The saying goes that, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” That may or may not be true, but at least one “old dog” is working hard to disprove that saying.
Overview
Bitcoin won't replace the U.S. dollar as official currency but businesses that can accept it now must
Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Payments, Transfers, Rewards
Square launches small business banking
Reuters | Anna Irrera | Jul 20, 2021
July 20 (Reuters) - Square Inc (SQ.N), the company led by Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) CEO Jack Dorsey, is launching banking services for small businesses, as it continues to grow beyond payments processing.
Square Banking will offer small businesses savings and checking accounts, as well as its existing lending offering which has been renamed Square Loans, the San Francisco-based company said on Tuesday.
Square Checking will have no account minimums, overdraft fees, or recurring fees and saving accounts will offer a 0.5% annual percent yield on deposits.
See: Square buys 3,319 more Bitcoin at an average price of $51,236 for another $170 million investment
Square hopes its new checking and savings accounts, which build upon its debit card offering, will be attractive to small businesses who have struggled to gain access to more mainstream banking services, said Christina Riechers, Square Banking's head of product.
"There is no monthly fee so we see this as having high potential to get folks into more formalized business banking," Riechers said in an interview.
Deposits collected from small businesses will be lent back through Square Loans, she said.
The new services come following the launch of the company's industrial bank, Square Financial Services, which began operations in March after completing the charter approval process with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions.
See: Inside Jack Dorsey’s Next Big Bet on Bitcoin, DeFi
The industrial bank is part of efforts by Square to expand its revenue stream beyond facilitating card payments for small businesses.
The company's consumer business Cash App has been booming, with first quarter revenue excluding bitcoin investing up 139% year on year to $529 million.
While initially, only small business deposits will be brought under the Square Financial Services umbrella, over time the company will look to have the bank work across its range of products and services, a spokesman said.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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EasyFi CEO on Current Lending and Borrowing Issues and Comments on DeFi
EasyFi is a universal layer-2 lending platform focused on improving the landscape of lending and borrowing digital assets. It is an open network infrastructure that facilitates peer-to-peer and cross-chain asset settlements. In a first-of-its-kind in the DeFi space, users’ creditworthiness is being appraised by EasyFi using a protocol called TrustScore.
Crowdfund Insider reached out to Ankitt Gaur, the founder and CEO of EasyFi, and discussed the current issues and bottlenecks in the lending and borrowing space. Gaur also shed light on the concerns of dApps built on Ethereum and how the future looks for layer-2 based alternatives. Furthermore, he detailed how he views the DeFi space to evolve in the next 5 years and how EasyFi is working towards embracing the changes.
Crowdfund Insider: Decentralized lending protocols have become widely-adopted with the introduction of highly popular flash loans and other widely-used DeFi products. What future potential do you see for the DeFi space in the next five years?
Ankitt Gaur: In the DeFi space, five years is a very long time. So, even if DeFi turns mainstream and replaces traditional systems, it won’t be a surprise for me given its tremendous potential. Also, if the past 6 months are anything to go by, DeFi is looking at astronomical growth. And this growth is not only about the mass adoption, but also about the huge influx of DeFi applications and solutions.
See: Open Finance data adoption varies by country (but one thing is certain)
To date, the majority of crypto users are interested in speculating, rather than underlying technology. The latter is what defines the true value of a project. So, in the coming years, I foresee huge investments made for user education. By this, users shall understand better the tech behind a DeFi solution and its use cases. So, I believe project fundamentals will drive the value of the currencies and not the trends.
Five years from now, I’d love to see DeFi solutions being the first option in certain financial verticals. Also, my best guess is that the major banks and financial institutions would have embraced DeFi solutions and make use of yields & liquidity generated by DeFi. The coexistence of traditional methods and DeFi sounds exciting to me. And this creates a window for regulations to come into action. Nothing groundbreaking, but I see it as bringing more security and credibility to space which is beneficial.
Crowdfund Insider: Ethereum based platforms are currently dominating the DeFi industry. Which protocols and platforms are the ones to watch closely at this time and why?
Ankitt Gaur: Despite Ethereum’s growing transaction fees and time, I believe Eth-based DeFi solutions shall continue to thrive in the near future. The proposed Eth 2.0 and its complete implementation is at least a couple of years away. Rightfully so, users and devs alike are looking out for alternatives to Ethereum.
See: OpenSea best month ever, NFT Avatars trend continuation, and Web 3.0 tipping point
This is exactly where ventures like Polkadot, Optimistic Rollups, ZK Rollups, Arbitrum and Polygon (previously MATIC) are gaining traction. Being layer 2 blockchain networks, they provide a more user-friendly experience with regard to speed and transaction costs. The reason I am keen on scaling solutions that are not trying to replace Ethereum but to augment it. And I see this as a win-win situation for all.
The versatility and robustness of Ethereum, coupled with the low latency of these platforms is truly how the DeFi industry can evolve and grow. Currently, blockchain networks are working on interoperability which shall open the door for a plethora of DeFi solutions to complement one another. Moreover, this will improve the accessibility of financial products in the future. And we all know that ease of access is an important factor behind the adoption of DeFi solutions.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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3 Key Takeaways: FATF’s Latest 12-Month Virtual Assets Review
Elliptic | David Carlisle | Jul 5, 2021
Today the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global standard-setter for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), released its second 12-month review on virtual assets (You can read our summary of its first report from July 2020 report here).
The FATF’s report provides an overview of progress that governments around the world, and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in the private sector, are making in implementing the FATF’s guidance on virtual assets like Bitcoin.
See: Analysis: Proposed FATF Guidance for Virtual Assets and VASPs
The report also features a landmark market metrics study of key trends in virtual asset transactions based on blockchain analytics. Elliptic was privileged to have contributed our data and analysis to the FATF’s study, along with several of our peers.
Here’s our summary of three key lessons from the FATF’s review, which is a must-read for anyone in the AML/CFT compliance space.
1. Blockchain analytics shows that changing the FATF standards to cover peer-to-peer transactions (P2P) is currently unnecessary. However, VASPs still need to be alert to risks associated with P2P transfers.
A key question facing the FATF is whether it should fundamentally change its Standards to address specific features of virtual assets.
In particular, the FATF has asked whether its Standards, which place the focus of AML/CFT control measures on regulated intermediaries such as VASPs, need to be altered to account for the P2P nature of virtual assets. Because virtual assets allow counterparties to transact P2P without a regulated entity present, the FATF has suggested that it may need to amend its Standards to enable direct regulatory oversight of P2P activity in virtual assets.
In its new report, the FATF asks whether it should undertake such a fundamental revision of its Standards now. To assist in answering that question, the FATF commissioned a market metrics study to evaluate the scale of P2P activity in virtual assets, and to assess the associated risks.
See: WEF Insight Report: Digital Assets, Distributed Ledger Technology, and the Future of Capital Markets
Elliptic contributed data to the study, as did six other blockchain analytics firms. The study examined five years’ worth of transactions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether - three of the largest virtual assets.
The FATF’s conclusion based on the study is clear and direct: there is not sufficient evidence at present to suggest that the FATF needs to revise its standards to address P2P transactions directly.
First, there is no clear evidence that P2P transactions are becoming more important than before. VASPs continue to remain an essential part of virtual asset ecosystems, which suggests that placing regulation on intermediaries remains the optimal approach for now.
Second, there is no clear evidence that criminals are relying more heavily on P2P transactions than in the past. While blockchain analytics data used in the study suggests that fully-P2P transactions involve a slightly higher proportion of illicit activity than transactions involving VASPs, there is no indication that this is becoming more severe over time.
As Elliptic has demonstrated separately, even where criminals use intermediary unhosted wallets, they cash out their illicit Bitcoin proceeds through VASPs more than 80% of the time. Policy measures aimed at P2P transactions are therefore misplaced, since VASPs can ultimately file suspicious activity reports on funds they handle that have passed through intermediary wallets.
See: ‘Last year we saw about a 300% increase in transactions just using cryptocurrency’: Coinpayments CEO
The FATF’s use of blockchain analytics to inform its decision-making on key matters of policy is also an important sign that policymakers are realizing the potential of blockchain data as a source of important information on virtual assets. While the FATF makes clear in its report that it could still revise its Standards in the future to directly cover P2P activity, its decision not to do so at present is a welcome and innovation-friendly one.
However, the FATF’s report does raise concerns about the use of unhosted wallets for illicit purposes that VASPs and FIs should take into account. The report highlights that the proceeds of ransomware are often moved through unhosted wallets, including privacy wallets, which Elliptic’s research has shown are growing rapidly in popularity with criminals.
According to the FATF, these risks are significant, and could become more severe over time, so “jurisdictions and the private sectors need to consider ways to identify and mitigate risks posed by P2P in advance.”
Continue to the full article --> here
Download the 46 page PDF --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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How Western Union is fighting back against fintech startups
Techcrunch | Mary Ann Azevedo | Jun 28, 2021
The saying goes that, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” That may or may not be true, but at least one “old dog” is working hard to disprove that saying.
Western Union has been operating in the cross-border payments space for nearly 150 years (yes, you read that right — 150 years) and today, globally, it serves almost 150 million customers — representing senders and receivers.
In recent years, a number of fintech startups have emerged to challenge Western Union in the massive space — from Wise (formerly TransferWise) to Remitly to WorldRemit. But the payments giant seems up for the challenge and has been investing heavily in its digital operations in an attempt to beat fintechs at their own game.
This year, the company recently projected that its digital money transfer revenues are on track to exceed $1 billion in 2021 after first-quarter revenue growth of 45% to a new quarterly high of $242 million. Digital channels in 2020 made up 29% of transactions and 20% of revenue for the company’s consumer-to-consumer (C2C) business, up from 16% and 14%, respectively, in 2019. Western Union also opened its platform to third-party financial institutions in a move it says is a “step toward creating an end-to-end payments processing hub.”
See: Faster payments: a corporate treasury breakthrough
TechCrunch talked with Shelly Swanback, Western Union’s president of product and platform, about the company’s digital strategy and what’s next beyond payments for the company (hint: it involves banking products).
I know Western Union has touted the fact that it having such a strong physical presence in so many locations actually benefits the growth of its digital operations as well as an expansion into other offerings beyond payments. Can you elaborate on that?
We have the fortune of having a trusted brand that’s known globally and trusted for something that’s very near and dear to our customers. What we’re hearing from our customers is they would trust us to provide additional services. So one of the things that we’re beginning to put plans in place for, and beginning to do some market tests on, is building an ecosystem or building a marketplace if you will. It will all be catered around the 270 million migrants across the world and really connecting them to each other, connecting them to their families and connecting them to merchants who want to sell them goods or provide them services that are very culturally relevant to them, either where they happen to be living and working or providing them services back home to their families.
You recently announced a tie-up with Google Pay and some others. What is the significance of those partnerships?
We want to be able to offer our cross-border capabilities and platform in more of a co-branded or white-label fashion, so that we can reach those customers that might still prefer to just be a customer of a bank. As an example, we recently announced that Google Pay users can log in to their app and can do cross-border transfers.
See: Fintech Fridays EP46: Making Business Borderless: International Payments and Partnerships
I think that’s an important part of our strategy — going after the direct relationship with customers and at the same time being able to offer our platform to others who already have a direct relationship with our customer. This is also part of our whole technology modernization right now of course. We’re very, very strong in the C2C segment, but the way we’re going about our technology modernization is one that provides us optionality to continue to expand in other segments — whether it be consumer to business or business to consumer, or even business to business.
Like many financial organizations and many existing global organizations, part of our massive technology modernization program is moving to the cloud. So we were well on our way from migrating many of our applications to an AWS Cloud Platform. We’re pretty excited about the progress that we’re making there.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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BIS Research: CBDCs beyond borders: results from a survey of central banks
BIS | Raphael Auer, Codruta Boar, Giulio Cornelli, Jon Frost, Henry Holden and Andreas Wehrli | Jun 24, 2021
CBDCs offer an opportunity to rethink some key features of cross-border payments. Central banks could ease current frictions by factoring an international dimension into their CBDC designs from the outset.
For front-end retail uses, CBDCs could allow for use by non-residents in a jurisdiction, or abroad, if central banks permit this option and the transacting parties agree on using the CBDC as means of payment. Some CBDC designs could allow for transfers that are as frictionless as digital messages. Account-based CBDCs that link balances to identification could bring efficiency while mitigating any key risks that digital cash may otherwise entail (Carstens (2021a)).
See: Stablecoins: What’s old is new again – speech by Christina Segal-Knowles
An alternative option is for various mCBDC arrangements, which are generally focused on wholesale uses. At least three models exist in principle to facilitate cross- border payments in this way, involving successively greater integration and policy coordination.
Our survey finds that central banks are actively considering these cross-border issues around CBDCs. While a slight majority of central banks have not yet come to any firm conclusion on whether non-residents would have access to a (future) domestic CBDC, slightly more than a quarter of respondents say that they would allow such access, and almost 20% would consider this at a later stage. Fewer central banks would allow for use abroad by non-residents. Central banks are aware of the risks entailed by such cross-border usage of their own CBDC, or usage in their jurisdiction of foreign CBDCs. Tax avoidance, loss of oversight and a range of concerns associated with “digital dollarisation” were mentioned prominently in the survey responses. While most central banks do not currently report restrictions on the use of foreign currencies for transactions in their jurisdiction, about a third may reconsider such restrictions if a foreign CBDC (or stablecoin or cryptocurrency) were to become widely used. Nonetheless, where a central bank is considering only retail or only wholesale CBDC, they frequently responded that aspects covering the other area are undecided.
On the wholesale front, the survey results show that central banks are considering a variety of mCBDC arrangements. Some central banks are even contemplating multiple CBDCs run on a single system. Meanwhile, some central banks are considering novel operational roles for the central bank in FX conversion. Overall, the responses show active consideration of cross-border issues and a strong interest in international peer learning.
See: Should the State or the Market Provide Digital Currency?
This brief overview has laid out a number of open issues for both policy and economic research. In particular, the discussion of both retail and wholesale use underscores the importance of early policy coordination on CBDC design, so as to promote coherence and to reduce future policy spillovers. From a research perspective, there is a clear need to better understand how CBDCs compare with other potential policy interventions, such as retail fast payment systems, and what the longer-term implications of issuance for the international monetary system may be. Beyond currency substitution, the broader macroeconomic implications of CBDCs also need to be understood, not least for monetary policy transmission and cross- border capital flows. Further research on CBDC design could help to inform efforts to reduce the risk of international spillovers. All these are relevant areas where research and policy can fruitfully enrich one another.
Download the full 22 page PDF report --> here
BIS | Jun 23, 2021
CBDCs: an opportunity for the monetary system
Key takeaways
• Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) offer in digital form the unique advantages of central bank money: settlement finality, liquidity and integrity. They are an advanced representation of money for the digital economy.
• Digital money should be designed with the public interest in mind. Like the latest generation of instant retail payment systems, retail CBDCs could ensure open payment platforms and a competitive level playing field that is conducive to innovation.
See: BIS digital currency paper predicts money will be unbundled
• The ultimate benefits of adopting a new payment technology will depend on the competitive structure of the underlying payment system and data governance arrangements. The same technology that can encourage a virtuous circle of greater access, lower costs and better services might equally induce a vicious circle of data silos, market power and anti-competitive practices. CBDCs and open platforms are the most conducive to a virtuous circle.
• CBDCs built on digital identification could improve cross-border payments, and limit the risks of currency substitution. Multi-CBDC arrangements could surmount the hurdles of sharing digital IDs across borders, but will require international cooperation.
Download the 31 page PDF report --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Stablecoins: What’s old is new again – speech by Christina Segal-Knowles
Bank of England | Christina Segal-Knowles | Jun 10, 2021
Overview
Christina Segal-Knowles, Executive Director for Financial Markets Infrastructure (FMI) at the Bank of England, talks about . She looks at how they could be regulated, if they are used as a form of payment. She says, with the right regulation, digital money like stablecoins could have benefits - including cheaper payments with more functionality. And they could potentially have benefits for financial stability. But that requires regulation to hold new forms of money to the same standards we expect of the money we use today.
A regulatory framework
Earlier this week, the Bank of England published a Discussion Paper that examines the implications of stablecoins for its financial and monetary stability mandate. In it we present an illustrative scenario to examine the implications of the emergence of stablecoins and other new forms of digital money. The discussion paper models what would happen if a large number of households and businesses moved their deposits from banks and into a stablecoin or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Contrary to some press headlines, even such a dramatic shift does not inherently constitute a financial stability risk as long as it happens in an orderly manner. In fact findings show that the implications of this in the long term for the ability of households and businesses to get a loan are relatively modest – although there is considerable uncertainty around this result.
See: Canadian researchers develop CBDC digital currency proposal for Bank of Canada
As such, while other risks may arise during a transitionary phase, the most significant risk arises from the potential for stablecoins in particular to undermine confidence in money and payments, and hence in the wider financial system.
As we discussed a few minutes ago, the risk of a loss of confidence in the credibility and stability of private money is not theoretical. Loss of confidence in private money can be a major threat to financial stability.
But it is equally true that private money can be made acceptable as a widespread means of payment – indeed, as I covered earlier, the vast majority of money held for transactions in the United Kingdom is already private. So, with the right regulation, a stablecoin could potentially be made safe for wide-scale use.
Our existing regulatory framework seeks to ensure that the public is able to trust the reliability and stability of the money it uses every day. Banks are subject to extensive rules and requirements to ensure that consumers can use privately-issued money with confidence and interchangeably with cash. These core rules and requirements were developed over time – in many cases via trial and error, with new rules introduced following financial crises.
Financial market infrastructure firms are also regulated to ensure that the assets they use for settlement – the underpinnings of our financial transactions, whether we’re buying milk or clearing a derivative – are public money issued by a central bank wherever possible. Where that’s not possible they are permitted to settle in money deemed to be a close substitute – commercial bank money.
FFCON21 On-demand Video: Central Bank Digital Currencies CBDCs - The Future of Money
If stablecoins seek to be acceptable widespread substitutes for commercial bank deposits as a means of payment, it stands to reason that stablecoins will need to meet the core elements of our existing regulatory framework for private money which underpins confidence that it is interchangeable with cashfootnote [8]. These are:
- A legal claim – to allow for prompt redemption at all times, for the amount initially deposited, and at no cost to the depositor; In other words – the little boy’s right in ‘Mary Poppins’ to demand that the bank ‘give him back his money.
- Capital requirements – to lower the risk of insolvency, these are calculated based on the nature of the risks issuers undertake (credit, operational, market risks); they act as a cushion to absorb losses, reducing the chances that a firm fails.
- Liquidity requirements – to ensure redemptions can be met in most circumstances – supported by eligibility for central bank facilities where relevant, to meet firms’ liquidity needs in extremis. This ensures that temporary liquidity issues arising from difficulties selling assets backing the value of stablecoins don’t result in firm failure; and
- A backstop to compensate depositors – or in this case coinholders – such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) (or in other countries deposit insurance), in case of failure. This ensures that, even if a firm fails, transactional deposits up to a certain amount remain exchangeable for central bank money. Notably – one of the key responses to the Northern Rock episode was to increase FSCS coverage in the United Kingdom.
This is not to say the regulatory model for stablecoins needs to be identical to banks. It could include different applications of the above features. For example, if stablecoin operators are restricted to backing themselves in high quality liquid assets they won’t need regulation to cover credit risk. If they only back themselves in central bank reserves, which are inherently liquid, they don’t need liquidity facilities. Ultimately, the specific requirements may well be different from those applicable to banks, but the outcome will be the same – that systemic stablecoins used as money will offer the same protection to coin holders as commercial bank money.
Continue to the full article --> here
Download the BoE 'New Forms of Digital Money' Discussion Paper --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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El Salvador approves Bitcoin as legal tender – the first country to do so
CBC | Jun 9, 2021
Bitcoin won't replace the U.S. dollar as official currency but businesses that can accept it now must
El Salvador's legislative assembly has approved legislation making the cryptocurrency Bitcoin legal tender in the country, the first country to do so, just days after President Nayib Bukele made the proposal at a Bitcoin conference.
See: Right to anonymous payments
The digital currency can be used in any transaction and any business will have to accept payment in Bitcoin, with the exception of those lacking the technology to do so. The U.S. dollar will also continue to be El Salvador's currency and no one will be forced to pay in Bitcoin, according to the legislation approved late Tuesday.
The exchange rate between the two currencies will be established by the market and all prices will be able to be expressed in Bitcoin — although for accounting purposes, the dollar will continue to be the currency of reference.
The government will promote training for people to be able to carry out transactions using Bitcoin.
The Economy Ministry noted that 70 per cent of Salvadorans do not have access to traditional financial services and it said the country "needs to authorize the circulation of a digital currency [whose] who value exclusively follows free market criteria" to stimulate growth.
"The Bitcoin law is ambitious, but simple," Bukele said on Twitter. "Futhermore it is well structured to have zero risk for those who do not want to take risks. The government will guarantee the convertibility to the exact value in dollars at the moment of the transaction."
The president said it would increase financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development.
See: Bank of Canada to become new regulator of fintech companies doing payments processing
The law will take effect 90 days after its official publication. The Central Bank and financial system regulators will publish the implementing rules in the interim.
Bukele's New Ideas party holds a supermajority in the new congress seated May 1.
Other countries in the region, including Venezuela and the Bahamas, have introduced digital currencies, although none had adopted the original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, itself.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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