Episode Details

04th Jan Crypto & Coffee at 8
😱 USDC Stablecoin Depegs to $0.74 on Binance ❗South Korea Bans Crypto Buys With Credit Cards ❌India’s Digital Rupee 🚨Nigeria’s New Rules for Crypto Firms

😱 Circle’s USDC stablecoin, tied to the US dollar, dropped to as low as $0.74 three times during a market sell-off triggered by doubts about the approval of a Bitcoin ETF. The declines occurred between 12:10 and 12:21 UTC on Binance against its USDT trading pair. Each time, the price swiftly rebounded to $1, indicating a lack of liquidity to maintain the stablecoin’s peg during intense selling. Info via CoinDesk https://lnkd.in/dc5GyNQ9

🔥 This could have been Catastrophic. If FUD was created similar to the Terra LUNA situation?

🚨 South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has suggested a ban on using credit cards for cryptocurrency purchases due to concerns about the “illegal outflow of domestic funds overseas.” The proposal aims to extend the prohibition of credit card payments to include transactions with cryptocurrency exchanges, with the goal of preventing foreign currency outflow and countering money laundering, according to the regulator’s announcement on Thursday. Info here https://lnkd.in/de6YvwUb

❗ Important to note Last month, the FSC proposed rules to protect users of crypto exchanges, requiring the exchanges to store at least 80% of their customers’ deposits in cold wallets — crypto wallets not permanently online and thus less vulnerable to hacks. Under the rules, exchanges would also have to pay fees to customers for using their deposits.
 

❌ India’s CBDC
- India’s digital rupee, part of a retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot, achieved over a million transactions in a single day on December 27, 2023. The initiative is active in more than 15 cities, with over a dozen banks participating. A letter from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on December 29 revealed this milestone. Additionally, one of the participating banks reported being encouraged to deposit employee funds and benefits using the digital rupee instead of traditional fiat currency.

🚨 Nigerian banks are still restricted from holding or trading crypto on their own behalf, despite regulators’ softening stance toward digital assets.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has released guidelines for banks on digital assets, signalling a relaxation in the country’s strict stance on crypto. The guidelines provide details on the recent decision to allow financial institutions to open accounts for virtual asset service providers, marking a significant shift from the previous ban on servicing crypto firms. Guidelines here https://lnkd.in/dmipF-aY
 

🟠 Two news from UAE
⚡ Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mosque deploys AI to give personalised guidance to pilgrims
⚡ Central Bank Digital Currency: The Basics, Threats to Freedom & role in the Metaverse 01st Feb by Blockchain DXB

For slides click here: http://tinyurl.com/mr4d73va

LinkedIn Profile: https://tinyurl.com/bdeevbru

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