The rise in the crypto market has not benefited stablecoins; South Africa imposes license requirement on crypto exchanges; Chinese citizens will be able to use CBDC on buses!
The cryptocurrency market, which has been on a downward trend since the beginning of 2023, has been in a recovery process since the middle of last month.
As of June 15, with BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF application and successive applications from similar companies, the crypto market turned its direction upwards.
Minor rallies have occurred in many cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin (BTC). Bitcoin, on the other hand, rose to $31,000, its highest level in the past year.
However, the rises in the crypto market did not benefit stablecoins.
Stablecoins failed to take advantage of the market load
The only sector that has not benefited from the value increases in the cryptocurrency market in the last few weeks has been the stablecoin sector. As noted in a report by rating agency Fitch, volumes in stablecoins are quite low.
According to a chart published by The Block, the total stablecoin supply has slumped from $138 billion at the start of the year to $124 billion on July 3.
The monthly average of the daily transaction volumes of the top 10 stablecoins decreased from $ 53 billion in March 2023 to $ 28 billion in May.
South Africa imposes license requirement on crypto exchanges
As the crypto industry continues to evolve, it comes with certain regulations and rules. Especially as of 2023, governments are gradually increasing their sanctions on the crypto industry and companies.
After the FTX collapse, many regulatory bodies, especially the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), increased the pressure on the crypto industry and its companies.
Likewise, the European Union has put the MiCA law into force and has started some official regulations. But last June, the SEC’s legal action against two giant cryptocurrency exchanges caused a redistribution of cards in the crypto industry. With the SEC suing Coinbase and Binance, many countries took action. Most countries have taken many measures to protect investors over the past few weeks. The last country to take measures to protect investors was South Africa.
According to the country’s financial regulator, South Africa will require crypto exchanges in the country to operate with licenses by the end of the year.
South Africa said they opened license applications a few weeks ago. Approximately 20 applications have been made since the opening of applications.
Luno, owned by Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, and VALR backed by Pantera, as it is known, are some of South Africa’s largest trading centers. It is also worth noting that global platforms such as Binance also operate in the country. However, it will become mandatory for these companies to obtain a license in the country after a point.
Chinese citizens will be able to use CBDC on buses!
An unexpected move came from China to promote CBDCs. In Jinan, the capital of eastern China’s Shandong Province, digital yuan payments are now accepted on all bus routes. With this, the country has taken a big step towards the adoption of the CBDC program.
This innovation, which is still in the pilot phase, tested CBDC payments on two bus lines, B52 and BRT5. After this trial, the city of Jinan announced that it has started to implement the new payment method across its entire bus network.
China expands CBDC uses
Local media outlet Shunwang-Jinan Daily reported recently that Jinan City has updated all card readers and bus route software to allow passengers to pay using the county’s CBDC.
The city of Jinan also pointed out that it will provide fare discounts to passengers who choose the CBDC payment method. According to the announcement, each person who chooses to pay with digital yuan will be able to make a maximum of two discounted rides per day and a maximum of six discounted rides in a month.
However, China continues to take various steps for the adoption of the digital yuan in the country lately. As it is known, China announced that on April 23, 2023, in the city of Changshu, it will start paying civil servants’ salaries with digital yuan. In the announcement, it was stated that personnel in the civil service, public institutions and state-owned units will be paid in their CBDC as of May.
Meanwhile, French bank BNP Paribas has also recently partnered with the Bank of China (BOC) to promote the use of the digital yuan.
