The European Central Bank announced cuts of 0.25% (or 25 basis points) on three of its main interest rates: the main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility, and the deposit facility. President Christine Lagarde emphasized that future decisions regarding additional cuts will depend on market reactions and evolving data. European Central Bank Cuts Interest Rates […]
Bitcoin News
Kraken Insists It Will Keep USDT Listed in European Markets
Kraken, a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, insists it will keep USDT listed in European markets as long as regulations regarding stablecoins are not finalized. Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Kraken’s Asset Growth and Management Business, clarified they will “continue to look at all options to offer USDT under the upcoming regime.” Kraken Will Keep Tether’s USDT […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Proves European Central Bank Wrong: Hits All-Time High Against Euro
Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency, continues its remarkable bullish run, surpassing the ,000 mark on Monday and inching closer to its all-time high of ,000. Simultaneously, BTC has achieved a significant milestone against the Euro as economic concerns escalate across Europe.
BTC Achieves Record Highs Against 14 G20 Currencies
Despite previous skepticism from European authorities, Bitcoin has soared to an all-time high of ,200 against the official currency of the European Union (EU). This achievement is noteworthy, considering the Euro’s recent depreciation against Bitcoin, as depicted in the chart below.
On February 22, the European Central Bank (ECB) expressed doubts about Bitcoin’s potential as a global decentralized digital currency, citing its “limited use” for legitimate transactions.
The ECB argued that Bitcoin had failed to live up to its initial promise of becoming a widely accepted payment or a reliable investment. It also highlighted the alleged “inconvenience, slowness, and high costs” of Bitcoin transactions.
The ECB further raised concerns about the “history of price manipulation” and fraudulent activities associated with Bitcoin. It attributed these issues to the absence of a “fair value” for the cryptocurrency. However, despite the ECB’s reservations, Bitcoin has experienced a surge in institutional and retail investments.
The recent approval and success of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have played a pivotal role, attracting inflows of over .3 billion to the BTC market within just two months, prompting renewed bullish sentiment in the industry.
Bitcoin’s success extends beyond its achievement against the Euro. The cryptocurrency has reportedly reached all-time highs against the currencies of fourteen G20 countries, including the Japanese Yen, British Pound, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Chinese Yuan, New Zealand Dollar, Swedish Krona, and South Korean Won.
Bitcoin Set For Potential Surge To 0k
Reports of an impending surge in Bitcoin’s value have sparked excitement among investors, as market expert Gert Van Lagen predicts another substantial price increase.
With BlackRock’s renewed interest in purchasing Bitcoin and a reported scarcity of the cryptocurrency on over-the-counter (OTC) desks, conditions seem favorable for a straight pump to 0,000. Van Lagen emphasizes that with limited resistance to upward movement, the potential for exponential growth appears limitless.
The analyst suggests that continued buying by spot ETFs at a rate of 0 million per day, coupled with a shallow market depth of approximately -40 million, can drive significant price surges.
Van Lagen’s analysis also suggests that based on historical cycles, once the 1.618 Fibonacci extension of the 2018 bear market is breached, Bitcoin peaks within 2-3 months at the 2.272 extension. Currently, the 2.272 extension projects a potential peak of 7,000.
Looking back at previous cycles, notable patterns emerge. 2013 Bitcoin topped within six weeks at the 2.272 extension of the 2011 bear market after breaking the 1.618 extension.
Similarly 2017, Bitcoin peaked within three months at the 2.272 extension of the 2015 bear market, following a breakthrough of the 1.618 extension.
Bitcoin has surpassed the 1.618 extension of the 2018 bear market in the current market. Van Lagen anticipates that Bitcoin will likely peak at the 2.272 extension of the 2018 bear market, estimated at around 0,000.
Currently, the largest cryptocurrency on the market is trading at ,300, up over 5% in the last 24 hours and over 27% in the last seven days.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Binance Survey: 73% of European Users Optimistic About Crypto’s Future
A new Binance survey has found that 73% of European respondents are optimistic about the future of crypto, with 55% exclusively using cryptocurrencies for everyday purchases. “We are delighted to see the high level of optimism amongst European crypto users, reflecting the growing interest in crypto and blockchain technologies,” said Binance’s CMO.
Europe ‘Actively Paving the Way for Mainstream Adoption of Digital Assets’
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance recently surveyed its European users in France, Spain, Italy, and Sweden to understand their crypto investing habits. The survey was conducted between Oct. 14 and Nov. 8, 2023, with 10,498 participants. The results were released on Jan. 24.
According to the results, 73% of respondents are optimistic about the future of cryptocurrency, with 55% exclusively using cryptocurrencies for everyday purchases and 24% making over half their trades in crypto. Beyond everyday spending, the survey reveals diverse crypto uses: 34% for long-term trading, 26% for saving, 13% for day trading, and 9% for routine purchases.
Rachel Conlan, CMO of Binance, commented:
We are delighted to see the high level of optimism amongst European crypto users, reflecting the growing interest in crypto and blockchain technologies.
“The growing use of crypto in everyday purchases and its diverse applications highlights the integration of digital assets into our lives,” she continued. “With Europe at the forefront of implementing a secure and harmonized regulatory framework for the industry through MiCA, it’s evident that the region is actively paving the way for the mainstream adoption of digital assets.”
Among survey respondents, 82% have been involved in crypto for at least a year, with 73% in the one to five-year range and 5% entering the space in the last six months. Moreover, over half (53%) are active traders, employing diverse frequencies, from monthly (23%) to weekly (17%) and daily (12%).
Regarding the key drivers for crypto adoption, 20% of respondents cited the potential for high returns as the key driver, 18% emphasized the ideals of decentralization and financial autonomy, and 17% indicated that they are motivated by innovation and technology.
What do you think about this Binance survey of European users? Let us know in the comments section below.
Coinbase Expands European Footprint With Approval to Operate in France
Crypto exchange Coinbase has received approval as a registered virtual asset service provider in France. “This registration allows Coinbase to operate in France, continuing our plans to grow across Europe,” the crypto platform detailed. “France is an important market for Coinbase … We are dedicated to partnering with high-bar regulators across jurisdictions to help update the financial system.”
Coinbase Registered in France
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) announced Thursday that it has obtained a virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration in France. The company wrote on social media platform X:
Bonjour la France. We’ve received approval in France as a registered VASP. This is an important market for us and represents another chapter in our Go Deep, Go Broad international strategy.
Coinbase announced its strategy to “go broad and go deep” in February last year in an effort to scale globally. The firm detailed at the time that “go broad” entails launching “foundational products that are a gateway to Web3 and crypto in every country” while “go deep” concerns launching “localized infrastructure and public-facing products with a full suite of services.”
The Nasdaq-listed crypto firm described: “Today we have reached a significant milestone in Coinbase’s continued international expansion journey: receiving PSAN (VASP) approval from the French regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) … This registration allows Coinbase to operate in France, continuing our plans to grow across Europe.”
Specifically, the VASP status allows Coinbase to offer retail and institutional investors in France the custody of digital assets, the buying and selling of digital assets in legal tender, and the trading of digital assets against other digital assets.
A recent survey by Toluna found that 10% of French adults currently own cryptocurrencies and 24% plan to buy, sell, and or trade crypto in the next 12 months. “Demand is increasing. And why wouldn’t it? Some 60% of French adults believe that the global financial system unfairly favors powerful interests,” said Coinbase. The crypto firm emphasized:
France is an important market for Coinbase … We are dedicated to partnering with high-bar regulators across jurisdictions to help update the financial system, and France is no different.
Coinbase explained that it recently showed commitment to the European markets by choosing Ireland as its MiCA entity location. “The regulatory clarity MiCA provides to the industry is hugely welcome, and shows that the region is recognizing the potential that emerging technology can provide,” the exchange stated. “The recent adoption of MiCA by European Union policymakers also represents a pivotal moment for cryptocurrencies in the region.”
What do you think about Coinbase expanding in Europe with approval to operate in France? Let us know in the comments section below.
European Banking Authority Launches New Consultation on Crypto Travel Rule
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has recently launched a new consultation process concerning implementing the so-called travel rule for cryptocurrency transactions. The institution is seeking feedback on the defined procedures that crypto assets service providers (CASPs) must complete to collect the needed information to comply with the travel rule, and the actions they must take when getting this information is not possible.
European Banking Authority Holds Consultation on Guidelines for Travel Rule Adoption
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has opened a new consultation that seeks to receive feedback on the procedures proposed to apply the travel rule to transfers that use wallets hosted by crypto asset service providers.
The rules are focused on “preventing the abuse of funds and certain crypto-assets transfers for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes” and complement another consultation process made by the institution in June that dealt with due diligence procedures for anti-money laundering processes.
In its most recent Opinion about money laundering and terrorism financing risks, the EBA found that most competent European authorities believe risks related to crypto assets service providers (CASPs) are significant or very significant.
These risks are derived from many factors, including “the pseudo-anonymity of transactions, the interaction with the dark web, the use of crypto-assets in predicate offenses such as cybercrime, complex fraud schemes, crypto-investment scams, increasing money laundering, and circumvention of sanctions.”
Guideline Details
The presented guidelines leave out the application of the travel rule for transactions between unhosted wallets, given that these exclude the intermediation of a CASP. However, incoming transactions from an unhosted wallet to a wallet hosted by a CASP will have to comply with the travel rule if the amount involved is over 1,000 euros (,096).
The guidelines describe a set of procedures that CASPs must apply to determine if the user starting the transaction is in control of both addresses involved. These involve advanced analytical tools, taking photos or videos of the user, sending a predefined amount to the CASP’s account, signing a specific message in the account and wallet software, and requesting the customer digitally sign a message into the account and wallet software, among other actions.
CASPs should use at least two procedures to obtain the required data. Nonetheless, if CASPs cannot collect the information after these processes, they should leverage more processes to complete the required information.
The consultation will run until February 26, 2024.
What do you think about the EBA’s consultation on the travel rule procedures? Tell us in the comment section below.
Analysts Fear European Digital Identity Wallet Implementation Might Lead to Mass Surveillance
A group of analysts and companies have raised their voices against the risks that the upcoming European Digital Identity Wallet implementation might bring to Europeans’ privacy. Article 45 of a leaked Eidas document (Electronic Identification, Authentication, and Trust Services) indicates that web browsers distributed in Europe will have to accept certificates and cryptographic keys selected by the European Union (EU), opening the doors to online surveillance.
European Digital Identity Wallet Project Could Introduce Means for Online Surveillance
The technical implementation of the European Digital Identity Wallet has analysts and experts worried, with some warning against the veiled introduction of a system to exert online surveillance over European citizens.
Since the announcement of the final agreement on the project, more than 500 scientists and researchers from 39 countries and foundations like Mozilla have called on the European Union (EU) to rework a leaked Eidas (Electronic Identification, Authentication, and Trust Services) document to address these concerns.
The problem lies in Article 45 of the document, which establishes that web browsers distributed in Europe have to accept digital certificates and cryptographic keys from the EU and its member countries.
According to the experts, this would mean that “any EU member state or third party country, acting alone, is capable of intercepting the web traffic of any EU citizen, and there is no effective recourse.” An open letter from these scientists declared:
The current proposal radically expands the ability of governments to surveil both their own citizens and residents across the EU by providing them with the technical means to intercept encrypted web traffic, as well as undermining the existing oversight mechanisms relied on by European citizens.
What Comes Next
While the final Eidas document has not been released to the public yet, the Mozilla Foundation has revealed that, according to its information, there have not been changes proposed to article 45 specifically, with the whole project up for voting on November 28. Mozilla also called for the document’s release before the voting session, explaining that “civil society and the public are still unable to read the proposed regulation, let alone scrutinize its impacts.”
The European Commission has disregarded the concern, stating that it was part of a misunderstanding of the project as it is presented. It reported that “there is no risk of government spying, nor breaching the confidentiality of internet connections” with the current iteration of Eidas in a Q&A session.
What do you think about the European Digital Identity Wallet project? Tell us in the comments section below.
European Union Finalizes Digital ID Wallet Agreement, Hints at Digital Euro Integration
The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) have finalized the agreement that will allow the implementation of a continent-wide digital ID wallet program. The agreement, which needs to be ratified at the parliamentary level, would greenlight the issuance of the EU digital ID wallet in accordance with the “Europe’s Digital Decade” framework, which targets the digitization of Europe.
European Union Agrees on a Digital ID Wallet Plan
The European Union (EU) has finalized the agreement that will allow the implementation of a digital ID wallet project in all of the EU. The agreement, which builds on top of the digital ID political pact reached in June, aims to extend access to government-based and private services using a simple mobile document app.
The news was announced first by Thierry Breton, commissioner for the internal market of the EU, who celebrated the development by stating:
We did it! With the European Digital Identity wallet, all European citizens will be able to have a secured e-identity for their lifetime.
Breton also reinforced that the wallet will have the “highest level of both security and privacy,” letting Europeans control which apps have access to their data. Private businesses and companies like Amazon and Facebook will have to implement public identification checks using these digital ID services based on European standards.
What Comes Next
The digital ID wallet might integrate with the Digital Euro in the future, as Breton hinted as a possible connection between these two services. Robert Roos, a member of the European Parliament who was present when the agreement was reached, explained how Breton suggested the future link.
Roos declared that after the agreement, Breton stated that now that the EU had an identity wallet, they had to put something in it, referring to the digital euro, the European central bank digital currency (CBDC) that recently entered its “preparation” phase.
These developments are inscribed in a framework the EU calls “Europe’s Digital Decade,” which seeks to digitize most government services and private businesses and educate a “digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals.”
Nonetheless, the agreement still needs to be ratified by the European Parliament and all of its members. If approved, “Member States will have to provide EU Digital Identity Wallets to their citizens 24 months after adoption of Implementing Acts setting out the technical specifications for the EU Digital Identity Wallet and the technical specifications for certification.”
What do you think about implementing a digital ID wallet in the European Union? Tell us in the comments section below.
European Regulator Clarifies MiCA Timeline — Warns No Such Thing as Safe Crypto Asset
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is preparing to implement the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The regulator has issued several crypto warnings that investors and users of crypto services providers should be aware of, particularly before MiCA is fully implemented. The regulator cautioned: “Even with the implementation of MiCA, retail investors must be aware that there will be no such thing as a ‘safe’ crypto-asset.”
ESMA Issues Crypto Warnings as It Prepares to Implement MiCA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement on Tuesday clarifying the timeline for the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). ESMA also highlighted several risks associated with crypto assets, noting that MiCA won’t be fully implemented until December 2024.
“The entry into force of MiCA is a fundamental development for the establishment of a single rulebook for the regulation and supervision of crypto-asset issuance, trading, and service provision,” ESMA explained. “Such activities are not currently regulated by existing common European Union (EU) financial services legislation.”
However, ESMA has reminded crypto holders and customers of crypto service providers that “MiCA does not address all of the various risks associated with these products,” emphasizing:
Many crypto-assets are by nature highly speculative. Moreover, crypto-assets are prone to novel operational or security risks … Even with the implementation of MiCA, retail investors must be aware that there will be no such thing as a ‘safe’ crypto-asset.
“Full MiCA rights and protections will not apply in the implementation phase of MiCA,” ESMA clarified. “MiCA rules on the provision of crypto-asset services will not enter into application until December 2024.”
ESMA also urged market participants to “make adequate preparations” to ensure a timely and orderly transition toward MiCA. “These preparations should also involve early dialogue between entities currently providing crypto-asset services in the EU and the relevant competent authorities of the jurisdictions in which they operate to inform them of their transition plans,” the regulator added.
Moreover, ESMA cautioned: “Even after MiCA becomes applicable to crypto-asset service providers, member states have the option of granting entities already providing crypto-asset services in their jurisdictions up to an additional 18-month ‘transitional period’ during which they may continue to operate without a MiCA license.” ESMA detailed:
This means that holders of crypto-assets and clients of crypto-asset service providers may not benefit from full rights and protections afforded to them under MiCA until as late as 1 July 2026.
What do you think about ESMA’s crypto warnings and its preparation to implement MiCA? Let us know in the comments section below.
European Banks to Disclose Exposure to Crypto Assets
Banks in the European Union will have to disclose their exposure to cryptocurrencies, EU institutions announced. The obligation will be introduced under a deal to implement globally agreed regulatory standards meant to improve the resilience of the financial institutions.
Deal Reached to Finalize EU Reforms of Banking Rules Addressing Crypto Risks
Representatives of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached a provisional agreement to amend EU regulations on capital requirements for banks. The changes seek to make EU banks more resilient to economic shocks by implementing the Basel III global standards while taking into account European specifics.
The third Basel Accord was agreed by the European Union and its G20 partners in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. It represents a framework of international standards for bank capital adequacy, stress testing, and liquidity requirements which was first announced in late 2010 but its implementation was repeatedly postponed until 2025.
The negotiators also agreed on a transitional regime for crypto assets. To address specific, associated risks, banks in the European Union will be required to disclose their exposure to cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
“Given the ongoing work of the Basel committee, it was decided that the Commission should come up with a relevant legislative proposal to implement these future Basel standard and specify the prudential treatment of such exposures during the transitional period,” the European Parliament said in a press release.
Also, by Dec. 31, 2028, the European Commission is expected to assess the overall state of the banking system in Europe’s single market, working closely with the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Central Bank (ECB). The executive body in Brussels will then report to the European Parliament and the Council on the “appropriateness of the Union regulatory and supervisory frameworks for banks.”
In January of this year, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) supported a bill designed to enforce the global bank capital rules, including strict regulations meant to cover crypto-related risks for banking institutions keeping digital assets. ECON must also approve the latest agreement.
The deal comes after in April European lawmakers greenlighted the EU’s new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) law which introduces comprehensive regulations for the crypto industry in Europe. The legislation was also adopted by the EU Council in May and will be implemented across the European Union by 2025.
How could the upcoming crypto disclosure requirements for EU banks affect cryptocurrency users in Europe? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.