|
|
Saturday, 10 December 2022
|
|
|
In an eventful week where Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance labeled Sam Bankman-Fried ‘one of the greatest fraudsters in history’, Micheal Saylor reiterated the fact that ‘Bitcoin is hope for Africa.’ The Founder and Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor captioned “Bitcoin is hope for Africa” in a tweet on Monday where he shared an interview conducted during Africa’s first cryptocurrency conference.
|
Also, FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried is willing to testify during a panel hearing on December 13, he said in a tweet on Friday, as regulators investigate his role in the wake of FTX collapse.
|
|
Here is our weekly newsletter roundup. Now get a bucket of popcorn and follow through. First, a brief summary….
|
|
|
|
Summary of the news
|
- SBF willing to testify
- United Kingdom crypto bill
- Spain central bank to test CBDC
- Bitcoin is hope for Africa
|
|
|
SBF willing to testify
|
|
Former CEO of the collapsed FTX crypto exchange Sam Bankman-Fried has said he is willing to testify before the United States House of Representatives, according to a tweet on Friday.
|
However, SBF noted that he is willing to testify despite having no access to much of his personal and professional data. He cited if he were to testify, his feedback would be insufficient.
|
|
“I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like. But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th,” he said.
|
|
|
|
United Kingdom crypto bill
|
|
The Treasury of the United Kingdom is finalizing regulation on cryptocurrencies that would further empower the Financial Conduct Authority(FCA). The proposed package would grant the FCA, the UK’s financial watchdog, broader powers to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country.
|
These would include restricting companies selling from abroad into the UK market The FCA has also put forward a consultation paper regarding its altered approach to marketing communications. The proposed changes come as the UK government aspires to establish the country as a global crypto hub.
|
|
Earlier this year, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, put forward a series of proposals regarding cryptocurrencies. Now, as Prime Minister, Sunak is in a position to further his ambition of making a crypto hub of the UK.
|
|
|
|
Spain central bank to test CBDC
|
|
Spain’s central bank, the Bank of Spain said it intends to launch an experimental program to begin testing wholesale central bank digital currencies (CDBCs) and is seeking collaboration proposals from local finance and technology institutions.
|
According to a statement on Monday, the bank will focus on three main areas with the program that seeks to simulate the movement of funds, experiment with the liquidation of financial assets, and analyse the benefits and drawbacks of introducing CBDC to its current processes and infrastructure.
|
|
Interested parties wishing to participate in the program must meet the minimum requirements set by the bank and disclose the “economic means” they’re willing to commit to the project in an application process which closes on January 31, 2023.
|
|
|
|
Bitcoin is hope for Africa
|
|
Michael Saylor captioned “Bitcoin is hope for Africa” in a tweet where he shared an interview conducted during an African cryptocurrency conference. In the footage, CNBC’s reporter, MacKenzie Sigalos reporting from Accra, Ghana explained how bitcoin and other crypto tech is being used to supplant legacy financial systems across the continent.
|
Elaborating more on the application of crypto, Sigalos commented that there was organic growth in crypto adoption in particular countries like Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria because it was better than the existing system.
|
|
Sigalos stated that despite the Nigerian government banning crypto outright, the industry has been booming. Also, it states that four African countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania rank among the top twenty countries for crypto adoption.
|
|
|
|
Other stories we are following
|
|
|
|
If this newsletter was forwarded to you or you're reading on the website, kindly subscribe. You can share the subscription link with your friends and colleagues too if you enjoyed it.
|
|
|
|
    
|
|
|
|
|
|
