According to two recent announcements, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world as measured by trading volume, will launch U.S. operations "in the coming weeks" and "will open account registration ... on Wednesday, September 18, 2019." According to another recent report, BUSD, Binance's new stablecoin, which will be backed 1:1 by U.S. dollars, will be made available for trading on a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange beginning next week.
This week the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) published new guidance on stablecoins. According to the press release, "The requirements under supervisory law may differ depending on which assets (e.g. currencies, commodities, real estate or securities) the 'stable coin' is backed by and the legal rights of its holders." FINMA also confirmed that it had received a request from the Libra Association "for an assessment of how the supervisory authority would classify the planned Libra project." At a conference this week for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a French official said, "[W]e cannot authorise the development of Libra on European soil." The French official advocated creation of a "public digital currency" to compete with the proposed Libra project.
In Japan, late last week the country's financial regulator granted a cryptocurrency exchange license to an affiliate firm of a popular instant messaging app. According to another recent report, the highly anticipated Telegram Open Network blockchain project is due to launch by the end of October. Also, this week the Stellar Development Foundation announced that it will "airdrop" 2 billion XLM tokens into the accounts of users of another popular encrypted messaging app.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- French Finance Minister Vows To Block Libra In Europe
- Spooked by Facebook's Libra, euro zone to step up work on public cryptocurrency
- What to Expect From Binance.US
- Prepare for Launch: Binance.US User Registration Opens Next Wednesday!
- Binance to List Its New Dollar-Backed BUSD Stablecoin Next Week
- Swiss FINMA publishes 'stable coin' guidelines
- Facebook Libra Brings 'Risks and Opportunities': Swiss Watchdog Chief
- FACEBOOK'S LIBRA CRYPTOCURRENCY WILL BE BLOCKED IN EUROPE, FRANCE SAYS
- Japan Grants Crypto Exchange License to Messaging Giant LINE
- Telegram Finally Releases Code for Its $1.7 Billion TON Blockchain
- Stellar to Airdrop 2 Billion XLM Crypto Tokens Worth $120 Million
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.