For Ripple’s true believers, today is a very good day. Two major financial players — Western Union and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) — recently revealed pilot programs using the Ripple’s xCurrent settlement system. Although Ripple already has similar programs with dozens of other banks and money transfer companies, SAMA and Western Union are […]

The Bank of England released a pair of cryptocurrency-related articles today, prompting waves of commentary throughout the global financial press. The articles, pre-released from the BoE’s forthcoming Quarterly Bulletin 2014 Q3 report, focus on defining bitcoin’s core innovation — the trustless, distributed ledger better known as the block chain — and on examining the economics […]

In recent interview with trade publication CentralBanking.com, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Managing Director Ravi Menon addressed an issue that is rapidly becoming a very hot topic in the regulation world: Digital currency. As Singapore’s central bank, the MAS has a great deal of power over how any financial instrument is used in the country, […]

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Russia’s longstanding hostility to bitcoin may be easing. The paper reports that the Bank of Russia has altered its policies, and will no longer restrict the use of virtual currencies. Earlier this year, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office declared bitcoin to be an illegal form of currency, and […]

Earlier this week, Argentina’s central bank (BCRA) issed a stern warning about the risks of virtual currencies. Although this is a fairly typical attitude towards bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from central banks across the world, in Argentina the context is different. Argentina’s peso has seen 100% inflation in the last year, and the massive and […]

Speaking with The Canadian Press, outgoing Bank of Canada second-in-command Tiff Macklem said that his organization isn’t worried about the impact of bitcoin on the banking sector. According to Macklem, bitcoin’s innovations and implications for monetary policy are speculative, and “far into the future.” Given the tiny global market cap, and immature ecosystem, Macklem says […]

Following in the footsteps of Thailand, China and other countries in the region, Vietnam’s central bank issued a new warning on the dangers of Bitcoin today. The statement explained that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are not legal tender in Vietnam, and are not permitted as a form of payment within the country. The statement […]

The Central Bank of Jordan initiated a new policy this week blocking financial companies from using Bitcoin. The bank’s Executive Director, Maha Bahu, informed The Jordan Times yesterday that the CBJ had released new rules to all banks in the Kingdom prohibiting them from dealing in all virtual currencies, and in Bitcoin in particular. The […]