Daily Digest - 12th April 2023

Headlines

▌The International Monetary Fund lists stablecoin issuers and corporate groups as important regulatory targets

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said a "difficult year" for the crypto market highlighted the need for comprehensive and consistent regulation of the industry, pointing to the need for bank-style capital requirements for stablecoin issuers and crypto groups.

In a global financial stability report released on Tuesday, the IMF joined the Financial Stability Board standard setter in calling for consistent international regulation of the cryptocurrency industry after a year of major exchange and cryptocurrency-related bank failures.

“The breakdown of multiple entities in the crypto asset ecosystem has renewed the urgency for comprehensive, consistent regulation and adequate regulation,” with a focus on consumer protection and corporate governance, the report said.

The report added that regulations should cover crypto storage, transfer, exchange and reserve custody, with additional prudential requirements for those performing multiple functions and issuers of stablecoins — tokens that seek to maintain their value relative to fiat currencies.

Policies

▌Hong Kong Web3Hub Fund leader: Hong Kong Monetary Authority issue digital Hong Kong dollars in the form of "stable coins"

Wu Jiezhuang, co-founder of the startup accelerator G-Rocket, led the establishment of the Hong Kong "Web3Hub" fund this week. He said that he has suggested to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to issue digital Hong Kong dollars in the form of "stable coins", which will help promote future online cross-border transactions and reduce risk of a financial crisis.

Wu also stated that if the Hong Kong government can make another innovation and launch the world's first officially issued stable currency, with cash support to improve stability, bankruptcies may be avoided, and the Hong Kong dollar will also enter the Web3.0 market.

▌France Seeks Alternatives to Stop Internet Giants from Dominating the Metaverse

According to a consultation report published on Tuesday, France is organising a public consultation on the metaverse, which aims to prevent the dominance of Internet giants in the metaverse and seek alternatives.

The consultation, which is open until 2 May, aims to allow input from different stakeholders (citizens, companies, associations, researchers).

The announcement stated that the immersive virtual world of the future can take many forms, including virtual and augmented reality, game engines, and blockchain technology supporting cryptocurrencies. The goal of the development consultation is to propose an alternative to today's international giants (such as Meta) Proposed scheme for a virtual online world.

Cryptocurrency

▌El Salvador grants Bitfinex its first digital asset license

El Salvador granted Bitfinex the country’s first digital asset service provider license.

The new license follows a law passed by El Salvador's legislative assembly in January that regulates digital securities and creates a framework for the Central American country to issue bitcoin-backed bonds, also known as volcano bonds .

Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement, “We are delighted to be the first company to receive this license.

This will enable Bitfinex Securities to facilitate the issuance and secondary trading of assets with clearly defined rights and obligations in accordance with the new digital asset regulatory regime.

According to Jesse Knutson, director of operations at Bitfinex Securities, the products allowed under the new regulations include tokenized stocks and yield assets.

▌Ex-Deutsche Bank employee charged with crypto fraud by U.S. prosecutors

According to news on April 12, a former investment banker at Deutsche Bank was accused by US prosecutors of participating in encryption fraud, falsely promising high returns to investors, and using investors' funds for gambling or maintaining a Ponzi scheme.

Rashawn Russell, 27, was arrested on Monday and charged with wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

He allegedly forged documents to deceive clients, sending an investor a screenshot of a bank balance of about $355,000 when the real balance was less than $35,000.

Russell pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Tuesday afternoon.

He posted $200,000 bond and was ordered to appear in court again on May 9.