A recent study conducted by the analytics company Juniper Research estimated that payments via central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could reach $213 billion by 2030, Crypto Potato reports. 

The firm believes governments across the globe will use the product to boost financial inclusion and improve the monetary condition of emerging economies.

Juniper Research experts analyzing the fintech and payments market believe CBDC transactions could skyrocket from $100 million in 2023 to $213 billion by 2030 (a staggering 213,000% increase). 

The specialists said the financial product is still in its early days, adding that global centralized authorities will focus on it to improve digital settlements and enable additional monetary services. However, they might also use it to obtain control over the consumers’ finances and supervise their activities.

The research further determined that by 2030, 92% of the total value transacted via CBDCs will be paid locally. At a later stage, the tool could start settling cross-border settlements.

More than $1 billion of ether (ETH) has been permanently lost due to software bugs and human error. The revelation comes from a study by Conor Grogan, Coinbase’s director of product strategy and business operations.

The report revealed that 636,000 ether, or about $1.15 billion at current market prices, has been rendered inaccessible. This represents 0.5% of total ETH supply. Per Grogan, the lost ether includes coins sent to incorrect addresses and those lost due to smart contract bugs and other programming issues.

Most of the lost coins, or 513,746 ETH, were lost during the 2017 Parity wallet issue. The flaw was triggered by a user and led to a loss of $280 million at that time.

Over 85,000 ETH became inaccessible due to buggy smart contracts, which automate transactions and agreements on the Ethereum network. They have been responsible for many high-profile losses in the past.

Moreover, some 24,000 ETH were sent to Ethereum’s so-called “burn address,” a destination for which no one holds the private key. This can occur when users mistakenly send coins to an incorrect address or when smart contracts are programmed with errors.

The remaining lost ether is distributed among various bugs, mishandled transactions, and wallet issues. Despite advances in wallet software and user education, human error remains a significant factor in the loss of cryptocurrency.

The Central Bank of UAE launched the CBUAE Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Strategy, one of the nine initiatives of the CBUAE’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Programme, Gulf News reports.

CBDC is a risk-free form of digital money issued and guaranteed by the central bank and serves as a secure, cost-effective and efficient form of payment and a store of value. As part of the UAE's digital transformation, CBDC will address the challenges of domestic and cross-border payments, enhance financial inclusion and the move towards a cashless society.

The first phase of the strategy, which is expected to complete over the next 12 to 15 months, comprises three major pillars, the soft launch of mBridge to facilitate real-value cross-border CBDC transactions for international trade settlement; proof-of-concept work for bilateral CBDC bridges with India; and proof-of-concept work for domestic CBDC issuance covering wholesale and retail usage.

Bitcoin price surged on March 19 to surpass the $28,000 zone, marking a 16% boost in value in the past seven days, according to Cointelegraph’s MarketPro data. 

At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency was trading at $28,063, a 2.4% increase in the past 24 hours. The price reached $28,459 at its highest point during the day before trading at $26,877 during the day’s low.

Overall this week, Bitcoin has gained over 37% against the U.S. dollar. Bitcoin’s market capitalization added $194 billion in 2023, representing a 66% gain year-to-date, outperforming Wall Street banks stocks, especially with fears of a global banking crisis rising. Bitcoin is up about 65% so far this year, versus the S&P 500’s 2.5% gain and Nasdaq’s 15% decline in 2023.

Source: Cointelegraph 

Bitcoin is up 50% this year despite the collapse of major crypto-focused banks, beating major stock indexes and commodities, CNBC reports. 

On Jan. 1, bitcoin began trading at just over $16,500. On Wednesday, it was hovering around the $25,000 mark, thanks to a rally that began on Sunday.

The surge in price this year comes after bitcoin crashed 65% in 2022 after a number of major collapses of projects and hedge funds, bankruptcies, liquidity issues and the failure of FTX, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges.

The recent rise has come as somewhat of a surprise, given the closure of Silvergate Capital and Signature Bank, two of the biggest lenders to the crypto industry. And Silicon Valley Bank, viewed as the backbone of the technology startup industry, also failed.

Read full article on CNBC.com. 

UAE legal experts have issued a report analysing the regulations for virtual assets in the UAE, Arabian Business reports. 

The report, titled “Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework: An Evolving Landscape”, comes as the MENA region has been identified as the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency market.

As per a 2022 report by Chainalysis, MENA users received $566bn in cryptocurrency from July, 2021 to June, 2022. It represents a 48% increase compared to $272bn cryptocurrency value received in the previous year.

Within the MENA region, UAE is the fifth largest cryptocurrency market. Dubai has become a hub for virtual asset service providers that serve customers across Asia and Africa, not just in the Middle East.

The growth of the crypto market within UAE has acted as a driving force for the UAE regulators to take significant steps towards developing a regulatory framework for the digital assets sector.

KARM Legal Consultants, a law firm specialising in blockchain, cryptocurrency, Web3 and fintech in the UAE has, in collaboration with prominent legal experts from Hess Legal Counsel, MME and Nagele Attorneys, published a report analysing the regulatory landscape for virtual assets in various jurisdictions.

As the use of blockchain technology and its use cases continue to grow, so does the need for regulation. In the past few years, several positive regulatory developments for the virtual assets sector have been witnessed, as many jurisdictions globally have started to recognize virtual assets services.

With overall favourable regulatory ecosystems the UAE has cemented its position as a leading virtual assets friendly jurisdiction.

Read full article on Arabian Business