🌎 Around The World

With the SBF interview dropping, it’s difficult to get away from the sensationalism smothering Twitter. But if you take a peak under the surface, some parts of the ecosystem are still pushing forward. Here’s a global round-up:

• Japan – earlier today, Binance announced that they had acquired Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC). The exchange is registered in Japan with the Financial Services Agency (JFSA) as a regulated crypto entity. The move is part of a trend by Binance to secure regulatory approval or authorisation in jurisdictions around the world. This is the first one in East Asia.
• France and Luxembourg – national banks in France and Luxembourg yesterday conducted a successful CDBC test. The Venus initiative saw the European Investment Bank issue a 100 million euro digital native bond. It was settled using experimental CDBC tokens. It is the latest in a series of CDBC tests by Banque de France “to manage liquidity in decentralized finance and settle cross-border transactions“.
• Brazil – in a move appearing to mimic El Salvador’s chosen path, Brazil passed a law to legalise cryptocurrency as a payment method yesterday. The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil passed a regulatory framework but will still require the signature of the Brazilian president to enact it. As well as allowing payment, the law also paves the way for the creation of licenses for crypto exchange programs.