Digital or die

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October 17, 2019 DIGITAL DOLLAR? A top Federal Reserve official has said the U.S. central bank is talking about the potential issuance of a digital currency, as regulators worry the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency may be at risk. Speaking at a business event in Texas, Rob Kaplan, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said: “We have not at the Fed decided to pursue or drive to develop a digital currency, but it’s something we’re actively looking at and debating.” Full story LE ‘MARE: France’s Finance Minister says Libra is “unacceptable,” calling it an intrusion on state sovereignty. Writing in the Financial Times, Bruno Le Maire said the Facebook-led project is usurping the right of states to issue their own currencies, with dramatic and unforeseen repercussions. He called instead for the development of central bank digital currencies and improvements to payment methods. Full story WARMING UP: Bank of America, the second-largest bank in the U.S., has quietly tested Ripple’s distributed ledger technology and may be planning to do more with it. Ripple identified BoA as a “customer” in a presentation given at a seminar held by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) late last year. Meanwhile, the bank posted a job ad earlier this month detailing a product manager who would lead the team for a “Ripple project.” Full story LAUNCH DELAY: Telegram has notified investors that the TON blockchain project will be launched later than planned: April 30, 2020 instead of Oct. 30 this year. In an email to investors seen by CoinDesk, Telegram cited its recent run-in with the SEC, which obtained a restraining order prohibiting the messenger app company from launching TON and issuing gram tokens. The agency deemed grams to be unregistered securities. Full story NOT AN OPTION: A purported cryptocurrency and foreign exchange investment firm is in hot water with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), accused of operating like a Ponzi scheme and fleecing investors for $11 million. The CFTC said it’s charging Nevada-based Circle Society and its operator David Gilbert Saffron with fraudulently soliciting and misappropriating investor funds over an offering of binary options on forex and cryptocurrency pairs – funds that were not in fact invested. Full story BREXIT BOUNCE? Bitcoin is back above $8,000 and markets are associating the recovery with Brexit optimism after the U.K. government and the EU announced a deal breakthrough. The narrative lacks substance, though, as the deal is yet to be passed by parliament (and that’s looking quite unlikely). The recovery, therefore, could be short-lived and prices remain on track to test recent lows near $7,750. Full story   PRIVACY APPEAL: Brave, the privacy-focused internet browser that blocks web tracking, says it’s now reached 8 million monthly active users. The company also launched its Brave Ads product earlier this year, with which users are rewarded with BAT tokens for choosing to view advertising. Brave said there’s been a “surge in partnerships” for the ad product, with 385 campaigns resulting in 97 million ad confirmation events to date.   WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER   Copyright © 2019 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.  Our mailing address is:  250 Park Avenue South New York, NY, 10003, US  Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list