China has begun rolling out its digital yuan currency. Reported first by CNBC, e-commerce firm JD dot com had become the first online platform which accepts digital yuan.

China is also set to begin the trials of its digital currency in the city of Suzhou, which lies about 65 miles west of Shanghai.

According to JD Digits, the fintech arm of JD dot com, a total of $3 million (20 million yuan) will be released via a lottery.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/business-economy/china-to-launch-pilot-digital-currency-program-in-some-cities-320467" hreflang="en">China to launch pilot digital currency program in some cities</a>

According to reports, the winners would receive a “red packet” through the app containing a maximum of 200 yuan, with a hundred thousand red packets set to be distributed.

Once in circulation, those in possession on the digital yuan would be able to spend it on JD dot com’s online shopping platform.

China has given away large amounts of its currency earlier as well. In October, over 10 million yuan was handed out to citizens in Shenzhen, China’s technology hub.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/opinions-blogs/the-race-for-national-digital-currency-is-gaining-momentum-is-india-lagging-behind-299893" hreflang="en">The race for national digital currency is gaining momentum, is India lagging behind?</a>

The digital yuan is controlled and regulated by the People’s Bank of China, and will be known as a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The project is referred by the central bank as the “Digital Currency Electronic Payment” or DCEP.

In August, it was revealed that four banks would conduct the roll out of Chinese digital currency. These include Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China, and if these tests are successful, China will become world's country to have a sovereign digital currency.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/china-passes-cryptography-law-to-gears-up-for-digital-currency-258334" hreflang="en">China passes cryptography law to gear up for digital currency</a>

China's push towards digital currency will strengthen its already dominant digital payments infrastructure, which according to The Brookings Institute, is more advanced than many of its Western counterparts.

Meanwhile, Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements conducted a survey in 2019 that found that as many as 80 per cent of the world's central banks have shown interest in the idea of developing a sovereign digital currency.&nbsp;

China has begun rolling out its digital yuan currency. Reported first by CNBC, e-commerce firm JD dot com had become the first online platform which accepts digital yuan.

China has begun rolling out its digital yuan currency. Reported first by CNBC, e-commerce firm JD dot com had become the first online platform which accepts digital yuan. China is also set to begin the trials of its digital currency in the city of Suzhou, which lies about 65 miles west of Shanghai. According to JD Digits, the fintech arm of JD dot com, a total of $3 million (20 million yuan) will be released via a lottery. Also read: China to launch pilot digital currency program in some cities According to reports, the winners would receive a “red packet” through the app containing a maximum of 200 yuan, with a hundred thousand red packets set to be distributed. Once in circulation, those in possession on the digital yuan would be able to spend it on JD dot com’s online shopping platform. China has given away large amounts of its currency earlier as well. In October, over 10 million yuan was handed out to citizens in Shenzhen, China’s technology hub. Also read: The race for national digital currency is gaining momentum, is India lagging behind? The digital yuan is controlled and regulated by the People’s Bank of China, and will be known as a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The project is referred by the central bank as the “Digital Currency Electronic Payment” or DCEP. In August, it was revealed that four banks would conduct the roll out of Chinese digital currency. These include Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China, and if these tests are successful, China will become world's country to have a sovereign digital currency. Also read: China passes cryptography law to gear up for digital currency China's push towards digital currency will strengthen its already dominant digital payments infrastructure, which according to The Brookings Institute, is more advanced than many of its Western counterparts. Meanwhile, Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements conducted a survey in 2019 that found that as many as 80 per cent of the world's central banks have shown interest in the idea of developing a sovereign digital currency.

China: Digital yuan worth $3 million now being rolled out, marking a global first

China on Friday said it will launch a digital currency pilot program in some cities.

In an online statement, the Chinese commerce ministry said the cities would include northern Chinese region of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the eastern region of Yangtze River Delta, "Greater Bay Area" around the Pearl River Delta, and some cities in Midwestern China.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/the-race-for-national-digital-currency-is-gaining-momentum-is-india-lagging-behind-299893">The race for national digital currency is gaining momentum, is India lagging behind?</a>

China's state-run media reported earlier this month that major government-run commercial banks were carrying out large-scale internal testing for a digital wallet application.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-passes-cryptography-law-to-gears-up-for-digital-currency-258334">China passes cryptography law to gear up for digital currency</a>

The four banks that are conducting these testings are Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China, and if these tests are successful, China will become world's country to have a sovereign digital currency.&nbsp;

China's push towards digital currency will strengthen it's already dominant digital payments infrastructure, which according to The Brookings Institute, is more advanced than many of its Western counterparts.

Meanwhile, Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements conducted a survey in 2019 that found that as many as 80 per cent of the world's central banks have shown interest in the idea of developing a sovereign digital currency.&nbsp;

The G7 nations are mulling over a collective move on central bank-sponsored digital currencies.&nbsp;

China on Friday said it will launch a digital currency pilot program in some cities. In an online statement, the Chinese commerce ministry said the cities would include northern Chinese region of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the eastern region of Yangtze River Delta, "Greater Bay Area" around the Pearl River Delta, and some cities in Midwestern China.

China on Friday said it will launch a digital currency pilot program in some cities. In an online statement, the Chinese commerce ministry said the cities would include northern Chinese region of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the eastern region of Yangtze River Delta, "Greater Bay Area" around the Pearl River Delta, and some cities in Midwestern China. Also read | The race for national digital currency is gaining momentum, is India lagging behind? China's state-run media reported earlier this month that major government-run commercial banks were carrying out large-scale internal testing for a digital wallet application. Also read | China passes cryptography law to gear up for digital currency The four banks that are conducting these testings are Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China, and if these tests are successful, China will become world's country to have a sovereign digital currency. China's push towards digital currency will strengthen it's already dominant digital payments infrastructure, which according to The Brookings Institute, is more advanced than many of its Western counterparts. Meanwhile, Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements conducted a survey in 2019 that found that as many as 80 per cent of the world's central banks have shown interest in the idea of developing a sovereign digital currency. The G7 nations are mulling over a collective move on central bank-sponsored digital currencies.

China to launch pilot digital currency program in some cities

The idea of currency and money is being disrupted by cutting-edge technologies that promise to change how money exchanges hands in the 21st century. The race for developing national digital currencies is gaining momentum, fueled by the birth cryptocurrencies that challenges the monopoly and autonomy of central banks on the economy altogether. The Republic of China is leading the race to develop the first major digital currency in a bid to reshape its economy by modernising the national currency,&nbsp;Renminbi, one of the world’s major reserve currencies to curb the vices of money-laundering, counterfeiting that plagues its society and to dominate the world both strategically and financially in the coming years by overhauling its foundations. 
 
<img alt="Digital Currency" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d58557e4-415c-4bbc-b17e-872f34eb0e8b" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/digi.png" />

China is not alone in this race, a survey by the Bank of International Settlements indicates that the majority of the central banks are exploring a national digital currency and the Reserve Bank of India has made clear that it has plans to launch Digital Rupee currently under the research stage. The question is whether India is lagging, and do we need to win this race in the first place or learn from the mistake of others? The answer to this is two-fold and is based on examining the technology underlining it and considering the endless possibilities that impact the society and the Indian economy itself.

The debate proposes that the creation of Digital Rupee solves a lot of problem India is currently facing. A digital rupee solves the problem of counterfeiting banknotes; a colossal complication that is fueled by the political interests of nations such as Pakistan and its backed terrorist organisations. A digital rupee dismantles the ploy and ambition of Pakistan as an electronic rupee by ensuring the immutability and authenticity of money without the apprehension of alteration, tampering or counterfeiting.

Further, Digital Rupee would curb money laundering and tax evasion as blockchain technology enables secure monitoring and reporting. On-chain analysis of transactions is going to ensure better fraud and money laundering detection and prevention, as authorities would be able to monitor the transactions in real-time and report any anomalies as they find. Digital Rupee will make it difficult for people to park money away from the eyes of income tax authorities and would enable better analysis and reporting of financial transactions that cross jurisdictions.

Thus, the advantages of a national digital currency are endless because it disrupts illegal activities and removes problems that plague our “economic reality.” The current coronavirus pandemic has only accelerated and made this race more critical as governments fear that the being behind the curve is going to harm its economic and political interests. Therefore, the Reserve Bank of India needs to move with confidence and caution in mind. The belief that the technology offers solutions to various illegal economic activities that hurts the Indian economy but with the warning that a haphazard implementation of a digital currency would only lead to severe financial consequences. That may devalue the national currency, increase inflation, or hurt foreign exchange reserves held by the Reserve Bank of India.

The Race for Digital Yuan – Tale from China&nbsp;

Internationally, the People’s Bank of China is winning this race as the central bank recently announced that the prototype of the digital currency is almost ready. The bank is adopting a mix of blockchain architecture and centralized databases to provide for high throughput and scalability of transactions to cater to its large population and network of retailers. The digital currency launched by PBoC will have a two-layer system where the central bank will be the sole creator of the currency with mixed levels of centralization and decentralization to distribute the digital currency among all the citizens, banks, corporations, and other channels as it deems fit. This is going to change the course of the economy for China in the coming years as the country would be able to modernize all aspects of its digital economy and fight with problems such as tax evasion, money laundering and counterfeiting of currency notes which still affects millions of Chinese every day.

Libra a stablecoin that made the US Senate standstill

The corporate giant Facebook also came with its plan of launching Libra a stablecoin backed by a basket of fiat currencies to be used by its users to send money seamlessly across borders without the hassle of getting through a money exchange, forex exchange, etc. Even though the Senate tried to derail its plan when they realized that Libra could potentially disrupt the payment markets worldwide, thereby remove its monopoly over the economy. Still, the dream of Libra is not dead but currently navigating the regulatory challenges thrown before it. Nevertheless, US lawmakers recently introduced the concept of Digital Dollar to provide US citizens stimulus payments to tackle the impact of the economic the recession of COVID-19 even though the idea got scrapped after some time. Two new bills introduced by lawmakers cover the concept of creation of the digital dollar and challenges regarding the regulatory framework for adopting blockchain technology.

A lot to gain for India

Digital Rupee can solve a lot of problems faced by India, such as tax evasion, counterfeiting of notes, and money-laundering. Regulators and government authorities can track the full history of transactions executed through the digital currency. Advanced machine learning and big data analysis to detect better, deter and limit frauds and other malicious activities that run the shadow economy. The creation of digital rupees will put a long-term hold on the efforts of Pakistan to counterfeit Indian national currency to finance drug smuggling and terrorism activities in India. Only the Reserve Bank of India would have the authority and ability to create and distribute the digital currency as it deems fit.

A blockchain-based architecture will ensure immutability, authenticity, and verifiability of transactions made through the digital currency. It will ensure that adversaries would not be able to magically replicate or counterfeit rupee as the digital currency developed by the RBI would work on a distributed-cum-centralised-blockchain that would be encrypted cryptographically and verified by a network of nodes participating as validators. The mechanism of authenticating transactions through a distributed network of nodes before adding the transactions to the block, thereby forming a chain of transactions, would ensure that any type of malicious transaction will not be able to penetrate the network as the decentralized network would ensure that no single point of failure exists. Thus, the opportunities and benefits of digital currencies for India are endless; the only question is, should the Reserve bank of India proceed with caution?

The Burning Economy: Lessons from Venezuela

It is not the first time the government and regulators worldwide are pushing for the idea of incorporating digital currencies. In fact, Venezuela was one of the first countries that launched Petro a digital cryptocurrency backed by Oil, to save its economy amidst the political and economic crisis destroying the country. The purpose of the currency was to circumvent the sanctions imposed by the USA back in 2017 and to act a currency with less inflation as compared to the Bolivar. The government viewed oil-backed digital currency as a liberator that could stop the hyperinflation and end poverty in the country. President Maduro offered Petro to Vladimir Putin. The Russian government refused to accept Petro as a unit of exchange. The actions of Maduro, as reported by Wired, received criticisms as Venezuelan Crypto exchanges reported very little trading activity and some indicated that Petro does not exist at all, as the company backing its Oil reserve, PDVSA was in $45 billion debts.

Further, Maduro’s actions to delegitimise international laws, treaties, and sanctions put by the security council only further destabilized the economy of Venezuela. The digital currency backed by barrels of Oil and reserved by PSDVA was a sham as the company embroiled itself in a debt cycle, unable to repay its debt. Thus no physical asset or commodity was backing the digital currency, which proved to be a recipe for economic disaster.

Conclusion

Digital rupee can be a blessing for the government only when it is implemented through research, sandboxing, and pilot programs to test the currency within a small range of controlled environment. The advantages of a national digital currency simply outweigh the risks associated with it. The authorities can develop a thorough digital currency with the right mix of decentralization and centralization, product development, and research that questions and answers every aspect of blockchain technology, cryptography, and principles of economics. Deep-down research and testing will ensure that a technical or economic disaster does not happen in the future. The central bank would have to address challenges related to how the currency would be governed, distributed, who will validate the transactions, who will report and monitor such transactions?

Would the data be available to the public, or would it be a closed network? The questions are many and only a time-based cautious approach of learning, collaborating, and researching with regulators and authorities worldwide can solve the concerns regarding digital currencies. Only then the dream of an Indian digital economy would become a success. Thus, even though the Reserve bank of India is already working and researching on the concept of digital currencies, it should move slowly doing all its calculations and due-diligence on the aspects of technology, economics and the societal impact.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The idea of currency and money is being disrupted by cutting-edge technologies that promise to change how money exchanges hands in the 21st century. The race for developing national digital currencies is gaining momentum, fueled by the birth cryptocurrencies that challenges the monopoly and autonomy of central banks on the economy altogether.

The idea of currency and money is being disrupted by cutting-edge technologies that promise to change how money exchanges hands in the 21st century. The race for developing national digital currencies is gaining momentum, fueled by the birth cryptocurrencies that challenges the monopoly and autonomy of central banks on the economy altogether. The Republic of China is leading the race to develop the first major digital currency in a bid to reshape its economy by modernising the national currency, Renminbi, one of the world’s major reserve currencies to curb the vices of money-laundering, counterfeiting that plagues its society and to dominate the world both strategically and financially in the coming years by overhauling its foundations. China is not alone in this race, a survey by the Bank of International Settlements indicates that the majority of the central banks are exploring a national digital currency and the Reserve Bank of India has made clear that it has plans to launch Digital Rupee currently under the research stage. The question is whether India is lagging, and do we need to win this race in the first place or learn from the mistake of others? The answer to this is two-fold and is based on examining the technology underlining it and considering the endless possibilities that impact the society and the Indian economy itself. The debate proposes that the creation of Digital Rupee solves a lot of problem India is currently facing. A digital rupee solves the problem of counterfeiting banknotes; a colossal complication that is fueled by the political interests of nations such as Pakistan and its backed terrorist organisations. A digital rupee dismantles the ploy and ambition of Pakistan as an electronic rupee by ensuring the immutability and authenticity of money without the apprehension of alteration, tampering or counterfeiting. Further, Digital Rupee would curb money laundering and tax evasion as blockchain technology enables secure monitoring and reporting. On-chain analysis of transactions is going to ensure better fraud and money laundering detection and prevention, as authorities would be able to monitor the transactions in real-time and report any anomalies as they find. Digital Rupee will make it difficult for people to park money away from the eyes of income tax authorities and would enable better analysis and reporting of financial transactions that cross jurisdictions. Thus, the advantages of a national digital currency are endless because it disrupts illegal activities and removes problems that plague our “economic reality.” The current coronavirus pandemic has only accelerated and made this race more critical as governments fear that the being behind the curve is going to harm its economic and political interests. Therefore, the Reserve Bank of India needs to move with confidence and caution in mind. The belief that the technology offers solutions to various illegal economic activities that hurts the Indian economy but with the warning that a haphazard implementation of a digital currency would only lead to severe financial consequences. That may devalue the national currency, increase inflation, or hurt foreign exchange reserves held by the Reserve Bank of India. The Race for Digital Yuan – Tale from China Internationally, the People’s Bank of China is winning this race as the central bank recently announced that the prototype of the digital currency is almost ready. The bank is adopting a mix of blockchain architecture and centralized databases to provide for high throughput and scalability of transactions to cater to its large population and network of retailers. The digital currency launched by PBoC will have a two-layer system where the central bank will be the sole creator of the currency with mixed levels of centralization and decentralization to distribute the digital currency among all the citizens, banks, corporations, and other channels as it deems fit. This is going to change the course of the economy for China in the coming years as the country would be able to modernize all aspects of its digital economy and fight with problems such as tax evasion, money laundering and counterfeiting of currency notes which still affects millions of Chinese every day. Libra a stablecoin that made the US Senate standstill The corporate giant Facebook also came with its plan of launching Libra a stablecoin backed by a basket of fiat currencies to be used by its users to send money seamlessly across borders without the hassle of getting through a money exchange, forex exchange, etc. Even though the Senate tried to derail its plan when they realized that Libra could potentially disrupt the payment markets worldwide, thereby remove its monopoly over the economy. Still, the dream of Libra is not dead but currently navigating the regulatory challenges thrown before it. Nevertheless, US lawmakers recently introduced the concept of Digital Dollar to provide US citizens stimulus payments to tackle the impact of the economic the recession of COVID-19 even though the idea got scrapped after some time. Two new bills introduced by lawmakers cover the concept of creation of the digital dollar and challenges regarding the regulatory framework for adopting blockchain technology. A lot to gain for India Digital Rupee can solve a lot of problems faced by India, such as tax evasion, counterfeiting of notes, and money-laundering. Regulators and government authorities can track the full history of transactions executed through the digital currency. Advanced machine learning and big data analysis to detect better, deter and limit frauds and other malicious activities that run the shadow economy. The creation of digital rupees will put a long-term hold on the efforts of Pakistan to counterfeit Indian national currency to finance drug smuggling and terrorism activities in India. Only the Reserve Bank of India would have the authority and ability to create and distribute the digital currency as it deems fit. A blockchain-based architecture will ensure immutability, authenticity, and verifiability of transactions made through the digital currency. It will ensure that adversaries would not be able to magically replicate or counterfeit rupee as the digital currency developed by the RBI would work on a distributed-cum-centralised-blockchain that would be encrypted cryptographically and verified by a network of nodes participating as validators. The mechanism of authenticating transactions through a distributed network of nodes before adding the transactions to the block, thereby forming a chain of transactions, would ensure that any type of malicious transaction will not be able to penetrate the network as the decentralized network would ensure that no single point of failure exists. Thus, the opportunities and benefits of digital currencies for India are endless; the only question is, should the Reserve bank of India proceed with caution? The Burning Economy: Lessons from Venezuela It is not the first time the government and regulators worldwide are pushing for the idea of incorporating digital currencies. In fact, Venezuela was one of the first countries that launched Petro a digital cryptocurrency backed by Oil, to save its economy amidst the political and economic crisis destroying the country. The purpose of the currency was to circumvent the sanctions imposed by the USA back in 2017 and to act a currency with less inflation as compared to the Bolivar. The government viewed oil-backed digital currency as a liberator that could stop the hyperinflation and end poverty in the country. President Maduro offered Petro to Vladimir Putin. The Russian government refused to accept Petro as a unit of exchange. The actions of Maduro, as reported by Wired, received criticisms as Venezuelan Crypto exchanges reported very little trading activity and some indicated that Petro does not exist at all, as the company backing its Oil reserve, PDVSA was in $45 billion debts. Further, Maduro’s actions to delegitimise international laws, treaties, and sanctions put by the security council only further destabilized the economy of Venezuela. The digital currency backed by barrels of Oil and reserved by PSDVA was a sham as the company embroiled itself in a debt cycle, unable to repay its debt. Thus no physical asset or commodity was backing the digital currency, which proved to be a recipe for economic disaster. Conclusion Digital rupee can be a blessing for the government only when it is implemented through research, sandboxing, and pilot programs to test the currency within a small range of controlled environment. The advantages of a national digital currency simply outweigh the risks associated with it. The authorities can develop a thorough digital currency with the right mix of decentralization and centralization, product development, and research that questions and answers every aspect of blockchain technology, cryptography, and principles of economics. Deep-down research and testing will ensure that a technical or economic disaster does not happen in the future. The central bank would have to address challenges related to how the currency would be governed, distributed, who will validate the transactions, who will report and monitor such transactions? Would the data be available to the public, or would it be a closed network? The questions are many and only a time-based cautious approach of learning, collaborating, and researching with regulators and authorities worldwide can solve the concerns regarding digital currencies. Only then the dream of an Indian digital economy would become a success. Thus, even though the Reserve bank of India is already working and researching on the concept of digital currencies, it should move slowly doing all its calculations and due-diligence on the aspects of technology, economics and the societal impact. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The race for national digital currency is gaining momentum, is India lagging behind?

Reports around China claim that the country is rolling out its digital currency in four cities starting next week.

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the health risk embedded into using physical currencies came to light. This development is interesting because China was the initial epicentre of the outbreak, and now seems to be recovering.

Over the last few months, the Chinese central bank has intensified efforts to develop a digital currency, the Guardian reported. The “e-RMB” shall mark the first official digital currency operated by a major economy.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="wionews.com/world/facebooks-zuckerberg-grilled-in-us-congress-on-digital-currency-privacy-elections-257824" hreflang="en">Facebook's Zuckerberg grilled in US Congress on digital currency, privacy, elections</a>

The cities where trials are underway include Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Beijing's&nbsp;Xiong’an.

According to China Daily, a state run media outlet, many government employees across these cities will now receive payments via digital currencies only, many beginning this month.

This means that the e-currency has now been imbibed into the country’s government structure.

Another Chinese news outlet - Sina news claimed that in Suzhou, the currency would be employed solely on public transport. In Xiong’an, the focus will be food and retail.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="wionews.com/opinions-blogs/digital-technology-can-help-minimise-the-coronavirus-impact-on-economy-heres-how-295322" hreflang="en">Digital technology can help minimise the coronavirus impact on economy: here's how</a>

This is part of a blanket coverage plan whereby the need for physical currency will be minimised, if not eliminated. Even though most countries have thought about implementing it, China is the only country to go ahead with it.

A government sanctioned app will be used to store and use the digital currency, many reports claim.

China's central bank set up a research team in 2014 to find out ways of launching its own digital currency which would tremendously cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money and boost policymakers' control of money supply.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="wionews.com/world/china-passes-cryptography-law-to-gears-up-for-digital-currency-258334" hreflang="en">China passes cryptography law to gear up for digital currency</a>

China's proposed new digital currency would be similar to Facebook Inc's&nbsp;Libra coin, Reuters reported.

It would be&nbsp;used across major payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, a senior central bank official told Reuters in October 2019.

China had enforced a cryptography law in January 2020 aimed at "facilitating the development of the cryptography business and ensuring the security of cyberspace and information", the official Xinhua news agency said.

The fear surrounding physical contact may trigger widespread and instant adoption of the digital currency.

Reports around China claim that the country is rolling out its digital currency in four cities starting next week. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the health risk embedded into using physical currencies came to light.

Reports around China claim that the country is rolling out its digital currency in four cities starting next week. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the health risk embedded into using physical currencies came to light. This development is interesting because China was the initial epicentre of the outbreak, and now seems to be recovering. Over the last few months, the Chinese central bank has intensified efforts to develop a digital currency, the Guardian reported. The “e-RMB” shall mark the first official digital currency operated by a major economy. Also read: Facebook's Zuckerberg grilled in US Congress on digital currency, privacy, elections The cities where trials are underway include Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Beijing's Xiong’an. According to China Daily, a state run media outlet, many government employees across these cities will now receive payments via digital currencies only, many beginning this month. This means that the e-currency has now been imbibed into the country’s government structure. Another Chinese news outlet - Sina news claimed that in Suzhou, the currency would be employed solely on public transport. In Xiong’an, the focus will be food and retail. Also read: Digital technology can help minimise the coronavirus impact on economy: here's how This is part of a blanket coverage plan whereby the need for physical currency will be minimised, if not eliminated. Even though most countries have thought about implementing it, China is the only country to go ahead with it. A government sanctioned app will be used to store and use the digital currency, many reports claim. China's central bank set up a research team in 2014 to find out ways of launching its own digital currency which would tremendously cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money and boost policymakers' control of money supply. Also read: China passes cryptography law to gear up for digital currency China's proposed new digital currency would be similar to Facebook Inc's Libra coin, Reuters reported. It would be used across major payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, a senior central bank official told Reuters in October 2019. China had enforced a cryptography law in January 2020 aimed at "facilitating the development of the cryptography business and ensuring the security of cyberspace and information", the official Xinhua news agency said. The fear surrounding physical contact may trigger widespread and instant adoption of the digital currency.

China's grand e-currency experiment set to begin this month

Trial runs for the Chinese <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/paypal-abandons-facebook-backed-libra-cryptocurrency-group-253843">digital currently</a> are underway in two cities, Shenzhen and Suzhou.

Once the trial period ends, the currency will be available through banks and consumers shall have access to it.&nbsp;

What made China go digital?

China recently banned BitCoins, a global cryptocurrency. The trade within the dictates of digital currency is anonymous and untraceable, effectively out of the State's control. China intends to prevent this by curating a digital currency of its own.&nbsp;

Digital currencies will reduce cost, boost productivity, and be more reliable.

For the Chinese government, the biggest advantage is the ability to track it. The authorities will know who's evading tax and whether any laundering is taking place.

The hidden dangers

Many critics of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/g7-worried-over-facebooks-libra-cryptocurrency-french-official-236753">cryptocurrency</a> believe that individual privacy and financial autonomy will be compromised and might open more appendages of control for China, which has a poor record on this front.

However, the digital currency module could also make China a global leader in economic trade, further accentuating its position in the global hierarchy.

In 2014, China overtook the United States as the biggest global goods trader.

To top it all off, China is the leading exporter in the world and has remained in that spot for the last ten years. Even then, international trade is dictated by Americans, for all transactions are recorded in USD.

China's digital currency will rid the Chinese trade ecosystem of the Dollar monopoly.

There is a huge market for digital currency. For instance, the Chinese currency share in terms of foreign trade was one per cent in 2010. In the four years that followed, it jumped by 28 per cent.

In 2016, the International Monetary Fund included the Chinese Renminbi or RMB as an international reserve.

Last year, Germany dismissed <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-should-not-be-trusted-with-crazy-cryptocurrency-plan-us-senators-236538">digital currency</a> as "too risky" an idea.

Trial runs for the Chinese digital currently are underway in two cities, Shenzhen and Suzhou. Once the trial period ends, the currency will be available through banks and consumers shall have access to it.

Trial runs for the Chinese digital currently are underway in two cities, Shenzhen and Suzhou. Once the trial period ends, the currency will be available through banks and consumers shall have access to it. What made China go digital? China recently banned BitCoins, a global cryptocurrency. The trade within the dictates of digital currency is anonymous and untraceable, effectively out of the State's control. China intends to prevent this by curating a digital currency of its own. Digital currencies will reduce cost, boost productivity, and be more reliable. For the Chinese government, the biggest advantage is the ability to track it. The authorities will know who's evading tax and whether any laundering is taking place. The hidden dangers Many critics of cryptocurrency believe that individual privacy and financial autonomy will be compromised and might open more appendages of control for China, which has a poor record on this front. However, the digital currency module could also make China a global leader in economic trade, further accentuating its position in the global hierarchy. In 2014, China overtook the United States as the biggest global goods trader. To top it all off, China is the leading exporter in the world and has remained in that spot for the last ten years. Even then, international trade is dictated by Americans, for all transactions are recorded in USD. China's digital currency will rid the Chinese trade ecosystem of the Dollar monopoly. There is a huge market for digital currency. For instance, the Chinese currency share in terms of foreign trade was one per cent in 2010. In the four years that followed, it jumped by 28 per cent. In 2016, the International Monetary Fund included the Chinese Renminbi or RMB as an international reserve. Last year, Germany dismissed digital currency as "too risky" an idea.

Trial run for Chinese cryptocurrency underway in two cities

China's largely rubber-stamp parliament has passed a new law on cryptography as the country gears up to launch its own digital currency, state media reported late on Saturday.

China's central bank set up a research team in 2014 to explore launching its own digital currency to cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money and boost policymakers' control of money supply.

China's proposed new digital currency would bear some similarities to Facebook Inc's&nbsp;Libra coin and would be able to be used across major payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, a senior central bank official said last month.

China's cryptography law, which takes effect on January&nbsp;1, is aimed at "facilitating the development of the cryptography business and ensuring the security of cyberspace and information", the official Xinhua news agency said, citing parliament. The law states that the state encourages and supports the research and application of science and technology in cryptography and ensures confidentiality.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bitcoin-surges-above-11000-thanks-to-facebooks-currency-plans-230055">Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency</a> has sparked concerns among global regulators that it could quickly become a dominant form of digital payment and a channel for money laundering given the social network's massive cross-border reach.

Libra will be a digital currency backed by a reserve of real-world assets, including bank deposits and short-term government securities, and held by a network of custodians. Its structure is intended to foster trust and stabilise the price.

Like other cryptocurrencies, Libra transactions will be powered and recorded by a blockchain, which is a shared ledger of transactions maintained by a network of computers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said last week that the country should accelerate the development of blockchain technology as a core for innovation.

China's largely rubber-stamp parliament has passed a new law on cryptography as the country gears up to launch its own digital currency, state media reported late on Saturday.

China's largely rubber-stamp parliament has passed a new law on cryptography as the country gears up to launch its own digital currency, state media reported late on Saturday. China's central bank set up a research team in 2014 to explore launching its own digital currency to cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money and boost policymakers' control of money supply. China's proposed new digital currency would bear some similarities to Facebook Inc's Libra coin and would be able to be used across major payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, a senior central bank official said last month. China's cryptography law, which takes effect on January 1, is aimed at "facilitating the development of the cryptography business and ensuring the security of cyberspace and information", the official Xinhua news agency said, citing parliament. The law states that the state encourages and supports the research and application of science and technology in cryptography and ensures confidentiality. Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency has sparked concerns among global regulators that it could quickly become a dominant form of digital payment and a channel for money laundering given the social network's massive cross-border reach. Libra will be a digital currency backed by a reserve of real-world assets, including bank deposits and short-term government securities, and held by a network of custodians. Its structure is intended to foster trust and stabilise the price. Like other cryptocurrencies, Libra transactions will be powered and recorded by a blockchain, which is a shared ledger of transactions maintained by a network of computers. Chinese President Xi Jinping said last week that the country should accelerate the development of blockchain technology as a core for innovation.

China passes cryptography law to gear up for digital currency

Global regulators will question Facebook on Monday about its <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebooks-libra-has-to-build-anti-money-laundering-anti-terror-financing-design-us-treasury-248861">Libra cryptocurrency</a>, amid concerns from European Union governments over the threat the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-needs-very-high-standard-for-libra-coin-us-treasury-steven-mnuchin-236268">digital currency</a>&nbsp;poses to financial stability, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Officials from 26 central banks, including the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-lawmakers-question-facebook-over-plans-on-libra-cryptocurrency-236514">US</a>&nbsp;Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, will meet with representatives of Libra in Basel on Monday, the FT said, citing officials.

Libra's founders have also been invited to answer key questions about the currency's scope and design, FT said.

Facebook did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment outside regular business hours.

Countries including France and Germany have publicly criticised the social media giant's Libra project, saying it posed risks to EU states' sovereignty.

Global regulators will question Facebook on Monday about its Libra cryptocurrency, amid concerns from European Union governments over the threat the digital currency poses to financial stability, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Global regulators will question Facebook on Monday about its Libra cryptocurrency, amid concerns from European Union governments over the threat the digital currency poses to financial stability, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Officials from 26 central banks, including the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, will meet with representatives of Libra in Basel on Monday, the FT said, citing officials. Libra's founders have also been invited to answer key questions about the currency's scope and design, FT said. Facebook did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment outside regular business hours. Countries including France and Germany have publicly criticised the social media giant's Libra project, saying it posed risks to EU states' sovereignty.

Global regulators to question Facebook's Libra amid EU concerns: Report

Democratic and Republican lawmakers said on Tuesday that Facebook Inc's track record of what they described as untrustworthiness should stand in the way of it launching a digital currency, labelling the plan "delusional" and "crazy" at a Senate hearing.

Facebook is fighting to get Washington onside after it shocked regulators and lawmakers with its announcement on June 18 that it was hoping to launch a cryptocurrency called Libra in 2020.

Since then the social media company has faced criticism from policymakers and financial watchdogs at home and abroad who fear widespread adoption of the digital currency by Facebook's 2.38 billion users could upend the financial system.

"Facebook has demonstrated through scandal after scandal that it doesn't deserve our trust," Democratic senator Sherrod Brown, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, said in his opening remarks. "We'd be crazy to give them a chance to let them experiment with people's bank accounts."

Brown added during questioning that he thought it was "delusional" to think individuals would trust the social media company with their "hard-earned" money.

Before announcing its Libra plans, Facebook was already facing a backlash over mishandling user data and not doing enough to prevent Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

David Marcus, the company's top executive overseeing the project, testified on issues ranging from how Libra could affect global monetary policy to how customer data will be handled.

He received a frosty welcome from Democratic lawmakers and several Republicans, who shared many of the same concerns.

"I don't trust you guys," said Republican Senator Martha McSally. "Instead of cleaning up your house you are launching into a new business model."

Marcus, who was president of PayPal from 2012 to 2014, tried to assuage concerns by promising that Facebook will not begin offering Libra until regulatory issues are addressed. "We know we need to take the time to get this right," Marcus, who is also due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, told lawmakers.

Lawmakers raised a range of concerns, including about how the company plans to prevent money laundering, how consumers' data and funds will be protected and how the Geneva-based association created to run the system will be regulated.

"I know we have to earn people's trust for a very long period of time," Marcus said when asked whether consumers could trust Facebook not to share their payment information.

The social media company has pledged that its payments subsidiary called Calibra will only share customer data with Facebook and external third parties if it has consent, or in "limited cases," where it is necessary.

Under wraps

Critics have expressed anger that the company would advance such a potentially groundbreaking project so far without extensive input from policymakers, especially when the company was already in the spotlight over privacy issues.

Facebook allocated a small fraction of its vast workforce to work on the project, Kevin Weil, who runs product for the Libra initiative, told Reuters on June 18.

One former employee told Reuters the company tried to keep the project under wraps even internally. Staff who were not involved knew little about it, not even that it was operating under the name Libra.

In the weeks leading up to the announcement, the company began reaching out formally to key regulators including the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But two people with knowledge of the discussions said the conversations remained vague, with key details of the project discussed only on a theoretical level.

On Tuesday, US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Jay Clayton told Reuters on the sidelines of a Washington event that he had not discussed the Libra project with Facebook since its announcement but would welcome more information.

Some lawmakers have been frustrated by the lack of clarity from Facebook before and since June 18, three congressional sources said. One Democratic aide described the company's contacts with lawmakers as "inept and entitled." Facebook has said that it announced the project in its early stages to get feedback from stakeholders, a point Marcus reiterated at the hearing on Tuesday.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers said on Tuesday that Facebook Inc's track record of what they described as untrustworthiness should stand in the way of it launching a digital currency, labelling the plan "delusional" and "crazy" at a Senate hearing.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers said on Tuesday that Facebook Inc's track record of what they described as untrustworthiness should stand in the way of it launching a digital currency, labelling the plan "delusional" and "crazy" at a Senate hearing. Facebook is fighting to get Washington onside after it shocked regulators and lawmakers with its announcement on June 18 that it was hoping to launch a cryptocurrency called Libra in 2020. Since then the social media company has faced criticism from policymakers and financial watchdogs at home and abroad who fear widespread adoption of the digital currency by Facebook's 2.38 billion users could upend the financial system. "Facebook has demonstrated through scandal after scandal that it doesn't deserve our trust," Democratic senator Sherrod Brown, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, said in his opening remarks. "We'd be crazy to give them a chance to let them experiment with people's bank accounts." Brown added during questioning that he thought it was "delusional" to think individuals would trust the social media company with their "hard-earned" money. Before announcing its Libra plans, Facebook was already facing a backlash over mishandling user data and not doing enough to prevent Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. David Marcus, the company's top executive overseeing the project, testified on issues ranging from how Libra could affect global monetary policy to how customer data will be handled. He received a frosty welcome from Democratic lawmakers and several Republicans, who shared many of the same concerns. "I don't trust you guys," said Republican Senator Martha McSally. "Instead of cleaning up your house you are launching into a new business model." Marcus, who was president of PayPal from 2012 to 2014, tried to assuage concerns by promising that Facebook will not begin offering Libra until regulatory issues are addressed. "We know we need to take the time to get this right," Marcus, who is also due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, told lawmakers. Lawmakers raised a range of concerns, including about how the company plans to prevent money laundering, how consumers' data and funds will be protected and how the Geneva-based association created to run the system will be regulated. "I know we have to earn people's trust for a very long period of time," Marcus said when asked whether consumers could trust Facebook not to share their payment information. The social media company has pledged that its payments subsidiary called Calibra will only share customer data with Facebook and external third parties if it has consent, or in "limited cases," where it is necessary. Under wraps Critics have expressed anger that the company would advance such a potentially groundbreaking project so far without extensive input from policymakers, especially when the company was already in the spotlight over privacy issues. Facebook allocated a small fraction of its vast workforce to work on the project, Kevin Weil, who runs product for the Libra initiative, told Reuters on June 18. One former employee told Reuters the company tried to keep the project under wraps even internally. Staff who were not involved knew little about it, not even that it was operating under the name Libra. In the weeks leading up to the announcement, the company began reaching out formally to key regulators including the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But two people with knowledge of the discussions said the conversations remained vague, with key details of the project discussed only on a theoretical level. On Tuesday, US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Jay Clayton told Reuters on the sidelines of a Washington event that he had not discussed the Libra project with Facebook since its announcement but would welcome more information. Some lawmakers have been frustrated by the lack of clarity from Facebook before and since June 18, three congressional sources said. One Democratic aide described the company's contacts with lawmakers as "inept and entitled." Facebook has said that it announced the project in its early stages to get feedback from stakeholders, a point Marcus reiterated at the hearing on Tuesday.

Facebook should not be trusted with 'crazy' cryptocurrency plan: US senators

Bitcoin plunged by 30 per cent to below $12,000 on Friday as investors dumped the cryptocurrency after its sharp rise to a peak close to $20,000 prompted warnings by experts of a bubble.&nbsp;

After falling to as low as $11,159, it recouped some losses to trade above $14,000 on the Bitstamp platform, down 9 percent on the day. It is down around 25 per cent this week, its largest weekly loss since April 2013.&nbsp;It capped a brutal week that had been touted as a new era of mainstream trading for the digital currency when bitcoin futures debuted on CME Group Inc, the world&#39;s largest derivatives market on Sunday.&nbsp;

Friday&#39;s fall bled into the US&nbsp;stock market, where shares of companies that have lashed their fortunes to bitcoin or blockchain - its underlying technology - took a knock. Long Blockchain Corp, Overstock.com Inc, Riot Blockchain Inc and Marathon Patent Group Inc lost between 2 per cent and 15 per cent.

The biggest and best-known cryptocurrency has risen around twentyfold since the start of the year, climbing from less than $1,000 to as high as $19,666 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange on Sunday and to over $20,000 on other exchanges. But it has fallen each day since.

In the futures market, bitcoin one-month futures on Cboe Global Markets were earlier halted due to the steep price drop, while those trading on the CME hit the limit down threshold.&nbsp;&quot;The crypto markets have experienced several flash crashes over the past few years but we do believe there has been some overvaluation in the market, particularly over recent months,&quot; said Jamie Burke, CEO at venture capital firm Outlier Ventures.

&quot;It&#39;s much more likely this is a natural correction following over-exuberant market sentiment&quot;.&nbsp;On Friday, Mike Novogratz, the former macro hedge fund manager at Fortress Investment Group, told <a href="https://bloom.bg/2BA9gGN">Bloomberg</a> he had halted plans to launch a crypto-currency hedge fund.&nbsp;

&quot;We didn&#39;t like market conditions and we wanted to re-evaluate what we&#39;re doing&quot;, he told Bloomberg.&nbsp;His Galaxy Digital Assets Fund was due to start on December 15, but he called clients on December 12 and told them he had changed his mind, Novogratz said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Novogratz told Reuters in November he hoped to raise about $500 million, making it the largest fund of its kind.&nbsp;Warnings about the risks of investing in the unregulated market have increased - Denmark&#39;s central bank governor called it a &quot;deadly&quot; gamble - and there have been worries about the security of exchanges on which cryptocurrencies are bought and sold.

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Youbit said on Tuesday it is shutting down and is filing for bankruptcy after it was hacked for the second time this year.&nbsp;Coinbase, a US&nbsp;company that runs one of the biggest exchanges and provides digital &quot;wallets&quot; for storing bitcoins, said on Wednesday it would investigate accusations of insider trading, following a sharp rise in the price of a bitcoin spin-off hours before it announced support for it.

On Friday, Coinbase said it had temporarily suspended buying and selling of bitcoin due to high traffic.

Crypto-Rivals

As some rival cryptocurrencies slid along with bitcoin, the total estimated value of the crypto market fell to as low as $440 billion, according to industry website Coinmarketcap, having neared $650 billion just a day earlier.&nbsp;But other cryptocurrencies rose this week, with investors moving into cheaper digital coins, rather than cashing out of the sector.

Ethereum, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market size, soared to almost $900 earlier in the week, from around $500 a week earlier. Ripple, the third-biggest, has more than quadrupled in price since Monday.&nbsp;Stephen Innes, head of trading in Asia-Pacific for retail FX broker Oanda in Singapore, said there had also been moves out of bitcoin into Bitcoin Cash, a clone of the original cryptocurrency. Oanda does not handle trading in bitcoin.

&quot;Most of it is unsophisticated retail traders getting burned badly&quot;, Innes said on Bitcoin&#39;s recent retreat.&nbsp;While some say the launch by CME and its rival Cboe Global Markets of bitcoin futures over the last two weeks has given the digital currency some perceived legitimacy, many policymakers remain sceptical.

Bitcoin is known to go through wild swings. In November, it tumbled almost 30 per cent in four days from $7,888 to $5,555. In September, it fell 40 per cent from $4,979 to $2,972.

Bitcoin along with some other cryptocurrencies slid, the total estimated value of the crypto market fell to as low as $440 billion, having neared $650 billion just a day earlier

Bitcoin plunged by 30 per cent to below $12,000 on Friday as investors dumped the cryptocurrency after its sharp rise to a peak close to $20,000 prompted warnings by experts of a bubble. After falling to as low as $11,159, it recouped some losses to trade above $14,000 on the Bitstamp platform, down 9 percent on the day. It is down around 25 per cent this week, its largest weekly loss since April 2013. It capped a brutal week that had been touted as a new era of mainstream trading for the digital currency when bitcoin futures debuted on CME Group Inc, the world's largest derivatives market on Sunday. Friday's fall bled into the US stock market, where shares of companies that have lashed their fortunes to bitcoin or blockchain - its underlying technology - took a knock. Long Blockchain Corp, Overstock.com Inc, Riot Blockchain Inc and Marathon Patent Group Inc lost between 2 per cent and 15 per cent. The biggest and best-known cryptocurrency has risen around twentyfold since the start of the year, climbing from less than $1,000 to as high as $19,666 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange on Sunday and to over $20,000 on other exchanges. But it has fallen each day since. In the futures market, bitcoin one-month futures on Cboe Global Markets were earlier halted due to the steep price drop, while those trading on the CME hit the limit down threshold. "The crypto markets have experienced several flash crashes over the past few years but we do believe there has been some overvaluation in the market, particularly over recent months," said Jamie Burke, CEO at venture capital firm Outlier Ventures. "It's much more likely this is a natural correction following over-exuberant market sentiment". On Friday, Mike Novogratz, the former macro hedge fund manager at Fortress Investment Group, told Bloomberg he had halted plans to launch a crypto-currency hedge fund. "We didn't like market conditions and we wanted to re-evaluate what we're doing", he told Bloomberg. His Galaxy Digital Assets Fund was due to start on December 15, but he called clients on December 12 and told them he had changed his mind, Novogratz said in an interview with Bloomberg. Novogratz told Reuters in November he hoped to raise about $500 million, making it the largest fund of its kind. Warnings about the risks of investing in the unregulated market have increased - Denmark's central bank governor called it a "deadly" gamble - and there have been worries about the security of exchanges on which cryptocurrencies are bought and sold. South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Youbit said on Tuesday it is shutting down and is filing for bankruptcy after it was hacked for the second time this year. Coinbase, a US company that runs one of the biggest exchanges and provides digital "wallets" for storing bitcoins, said on Wednesday it would investigate accusations of insider trading, following a sharp rise in the price of a bitcoin spin-off hours before it announced support for it. On Friday, Coinbase said it had temporarily suspended buying and selling of bitcoin due to high traffic. Crypto-Rivals As some rival cryptocurrencies slid along with bitcoin, the total estimated value of the crypto market fell to as low as $440 billion, according to industry website Coinmarketcap, having neared $650 billion just a day earlier. But other cryptocurrencies rose this week, with investors moving into cheaper digital coins, rather than cashing out of the sector. Ethereum, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market size, soared to almost $900 earlier in the week, from around $500 a week earlier. Ripple, the third-biggest, has more than quadrupled in price since Monday. Stephen Innes, head of trading in Asia-Pacific for retail FX broker Oanda in Singapore, said there had also been moves out of bitcoin into Bitcoin Cash, a clone of the original cryptocurrency. Oanda does not handle trading in bitcoin. "Most of it is unsophisticated retail traders getting burned badly", Innes said on Bitcoin's recent retreat. While some say the launch by CME and its rival Cboe Global Markets of bitcoin futures over the last two weeks has given the digital currency some perceived legitimacy, many policymakers remain sceptical. Bitcoin is known to go through wild swings. In November, it tumbled almost 30 per cent in four days from $7,888 to $5,555. In September, it fell 40 per cent from $4,979 to $2,972.

Bitcoin falls 30 per cent, posts worst week since 2013

Bitcoin is a bubble and its fair value should be around $100, or about 99 percent below the current level, Katsunori Sago, chief investment officer of Japan Post Bank said on Thursday.

The bank could consider buying the digital currency if it falls to $100, but has no plans to short-sell bitcoin because it is too volatile, he added.

The current bitcoin craze is worse than the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s that eventually busted in 2000, Sago said.

&quot;During the information technology bubble, we saw a rally in dot-com company shares. But at least at that time, there were people using Yahoo or (Japanese internet firm) Rakuten -- people were using their services,&quot; he said.

&quot;But this time, I see quite a lot of people doing crypto-currency businesses in my circle of friends. But I hardly know anyone in person who is trading crypto-currencies and I haven&#39;t seen anyone using them in real life,&quot; he said.

&quot;So in that sense, it&#39;s worse than the IT bubble,&quot; he added.

Sago also said he found it troubling when a friend who has no background in the financial industry recently asked his opinion of crypto-currencies.

&quot;When people who have nothing to do with finance ask me that sort of question, normally that market will get into trouble in a few months. According to knowledge from my experience, it is a very important signal for me,&quot; noting that he had a similar experience twice, once before the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and another in 2007 when stock prices peaked in many countries.

Sago said bitcoin&#39;s rally could end after its price hits the $10,000 mark or right before the CME Group launches bitcoin futures some time by the end of this year.

The futures contract is expected to make it possible for institutional investors to short the digital currency.

But Sago said it is hard to predict when and where a bubble will burst, and therefore, the bank is not interested in shorting bitcoin.

Sago noted that blockchain is a great technology and one-day bitcoin could become a major means of settlement.

&quot;But that will be years away, possibly more than a decade -- so there&#39;s no need to buy bitcoin now. Since no one knows when the bubble will burst, the best thing to do here is to stay away from it,&quot; he said.

&nbsp;

Bitcoin's fair value should be around $100, or about 99 per cent below the current level, Katsunori Sago said

Bitcoin is a bubble and its fair value should be around $100, or about 99 percent below the current level, Katsunori Sago, chief investment officer of Japan Post Bank said on Thursday. The bank could consider buying the digital currency if it falls to $100, but has no plans to short-sell bitcoin because it is too volatile, he added. The current bitcoin craze is worse than the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s that eventually busted in 2000, Sago said. "During the information technology bubble, we saw a rally in dot-com company shares. But at least at that time, there were people using Yahoo or (Japanese internet firm) Rakuten -- people were using their services," he said. "But this time, I see quite a lot of people doing crypto-currency businesses in my circle of friends. But I hardly know anyone in person who is trading crypto-currencies and I haven't seen anyone using them in real life," he said. "So in that sense, it's worse than the IT bubble," he added. Sago also said he found it troubling when a friend who has no background in the financial industry recently asked his opinion of crypto-currencies. "When people who have nothing to do with finance ask me that sort of question, normally that market will get into trouble in a few months. According to knowledge from my experience, it is a very important signal for me," noting that he had a similar experience twice, once before the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and another in 2007 when stock prices peaked in many countries. Sago said bitcoin's rally could end after its price hits the $10,000 mark or right before the CME Group launches bitcoin futures some time by the end of this year. The futures contract is expected to make it possible for institutional investors to short the digital currency. But Sago said it is hard to predict when and where a bubble will burst, and therefore, the bank is not interested in shorting bitcoin. Sago noted that blockchain is a great technology and one-day bitcoin could become a major means of settlement. "But that will be years away, possibly more than a decade -- so there's no need to buy bitcoin now. Since no one knows when the bubble will burst, the best thing to do here is to stay away from it," he said.

Bitcoin is a bubble: Japan Post Bank Chief Investment Officer

Fidelity Investments&nbsp;has started allowing clients to use its website to view their holdings of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies held through digital wallet provider Coinbase, the company said on Wednesday.

The initiative, previously tested with the Boston-based money manager&#39;s employees, is a rare example of an established financial services company warming up to cryptocurrencies.

Starting Wednesday, most Fidelity clients will be able to authorise Coinbase, one of the largest crypto-currency exchanges in the United States, to provide the fund manager with data on their holdings.

Through the experiment, the company said it aims to learn more about digital currencies, which have been proliferating since the creation of Bitcoin, the oldest and most valuable of these assets.

Coinbase enables users to buy and trade Bitcoin as well as competitor virtual currencies Ethereum and Litecoin.

&quot;This is an experiment in the spirit of learning what these crypto assets are like and how our customers may want to interact with them,&quot; Hadley Stern, senior vice president and managing director at Fidelity Labs, the company&#39;s innovation unit, said in an interview.

Bitcoin hit a record high on Tuesday, with one unit of Bitcoin trading at above $3,400 on Coinbase.

The currency&#39;s rise in value is not a driving force behind the initiative, Stern said, noting that the integration is part of Fidelity&#39;s wider efforts around cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology blockchain.

Many large financial institutions around the world have been investing in blockchain over the past two years, in the hopes that it can help them slash costs and simplify some processes. Blockchain is a shared ledger of transactions maintained by a network of computers on the internet rather than a central authority.

However, most established financial firms have shied away from associating themselves with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, because the sector remains largely unregulated.

Fidelity&#39;s Chief Executive Officer Abigail Johnson announced the company&#39;s intention to launch the Coinbase integration at an industry conference in May.

At the time Johnson also revealed that Fidelity had been accepting bitcoin payments in its cafeteria, but said the experiment had highlighted the technology&#39;s flaws as a means of payments.

&quot;But I am still a believer&quot; and it&#39;s no accident that I&#39;m one of the few standing before you today from a large financial services firm that hasn&#39;t given up on digital currencies,&quot; Johnson said at the time.

Starting Wednesday, most Fidelity clients will be able to authorise Coinbase, one of the largest crypto-currency exchanges in the United States, to provide the fund manager with data on their holdings

Fidelity Investments has started allowing clients to use its website to view their holdings of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies held through digital wallet provider Coinbase, the company said on Wednesday. The initiative, previously tested with the Boston-based money manager's employees, is a rare example of an established financial services company warming up to cryptocurrencies. Starting Wednesday, most Fidelity clients will be able to authorise Coinbase, one of the largest crypto-currency exchanges in the United States, to provide the fund manager with data on their holdings. Through the experiment, the company said it aims to learn more about digital currencies, which have been proliferating since the creation of Bitcoin, the oldest and most valuable of these assets. Coinbase enables users to buy and trade Bitcoin as well as competitor virtual currencies Ethereum and Litecoin. "This is an experiment in the spirit of learning what these crypto assets are like and how our customers may want to interact with them," Hadley Stern, senior vice president and managing director at Fidelity Labs, the company's innovation unit, said in an interview. Bitcoin hit a record high on Tuesday, with one unit of Bitcoin trading at above $3,400 on Coinbase. The currency's rise in value is not a driving force behind the initiative, Stern said, noting that the integration is part of Fidelity's wider efforts around cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology blockchain. Many large financial institutions around the world have been investing in blockchain over the past two years, in the hopes that it can help them slash costs and simplify some processes. Blockchain is a shared ledger of transactions maintained by a network of computers on the internet rather than a central authority. However, most established financial firms have shied away from associating themselves with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, because the sector remains largely unregulated. Fidelity's Chief Executive Officer Abigail Johnson announced the company's intention to launch the Coinbase integration at an industry conference in May. At the time Johnson also revealed that Fidelity had been accepting bitcoin payments in its cafeteria, but said the experiment had highlighted the technology's flaws as a means of payments. "But I am still a believer" and it's no accident that I'm one of the few standing before you today from a large financial services firm that hasn't given up on digital currencies," Johnson said at the time.

Now users can access their digital currency on Fidelity website

Coinbase said on Thursday it suffered outages this week as the bitcoin exchange saw &quot;unprecedented traffic and trading&quot;, with the digital currency hitting record levels.

Bitcoin fell as much as 6.5 per cent to $2,263.72 at around 1730 GMT on Thursday, but rebounded shortly after to hit a fresh all-time high of $2,760.10.

Bitcoin hit a record on the BitStamp platform on Wednesday, driven by an uptick in demand for crypto-assets, with the creation of new tokens to raise funding for start-ups using blockchain, the underlying technology behind bitcoin.

So far this year, the price of bitcoin has more than doubled.

Coinbase, the world&#39;s largest bitcoin company with operations in 32 countries, said the heavy traffic had caused outages at its website as well. The exchange said it was working to resolve the issues.

Problems that Coinbase&#39;s platform experienced earlier this week, including card verification failures and slow load times, were resolved, its status page showed.

(Reuters)

Problems included card verification failures and slow load times

Coinbase said on Thursday it suffered outages this week as the bitcoin exchange saw "unprecedented traffic and trading", with the digital currency hitting record levels. Bitcoin fell as much as 6.5 per cent to $2,263.72 at around 1730 GMT on Thursday, but rebounded shortly after to hit a fresh all-time high of $2,760.10. Bitcoin hit a record on the BitStamp platform on Wednesday, driven by an uptick in demand for crypto-assets, with the creation of new tokens to raise funding for start-ups using blockchain, the underlying technology behind bitcoin. So far this year, the price of bitcoin has more than doubled. Coinbase, the world's largest bitcoin company with operations in 32 countries, said the heavy traffic had caused outages at its website as well. The exchange said it was working to resolve the issues. Problems that Coinbase's platform experienced earlier this week, including card verification failures and slow load times, were resolved, its status page showed. (Reuters)

Coinbase suffers outages as digital currency hits record levels

Digital currency bitcoin hit a record high as demand for crypto-assets soared with the creation of new tokens to raise funding for start-ups using blockchain technology.

Blockchain, the underlying technology behind bitcoin, is a financial ledger maintained by a network of computers that can track the movement of any asset wthout the need for a central regulator.

Bitcoin hit a record $1,760.40 on the BitStamp platform and was last at $1,747.89, up 6 per cent on the day. So far this year, bitcoin has surged nearly 80 per cent. Bitcoin&#39;s market capitalisation soared to $52.5 billion, according to data from coinmarketcap.com.

Aside from being an asset that can be traded on exchanges like stocks and bonds, bitcoin has become a mode of payment for some retailers, such as Overstock.com, and a way to transfer funds without the need for a third party.

&quot;We have an influx of new capital in the space and that capital goes back and forth among crypto-assets and bitcoin,&quot; said Chris Burniske, blockchain products leader at ARK Invest in New York, which manages exchange-traded funds.

&quot;Bitcoin is still the main liquidity provider in the market and people use it to buy other crypto-assets.&quot;

That said, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari has been skeptical about bitcoin&#39;s outlook, noting that blockchain has more potential for being adopted in the future than the digital currency itself.

&quot;I think sentiment has shifted in the markets, in the Fed,&quot; Kashkari said at a technology conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

Still, a big part of bitcoin&#39;s recent surge is the increase in demand for other digital currencies being sold in so-called &quot;initial coin offerings,&quot; or ICOs. Under ICOs, blockchain start-ups sell their tokens directly to the public to raise capital without any regulatory oversight.

At least 40 start-ups have launched an ICO this year, according to Smith + Crown data.

&quot;For the first time in financial history, founders can access capital from both large and small investors armed with nothing more than a slick website,&quot; said Arthur Hayes, chief executive at crypto-currency derivatives trading platform BitMEX.

Analysts say the foundation for bitcoin&#39;s gains was set last July in a process called &quot;halving,&quot; in which rewards offered to bitcoin miners shrink. That has constrained bitcoin&#39;s supply.

Bitcoin relies on so-called &quot;mining&quot; computers that validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles every 10 minutes. In return, the first to solve the puzzle and clear the transaction is rewarded with new bitcoins.

(Reuters)

Aside from being an asset, Bitcoin has become a mode of payment for some retailers

Digital currency bitcoin hit a record high as demand for crypto-assets soared with the creation of new tokens to raise funding for start-ups using blockchain technology. Blockchain, the underlying technology behind bitcoin, is a financial ledger maintained by a network of computers that can track the movement of any asset wthout the need for a central regulator. Bitcoin hit a record $1,760.40 on the BitStamp platform and was last at $1,747.89, up 6 per cent on the day. So far this year, bitcoin has surged nearly 80 per cent. Bitcoin's market capitalisation soared to $52.5 billion, according to data from coinmarketcap.com. Aside from being an asset that can be traded on exchanges like stocks and bonds, bitcoin has become a mode of payment for some retailers, such as Overstock.com, and a way to transfer funds without the need for a third party. "We have an influx of new capital in the space and that capital goes back and forth among crypto-assets and bitcoin," said Chris Burniske, blockchain products leader at ARK Invest in New York, which manages exchange-traded funds. "Bitcoin is still the main liquidity provider in the market and people use it to buy other crypto-assets." That said, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari has been skeptical about bitcoin's outlook, noting that blockchain has more potential for being adopted in the future than the digital currency itself. "I think sentiment has shifted in the markets, in the Fed," Kashkari said at a technology conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday. Still, a big part of bitcoin's recent surge is the increase in demand for other digital currencies being sold in so-called "initial coin offerings," or ICOs. Under ICOs, blockchain start-ups sell their tokens directly to the public to raise capital without any regulatory oversight. At least 40 start-ups have launched an ICO this year, according to Smith + Crown data. "For the first time in financial history, founders can access capital from both large and small investors armed with nothing more than a slick website," said Arthur Hayes, chief executive at crypto-currency derivatives trading platform BitMEX. Analysts say the foundation for bitcoin's gains was set last July in a process called "halving," in which rewards offered to bitcoin miners shrink. That has constrained bitcoin's supply. Bitcoin relies on so-called "mining" computers that validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles every 10 minutes. In return, the first to solve the puzzle and clear the transaction is rewarded with new bitcoins. (Reuters)

Digital currency Bitcoin hits record high; now valued over $1700

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