Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard noted key risks associated with cryptocurrency on Wednesday, including Facebook Libra in particular. 

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve member was speaking to the European Central Bank (ECB) colloqium in Frankfurt on “Monetary policy: the challenges ahead.” 

State Street today announced it would launch a new digital asset pilot with Gemini Trust Company, LLC, a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian launched by the Winklevoss twins. 

The pilot explores reporting scenarios on a user’s holdings within Gemini Custody. The pilot reports holdings on two cryptocurrencies, which have been chosen for liquidity reasons. The pilot applied to holdings such as security tokens, too. Users can consolidate the reporting of their digital assets, which have been serviced by Gemini, an independent digital asset custodian, with traditional assets serviced by State Street. 

ING, with $980 billion in total assets is the largest bank in the Netherlands, is moving into the crypto custody market.

Citing “people familiar with the matter,” according to Reuters, ING is working on developing technology to help clients store cryptocurrencies.

Deutsche Bank says that inflation could become “more embedded” in the world economy, leading people to later question fiat money. The bank predicts “demand for alternative currencies will therefore likely be significantly higher by the time 2030 rolls around.”

The bank even wonders if, as authorities will face policy dilemmas as they try to balance higher yields with record debt levels, fiat currencies will survive. Read More

The Bank of Russia supports a ban on cryptocurrency payments. The Bank says that “private cryptocurrencies cannot be equated with fiat money and cannot be legal tender.”

It added: “If it is decided to ban cryptocurrencies as a means of payment at the legislative level, we consider it appropriate to support this position.” Read More

Federal prosecutors accused Virgil Griffith, a research scientist at the Ethereum Foundation , of helping North Korea evade US sanctions. Formally charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Griffith faces up to 20 years in prison. He allegedly attended the conference after the U.S. government refused him permission to go. Read More

The gap between cryptocurrency and the banking industry is shrinking.

For instance, Bitwala, a German crypto banking startup, has begun rolling out their mobile banking app. Users who own an Android or iOS device can begin experimenting with this new functionality. The services are available across the entire European Economic Area. Clients in 31 countries can obtain a German bank account which includes a Bitcoin wallet and trading support. The creation of an account takes just minutes, according to the company. This would make it on par with opening a traditional bank account in one’s own country. Read More

Crypto Wendy, who is keeping her eye on Bitcoin ETFs, futures and institutional interest in the crypto market these days, wants you to know that she is no trading expert.

“…I am here to learn and grow with everyone,” she says.

She started out in the space as a trader and hosting free meetups at Cryptospace in San Pedro, teaching and talking about basic trading methods. Three times a week, she does a live stream and discusses news and current events that impact the market on her YouTube channel. She believes we’ve seen the bottom in the crypto market for now. Read More

Jim Rogers believes governments will interfere with the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrency, but not blockchain.

“The blockchain has a great future,” the famous investor told BBLOKK OFFICIAL. “Blockchain is changing everything we know, and it’s going to change even more. A lot of people are going to lose their job because of blockchain, but a lot of people lost jobs because of electricity, and electricity turned out to be a good thing for all of us; likewise with blockchain.” Read More

Usually, when people think about cryptocurrency, it’s on hard drives, cell phones or third-party exchanges. But, cryptocurrency debit cards have long been an exciting frontier for crypto-enthusiasts.

The large San Francisco-based exchange, Coinbase, has offered a debit card, the Shift Payment Card, which allows users to gain access to their cryptocurrency just like their bank accounts. But, the largest cryptocurrency exchange is hardly alone in offering such a service. Read More