Cointime News Wrapup-Afternoon Version: Debtors Saved over $100M Using De-pegged Stablecoins to Repay Loans
Debtors jumped on the opportunity to grab a discount on their loan repayments when USDC and DAI de-pegged from the dollar.
EU Merchants Could Be Required to Accept Digital Euro, Ministers Told
Merchants within the euro area could be obliged to accept a digital euro if it is deemed to be legal tender, according to a paper set to be put before finance ministers later Monday and seen by CoinDesk.
Iran’s Crypto Rial Project Enters Trial Phase
The pre-trial stage of the project to introduce a digital Iranian rial has been completed successfully, the country’s central bank announced. The authorities in Tehran plan to expand the use of the state-backed currency and integrate it into Iran’s payment system.
U.S. Congressman Cautions About Privacy Concerns Regarding CBDCs
United States Congressman Tom Emmer believes that the introduction of programmable central bank digital currency in the country will jeopardize the financial privacy of American citizens.
Senior U.S. House Republican Says CBDCs Could Be ‘Weaponized’ As Political Tool
“Recent actions from the Biden administration make it clear that they’re not only itching to create a digital dollar, but they’re willing to trade Americans’ right to financial privacy for surveillance-style CBDC,” Emmer told an audience at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington.
Crypto Evening Briefing: OpenSea, ConsenSys Among Prized Crypto Startups With Shares Available at Big Discounts
Those startups include Alchemy, Blockchain.com, Chainalysis, Kraken, ConsenSys, Blockdaemon, CoinDCX and OpenSea.
SWIFT to Start Phase Two Pilot After Finding 'Value' in CBDC
A project run by interbank messaging company SWIFT to interconnect central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) offers “clear potential and value,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Crypto Evening Briefing: Hong Kong’s Losses to Crypto Scams Doubled to $217M Last Year
Losses from crypto scams in Hong Kong amounted to 1.7 billion Hong Kong dollars ($216.6 million) last year, surging 106% from a year before, according to the local police.
JD.com & Bank of China Join Mainland China-Hong Kong Digital Yuan Pilot
Major business players are joining the Hong Kong-Mainland China “cross-border” digital yuan pilot – including the e-commerce giant JD.com and the Bank of China.
DEA Argues for Europe To Use Stablecoins for M2M Payments
The Digital Euro Association (DEA) has issued a report, arguing that Europe can use stablecoins for machine-to-machine (M2M) payments – A growing category of financial transactions.
