Daily crypto news alerts for 12th January, 2021

🗞Bangladesh completes its first Sharia-compliant blockchain transaction

Bangladesh-based City Bank has partnered with the International Islamic Trade and Finance Corporation (ITFC) to issue a blockchain-based letter of credit in compliance with Sharia law, Finance Magnates reported .

The participants in the transaction used the Countour network based on Corda technology from the R3 consortium. The L / C operation was funded by the agreements division of ITFCmurabaha...

“This transaction will pave the way for improved digital commerce through blockchain technology,” said Sheikh Mohammad Maruf, head of wholesale banking and merchant services at City Bank.

Recall that in September 2020, the Brazilian company Vale for the first time made a deal with iron ore on the blockchain .

Earlier, Standard Chartered Bank issued a letter of credit on the blockchain .

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🗞FCA warned of the risks of investing in cryptoassets

Amid the correction of cryptocurrency markets, the UK regulator warned consumers about the risks of investing in crypto assets and the likelihood of losing all invested money.

According to a statement on the website of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), some firms are offering investments in cryptoassets or lending services that promise high returns. According to the regulator, such investments “are usually associated with very high risks in relation to investors' money. If consumers invest in these types of products, they must be prepared to lose all of their investment. "

The FCA cautions that, as with all high-risk speculative investments, consumers must ensure that they understand the risks associated with the investment and any applicable safeguards.

“Companies offering such products must comply with all applicable regulatory requirements and be approved by the FCA when required. As of 10 January 2021, all UK crypto-related companies must be registered with the FCA in accordance with anti-money laundering regulations. Working without registration is a criminal offense, ”the regulator notes.

FCA states that the main risks associated with investing in crypto assets include consumer protection concerns, price volatility, difficulty understanding how products work, high commissions and service fees, as well as marketing campaigns that do not fully reflect the essence of the product and lure investors with questionable scheme.

“Consumers need to be aware of the risks and take them into account when deciding whether to invest in high-yield cryptoasset investments. They should check and carefully study the business related to crypto assets, ”the regulator says.

Recall that last fall, the FCA decided to ban cryptocurrency derivatives, despite the disagreement of 97% of respondents, and at the end of December, the regulator established a temporary registration regime for cryptocurrency companies.

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🗞Tether issues record 2 billion USDT in one week

Stablecoin issuer Tether has issued a record 2 billion USDT over the past week . As a result, the volume of USDT emission on all supported networks, including Ethereum, Tron and Omni, reached 24.6 billion.

Alameda Research trader Sam Trabucco believes there are several reasons for this phenomenon. “Some people don't trust local banks or currencies. USDT is the most liquid channel on the market to gain access to the dollar, ”he said.

Another reason is “aggressive selling of bitcoin for USDT” or operations in the opposite direction, due to which the USDT rate may temporarily deviate from the peg currency up or down. Since the beginning of the month, the USDT price has been slightly above the dollar until it dipped below it this Monday, according to data from the Kraken exchange.

Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino argues that new large investors are actively using USDT to trade in the OTC market, and this is contributing to the growth in the number of stablecoin tokens in circulation.

“Tether's clients are all major OTC platforms and high-frequency trading firms,” he said. Such platforms convert client funds into USDT and distribute buying pressure across all available sources of liquidity, increasing demand for stablecoin.

Trabucco added that the "increased volumes" across all cryptocurrency trading platforms over the past weeks have been complemented by "the ability to use USDT as collateral in an increasing number of derivatives products." USDT trading volumes continue to exceed those of Bitcoin, in pairs with which the bulk of activity on the crypto market was previously concentrated.

Tether previously stated that all USDT in circulation are backed by US dollars, short-term reserves, and other cryptocurrencies. In 2018, Deltec Bank issued an unauthorized letter confirming that Tether had $ 1.8 billion in reserves, which was equal to the amount of USDT in circulation at the time. In April 2019, a Tether lawyer reported that USDT is backed by fiat equivalents by 74%, and the rest of the collateral is represented by other financial instruments.

“Tether is fully secured, period,” wrote Ardoino on December 31st.

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🗞Coinbase is having trouble buying bitcoin. This negatively affects the average market price

American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase today announced disruptions to its retail trader portal Coinbase.com and mobile apps, preventing users from purchasing bitcoin .

“Records of recently initiated transactions may have a delay in your Coinbase accounts. There may also be problems completing some purchases on the platform, ”the company writes.

Coinbase is asking users not to resubmit applications as this will lead to duplicate applications. To date, the investigation of the incident has been going on for two hours.

At the time of publication, bitcoin is trading on Coinbase for about $ 31,200, while on other exchanges the rate exceeds this value by $ 150-200. During the last Bitcoin rally, Coinbase was higher than many other exchanges.

As noted by analyst Willie Wu, Coinbase prices are included in the indices of many derivatives products that may be negatively affected by this phenomenon.

“Buy trades do not close on Coinbase, ” Wu writes . - This probably affects trading algorithms. Buyer demand doesn't come from Coinbase because buy trades don't register. Coinbase price is used in a basket of stock prices to obtain the index price at which futures are traded. This gives the algorithms a bearish signal that will trigger further selling. "

Traders also report problems on the Kraken exchange. The price of bitcoin over the past day has dropped by 22%, which, taking into account the new highs of the cryptocurrency, led to the formation of the largest daily candle in dollar terms for the entire existence of the market.

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🗞Bakkt Crypto Platform Confirmed Entry To The Stock Market With A Valuation Of $ 2.1 Billion

Crypto platform Bakkt this Monday officially disclosed its readiness to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with another company.

Bakkt teamed up with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings, which held an initial public offering (IPO) in September 2020 to go public. The resulting entity was named Bakkt Holdings, Inc. and is estimated at $ 2.1 billion.

As part of the initiative, Bakkt also appointed a new CEO - former Citi manager Gavin Michael. In this role, he will replace interim CEO David Clifton, who will join the board of directors of blended education.

Bakkt also announced today new details of the Bakkt Cash retail app, which is being prepared for launch. Its release is scheduled for March this year. More than 400,000 people have already applied to access the app, according to the company. Earlier it was reported that the integration of Bakkt Cash will be carried out by the Starbucks coffee chain, thanks to which its customers will be able to replenish their wallets with cryptocurrency.

Bakkt was launched in 2018 and specializes in organizing regulated bitcoin futures trading. The platform is owned by Intercontinental Exchange, which is also the operator of the New York Stock Exchange.

Information that Bakkt may soon gain public status first surfaced last week.

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🗞China tested the use of digital yuan at ATMs

The State Agricultural Bank of China has successfully tested the digital yuan (DCEP) at its ATMs in Shenzhen. The bank's customers converted cash as well as bank savings into digital yuan and vice versa, local media reported.

The DCEP-enabled ATM was part of the Chinese Central Bank's experiment in Shenzhen. At the same time, as part of the testing, the authorities distributed through a lottery 100,000 "red envelopes" with 200 digital yuan in each for a total of about $ 3 million. Winners must spend their funds by January 17, 2021.

The Chinese state bank will also launch a lab to create applications that will support the digital yuan. Today, digital currency can already be spent in more than 10,000 shops, cafes and supermarkets in Shenzhen.

@TheRandomRewarder