TransferWise expands in Middle East with Abu Dhabi license
TransferWise, the $3.5 billion financial technology start-up backed by investors including Peter Thiel and Richard Branson, is expanding its money transfer service in the Middle East. The company announced Tuesday it obtained a license as a Money Services Provider in Abu Dhabi. The license will allow users in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to transfer funds in the local dirham currency, also referred to as AED, into accounts around the world through TransferWise’s platform. “Money transfers from AED have long been one of our most wished for currencies, so we always knew we’d begin our expansion into the Middle East in the Emirates,” Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder of TransferWise, […]
Japanese fintech firm Digital Wallet acquires PH’s Speed Money Transfer
Digital Wallet Corporation (DWC), a Japan-based financial technology (fintech) company, announced today that it has acquired remittance and foreign exchange firm Speed Money Transfer Philippines (SMTP) for an undisclosed amount. SMTP, which operates in the Philippines and Australia, will be renamed as Digital Wallet Philippines following the acquisition. The deal and the name change have been approved by the country’s central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). DWC’s acquisition of a Philippines-based remittance company comes as Filipinos working abroad remitted $2.88 billion in August, slightly higher than July’s $2.87-billion tally, according to data from the BSP. Of the total remittances in August, about $2.59 billion were sent through banks, […]
Fidelity fully rolls out cryptocurrency custody services
Fidelity, the Boston-based financial services firm with $2.8 trillion USD under management, is fully rolling out its cryptocurrency custody service after launching in fall 2018 and adding some clients in a limited capacity at the beginning of 2019. Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity, highlighted that this move makes a difference for everyday non-technical customers that want to invest their money in digital currency regardless. She also addressed how their custody service helps individuals figure out how to pass on their cryptocurrency assets after they die and/or dealing with lost USB drives, saying that individuals have “got to have a plan to be able to get those coins to somebody else”. […]
China’s cryptocurrency plan has a powerful partner: Big Brother
When Facebook announced plans this year for a cryptocurrency called Libra, it said its goal was to reinvent money for the internet age. What the company probably didn’t imagine was that its efforts might spur China to get there first. China wants to start replacing the cash that people carry with a digital currency soon, a long-discussed project that went into overdrive after Libra was unveiled in June. Facebook has been fighting to defend its initiative against skeptical regulators, and key corporate partners have pulled out of the project. But Beijing’s ambitions appear to be moving ahead at full speed. The system emerging in China looks very different from bitcoin […]
Japan’s Cryptocurrency Business Association releases new guidance
The Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA), an organization that fosters the responsible development of the crypto asset industry in Japan, has released new guidance on the regulation of crypto asset management. The guidance is the result of a consultation process with crypto exchanges, custodians and other parties and takes their viewpoints into account. The guidance seeks to encourage a crypto asset system that balances user protections with stable market development. Crypto custody The topic for the guidance was the newly added crypto asset management clause for crypto asset exchanges in amendments to Japan’s Payment Services Act announced on May 31 of this year. In the amended Payment Services Act, crypto […]
Venezuela launches its own cryptocurrency to escape hyperinflation
President Nicolas Maduro says Venezuela has received $US735 million in the first day of a pre-sale of the country’s “petro” cryptocurrency, aimed at pulling the country out of an economic tailspin. Maduro is hoping the petro will allow the ailing OPEC member to skirt US sanctions as the bolivar currency plunges to record lows and it struggles with hyperinflation and a collapsing socialist economy. Blockchain experts have warned the petro is unlikely to attract significant investment. Opposition leaders have said the sale constitutes an illegal debt issuance that circumvents Venezuela’s majority-opposition legislature, and the US Treasury Department has warned it may violate sanctions levied last year. Maduro did not give […]
Startup Robinhood to launch commission-free cryptocurrency trading
Online brokerage startup Robinhood plans to launch commission-free cryptocurrency trading, the company said on Thursday, riding a wave of interest from retail investors for the new asset class. Starting in February, Robinhood customers will be able to buy bitcoin and ether, the two most popular virtual coins. The Palo-Alto based startup plans to add more cryptocurrencies in the coming months. Robinhood is launching the service in response to a groundswell of customer demand, Vlad Tenev, co-CEO and co-founder of Robinhood, said in an interview.” For some individuals we see cryptos are the first foray into financial services,” he said. Cryptocurrencies are digital coins whose values are not backed by central […]
Weiss has issued its first cryptocurrency ratings, ranking Ethereum above bitcoin
The securities ratings firm is the first to give a rating to cryptocurrencies. Weiss Ratings has ranked Ethereum as “better” than bitcoin, as well as the EOS coin in its first cryptocurrency ratings. Bitcoin received a C+ rating from the firm, due to the fact that its network has some serious bottlenecks which have resulted in long transaction delays and fees. Weiss acknowledged bitcoin’s core developers were looking to address these issues, with the likes of the Lightning network, however it noted that there is no immediate mechanism for promptly. Ethereum’s B rating was received due tot he fact it benefits from more readily upgradeable technology, with a development team […]
