance & Associates law firm.Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph More
The group – which comprises China, India, Russia and Pakistan alongside four Central Asian states – said “interested SCO member states” had agreed a “roadmap for the gradual increase in the share of national currencies in mutual settlements”, and called for an expansion of the practice.No further details were provided and the group did not say who the “interested states” were.Moscow is seen as the main driver of the push towards national currencies as it tries to reduce its reliance on the U.S. dollar and other Western currencies for trade following the imposition of sweeping new Western sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine in February.Last week, the Russian gas producer Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) said China would pay for half its Russian gas supplies in roubles and half in Chinese yuan. Previous contracts have been denominated in euros or dollars, the dominant reference currency for global oil trade.Leading oil producer Iran, like Russia subject to broad international economic and financial sanctions, is also on the verge of joining the SCO. More
The central bank officials spoke in Russian. The quotes below were translated into English by Reuters.NABIULLINA ON FOREIGN AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES”The currencies that we are used to, the reserve currencies – the dollar, the euro – have become toxic for many holders, because there are risks of (asset) freezes.””We see of course see that banks are trying to lower these risks … but it will always be possible to change foreign currency into roubles.””Our position is that we are ready to discuss ways to use digital financial assets (DFA), including cryptocurrencies, for international settlements, but we continue to oppose the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment and are against its free circulation within the country.””As for the digital rouble, we are very actively working on this project, and we consider it very important for the development of the financial system. We are now testing the digital rouble with 15 banks, but this is strictly a test.”NABIULLINA ON FUTURE RATE CHANGES”As we are close to the end of the easing cycle, we accept that the next step, as well as keeping the rate, could be a hike. However, we do not rule out a rate cut either.””We really think that the room for a further rate cut is shrinking.””Of course, we will look at the data, we cannot rule out some other movements, but the likelihood of a rate cut has decreased.”NABIULLINA ON RATE CUT”We assess that we are in the zone of a neutral monetary policy.””We considered three options – a cut of 25 basis points, a cut of 50 basis points, and keeping the rate unchanged.”NABIULLINA ON INFLATION”We do not rule out that annual inflation in first-half 2023 will be below 4%.””We see that one-time disinflationary factors are gradually losing their strength, while inflationary risks are growing.””People are now more inclined to save than to spend.””We are concerned that inflation expectations remain high.” More
FTX Leads Race to Purchase Voyager DigitalA court document from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York has revealed that Moelis (NYSE:MC) & Company, the investment bank of Voyager Digital, held an auction for the crypto lender’s assets on Tuesday, September 13th.According to Voyager’s lawyers, there were 88 parties interesting acquiring the assets. While none of the names of the interested entities were explicitly published, both FTX and Binance have previously expressed an interest in Voyager’s assets.While it is unclear how high the figure FTX that bid for Voyager’s assets was, the crypto exchange is said to have edged out Wave Financial, a digital asset investment firm.When Will Customers Get Their Money Back?The sale of assets by Voyager is aimed at generating liquidity in order to pay its customers, whose funds have been frozen since July 1st. According to the court document, the winner of the bid will not be revealed until September 29th.The possible repayment of creditors and users whose funds have been tied down is expected to begin after this date. Voyager has also been undergoing restructuring since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 6th.On the FlipsideWhy You Should CareWhen the result of the auction is announced, Voyager Digital will be in a position proceed with repayments to its creditors, who have been left waiting for months.Continue reading on DailyCoin More
Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief Kristina Cornèr moderated a panel discussion dubbed “Shaping The Next Economic Era With Web3 Technology.” Panelists included Paul Claudius, the co-founder of DIA; Hoon Kim, the chief technology officer of the AStar Network; Matt Gurbiel, growth manager at Redstone Finance and Riccardo Lamanna, the founder of OpenQ.Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph More
It was reported that Apecoin’s native tokens, APE, slid early Friday ahead of a major token unlock by which nearly 25 million APE tokens would be released, anticipating an increase in selling pressure. It was estimated that the token unlock would release almost eight percent of the current circulating supply.As a part of a preplanned token unlock, 25 million tokens released would gradually lead to a final supply of 1 billion APE. The current supply of APE is 314 million.The supply of 1 billion APE tokens has a definite agenda. A total of 62% of the supply would be contributed to the ecosystem fund, 16% to ApeCoin issuer Yuga Labs, and 8% to Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) founders. The remaining 14% would be handed over to the independent launch contributors.The tokens would be unlocked for Yuga and BAYC founders on March 2023. This weekend will unlock the APE tokens destined for the contributors.It is to be noted that there is not any clear information about these contributors. However, according to the crypto research firm Delphi Digital, it was “reasonable to deduce that it includes investors such as a16z, Animoca Brands, and FTX,” taking into account the funds provided for Yuga Labs and ApeCoin DAO.Consequently, investors expected a massive increase in the selling pressure of APE. The Delphi analyst commented that:Though the coin has lost almost 21% of its value in the previous month, some analysts pointed out that the APE staking would permit holders to borrow cryptocurrencies against their Bored Ape NFTs. Thus, APE staking would contribute to the hike in the APE value.The post APE Tokens on Selling Pressure Before Major Token Unlock appeared first on Coin Edition.See original on CoinEdition More
The Ethereum price fell sharply on Friday, dropping by more than 8.15% from its recent highs. The decline comes after sharp gains that saw the cryptocurrency touch highs of $1,760. Ethereum found support at around $1,451.56 and has since been consolidating in a narrow range.
ETH/USD price action (Source: Coinmarketcap)The price drop might be attributed to the Merge as the Ethereum Network shifted from proof of work to proof of stake, which caused speculations in the market. The bulls might have been scared off by the event, leading to a sharp price drop. Some selling action developed as the market attempted to find a new equilibrium.The merge brought about some changes in the Ethereum network, most notably, the shift from proof of work to proof of stake. The difference is designed to improve the scalability and security of the Ethereum network. However, it remains to be seen how this will affect prices in the future.Ethereum seems to be in a consolidation phase as it tests critical support and resistance levels. A breakout above $1,600 could see the price continue its uptrend. However, a breakdown below $1,400 could signal further losses in the short term.Ethereum price analysis on the 4-hour chart indicates the prices have held above the $1.460 level in the last few hours. The bears have been adamant in pushing prices lower but have been unable to break the critical support at $1.460. The bulls need to make prices above $1.600 to continue the uptrend.
ETH/USD 4-hour chart (Source: TradingView)The market volatility is currently high, as indicated by the bulging Bollinger bands. The upper band of the Bollinger band indicator is at $1,704, while the lower band is at $1,444. A breakout from the current consolidation phase could see prices move in either direction.The RSI is below the 29 levels, showing oversold conditions in the market. This means the market is ripe for a rebound to the upside. The MACD shows that the downward trend is losing momentum as the MACD line starts to move above the signal line. A crossover could see prices resume their uptrend.Meanwhile, the daily chart shows a clear declining trendline, with prices currently testing the $1,460 support line. A breakdown of this support line could see prices decline to $1,400. On the other hand, a breakout above the trendline could see prices move higher towards $1,600.
ETH/USD 1-Day price chart (Source: TradingView)Overall, the market sentiment will likely remain bearish in the short term as prices continue to fall. As a result, Ethereum could find support at around $1,400 in a short time.The post ETH Declines by 8.15% From Recent Highs After Long-awaited Merge appeared first on Coin Edition.See original on CoinEdition More
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Five Lebanese banks were held up by depositors seeking access to their own money frozen in the banking system on Friday in a spiralling spate of holdups this week spurred by frustration over a financial implosion with no end in sight.A total of seven banks have been held up since Wednesday in Lebanon, where commercial banks have locked most depositors out of their savings since an economic crisis took hold three years ago, leaving much of the population unable to pay for basics.On Friday morning, an armed man identified as Abed Soubra entered BLOM Bank in the capital’s Tariq Jdideh neighbourhood demanding his deposit, the bank told Reuters.He was still locked in the branch hours later, telling Reuters by phone that he had handed over his gun to security forces and just wanted his money.”I’ll stay here three, four, five days – I won’t move until I get my deposit,” he said.Soubra said he had a refused an offer by the bank to take a portion of his $300,000 in savings with a significant haircut and in the deteriorating local Lebanese currency. “I deposited by money in dollars, I want them back in dollars,” he said.Soubra was cheered on by a large crowd of people gathered outside, including Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, who carried out the very first hold-up in August to get his own deposits from his bank, which dropped charged against him. “We’re going to keep seeing this happen as long as people have money inside. What do you want them to do? They don’t have another solution,” said Hussein, who got around $30,000 from his savings of $200,000.BANKS ARE ‘WORTH MY SHOE’Lebanon’s banks association announced a three-day closure next week over mounting security concerns and called on the government to pass necessary laws to deal with the crisis.Authorities have been slow to pass reforms that would grant them access to $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund to ease the crisis. Among the laws-in-waiting is a capital controls law, still being debated by parliament. In its absence, banks have imposed unilateral limits on most depositors, allowing them to retrieve limited amounts each week in U.S. dollars or Lebanese pounds.Withdrawals in Lebanese pounds are worth less and less, as the lira has lost more than 95% of its value since 2019 and edged towards a new low of around 38,000 to the dollar this week.Banks say they allow exceptional withdrawals for humanitarian cases including healthcare payments but depositors say the banks have not stuck to their word. In Friday’s first case, a man was able to retrieve a portion of his funds from the Ghazieh branch of Byblos Bank before being arrested, the source said, adding that the weapon in his possession was believed to be a toy.Byblos Bank could not immediately be reached for comment.Another incident saw a man with a pellet gun enter a branch of LGB Bank in Beirut’s Ramlet al-Bayda area seeking to withdraw some $50,000 dollars in savings, a bank employee said.Then, Mohammad al-Moussawi threatened the Banque Libano-Francaise bank with a fake gun and managed to get $20,000 in cash out of his account, he said by phone.”This banking system is tricking us and it’s worth my shoe,” he said, telling Reuters he would be going into hiding.BLF Bank told Reuters the incident “took five minutes” and that no employees were harmed. The fifth incident on Friday afternoon saw a man fire shots inside a branch of BankMed as he sought access to his own savings, an industry source told Reuters.The source said the man was a member of Lebanon’s security forces and that there were no immediate reports of injuries. Friday’s incidents followed two others in the capital of Beirut and in the town of Aley on Wednesday in which depositors were able to access a portion of their funds by force, using toy pistols mistaken for real weapons.Lebanon’s banking association urged authorities on Thursday to hold accountable those engaging in “verbal and physical attacks” on banks and said lenders themselves would not be lenient. More
