☀️South African Minister Tells BRICS Nations Not to Rush Decision on Common Currency

✏️The South African minister of international relations, Naledi Pandor, has urged Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) countries to be wary of making a hurried decision when they meet in August to discuss launching a common currency.

♾Pandor said her country will “not shy away from discussions” that relate to her country’s national interests.

💲The minister also revealed that South Africa’s debt is primarily denominated in dollars, therefore the country cannot easily ditch the greenback.

‼️10 Southeast Asian Nations Challenge Dollar Dominance With Push for Local Currencies

⚡️The leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have agreed to “encourage the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions.” The group comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This move will help them reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar.

The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, for the 42nd ASEAN Summit on May 10-11 under the chairmanship of the Republic of Indonesia. ASEAN members comprise Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The summit was chaired by H.E. Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia.

An official declaration released by the chairman at the conclusion of the summit states: 🗣️“We adopted the ASEAN Leaders Declaration on Advancing Regional Payment Connectivity and Promoting Local Currency Transaction to foster bilateral and multilateral payment connectivity arrangements to strengthen economic integration by enabling fast, seamless, and more affordable cross-border payments across the region.”

The declaration continues:

🗣️We commit to encourage the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions among ASEAN member states to deepen regional financial integration and promote the development of currency market in local currency to strengthen financial stability in the region.

At the end of March, the ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors met in Bali, Indonesia, and agreed to take steps to reinforce the use of local currencies in the region and reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar or other major international currencies for cross-border trade and investment.

🔽Swiss Banking Giant UBS May Record $17B Loss from Credit Suisse Takeover

🟢According to the UBS post-acquisition plans, it is going to implement a phased integration of the Credit Suisse brand which may last a couple of years.

Swiss multinational banking giant UBS Group AG has revealed new details about what its liabilities are likely to be from the acquisition of Credit Suisse Group AG.

🟢In its exact denoscription, it is set to take on a total of $13 billion liability in fair value adjustments for the rebranded mega financial firm.

The company revealed that the expedited nature of the acquisition made it conduct its due diligence on the company in a very hurried manner.

With just a few days given by FINMA for the company to conduct its due diligence, it revealed in its F-4 filing with the SEC that it might have assumed more liabilities than envisaged.

“If the circumstances of the due diligence affected UBS Group AG’s ability to thoroughly consider Credit Suisse’s liabilities and weaknesses, it is possible that UBS Group AG will have agreed to a rescue that is considerably more difficult and risky than it had contemplated,” UBS said in the Risk Factors section of the filing.

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🔼Bank of Russia Expects Significant Growth in Digital Assets Market

💠The Central Bank of Russia predicts an increase in the issuance of digital assets, citing some of their advantages. The monetary authority has published a report presenting the progress made by the growing industry and assessing the prospects for its further development.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) expects the volume of digital financial assets (DFAs) issued in the country to increase significantly in the future.

According to a report quoted by the crypto page of the business news portal RBC, the bank also anticipates the emergence of new types of digital assets that will have no analogues in the traditional financial market and satisfy specific needs of businesses.

DFAs, as a legal term, was introduced with the law “On Digital Financial Assets” which went into force in January 2021.

📌Russian businesses have been exploring ways to fund their operations amid unprecedented Western sanctions severely limiting their access to global finances. In early December, the first DFA deal denominated in Chinese yuan was announced

‼️Latam Insights — Venezuela’s Maduro States De-Dollarization Is ‘Inevitable,’ Argentina Raises Interest Rates to Close to 100%

🔥Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue, Venezuela makes a push for de-dollarization, the Central Bank of Argentina raises interest rates to close to 100%, and Brazil breaks the U.S. dollar parity import price peg for fuel.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stated that the country would strive to shift away from the U.S. dollar.

Many alternative initiatives to the dollar are emerging in the world. We could say that we are beginning to experience a sustained accelerated process of de-dollarization of the commercial world — of world trade.

Maduro also condemned the political use of the U.S. dollar, explaining that it has been leveraged as a tool to sanction countries like China, Russia, India, Iran, Turkey, Venezuela, and Cuba. Later, the Venezuelan president added to his earlier statements by declaring:

The de-dollarization of world trade is inevitable, we are living it.

The Central Bank of Argentina approved a 600-basis-point increase in its interest rates, taking the rate to 97% in its battle to try and contain one of the biggest inflationary processes in Argentina’s history.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced that Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil company, would break with the U.S. dollar-based import parity prices, effectively ‘Brazilianizing’ prices for fuel and diesel in the country.

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⚡️ Binance CEO Claims Chinese Communities Are ‘Buzzing’ After CCTV Airs Crypto Segment

On May 24, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, shared through Twitter that “Chinese speaking communities are buzzing” following a news broadcast by state-operated media network China Central Television (CCTV) regarding Hong Kong’s latest cryptocurrency-focused regulatory policy.

👀This week CZ emphasized that the coverage of cryptocurrencies by CCTV is significant, especially considering that ❎crypto asset businesses were prohibited in China in September 2021.

🌐In addition to the CCTV report, Nanxin University established the China Metaverse Technology and Application Innovation Platform just two days prior. The university’s president Li Beiqun expressed enthusiasm about metaverse development, asserting that the metaverse platform would promote progress in metaverse-related fields.

🔩During the event, metaverse platform creators unveiled an augmented reality (AR) map of their platform. It was also mentioned that the China Metaverse Technology and Application Innovation Platform is part of the government-supported China Industry-University-Research Cooperation Promotion Association initiative.

🇧🇾Belarus Seeks to Deepen Ties With BRICS, SCO, ASEAN — Pushes for Economic Union With Zero Restrictions

🔥Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko says his country’s response to sanctions is to deepen relations with the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “The creation of a comprehensive economic union remains our priority,” he emphasized. “There should be no barriers and no restrictions at all. This is a basic principle for building our union, and we must reach this target as soon as possible.”

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko outlined his country’s priorities and response to sanctions during the🌟 Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting in Moscow on Thursday. The meeting was chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

🔩Our response to the sanctions pressure is to intensify cooperation within the SCO, BRICS, and ASEAN, to close new trade agreements, and [engage in] constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation with everybody who is interested in being our friends and partners.

🔵“Having said that, I want to note that as a result, we must ensure the balance of interests between all the parties involved. It is not an easy task but I am confident that the commission has the skills and competence required,” he added.

🔵Lukashenko continued: “The modern world is undergoing global changes and entering an era of major transition and strategic development. There is increasing awareness of the need to replace the unipolar system of management with new decision-making centers that ensure the consideration of interests of all participants in international relations.”

🇺🇸US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Halt Federal Reserve’s Digital Dollar Testing, Citing Concerns for American Liberties

❎ U.S. lawmakers have introduced a bill to prohibit the Federal Reserve from “establishing, carrying out, or approving a program intended to test the practicability of issuing” a central bank digital currency (CBDC). “CBDCs would threaten the liberties of law-abiding Americans and are being used 🟥 by authoritarian countries right now to crack down on dissent,” said Congressman Alex Mooney.

🤨 Multiple people have warned that central bank digital currencies pose major privacy and government surveillance concerns. “The Federal Reserve caught attention late last year for its CBDC pilot projects, even contracting with the private sector to build potential CBDCs for the United States which went beyond traditional research,” the congressman noted.

➡️ Several CBDC-related bills have been launched in Congress, including U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s “No Digital Dollar Act” and Congressman Tom Emmer’s “CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act.” A number of states have also pushed against the Fed launching a digital dollar. For example, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation in March that bans the use of a CBDC in his state.

➡️However, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell revealed in March that the Fed is not “at the stage of making any real decisions,” noting that the central bank is “experimenting in kind of early-stage experimentation.”

💰 Coinbase Derivatives Exchange to Roll Out Bitcoin and Ethereum Futures Trading on June 5

Coinbase Derivatives Exchange will start trading 🪙 BTC and 🔷 ETH perpetual futures on June 5, 2023, for non-US institutional clients only.

Leading American crypto exchange Coinbase 💎has announced its plans to introduce futures contracts for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in its newly launched derivative markhttps://coinspeaker.com/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/-BqQuoxiOfYhg62js8a7lQ/27c53b70-98d5-45f9-6f1b-6fca78e07500/w=768,h=512.webpetplace regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The new venture, 👍 Coinbase Derivatives Exchange, officially debuted last month in Bermuda following approval from the country’s financial regulator, the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA).

👑 The company said the derivative platform would enable traders to speculate on the prices of BTC and Either using perpetual futures contracts, offering leverage of ⚡️ up to 5X. Furthermore, all trades conducted on the marketplace will be settled in the stablecoin USDC, ensuring stability and reliable value representation for participants.

✅Cboe Receives CFTC Approval to Launch Leveraged Crypto Derivatives

✔️U.S. exchange operator Cboe Global Markets said on Monday that it has been granted regulatory approval by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to offer 🔩 leveraged derivative products on its Cboe Digital trading platform.

🌟 The authorization will permit Cboe to launch physically and financially settled bitcoin and ether margined futures contracts on Cboe Digital in the second half of the year, according to a statement quoted by Reuters and Bloomberg.

👉In May 2022, Cboe sealed a deal to acquire crypto exchange Erisx, which was later renamed Cboe Digital. ⚡️ In November, the Chicago-based exchange operator revealed that over a dozen firms, including Galaxy Digital and Robinhood Markets, had taken minority equity stakes in Cboe Digital.

🟢The regulatory approval comes at a time of increased regulatory scrutiny on the crypto sector, following negative developments such as the 🌈 collapse of leading crypto exchange FTX.

⚠️Robin hood to Delist Cardano, Solana, and Polygon Amidst SEC Regulatory Pressure

⚡️Robin hood, a financial services company headquartered in Menlo Park, California, intends to remove the 8th, 10th, and 11th largest crypto assets by market capitalization on June 27.

📣In a statement released on Friday, Robinhood said, “We regularly review the crypto we offer on Robinhood. Based on our latest review, we’ve decided to end support for cardano (ADA), polygon (MATIC), and solana (SOL) on June 27th, 2023 at 6:59 PM ET.”

🔶This announcement comes amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of Binance and Coinbase by the U.S. SEC.

⏰Should Robinhood clients fail to sell or transfer their ADA, MATIC, or SOL holdings before the deadline, the company will dispose of the assets at their fair market value.

⛔️ Etoro to Delist ALGO, MANA, DASH, and MATIC for US Customers Amid ‘Evolving Regulatory Landscape’

🚨 The social trading and investment company Etoro declared on Monday that starting July 12, 2023, U.S. customers would be unable to initiate new trades for ALGO, MANA, DASH, and MATIC. The company cited the “rapidly evolving regulatory landscape” as the reason behind the delistings.

🔵 “Due to recent developments, we will be making some changes to our crypto offering for U.S. customers,” Etoro said on Monday. “From 6:00 AM ET on Wednesday, July 12th, 2023, U.S. customers will no longer be able to open new positions in algorand (ALGO), decentraland (MANA), dash (DASH) and polygon (MATIC). Customers can continue to hold and sell existing positions in these coins,” the social trading company added.

⚠️ This announcement from Etoro comes after Robinhood’s decision to delist cardano (ADA), solana (SOL), and polygon (MATIC).

➡️ The company concluded, “We are committed to working closely with regulators around the world to shape the future of the crypto industry and champion access for the ordinary investor.”

🇻🇪Reports Indicate Venezuela Is Preparing to Liquidate the Petroleum

⛔️ According to reports, the government of Venezuela could be winding down the operations of the petro cryptocurrency. The decision comes after Sunacrip, the Venezuelan cryptocurrency watchdog, was set back by the alleged participation of its former head Joselit Ramirez in a potential $20 billion corruption scheme involving the settlement of Venezuelan oil sales.

⚠️ The run of the first nation-issued cryptocurrency asset might be close to its end.

🔴 Petro’s price in the market had already plunged before the information was released, while the government-defined price still stretches to $60.

🟡Putting down Petro’s operations would close an era in which the Venezuelan government promoted its use to sidestep the sanctions that the Obama and the Trump administrations enacted against important state-owned companies like PDVSA, the state-owned oil company.

➡️The liquidation of the petro would also be part of the government’s cleanup of Sunacrip after its former head Joselit Ramirez was arrested on charges of corruption involving sales of Venezuelan oil that never reached the nation’s coffers.

❕In May, the Petro blockchain faced operational problems and stopped several times. At the time, there were reports of hundreds of wallets blocked.

🇨🇳China and Malaysia to Research AI for Blockchain Applications in Trade

➡️ Blockchain developers from Malaysia will be working with Chinese colleagues to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) in foreign trade. The collaboration, which is part of a China-led international research program, aims to speed up cross-border transactions.

⚙️ Initiated by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, the purpose of the collaboration is to foster research partnerships between the Chinese and other governments.

🟢 The joint research will be focused on leveraging AI to streamline and optimize cross-border trade processes.

⏳China and Malaysia have been stepping up cooperation in various areas. In early April, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim unveiled that Beijing is ready to discuss Kuala Lumpur’s proposal for the establishment of an Asian Monetary Fund.

✅ Valkyrie Funds Joins Race for SEC Approval as It Files Application for Spot Bitcoin ETF

➡️ On Wednesday, Valkyrie Funds, a Tennessee-based asset manager offering a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF), a defi fund, and a bitcoin mining industry ETF, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the launch of a spot bitcoin ETF.

⚡️ Numerous market players are vying for the SEC’s approval of a spot bitcoin ETF. This rush for approval began after Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, filed to offer a spot bitcoin ETF with the SEC. To date, the SEC has not approved any spot bitcoin ETFs and has rejected several applications over recent years.

🔩 On June 21, 2023, Valkyrie submitted an application to the SEC for its spot bitcoin ETF named “Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund.” The ticker symbol will be “BRRR,” and it will utilize CME Group’s CF Bitcoin Reference Rate.

✅ Since Blackrock’s filing, BTC prices climbed even higher, and both Invesco and Wisdomtree also filed applications for spot bitcoin ETFs. For some reason — amid lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase — these investment firms think it is an opportune moment to apply with the U.S. securities regulator.

♾ Banking Giants Crédit Agricole, Santander Seek to Provide Crypto Custody Under French Registration

➡️ A subsidiary co-owned by Crédit Agricole and Santander has registered as a digital asset service provider in France. The registration of Caceis, a company that specializes in offering financial services to institutional investors, allows the two major European banks to tap into the crypto market.

🔥 The registration, granted by the AMF earlier this week, will allow the entity, Caceis, to provide custody services for digital assets, including cryptocurrencies.

🔼 The move adds a major traditional financial services group to the growing number of crypto companies registered by the French watchdog.

⚡️ In May, French officials invited crypto companies seeking to escape the current crackdown in the U.S., which also affected leading U.S. digital asset exchange Coinbase, noting that France’s legal framework offers more regulatory certainty.