🌐🌍 SWIFT to launch live trials of crypto transactions next year

Global bank messaging network SWIFT is planning conduct live trials for digital asset and currency transactions across its global network, which connects over 11,500 financial institutions worldwide.

Starting next year, the trials are set to take place in North America, Europe, and Asia, the first time SWIFT pilots real-world transactions involving digital assets and currencies.

SWIFT has previously tested blockchain transactions in controlled environments. However, the upcoming trials will use an upgraded infrastructure capable of handling both digital and traditional currency transactions across borders.

The trials seek to show how financial institutions can transact seamlessly between different types of assets and currencies using their existing SWIFT connections.

The initiative builds on SWIFT’s recent experiments with web3 services firm Chainlink, where they showed how SWIFT could act as a single access point for multiple public and private blockchain networks, including those used for tokenized assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

https://financefeeds.com/swift-to-launch-live-trials-of-crypto-transactions-next-year/

@FelipeChannel

🏦📲💳 BBVA plans Visa-backed stablecoin launch in 2025

BBVA is the latest financial giant entering the crowded field of stablecoins as the Spanish bank gets set to launch its own digital asset next year with the aid of Visa. In an interview with Fortune, BBVA head of digital assets and blockchain Francisco Maroto said the bank is currently in the sandbox phase of a new Visa program that helps firms launch their own tokenized assets, and wants to reach the prototype phase and live activity by 2025.

BBVA has not yet decided whether the stablecoin will be backed by deposits, money market funds, or fiat currencies such as the euro or U.S. dollar, said Maroto, who added the company plans for it to be used for the settlement layer on exchanges.

BBVA has been working in the digital asset space since 2014, and Maroto hopes that the latest project will let the bank benefit from the growing trend of the tokenization of assets such as real estate and private credit funds. “We realized that blockchain could transform the way we exchange value digitally, and consequently affect the way the financial system works,” Maroto said.

Stablecoin wars

Stablecoins constitute a broad category in the crypto space, describing any asset intended to maintain a specific price and backed by reserves such as fiat currencies, commodities, or even other cryptocurrencies. While the sector has existed for a decade, dollar-backed stablecoins such as USDC and Tether have exploded in popularity over the past few years, with their backing companies earning hefty profits through the yields on the underlying assets, which typically include U.S. Treasuries and other dollar equivalents.

Competitors from the traditional finance space have recently entered the race, including PayPal, which launched its PYUSD stablecoin in August 2023, as well as a bevy of overseas offerings that provide yield to their customers—an option restricted in the U.S. due to regulatory uncertainty.

Last week, Visa announced a new product that would allow financial institutions such as banks to launch their own stablecoins, which Visa is calling fiat-backed tokens. While the use cases would vary, the idea would be for banks to choose the type of asset held as the reserve, which could vary from fiat currencies to deposits. While the tokens would initially work only within the bank’s own ecosystem, Visa head of crypto Cuy Sheffield told Fortune in April that the long-term plan would be to facilitate interoperability between different institutions, which is an advantage of more universal stablecoins such as USDC that can work across blockchains.

Maroto said that BBVA wanted to work with Visa, rather than choosing an existing stablecoin option, because of Visa’s established brand and regulatory compliance. As one of the first financial institutions to experiment with the new product, BBVA also has the edge of operating mainly in Europe, which recently enacted stablecoin oversight.

Maroto said that BBVA will likely build its stablecoin around the euro, given its European presence, and that it could be used for settlement on exchanges that offer tokenized assets, with BBVA handling the mint and burn mechanism that converts fiat into crypto ecosystems.

Despite the goal of launching live testing next year, Maroto said that the U.S. is not on its short-term time horizon. BBVA currently offers the custody and trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC in Switzerland for private banking and institutional customers and is launching in Turkey.

https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/10/03/bbva-plans-to-launch-stablecoin-in-2025-with-support-from-visa/

@FelipeChannel

#BREAKING
🇺🇸🇮🇱❌🇮🇷 — US President Joe Biden confirms to Bloomberg that US Government and Israeli Government are discussing a joint strike against Iranian oil facilities in Southern Iran!

🇹🇭🚁💰 Thailand launches 10,000 baht digital wallet registration tomorrow

The Thai government will launch a new digital wallet initiative, allowing citizens to receive 10,000 baht through a simple registration process starting tomorrow, July 25. This initiative, managed by the Ministry of Finance, aims to stimulate the economy in the fourth quarter of the year.

Between tomorrow and mid-September, citizens can register for the digital wallet via the Tang Rat app. The steps to download, register, and verify one’s identity through the app are straightforward and accessible, ensuring widespread participation.

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thai-government-to-launch-10000-baht-digital-wallet-tomorrow

@FelipeChannel

🛢📈❗️ — Oil prices rose 5% after US President Biden intentionally leaked part of IDF plans and said Israel is considering striking Iranian oil facilities.

😎😎🤓😎 College students used Meta’s smart glasses to dox people in real time

Two Harvard students have created an eerie demo of how smart glasses can use facial recognition tech to instantly dox people’s identities, phone numbers, and addresses. The most unsettling part is the demo uses current, widely available technology like the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and public databases.

https://www.404media.co/someone-put-facial-recognition-tech-onto-metas-smart-glasses-to-instantly-dox-strangers/

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/2/24260262/ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses-doxxing-privacy

https://x.com/AnhPhuNguyen1/status/1840786336992682409

@FelipeChannel

🇬🇧🤝🇲🇺 UK renounces sovereignty over the Chagos islands. Hands them over to Mauritius

The UK has announced it is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century.

This includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, used by the US government as a military base for its navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft.

The US-UK base will remain on Diego Garcia – a key factor enabling the deal to go forward at a time of growing geopolitical rivalries in the region between Western countries, India, and China.

"This is a seminal moment in our relationship and a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law," the statement from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth read.

🔗 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98ynejg4l5o?at_format=link&at_bbc_team=editorial

🇵🇦🇻🇪🖐 — The government of Panama has issued a decree allowing Venezuelans with expired passports to carry out internal procedures for six months. President José Raúl Mulino made the announcement, providing temporary relief for thousands of migrants facing difficulties due to the expiration of their documents.

🇺🇾💳💰⚖️⚖️ Uruguay Passes Cryptocurrency Law

Proposed over two years ago, the law recognizes cryptocurrency as virtual assets in the country, establishing the Central Bank of Uruguay as the regulator and overseer of companies seeking to offer cryptocurrency services. The law positions Uruguay at the forefront of Latin American countries that have already included crypto in their regulatory frameworks.

https://news.bitcoin.com/uruguay-passes-cryptocurrency-law/

@FelipeChannel

🇮🇱📞🇺🇳 — The State of Israel has notified the United Nations:

The Israeli response to Iran's attack is imminent and will be very strong and painful.

🇮🇱❌🇮🇷 — 📰The AP news agency published satellite images of the Netavim base tonight, which show damage to the roof of a central building - near one of the runways at the base.
The agency states that the satellite images showing the damages were taken on Wednesday (the day after the Iranian attack), and on Monday these damages were not observed.

Note: the base is much bigger than just these 2 pictures.