Treasury Sets Precedent with VC-Mixer Sanctions
Treasury for the first time today sanctioned a virtual currency mixer, doing so for North Korea’s Blender.io, which operates on the Bitcoin blockchain. Treasury cites the mixer on grounds that it has been used to facilitate money laundering for Russian-linked malign ransomware groups.
BIS Survey Results Highlight Accelerating CBDC Action
The BIS today issued its latest CBDC survey, finding that nearly two-thirds of central banks think that they may issue a CBDC, with many indicating that the reasons for doing so include payment-system limited operating hours and the length of current transaction chains. Interestingly, a “considerable share” of surveyed central banks think that stablecoins have significant potential to become a widely used method of payment.
Fed Takes Guarded Stand on Banking Industry Condition
The Federal Reserve’s Supervision and Regulation Report today concludes that the industry’s market condition has weakened somewhat since the beginning of the year due to geopolitical stress, with U.S. banks now coming close to those in Europe. The Fed is thus monitoring stresses such as those in commodity markets.