News around the crypto space, blockchain technology, and finance is taking an increasingly prominent place in news coverage. What’s next for digital central bank currencies (CBDCs) around the world? How are banks and other companies operating in the crypto space? It is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain an overview. But don’t worry! We at the podcast “Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll” will take care of that for you and summarize the most important news around traditional and crypto-native finance as well as blockchain technology on a monthly basis.

Event Tip: Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Are this year’s media partner of our CryptX conference, which is all about Web 3.0, Blockchain and digital assets of finance. Experience the future of the internet, finance and investing and learn all about trends and developments around #Crypto, #Blockchain & digital assets from the most important minds in the industry. Tomorrow begins today!

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Have crypto and DeFi failed?

What is the evidence from last week? – Especially the insolvencies of many “CeFi” companies:

• Ailing crypto investment and lending platform Celsius files for insolvency :
  A month ago, Celsius caused a stir by freezing its investors’ holdings in the crypto crash. Now comes the next shock: Celsius, after all one of the largest CeFi crypto companies through which Nuri investors also invested money, has filed for bankruptcy in New York.
  
  
• Billion-dollar hedge fund bankruptcy of “Three Arrows Capital” shakes crypto world :
  The company not only invested its own money until the end, but borrowed large amounts of cryptocurrencies to invest in other projects – including the Anchor protocol in the bankrupt Terra ecosystem. The bankruptcy now filed affects many lenders, including crypto.com and Voyager. The founders, who had previously gone into hiding, have now surfaced in Dubai and are commenting on the incidents.

• Behind the case of Voyager – Crypto broker acted like a bank and went bankrupt :
  In an industry where companies are closely linked by a web of debt, bankruptcies quickly drag down multiple players – much like the financial crisis in 2008. Voyager was Three Arrows Capital’s largest lender and was thus indirectly dragged into the wake of the bankruptcy.

• Crypto lender Vauld also applied for “Moratorium” in Singapore – similar to the ” Chapter 11 “ -Insolvency :
  Vauld primarily owes retail investors around USD 360 million invested in Terra’s Anchor protocol, as well as many cryptocurrencies. In addition, some unsecured loans were extended, which have now defaulted. Already since the beginning of July 2022, Vauld had blocked the crypto deposit and prevented the withdrawal

• Coinbase in the wake of bad news – insider trading and allegations of trading crypto securities:
  A former Coinbase product manager has been charged along with two others in a first-time crypto insider trading case. In a separate complaint, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that nine of the 25 tokens allegedly traded under the scheme were securities. Coinbase strongly denies the allegations.

• Tesla sold $936 million worth of bitcoin in second quarter :
  Tesla ended the second quarter with only USD 218 million in Bitcoin (BTC), down from USD 1.26 billion in the previous three quarters. However, Elon Musk stated in the earnings call that Tesla is open to increasing its Bitcoin exposure in the future. He said the sale should not be taken as a judgment on Bitcoin.

• Hundreds of employees will also be laid off at Europe’s largest crypto fintech :
  The wave of layoffs in the fintech sector continues in the European crypto ecosystem. For example, arguably the most successful European crypto fintech, Austrian crypto exchange Bitpanda, is laying off 270 employees and admitting mistakes in its hiring pace.
  
• Savings banks don’t want to offer crypto trading :
  The German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV) warns of “incalculable risks” and advises customers against trading in cryptocurrencies. Decision-makers in the Savings Banks Finance Group (SFG) had been struggling for several months over the right way to deal with cryptocurrencies. However, a wallet is to be developed in which, for example. tokenized securities may be held.

• ECB report considers a ban on bitcoin mining to be “probably” :
  This is according to a new report by the central bank. A complete ban on mining is still conceivable with a reference to the mining ban in China. This, he said, could slow the adoption of proof-of-work-based cryptocurrencies while promoting greener alternatives such as proof-of-stake (PoS).

What is the argument against it from the last few weeks? – Above all, further adoption of technology in traditional finance, as well as increasing regulation

• Major French bank Société Générale raises $30 million loan from maker DAO :
  One of the world’s largest banks is actively participating in the DeFi world: Société Générale is depositing specially generated “OHF tokens” to borrow DAI dollars from a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The bank’s crypto startup FORGE generated the security tokens placed on Ethereum as mortgage bonds. DAO stakeholders voted in favor, accepting the tokens as collateral and thus approving the loan.

• Maker DAO votes to accept $500 million in government and corporate bonds as collateral :
  The DAO is preparing to establish a new “vault” to hold 80% short-dated U.S. government bonds, as well as 20% investment grade corporate bonds. Both asset classes, are so far not accepted as collateral in “Vaults”, which are the collateral for the decentralized stablecoins “dai”. The current voting result can be viewed here (voting end: July 30).

• BNP Paribas issues tokenized bond for French energy company EDF on Ethereum blockchain :
  The proceeds of the bond will be used to finance solar energy projects through EDF ENR. EDF ENR assists businesses and individuals with the installation of solar energy systems. Both bond terms and ESG data are embedded in the token – arguably a significant improvement in terms of investor scrutiny of ESG impacts.

• Three executives are leaving JPMorgan to join crypto firms – despite the “Crypto Winters” :
  A Managing Director with 21 years of service moves to crypto platform “Algorand”; the former “head of ideation and digitization” joins Digital Currency Group as “head of corporate development” and the former Head of Asset Management Sales becomes COO at Pantera Capital, one of the leading investors in blockchain technology.

• Stablecoin regulation is picking up steam around the world:
  The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), a body that creates global standards for the regulation of securities markets in some 115 countries, has released a long-awaited report on regulatory recommendations for stablecoins. The UK government has also announced that it will regulate stablecoins for payment purposes. Back in June, the Japanese government announced the adoption of stablecoin regulations.

• In Europe, the two laws currently under negotiation have been finalized: The Markets in Cryptoasset Regulation (MiCAR) and the European implementation of the Travel Rule:
  The MiCAR negotiation process, now nearly two years in the making, is now complete and far-reaching regulation of stablecoins, token issuers and crypto service providers is in place. The second regulation, the so-called “travel rule,” corresponds to the extension of existing rules to crypto markets. This requires that information about the source of the asset and its recipient “travel” with the transaction and be stored on both sides of the transfer. This is intended to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, among other things.

• Despite crypto crisis – MicroStrategy buys additional 480 Bitcoin (BTC) :
  The software manufacturer MicroStrategy is unperturbed by the crisis on the crypto market, and is instead using it as a buying opportunity for new Bitcoin. With the purchase of another 480 BTC, the company’s crypto assets now amount to 129,699 BTC, which is a current equivalent of almost $4 billion.

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Corporates

• PayPal allows transfer of cryptocurrencies to external addresses :
  Since November 2021, PayPal has offered U.S. customers the ability to trade cryptocurrencies. Until now, transfers of crypto funds were only possible from one PayPal crypto account to another PayPal crypto account. With some delay, US customers can now transfer funds to their own external wallets.

• Binance receives “virtual asset service provider” license for Spain :
  The Spanish subsidiary Moon Tech Spain, S.L., has received registration as a Virtual Asset Services Provider (VASP) from the Spanish Central Bank. This registration allows Binance to offer the exchange and custody of cryptocurrencies in Spain in compliance with the requirements of the Spanish Central Bank’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) regulations.

• Meta tests Ethereum and Polygon NFTs on Facebook profiles. :
  Facebook users should be able to connect their crypto wallets to their Facebook profiles in the future. They will also be able to include their NFTs in Facebook posts. In addition to Ethereum and Polygon NFTs, Facebook will soon support Solana and Flow NFTs.

• Meta discontinues Novi service in September :
  The Novi app and “Novi on WhatsApp” will be turned off. As of July 21, users will no longer be able to deposit money into their accounts. Meta plans to use Novi’s technology in future products, such as its Metaverse project.

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Crypto

• Ethereum merge in September :
  According to current information from Ethereum developers, Ethereum is now scheduled to completely switch its consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake on September 19. This step has been awaited for a long time. The news recently caused a rapid Ethereum price increase.

• Russia wants to ban crypto payments :
  The Russian legislature, the Duma, has passed a bill to ban cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as a means of payment. This draft must now be approved by the Federation Council and signed by President Putin to enter into force.

• Smart contract insurance Chainproof starts work :
  As the world’s first regulated smart contracts insurance company, Quantstamp, Sompo and MunichRe have joined forces to form Chainproof. Chainproof is designed to insure losses resulting from smart contract hacks, among other things.

• Volksbank Mitte is the first German bank Bitcoin vending machine :
  In cooperation with Kurant and Sutor Bank, Volksbank Mitte has installed the first Bitcoin ATM at its main branch in Ingolstadt. Volksbank Mitte is the first bank to provide a Bitcoin ATM in Germany.

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Metaverse

• Retailers launch stores in the metaverse :
  Retailers Adidas, Burberry, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Samsung and Louis Vuitton launch Metaverse business. Avatars can stop by their clothing stores in the metaverse and purchase items that are then shipped to the buyer in the real world. Alternatively, a new digital garment can be purchased for an avatar.

• Silicon Valley to adopt metaverse standards :
  Meta, Microsoft and 35 other corporations want to create an industry standard for the Metaverse. However, one company is missing – Apple.

• Dubai probes government to bring into the metaverse :
  Dubai’s government plans to make part of its offices available in the Metaverse. The country is currently looking for partners to help organize the transition of some departments to the virtual world.

• Minecraft bans NFTs :
  According to developer Mojang, the “artificial scarcity” of digital goods is not compatible with equal access to the gaming world. Speculators had already started selling “Minecraft” NFTs.

• SAP looks to Metaverse to accelerate cloud adoption in India :
  A Metaverse experience platform gives users insight into SAP solutions. Existing and potential SAP customers can create avatars and learn how to accelerate their cloud migration and digital transformation initiatives.

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Digital Central Bank Currencies (CBDC)

• Survey provides concrete figures around CBDC usage in China :
  A survey published by Morning Consult shows that currently about 20% of the Chinese population has downloaded the Chinese CBDC e-CNY app. A large portion of the population currently does not see compelling benefits of e-CNY or know how to use it.

• Austrian central bank surveys population around digital euro :
  The published survey results show that the majority of Austrians are satisfied with the existing payment options and are only partially interested in a digital euro.

• Bank of Israel experiments with smart contracts and zero-knowledge proofs at CBDC. :
  In the current CBDC experiments, payment for a car was processed via a blockchain-based CBDC. In addition, the use of zero-knowledge proofs has been experimented with to enable high privacy for CBDC payments.

• France moves forward with wholesale CBDC efforts :
  According to Banque de France President François Villeroy de Galhau, four to five wholesale CBDC experiments will be conducted this year and next, including with foreign central banks. The wholesale CBDC should then be able to be used as early as 2023 as part of the European pilot regime for digital assets.