Your Weekly Crypto Updates #5 ??

?? Indonesia Rolling-out of Digital Rupee CBDC

The Indonesian government announced plans to roll out a Digital Rupee in 2023 to boost the country’s economic growth. The Digital Rupee, which is expected to be launched soon through a project code-named “Project Garuda”, will be a digital currency issued and managed by the country’s central bank, Bank Indonesia.?

?? Putin Calls to Create a Digital Payment System for International Settlements

President of Russia Vladimir Putin has called for establishing a new system for international settlements, independent from banks and third-party interference. It can be created using digital currency technologies and distributed ledgers, the Russian leader said, quoted by local media.

Russia has been mulling over comprehensive crypto regulations in the past months, with increasing support for the legalization of?cross-border crypto payments. In September, the financial authorities in Moscow started?developing a mechanism?for international cryptocurrency settlements.

?? Pakistan launches new laws to expedite CBDC launch by 2025

Regulators worldwide see?central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)?as a way to enhance fiat capabilities by inheriting the financial prowess of technologies that power cryptocurrencies. Pakistan joined this list by announcing new regulations to ensure the launch of an in-house CBDC by 2025.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) signed in new laws for Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) — non-bank entities offering digital payment instruments — to ensure the timely issuance of a CBDC in the next three years. The World Bank helped Pakistan design the new regulations,?according?to local media Arab News.

?? BlockFi Files for Bankruptcy

Crypto lender, BlockFi has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after pausing withdrawals in an attempt to restructure.

The company was the first to feel the effect of FTX’s collapse and told a U.S. bankruptcy judge it was “the antithesis of FTX” and that it would seek to return customer funds as quickly as possible.

?? Ukraine’s Central Bank Details CBDC Project

National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has discussed its plans for a?digital version of the Ukrainian hryvnia?with banks, non-banking financial institutions and representatives of the crypto market.

“E-hryvnia can become one of the key elements of qualitative infrastructure development for the virtual-assets market in Ukraine,” the bank said.

NBU has been exploring a central bank digital currency (CBDC) since 2017 and, in 2019, issued a report that explored the advantages and disadvantages of using decentralized tech for a CBDC.

?? Sam Bankman-Fried Openly Talks in Interviews

In a talk with ABC, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said he did not know of customer deposits being used to pay creditors of its affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research. He also added that he only has $100,000 left in his bank account – a drastic drop from his prior $20 billion net worth. Reactions to SBF’s interviews ranged from calling him delusional to adamant calls that he should be thrown in jail.

?? Crypto Media for Sale

Coindesk, the crypto media company that's perhaps the best-known outside of the crypto-sphere could be put up for sale by its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG), according to a?Semafor?report?that quoted "people familiar with the matter" and put a potential price tag on the company of $300 million.

?? New Decentralized Exchange by Telegram

Telegram's privacy-focused messaging platform announced that the company would begin building “non-custodial wallets” and “decentralized exchanges” that would let millions of users safely trade their crypto. Founder and CEO Pavel Durov said that this way, they can fix the wrongs caused by excessive centralization, which let down hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrency users in the FTX fiasco.

?? Apple Blocks Coinbase NFTs

Coinbase customers using Apple devices will no longer be able to send NFTs using the exchange’s wallet. Apple is demanding the gas fees to send NFTs to be paid through their in-app purchase system, meaning Apple would collect 30% of that fee. Coinbase said it would not be able to comply with that requirement because the in-app system does not support crypto.

?? Kraken Exchange Cuts 30% of Staff

Kraken will cut 30% of its global staff – around 1,100 people – in response to the crypto winter. The firm said that since the start of this year, macroeconomic and geopolitical factors have led to significantly lower trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups and that they’ve exhausted preferable options that might have prevented layoffs to bring costs in line with demand.

?? The European Central Bank Declares Bitcoin’s Doom

The European Central Bank has claimed that bitcoin is on the road to irrelevance. Senior ECB staff published a blog entitled ‘Bitcoin’s Last Stand’ saying that since bitcoin appears to be neither suitable as a payment system nor as a form of investment, it should be treated as neither in regulatory terms and thus should not be legitimized.

?? Binance Halts Ankr Withdrawals

Binance has paused withdrawals of Ankr tokens after a possible hack. A hacker exploited a vulnerability in the code that allowed them to mint 6 quadrillion tokens, which were converted into BNB tokens and transferred through a crypto mixer. Ankr told decentralized exchanges to block trading and said it would re-issue the tokens after assessing the situation.

?? Crypto Broker Genesis Owes $900 million

U.S. crypto lender, Genesis, says it is seeking to avoid bankruptcy and is working with restructuring lawyers to prevent insolvency. They began discussions with potential investors and their largest creditors, including the popular crypto exchange, Gemini. Financial Times reports that Genesis and its parent company Digital Currency Group owe Gemini customers up to $900 million.

?? Ledger Stax Under the Spotlight

Ledger has tapped the "father of the iPod", Tony Fadell, to design its latest hardware wallet but doesn't expect a bigger screen, improved battery life or magnets (?) to convince crypto sceptics that crypto is the future after all.

According to the announcement, Ledger Stax will be available in Q1 2023, and customers can now pre-order the wallet on Ledger’s official website. In the future, it will be available from select retailers such as BestBuy in the United States.

That's all for this week's?Your Weekly Crypto Updates???

As always, please Do Your Own Research (DYOR), and I will see you again next week.

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