The European Banking Authority (EBA) has recommended further research into cryptocurrency and will perform “a number of actions” relating to the sector in 2019. The agency has said this in its latest report published Jan. 9. In the document, which focuses on the “applicability and suitability of European Union law to crypto-assets,” the EBA appeared broadly unhurried about developing new regulatory […]

A Intrapreneur from financial services giant Barclays has expressed the idea that blockchainsshould be built with regulatory compliance in mind, tech news website The Next Web (TNW) reported Dec. 14. Speaking at a Hard Fork Decentralized event, Barclays’ Julian Wilson stated that when building blockchains, developers need to “reconfigure our approach and way of thinking.” Wilson argued that not all […]

Saudi Arabian developmental institution the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) has partnered with a Tunisian startup to develop interbank blockchain tools, a press release confirmed Nov. 29. IsDB, which will conduct the project through its private sector subsidiary, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector (ICD), wants to improve Islamic financial institutions’ liquidity management and increase overall efficiency. The institution […]

A new blockchain trade finance platform developed by a dozen banks, among them HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Standard Chartered, launched this week in Hong Kong, Reuters reported Oct. 31. The platform, dubbed eTrade Connect, aims to improve efficiency in the financing of international trade by reducing the time needed to approve trade loan applications from thirty-six to just four hours. HSBC is reported to have […]

Bank of America (BoA) has gained a further cryptocurrency-related patent, a filing confirmed Oct. 30, continuing its efforts to “be prepared” for the industry’s future growth. The latest award, which adds to the bank’s mounting stack of cryptocurrency and blockchain patents, references storage methods for private keys. Specifically, the filing reads, current opportunities for ensuring private keys remain untampered with are insufficient. […]

Herman Gref, CEO of state-owned Sberbank – Russia’s largest banking conglomerate – believes that global governments won’t “let go” of centralized models to “allow” decentralized cryptocurrencies to flourish within the next 10 years, local news agency RIA Novosti reports Oct. 18. According to Gref, governments are not yet ready to part with centralized currencies and thus will not let decentralized […]

Brazil’s antitrust regulator has sent a questionnaire to crypto exchanges whose banks accounts have previously been closed, major Brazilian financial newspaper Valor Economico reportsTuesday, October 20. The Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), operated by the local Ministry of Justice, sent the questionnaire to ten companies: Bitcoin Market, Bitcambio, BitcoinTrade, Foxbit, Walltime, Braziliex, BitBlue, Open Digital […]

The Saudi British Bank (SABB) has become the first Saudi bank to join enterprise software firm and global banking consortium R3’s blockchain ecosystem, local news outlet Trade Arabia reports today, September 11. SABB enjoys a strong reputation, having reportedly been named by Global Finance magazine as the “Best Trade Finance Bank” in Saudi Arabia for the 10th consecutive year, “Best Supply Chain […]

South Korean financial holding company KB Financial Group Inc. has released an Aug. 6  report on crypto investments in 2018, finding the majority of domestic respondents revealed no intention to invest in crypto. KB Financial Group Inc. is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea and focuses on a range of banking and related financial services. Their survey involved […]

Forex exchange (FX) settlement giant CLS is in the final stages of testing its blockchain payment service for banks, Financial News reported July 27. The service is reportedly set to be launched later this summer, with at least seven banks expected to sign on to the system in the early months. CLS, the New York-based global multi-currency cash settlement system, has been working with […]