Author: Derek Andersen

Blockchain tech offers multiple paths to financial inclusion for unbanked

Derek Andersen

Financial inclusion, accessible services and the unbanked are standard talking points in many conversations about crypto. But, the details may remain somewhat fuzzy — the people who talk about crypto are generally those already inside the financial system. There are people who are actively working to increase financial inclusion and access to services for the vast number of people who are unbanked or underserved.  CBDC for the people Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) will serve different purposes in different places. In economies where individuals have moved away from high levels…

Fed report finds most Americans who own crypto tend to be high income hodlers

Derek Andersen

The United States Federal Reserve Board has included data on cryptocurrency in its new Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in the 2021 report. The Fed’s ninth annual report looked at survey results from 11,000 people questioned in October and November 2021.  The report indicated financial wellbeing is the highest it has been since reporting began, with 78% of U.S. adults “doing okay or living comfortably financially.” That is an increase of 3% over the last three years. As a diagnostic of financial fitness, the report cites the 68% of Americans…

G7 financial officials call on Financial Stability Board to step up crypto regulation—report

Derek Andersen

The top financial officials from the Group of Seven (G7) largest advanced industrial economies has called on the Financial Stability Board to speed up crypto-asset regulation, Reuters reported Thursday, citing a copy of a communique it had obtained. The officials from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States were meeting in Koenigswinter, Germany, following a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting earlier in the week. “In light of the recent turmoil in the crypto-asset market, the G7 urges the FSB (Financial Stability Board)…to advance the swift development…

Commissioner Kristin Johnson to sponsor CFTC Market Risk Advisory Committee

Derek Andersen

United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner Kristin N. Johnson was named the sponsor of the agency’s Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC) on Tuesday. She replaced CFTC chair Rostin Behnam in that role. Johnson was nominated to be a CFTC commissioner by U.S. President Joe Biden in September 2021, concurrent to the nominations of commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero and acting chairman Behnam as the permanent chair. Johnson was sworn in on March 30. She moved into the position after spending over a decade as a law professor. Johnson is…

Shanghai court affirms that Bitcoin is virtual property, subject to property rights

Derek Andersen

The Shanghai High People’s Court has issued a document in which it states that Bitcoin is subject to property rights laws and regulations. That finding was made in relation to a lawsuit filed in a district court in October 2020 involving the recovery of a loan of 1 Bitcoin (BTC). The lower court recognized Bitcoin as having value, scarcity and disposability, and therefore being subject to property rights and meeting the definition of virtual property. According to the Sina website, the Shanghai Baoshan District People’s Court ruled in favor of…

Little by little, blockchain technology is beginning to appear around the house

Derek Andersen

Blockchain technology is familiar to cryptocurrency users and national banks, and awareness of it is spreading fast to gamers. Applications in industry, particularly supply chain management, have been appearing as well. Through them, blockchain technology may improve domestic life in unseen ways, such as ensuring high-quality food, responsibly sourced seafood, or preventing the counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals. Nonetheless, the home may be blockchain’s final frontier.  Blockchain penetration at the household level is so far quite low, but day-to-day utility was no afterthought for blockchain developers. Christoph Jentzsch, Simon Jentzsch and Stephan…

Ex-Fed vice-chair Quarles has lost none of his fervor in opposing US CBDC

Derek Andersen

Former United States Federal Reserve vice-chair for supervision Randal Quarles discussed central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and the chances of the U.S. adopting such technology in an interview on the “Banking With Interest” podcast Tuesday. Quarles, who is known for his opposition to a CBDC, expressed his skepticism about the so-called digital dollar and predicted the U.S. will not introduce it. Quarles, who served at the Fed from 2017 to 2021, said a close analysis of CBDCs would show that their advantages are “extremely marginal, if they exist at all.” He…

Binance.US leaves Blockchain Association to form own DC government affairs team

Derek Andersen

Binance.US announced today that it is creating a team in Washington to engage with lawmakers on digital asset policy. Simultaneously, it has withdrawn from the advocacy group Blockchain Association. Both organizations sides have been tight-lipped about the split, commenting publicly only with short statements. A Binance.US spokesperson told Cointelegraph, “We believe it’s time we had a clear voice with meaningful impact in the emerging policy debates around digital assets and cryptocurrencies in Washington. We are excited to establish our own Government Affairs team in D.C. to actively engage in direct…

BIS releases study of CBDCs and their role in financial inclusion of the unbanked

Derek Andersen

The Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, released a paper Tuesday on central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, and how they can be used to meet policy goals for financial inclusion. The paper drew on interviews conducted in the second half of last year at nine central banks that are currently exploring retail CBDCs. It looked at common goals across a range of economic development levels and challenges to inclusion. The paper identified two distinct approaches to CBDC. Some central banks saw digital currency as a catalyst for innovation and…

In the US, public-private state associations form networks of support for crypto businesses

Derek Andersen

When you think of a crypto-friendly U.S. state, Washington is hardly the first to come to mind. Yet, a lot has been happening on the ground in the Pacific Northwest lately. Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill, SB5544, into law on March 30. The new legislation creates a working group of seven state officials and eight trade association leaders to examine “various potential applications of and policies for blockchain technology” and report to the governor in December 2023.  Republican state Senator Sharon Brown, one of the sponsors of the…