SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has presented a framework for a global central bank digital currency (CBDC) system while claiming to have a solution for interoperability between different networks.

Russia has blocked access to the website of one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, OKX, at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The European Council has voted through the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• SWIFT Presents Framework for Global CBDC System
• Russia Blocks Access to Crypto Exchange OKX’s Website
• European Council Passes Comprehensive Crypto Regulation
• SIX Launches Comprehensive Crypto Data Offering in Partnership with CryptoCompare

SWIFT Presents Framework for Global CBDC System

SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has presented a framework for a global central bank digital currency (CBDC) system while claiming to have a solution for interoperability between different networks.

The move comes after experiments involving the central banks of France and Germany as well as commercial banks including HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Wells Fargo. SWIFT says it carried pit transactions between different blockchains using both CBDCs and fiat currencies.

Central banks have for years weighed the idea of digitizing fiat currencies through distributed ledger technology, but concerns surrounding how different countries’ CBDCs could interact using different networks arose.

SWIFT has said that different blockchain networks could “be interlinked for cross-border payments through a single gateway,” and that its “new transaction management capabilities could orchestrate all inter-network communication."

The organization has recently partnered with the smart contract platform Chainlink to bridge traditional finance and blockchains.

Russia Blocks Access to Crypto Exchange OKX’s Website

Russia has blocked access to the website of one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, OKX, at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

A search for the exchange’s domain records from Russia’s internet censorship agency Roskomnadzor, shows the website has been blocked under article 15.3 of Russia’s law on Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection.

The article is meant to protect against the spread of fake information, threats to financial organizations, calls for extremist activity, and more. No specific reason was given to block OKX’s website, however.

Notably, local courts in Russia have in the past ordered for the websites of other cryptocurrency exchanges to be blocked.

European Council Passes Comprehensive Crypto Regulation

The European Council has voted through the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

MiCA sets to bring the issuance of cryptocurrencies under the wing of institutional regulation and establishes a first-time regime for cryptoasset service providers in the EU. It imposes reserve requirements on stablecoins and is meant to avoid Terra-style collapses.

Before the legislation is formally adopted, the European Parliament’s economic affairs committee will also vote on the proposal. Then, after its text is translated to the EU’s more than 20 official languages, MiCA will be adopted into the EU’s Official Journal to formalize its enforcement.

The regulation includes a 12–18-month adaptation period to prepare for the new laws.

SIX Launches Comprehensive Crypto Data Offering in Partnership with CryptoCompare

Swiss financial data expert SIX, one of Europe’s leading financial information providers, is making CryptoCompare’s cryptocurrency data available for its broad customer base in a new offering.

As a result, SIX can now cover more than 85% of all cryptocurrency market activities worldwide at a time in which market participants are expanding their digital asset offerings.

High-quality data is especially important as regulatory bodies place digital assets under greater scrutiny to protect investors and ensure transparency in these markets, as evidenced by ESMA with the introduction of the Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) Regulation.

CryptoCompare is a trusted, FCA-regulated, UK-based digital asset market data provider, aggregating data from over 300 venues globally. Through the partnership, SIX now provides real-time historical pricing data, order book and cryptocurrency derivatives data built on CryptoCompare’s proprietary aggregate pricing methodology.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

Build your project with CoinDesk Data

Terms | Privacy

13 Charles II St, SW1Y 4QU

London, UK

This email may include advertisements by third parties. None of the advertised or promoted products and services have been verified or approved by us and this email is not any endorsement by us of the third party or of their products or services.