- The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Trials for CBDC
- Nationwide Heightens Crypto Regulatory Measures
- Is Silvergate on the Verge of Exiting the Market?
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Trials for CBDC
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) intends to start several trial projects to examine the financial benefits and possible applications of an Australian central bank digital currency (CBDC). Aside from collaborators, including New Zealand Banking Corp, Australia, Mastercard, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the RBA also works with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC).
The DFCRC is a $180 million research project backed by the Australian government, businesses, and academic institutions to bring together those involved in finance, education, and legislation to exploit potential in the financial system.
The RBA requested the utilization of case-specific instance proposals from different market participants, and RBA chose 14 of them to participate in the trial. These projects include offline transactions, trading in highly liquid assets, trading in natural resources, and highly integrated CBDC for reliable Web3 commerce.
The fact that the participants chosen for the pilot program represent various organizations and institutions within the Australian financial system, including small fintech startups and significant banking institutions, is encouraging, according to Brad Jones, an assistant governor at the RBA.
The two primary goals of the pilot project and the related research study are as follows. First and foremost, it will give the sector invaluable hands-on experience. Secondly, it will improve regulators’ comprehension of how CBDC (central bank digital currency) could assist the Australian economy and financial industry.
Nationwide Heightens Crypto Regulatory Measures
According to Nationwide, based in the UK, using credit cards to buy digital assets will be illegal. It will be possible to send at most $6,000 daily from regular checking accounts to exchanges. While some see this as a legitimate way to reduce the volatility of cryptocurrencies, banking institutions have come under fire for limiting how people can spend their money.
In a similar move, Santander imposed a $1,200 per-transaction limit and a $3,600 cap on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges over 30 days in November.
Is Silvergate on the Verge of Exiting the Market?
Due to its tight ties to Sam Bankman Fried’s (SBF) business, FTX, and the declining market, the scandal severely harmed the cryptocurrency-focused Silvergate Bank.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has received a notice from Silvergate that it cannot submit its annual report by the deadline. Despite earning a profit of $76 million in 2021, the business lost $949 million last year.
The price of Silvergate’s stock significantly dropped in response to this news, falling 44.2% several hours during the day, trading lowest at $7.55 from Wednesday’s close of $13.53. The stock traded at an all-time high of $219 in November 2021, at the peak of the price surge, making the current 96.5% share price decline of just under one and a half years severe.
