The trial included automated functions to generate markets and also provide liquidity. The interoperability of the platforms and the use of smart contracts went through a testing phase.

The Bank of France (BdF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently revealed that they have already completed new tests to set up the creation and implementation of the digital euro. In these trials, the novelty has been the decentralized finance tools, such as Automated Market Makers (AMM).

AMMs are automatic systems that allow users to compare the price between two assets. In the markets, the fluidity in exchanges is of vital purposes. This fluidity goes through the constant supply to liquidity pools.

The central bank of digital currencies (CBDCs) are now heading towards decentralized finance or DeFi, and it is marking the beginning of a new era in the crypto world. In this case, automated mechanisms will uninterruptedly permit such operations, bringing less friction, unlike what happens in the traditional financial system.

According to an official statement the MAS recently revealed, the tests consisted of simulating international transactions using various CBDCs on a private Quorum blockchain (an open-source blockchain for companies developed by JP Morgan and assigned to ConsenSys) shared between the participating countries.

Specifically, it went through a test with CBDC payments for the Singapore dollar and the euro. The evaluations also received support from Onix, the JP Morgan bank company dedicated to blockchain solutions and digital currencies.

This test is the first operation that used automated methods, like AMMs and smart contracts for market operations and liquidity management. This feature is what the DeFi allows: to facilitate financial operations through services created on the blockchain without requiring intermediaries.

In simpler words, unlike the traditional system, it will no longer depend on third parties to take part in the trade of assets and in transactions between countries.

According to the MAS, this shared network, which receives support from several CBDC, will facilitate global payments in real-time and without interruption. According to its publication, these transactions currently depend on arrangements between banks without much transparency about the rates of foreign exchange houses; Likewise, they will have to set limited hours of operation and delays in settlements due to their discordant timezones.

DeFi Came from Regulatory Wild West to now take the lead in The Central Bank Due to its Approval

This test by the Bank of France and Singapore aims at the institutionalization of DeFi. This test means that the States are now following with more attention the technologic sector and are incorporating it in their projects. Decentralized finance service developers, such as Aave, also adhered institutional clients to their projects.

The MAS publication highlights that four main achievements came from the results of this experiment. The first was to demonstrate that different cloud infrastructures allow interoperability between them. The second goal was the verification of a network in several CBDCs. This verification allowed visibility of cross-border payments without the central banks of each country losing power over their CBDCs.

The main highlight is that an automated system of liquidity pools and marketing services has entered successfully with the currency pairs included. So, “the use of smart contracts made it possible to automatically manage the EUR / SGD price in real-time based on market supply and demand,” they highlight.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The victim was sedated and persuaded to grant access to his accounts. The scammers were able to steal money from an exchange, but not from the personal wallet.

A date on Tinder might be dangerous for those who carry out digital currencies. The number of crimes through Tinder has increased in a very worrying way. A man got drugged by a woman who took advantage of him to give her access to his cell phone, accounts, and passwords, and stole a portion of his bitcoin holdings.

The methodology of the criminal, who in her Tinder profile showed herself as a “cryptocurrency trader”, was known as the $ 5 wrench attack. This tactic goes about obtaining information from a person, and discreetly and persuasively, or through coercion, to achieve that this user provides complete access to their funds to steal them.

The victim was a Casa Hodl user. Casa Hodl is a company that offers security solutions for holders of bitcoin (BTC) and who related the events in a post on his blog. One of the tools that Casa provides is the multi-signature protocol, which needs the entry of two or more keys to confirm a trade. This move was precisely the key to avoiding more damage to its assets in crypto assets.

The Step-by-Step Scam

The first meeting of the victim and the criminal took place in a cafe, where the woman let the victim know that she had one bitcoin that she received from her parents. From there, the gathering moved to a walk in the open air and then headed to the man’s house to continue the meeting.

Between talks and music, the woman took advantage of a trip to her date’s bathroom to put scopolamine in his beverage, which is a drug also known in Latin America as “burundanga.”  This drug causes drowsiness, confusion, and disorientation, according to medical sources.

From this state of cognitive weakness, it was easy for the woman to convince her victim to grant her access to his accounts. The man argues that the last action he remembers he did, was kissing his drinking partner. When the victim woke up the next day, he noticed that he had all his belongings and no loss of cash. The victim only noticed his cell phone had disappeared.

The woman managed to steal the funds from one of the man’s accounts on an exchange. However, most of the victim’s funds were saved because he previously set up multi-signature authentication on his wallet.

Upon awakening from his induced lethargy, the injured individual (whose country of origin is unknown) contacted Casa to set a blockage of his accounts, since his mobile phone also disappeared. In this way, thieves received a warning from making other attempts to access the affected account and make extra savings.

Measures to Prevent Bitcoin Theft, And Scams

Crimes with cryptocurrencies are becoming more and more common activities nowadays, the same as with any fiat currency in the world.  Users should always research, doubt the information, and take care of private keys. These steps would help users avoid going through this scam.

It is vital not to leave the funds in only one trading platform. These platforms are always the target of hackers or even their security flaws.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The deputy governor of the entity stated that the CBDC was fiduciary money. Soon, the digital cedi could be useful in mobile financial services applications.

Ghana has become the latest African nation to give further steps to the viability of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Central Bank of Ghana (BoG) will start in September this year a pilot program for the digital cedi, the country’s official currency, according to the Ghana Web outlet.

This was revealed by the deputy governor of the central entity, Maxwell Opoku-Afari, during a meeting in which the understanding of monetary policy in a post-pandemic was a highlight topic.

Ghana’s CBDC Would Run in Parallel with  Fiat Currency

Opoku-Afari highlighted that the digital currency project is part of the central bank’s recognition of the need for digital payments and the digitization of financial services. Regarding this topic, the CBDC program would help to transform the African nation.

Opoku-Afari also noted that a digital currency could encourage financial inclusion, the efficiency, and stability of the payment system, as well as promote competitiveness in the financial sector.

According to the CryptoBriefing news portal, today many Ghanaians turn to non-bank mobile money services to store their wealth due to the ineffectiveness of the financial system. However, some providers of such services issue “electronic money”, which does not receive a supportive stance by cash.

Faced with this situation, Opoku-Afari highlighted that the digital cedi would be seen as a fiat currency that could be used by financial services and fintechs to add value to digital money. “The Central Bank’s digital currency is FIAT money, it is cash by itself, so that the financial institution, such as banks and Fintech companies, will be able to create added value in digital money.”

African Nations Are exploring the vast world of Digital Currencies

The Central Bank of Ghana previously showed interest in testing the viability of a CBDC back in 2019. At the time, BoG Governor Ernest Addison revealed that CBDC development would happen in a sandbox, with the possibility of issuing a Ghanaian e-cedi (national currency) shortly. Later this year, he assured that the bank was in the advanced stages of introducing a digital currency.”

He said that with this kind of thing, users would have to go through phases and the first phase was really into the design of the electronic money and the team that has gone quite far in the design phase, is looking at the implementation phase,” Addison added during a conference last month.

Although cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Ghana, digital currency efforts show that the nation’s central bank is recognizing the need to set the financial system in digital currency. In May this year, the national regulators said that cryptocurrencies are not receiving regulations from the Commission.

Although the pilot will start its activities in September 2021, a definitive schedule for the possible launch of a digital cedi remains unclear. The entity’s deputy governor said last week that the bank’s pilot’s success rate would pave the way for the next stages.

By: Jenson Nuñez