The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is seeking feedback from Ripple and other firms on its proposed stablecoin regulations, with Ripple expressing support for regulatory guidelines on stablecoins issued within Singapore and urging for regulations to also cover those issued outside of the country. Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, shared similar sentiments and supported the MAS in creating additional regulations for stablecoin issuers.
A new study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) suggests that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have not reduced financial risks but rather amplified them in emerging market economies, leading to potential policy options ranging from bans to regulation.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) has been heavily impacted by the crypto bear market, with the total value locked in DeFi reaching its lowest point since February 2021, as investors withdraw approximately $170 billion in deposits due to decreased yields and increased exploits. However, newer protocols like Unibot are attempting to simplify the DeFi experience and show promising signs for reigniting the DeFi space.
Hackers have targeted decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols almost 500 times since 2019, stealing a total of $6 billion, highlighting the vulnerabilities of the smart contracts that underpin DeFi platforms. The recent surge in hacks, along with declining market share and increasing interest rates, has led to the closure of several platforms and calls for regulations to prevent money laundering and enhance security measures.
Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao predicts that decentralized finance (DeFi) has the potential to surpass centralized finance (CeFi) in the next bull run, emphasizing the positive impact of regulatory clarity and the need for broader cryptocurrency adoption worldwide.
The Financial Stability Board and International Monetary Fund are releasing a joint paper at the G20 Summit that outlines a roadmap for global coordination and policy frameworks for cryptocurrencies.
A policy paper prepared under India's G20 Presidency recommends licensing crypto service providers and implementing anti-money laundering standards in the sector, while cautioning against an outright ban on cryptocurrencies due to their borderless nature. The paper also addresses concerns about stablecoins and their potential impact on financial stability.
Global securities regulators have outlined a blueprint to hold participants in decentralized finance (DeFi) accountable for their actions and protect market stability, as the sector has experienced significant shrinkage and is being used for money laundering; regulators are proposing a framework to ensure investor protection, risk management, and cross-border cooperation.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have pledged to increase their cooperation in addressing climate change, debt vulnerabilities, and digital transitions, stating that they are well-positioned to contribute to tackling these challenges.
According to a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) bulletin, a centralized oracle based on trust may be the only option for DeFi, but this compromises the decentralization ethos underlying crypto DeFi.
India will evaluate the recommendations made by the IMF and the FSB on regulating crypto assets before deciding its stance, according to Ajay Seth, the secretary of the department of economic affairs.
Finoa, a Berlin-based cryptocurrency custody firm, is expanding its services to include decentralized finance (DeFi) through its custodial wallet infrastructure, offering regulated institutions access to a curated list of web3 platforms and permissioned DeFi applications.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to advise China to boost domestic consumption, address its troubled real estate sector, and rein in local government debt, in order to combat the declining growth in China and the global economy, according to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem experienced a decline in on-chain economic activity in August, with exchange volume decreasing by 15.5%, the DeFi Index falling 21%, and the total value locked decreasing by 8%; however, positive developments such as stablecoin growth were observed.
The concentration of assets in decentralized finance (DeFi) could pose a risk if stablecoins surpass the market capitalization of the native tokens of their underlying blockchains, creating a potential for double-spending and control by token holders, highlighting the need to rethink distributed ledger technology (DLT) architecture and explore alternatives to blockchain such as directed acyclic graphs (DAG).
Decentralized finance (DeFi) projects in the US face significant regulatory risk, according to Synthetix founder Kain Warwick, who believes that US regulators are neglecting the advantages of transparent and open infrastructure in financial markets and that it will be left to the courts to resolve these issues.
DeFi has become centralized, with stablecoins and real-world assets dominating the market, but crypto staking yields can bring decentralization back to the space by offering a viable alternative.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) derivatives ecosystem Avantis Labs has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Pantera Capital to grow its flagship product Avantis, a perpetual-trading and market-making protocol that aims to enable forex and commodities to be hedged and traded on-chain without the need for tokenization, with plans to expand its capabilities beyond perpetual trading to include options trading in the future.
Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has issued new rules and guidelines to protect cryptocurrency investors, including separating exchange treasury assets from customer assets and requiring foreign virtual asset service providers to obtain necessary approvals to operate in the country.
Stablecoin issuer Circle has partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation to launch its EURC fiat-backed stablecoin on the Stellar network, aiming to enhance financial inclusion and provide mobile-first, low-cost payment solutions, especially for individuals without traditional banking services. The collaboration will also support humanitarian aid distribution.
The caretaker government of Pakistan is set to begin talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next month to review the $3 billion Standby Arrangement, with the second quarterly review due in October and a disbursement of $710 million expected in December. The IMF has emphasized the importance of full and timely implementation of the program for its success in light of the country's economic challenges. The finance minister has also highlighted the need for a consensus among politicians to address economic issues.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), along with the central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland, successfully tested the cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale CBDCs using decentralized finance (DeFi) technology concepts on a public blockchain under a project called Mariana.
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial has released Perimeter Protocol, an open-source smart contract codebase that allows for the development of tokenized credit markets, enabling various credit use cases such as invoice factoring, payroll advances, instant settlement, and credit trading for institutional investors. This move comes as the tokenization of real-world assets gains momentum, with tokenized assets predicted to grow to a $5 trillion market in the next five years. Circle aims to leverage the protocol to enhance the utility of its stablecoin USDC and Euro-pegged token EURC in decentralized finance (DeFi) credit platforms.
Interest-bearing stablecoins are becoming increasingly popular in the DeFi sector as they offer attractive yields generated from real-world assets, such as T-Bills and government bonds, providing a transparent and auditable alternative to traditional banking systems.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a working paper proposing a crypto-risk assessment matrix (C-RAM) to identify potential risks and policy responses in the crypto sector, with examples including the risks associated with El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) has the potential to revolutionize wealth building globally, and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can address challenges such as liquidity, language barriers, regulatory compliance, and security to further enhance its adoption and growth.
Yield Protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol, has announced its decision to shut down due to a lack of business demand and global regulatory pressures, including unfavorable crypto regulations in the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom.
