Ensure cryptocurrency does not end in wrong hands: PM to democratic nations

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged all democratic nations to work together to ensure that cryptocurrency does not end up in the wrong hands, cautioning that it can spoil the youth.

 

In a virtual address at the Sydney Dialogue, he said the digital age is changing everything as it has redefined politics, economies and societies and has raised new questions on sovereignty, governance, ethics, rights and security.

Giving an overview of India’s approach to new technologies, Modi said the country is investing in developing indigenous capabilities in diverse areas including in 5G and 6G for the telecom sector.

Also read: Crypto investments gaining currency

The Prime Minister said India uses data as a source of empowerment of people and that the country has unmatched experience in doing this in a democratic framework with strong guarantees of individual rights.

“It is important that all democratic nations work together on this and ensure it does not end up in wrong hands, which can spoil our youth,” he said referring to cryptocurrency.

 

Modi said India is building the world’s most extensive public information infrastructure and that over 1.3 billion Indians have a unique digital identity.

“The greatest product of technology today is data. In India, we have created a robust framework of data protection, privacy and security. And, at the same time, we use data as a source of empowerment of people,” he said.

Also read: RBI may pilot digital currency in Q1 of FY23

He said India is on its way to connecting 6,00,000 villages with broadband. Referring to the strategic cooperation between India and Australia, he said it is a force of good for the region and the world.

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RBI may pilot digital currency in Q1 of FY23

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The Reserve Bank of India may do a pilot of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the first quarter of the next fiscal year.

“We are on the job and looking into the various issues and nuances related to CBDC. It’s not a simple thing to just say that CBDC can be a habit from tomorrow on,” said P Vasudevan, chief general manager at the RBI’s Department of Payment and Settlement, at a banking event here on Wednesday.

“The banking system has been taking the lead in terms of currency distribution as a tiered model, whether the same model should be accepted for CBDC as well, we will have to see,” Vasudevan added.

As now being explored by the RBI for retail and international trade payments, the CBDC could have a much larger impact on the financial ecosystem, according to industry experts. It will be instrumental in promoting grassroots-level financial inclusivity and modernising the banking sector apart from creating a cashless economy.

Digital replica

While many see CBDCs as a legalised replacement of cryptocurrencies, in reality, CBDCs could just be a digital replica of the physical cash in circulation.

Russia, Japan and China are already working on the same.

According to a 2021 BIS survey, quoted in the RBI report, 86 per cent of the central banks surveyed are actively researching the potential for CBDCs, 60 per cent were experimenting with the technology and 14 per cent were deploying pilot projects.

A major use case for CBDCs will likely be in the insurance and lending space and also for managing non-performing assets. Using digital currencies will bring in more transparency and traceability across levels for the financial services sector, according to experts.

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Cash going to co-exist with central bank digital currency, says former RBI governor Subbarao, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Former RBI governor D Subbarao on Monday said there is a strong motivation for the central bank to launch a digital currency and cash is going to coexist with the new-age currency. Addressing an event virtually organised by economic think tank NCAER, Subbarao further said cybersecurity is also one of the downside risks of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

“There is a strong motivation for the RBI to launch CBDC… Cash is going to coexist with CBDC,” he said.

The former RBI governor also noted that privacy is also going to be a big issue when the RBI launches the digital currency.

Recently, RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar had said the central bank is working on a phased implementation strategy for its own digital currency and was in the process of launching it in wholesale and retail segments in the near future.

He had also said the idea of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is ripe, and many central banks in the world are working towards it.

While observing that if the RBI launches CBDC, the control of the central bank on money supply will be weakened, Subbarao said there is also issue of financial instability.

Replying to a question on cryptocurrencies, Subbarao warned that cryptocurrencies could become a vehicle for taking money out from countries like India and China.

“There is a certainly case for regulating cryptocurrencies..These cryptocurrency assets can be used for money laundering,” he said.

Subbarao, however, noted that cryptocurrencies are here to stay as speculative assets.

In India, a high-level inter-ministerial committee constituted by the Ministry of Finance has examined the policy and legal frameworks, and has recommended the introduction of CBDC as a digital form of fiat money in the country.

Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of their units and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.



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Central bank digital currency can boost innovation in cross-border payments: RBI Deputy Governor

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A central bank digital currency (CBDC) can boost innovation in cross-border payments, making these transactions instantaneous and help overcome key challenges relating to time zone and exchange rate differences, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor, T Rabi Sankar.

A CBDC is the legal tender issued by a central bank in a digital form. It is the same as a fiat currency and is exchangeable one-to-one with the fiat currency. Only its form is different.

Speaking at IAMAI’s Global Fintech Fest 2021, Sankar observed that the frictions relating to time zone and exchange rate differences as also varying legal and regulatory requirements across jurisdictions can be solved through platform-based solutions.

These solutions can make real-time price discovery possible even for retail-sized transactions.

Sankar said settlement of cross-border payments in CBDC can happen without the settlement system of either of the countries or both countries being open.

Costly transactions

A July 2021 BIS report noted that cross-border payments suffer from long transaction delays and can be particularly costly due to the involvement of a high number of intermediaries across different time zones along the correspondent banking process.

The report said CBDCs can be open 24/7, eliminating any mismatch of operating hours. It could settle instantly, reducing the need for status updates

In a speech in July 2021, Sankar said going forward, after studying the impact of CBDC models, launch of general purpose CBDCs will be evaluated.

“The RBI is currently working towards a phased implementation strategy and examining use cases which could be implemented with little or no disruption,” he added.

Some key issues under RBI’s examination include the scope of CBDCs, whether they should be used in retail payments or also in wholesale payments, the underlying technology – whether it should be a distributed ledger or a centralised ledger, for instance, and whether the choice of technology should vary according to use cases, the validation mechanism – whether token based or account based, degree of anonymity etc.

However, conducting pilots in wholesale and retail segments may be a possibility in near future, Sankar said.

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Moody’s, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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SINGAPORE: Wide adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in cross-border payments and settlements will be credit negative for banks because of lower fees and commissions, Moody’s Investors Service said on Monday.

This is particularly for those banks that are active in foreign-currency payments, clearing and remittances, it said in its latest credit outlook report.

It is the first time that the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and various central banks are testing multiple CBDCs in a single platform for cross-border settlements.

This is an important step if CBDCs are to be adopted beyond domestic transactions. Earlier in 2021, the Singaporean and French central banks successfully tested dual-CBDC cross-border transactions, said Moody’s.

On September 3, the BIS together with central banks of Singapore, Australia, Malaysia and South Africa started testing CBDCs for cross-border settlements.

The project called Dunbar aims to build a prototype platform for settlement in multiple CBDCs with the target being faster, cheaper and more secure cross-border payments and settlements between financial institutions.

Moody’s said the revenue that banks generate from cross-border transactions is significant. Globally, banks generated about 230 billion dollars in revenue from cross-border transactions in 2019, based on data from consulting firm McKinsey.

Banks in Asia Pacific made up 100 billion dollars of this amount, the largest share globally, with most revenue coming from commercial transactions such as bank-to-bank.

According to McKinsey, banks globally generated about 60 billion dollars in revenue in consumer business in 2019 for cross-border transactions such as remittances, where the banks charge hefty fees.

Banks on average charge 6.4 per cent on outward remittances, based on World Bank data, with Nigerian, South African and Thai banks charging some of the highest fees globally. These fees will be reduced with the wider adoption of CBDCs.

It is uncertain if the platform prototypes developed under the Dunbar project will be adopted by other central banks. However, the BIS expects that the results of this project will guide the development of global and regional platforms for more efficient cross-border payments.



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Cardano returns 150% in a month to become the third-largest cryptocurrency, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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A little-known digital token tied to the Cardano blockchain has just surpassed other top alt-coins to become the third-largest virtual currency worldwide, as network developers aim to capitalise on the surge in decentralised finance that has swept the world.

Currently, the popular alt-coin traded on cryptocurrency exchanges like CoinSwitch Kuber, Cardano’s native coin, ADA, defied a major price crash warning to rise to an all-time high, surpassing the previous record. For the very first time on Friday, the ADA/USD rate of exchange surpassed $2.56, marking the culmination of a 154.54% price increase that began on July 20. This was achieved despite renowned trader Peter Brandt’s warning of a price fall, which was predicated on a typical bearish pattern known as the head and shoulders pattern.

With the price of the ADA coin soaring by about 50% in only the past week, there is growing confidence that new technological advancements will enable payment systems on Cardano earlier than the previously declared date of September 12. This will allow its network to provide profitable services like DeFi, where Ethereum presently holds a dominant position.

Upgrade set in motion as ADA prepares for DeFi
In anticipation of the planned “Alonzo” upgrade, which is scheduled to be released on September 12, ADA investors are continuing to drive the value of Cardano higher. The Alonzo upgrade will bring smart-contract* functionality to the blockchain, allowing Cardano to establish itself as a legitimate player in the decentralised finance (DeFi) space.

ADA is among the most highly sought-after cryptocurrencies for new traders due to its still-relatively low price and excellent marketing as one of the potential “Ethereum killers.” There is little reason to suspect that Cardano is a favourite of the crypto world, and ADA is among the most highly sought-after cryptocurrencies for new traders due to its still-relatively low price and a promising future.

With Cardano’s ability to handle smart contracts—self-executing agreements among buyers and sellers—the token has gained consistently while Ethereum, Cardano’s core competitor, continues to dominate the growing $100 billion decentralised finance sector.

Recently, the Solana blockchain ecosystem began to take shape with DeFi and NFTs, but despite the fact that Cardano has no actual use cases as of yet, the cryptocurrency’s market capitalization is about 4x the size of Sol’s market capitalization of $20 billion. Cardano has practically risen from the ashes on the backs of speculators and the promise of a fantastic and extremely transparent development team.

*What are Smart Contracts?
Smart contracts, also known as blockchain contracts, are distinguished by the method in which they assure conformity between the two parties involved in the transaction. The immutability of a self-executing contract is one of the most notable characteristics of this type of contract. It implies that once codes, regulations, and even transactions have been written into the blockchain, it is hard to reverse, alter, change, or tamper with them.

Smart contracts, similar to the traditional ones, are contracts between two or more parties that do not require the participation of a third party to monitor or enforce the agreement.

It is completely self-executing!
As part of its operation, the blockchain network preserves a transaction record that is visible, secure, and unchangeable, ensuring that evidence of ownership is established and transferred. Contract discussion and application are made considerably more accessible, and the whole edit record of the deal is made publicly visible to all parties involved.

Cryptocurrencies on a bullish run
Cardano returns 150% in a month to become the third-largest cryptocurrencyWhen people use decentralised finance, also known as DeFi, they are transferring financial functions directly onto digital ledgers, allowing them to perform things such as, lend or borrow cash and collect interest in a savings-like account, all without the need for traditional middlemen such as banks. Its growing prevalence is part of a broader trend of rising blockchain usage, which is becoming more widespread.

A series of recent rises in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, ADA, and other tokens pushed the cryptocurrency market to surpass $2 trillion in value this weekend, a first since the mid-May crash.

With a gain of 1,300% in only one year, ADA is among the top-five best-performing cryptocurrencies, outpacing gains of 1,030% for Binance Coin, 330% for Ether, and 59% for Bitcoin, among other cryptocurrencies. The token, on the other hand, is extremely vulnerable to the enormous volatility of the larger cryptocurrency market.

As a result of RBI’s crypto crackdown in 2018, the value of ADA plummeted by roughly 90%, ushering in a years-long bear market for the young sector. However, with the emergence of popular crypto exchanges in India, investments in crypto assets jumped from $200 million in 2019 to $40 billion in 2020. As of today, CoinSwitch Kuber, India’s leading crypto exchange has over 9 million registered users invested in crypto.

All eyes will now be on the September 12 “Alonzo” upgrade and how it will tie back to ADA’s current positive run. If things go well, ADA could be seen as a primary competitor to Ethereum, ushering yet another era in the cryptocurrency sector.

Disclaimer: The above content is non-editorial, and TIL hereby disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied, relating to the same. TIL does not guarantee, vouch for or necessarily endorse any of the above content, nor is responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. The article does not constitute investment advice. Please take all steps necessary to ascertain that any information and content provided is correct, updated and verified.



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‘Ethereum Improvement Proposal’ all set to bring major change to crypto world

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Ethereum 2.0’s latest upgrade could make it outperform Bitcoins. Known as Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-1559, which went live on Thursday, is touted to be the most significant update since the launch of the cryptocurrency.

The upgrade will not only help reduce cost of transaction fees involved on Ethereum network but introduce several other fundamental changes to how Ethereum is perceived. Industry players said with the current updates, Ether stands a chance to outperform Bitcoins.

Key changes

Known as the second most valued cryptocurrency, two of the key changes the update will bring include settling on a fixed base fee instead of an uncertain ‘gas fee’ users pay in ether to miners to process their transactions over the Ethereum network.

This transaction fee tends to increase and change and there is no way the user will know the price before hand. This will be replaced with a fixed ‘base fee’. Over this base fee, the user can choose to pay a tip to speed up the process.

Also read: Ethereum co-founder says safety concern has him quitting crypto

‘Burning’ feature

The other key update is introducing the “burning” feature wherein after each transaction with the miner, a small amount of those tokens would be burned or taken away permanently out of circulation. This will lead to creating a shortage of ether supply in the network leading to increasing value and demand as it becomes rarer.

Additionally, the number of transactions allowed on one block has been doubled. Ethereum’s blockchain settles transactions in blocks or batches. Each block needs to have a certain fixed number of transactions registered to be completed and taken for settlement.

Siddharth Menon, COO WazirX told BusinessLine, “This EIP-1559 is a major overhaul in the fee model. One of the biggest challenges in the current fee model, which is bid based. There was high volatility in gas fees to be paid, which often resulted in transactions taking long to get confirmed or not even getting confirmed. With this new model, the increase or decrease of fee will be more linear and predictable and less volatile thereby enhancing user experience.”

Also read: India must take a holistic view on cryptos

“Ethereum so far has been an inflationary economy which inflated at the rate of approx 2 per cent per year. With this new fee model, Ethereum theoretically can become both inflationary and deflationary, however, practically I believe as there is more adoption in this network, it will be primarily a deflationary economy where supply will always be burned to remain lesser than demand. This could be a great opportunity for long term investors. If more people understand this economics, we could see more volume and price movement for Ethereum,” he added.

Ethereum to outperform Bitcoin

“The upgrade to Ethereum 2.0 will certainly make it more environmentally friendly than the current leader, Bitcoin. Also, the use of block in decentralised finance and its applications will hopefully support Ether’s price movements in the years to come,” Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder, CoinDCX told BusinessLine.

“Bitcoin is seen as a store of value just like Gold. However, Ethereum has a lot more use cases and adoption led by DeFi, NFT and other Dapps being built on top of Ethereum. This adoption essentially means more demand for Ethereum which will eventually lead Ethereum to outperform Bitcoin. Ethereum Network also called EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) is like cloud computing using the Blockchain, and can be compared to Unix servers powering Facebook, Google and other platforms. This is the potential of where Ethereum can go and what the future tech businesses built on Ethereum could look like,” Menon said.

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Can’t wrap head around not having U.S. central bank digital currency, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard laid out a range of reasons for “urgency” around the issue of developing a U.S. central bank digital currency, including the fact that other countries such as China are moving ahead with their own.

“The dollar is very dominant in international payments, and if you have the other major jurisdictions in the world with a digital currency, a CBDC (central bank digital currency)offering, and the U.S. doesn’t have one, I just, I can’t wrap my head around that,” Brainard told the Aspen Institute Economic Strategy Group. “That just doesn’t sound like a sustainable future to me.”

Fed officials are taking a deep dive into the digital payments universe, collecting public feedback on the potential costs and benefits as well as design considerations with a view to publishing a discussion paper in early September.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell in comments earlier this month described the analysis as a key step in accelerating the Fed’s efforts to determine if it should issue its own CDBC.

“One of the most compelling use cases is in the international realm, where intermediation chains are opaque and long and costly,” Brainard said on Friday.

But there are domestic reasons too for a U.S.-backed digital currency, she said: the dramatic rise in stable coins, a form of cryptocurrency pegged to a conventional currency such as the U.S. dollar but not backed by any government.

Stable coins could proliferate and fragment the payment system, or one or two could emerge as dominant, she said. Either way, “in a world of stable coins you could imagine that households and businesses, if the migration away from the currency is really very intense, they would simply lose access to a safe government-backed settlement asset, which is of course what currency has always provided.”

A CBDC could also help solve other problems, she suggested, including the difficulty during the pandemic of getting government payments to people without bank accounts, who also tend to be the very people who need the payments the most.



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It’s time for digital currency to counter crypto, says RBI, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that it is working towards a phased implementation strategy for its digital currency and examining use cases where it can be deployed with little disruption. Making a strong argument in favour of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for India, the RBI has said that it would reduce currency costs for the government and would help offset the threat of virtual currencies.

“Developing our own CBDC could provide the public with uses that any private virtual currency can provide and to that extent might retain the public preference for the rupee. It could also protect the public from the abnormal level of volatility some of these virtual currencies experience,” RBI deputy governor T Rabi Sankar said on Thursday at a webinar organised by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Sankar added that conducting pilots on CBDC in wholesale and retail segments may be a possibility in the near future. “As is said, every idea will have to wait for its time. Perhaps the time for CBDCs is nigh,” he said.

On the consequences of digital currencies on banks, Sankar said that while it could reduce the need for maintaining deposits, the impact would be limited as they cannot pay interest. “Thus, potential costs of disintermediation mean it is important to design and implement CBDC in a way that makes the demand for CBDC, vis-a-vis bank deposits, manageable,” said Sankar.

The key issues examined by the RBI include whether these should be used in retail payments or also in wholesale payments, whether it should be a distributed ledger or a centralised ledger, whether it should be token-based or account-based, whether it should be directly issuance by the RBI or through banks and the degree of anonymity.

In a strong attack against virtual currencies (cryptocurrencies), Sankar said, “Private virtual currencies sit at substantial odds to the historical concept of money. They are not commodities or claims on commodities as they have no intrinsic value, some claims that they are akin to gold clearly seem opportunistic. For the most popular ones now, they do not represent any person’s debt or liabilities. There is no issuer. They are not money.”

The deputy governor said 86% of central banks were actively researching the potential for virtual currencies and 60% were already experimenting with the technology, and 14% are deploying pilot projects. He said that interest had spiked to replace paper and avoid the more damaging consequences of private currencies.

The deputy governor’s statement comes at a time when the RBI has been forced by a Supreme Court order to withdraw a ban on bank services to cryptocurrencies. Although the RBI has earlier spoken about plans to launch a digital currency, this is the first time that the central bank has gone into so much detail. Central banks across the world have drawn up plans to launch their digital currency to battle cryptocurrencies. China has said that its e-CNY has been tested in 70 million transactions.



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