Good Afternoon Dinar Recaps,

UK travellers told to SWAP FOREIGN CURRENCY NOW ahead of coming SWITCH

"If you still have the notes from your travels you may find it hard to swap them back next year."

"UK holidaymakers are being advised to exchange any leftover Bulgarian Levs or Romanian Leu ahead of a significant financial shift which was due next year. Both nations are preparing to adopt the Euro, joining the eurozone, which will render their current native currencies obsolete and potentially complicate the process of converting them back into sterling."

"Bulgaria has been growing in popularity as a family holiday destination for UK travellers since 2018, with its beach resorts being named the most affordable in Europe. Hundreds of thousands of Brits now choose Bulgaria for their annual holiday each year."

"A similar situation is expected for the Lev and Leu, sparking concerns among tourists and expats. Mario Van Poppel, founder of Leftover Currency, said: "With Bulgaria and Romania joining the eurozone, British travellers holding onto Levs or Leu need to act promptly. "Once the Euro is adopted, it will become increasingly difficult and costly to convert these currencies back to sterling."

"He warned: "The window of opportunity is closing fast. If people don't exchange their levs or leu before the transition, they might face significant hurdles. Banks in the UK may no longer accept these currencies, and travellers might find themselves forced to travel back to Bulgaria or Romania just to get their money's worth."

"This is not only inconvenient but can also lead to financial losses."

@ Newshounds News™

Read more:  Liverpool Echo

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Israel selects 14 participants for Digital Shekel Challenge

In May the Bank of Israel unveiled the Digital Shekel Challenge, inviting participants to propose novel central bank digital currency (CBDC) applications through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs). It was inspired by a similar BIS and Bank of England initiative, Project Rosalind.

Today it announced the selection of 14 teams. Given the deep technical skill base in Israel, it’s not surprising that around a dozen of the teams are Israeli.

We believe just two teams don’t have direct Israeli links. One is IDEMIA France, known for its offline CBDC functionality. The other is OxPay, although there are several companies that go by that name.

Apart from IDEMIA which has more than $3 billion in revenues, two of the larger participants are Fireblocks and PayPal (Israel). Technically Fireblocks is U.S. based but is Israeli founded. It’s best known for its custody technology and the Fireblocks Network and recently has been using that network to target payments. Fireblocks is also a partner of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) in the development of digital government bonds and digital assets.

The full participant list is:

▪️Bits of Gold
▪️Brinks Israel Ltd. + Committed Digital Ltd
▪️COTI
▪️Credics Technologies LTD
▪️Team Energy, led by Viacheslav Pozharskii
▪️Fireblocks
▪️Idemia France SAS
▪️Kima Finance
▪️Open Finance LTD
▪️0xPay
▪️Paypal Israel LTD
▪️Qedit
▪️Shva
▪️Team Levana, led by Doron Asor

CBDC use cases
Meanwhile, the use cases range from connecting the CBDC to other payment systems to split payments, conditional payments and sub wallets. The participants will also explore implementing various technologies while using the digital shekel for payment.

Trials run for three months start in early August.

@ Newshounds News™

Read more:  Ledger Insights 

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RIPPLE- SEC UPDATE ON CLOSED-DOOR MEETING JULY 25

1. SEC did not ask Ripple to pay $102.6 million in penalty, attorney Jeremy Hogan says it was a legal argument.

 
2. SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit awaits final ruling from Judge Analisa Torres.

 
3. XRP hovers around psychological support level at $0.60, early on July 26.

"Pro-crypto attorney says Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple could settle in a “compromise” and not a win for the two parties. Attorney Bill Morgan, Fred Rispoli and Jeremy Hogan commented on the recent events in the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit, the closed-doors meeting and the likelihood of a settlement. "

"Pro crypto attorney Jeremy Morgan says that the SEC did not ask Ripple for $102.6 million in its filing. Instead, the regulator noted that even by Ripple’s argument the fine would be $102.6 million, far exceeding the remittance firm’s $10 million offer. "

"Ripple had argued in its filing that a $10 million fine would be apt for the alleged securities law violation.  

Attorney Fred Rispoli predicted that the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit will end by the end of July 2024. In a recent tweet attorney Bill Morgan commented on the closed-doors meeting with the SEC and said that a settlement is most likely with a compromise rather than a win for the parties. "

@ Newshounds News™

Read more:  FX Street 

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Philippines to launch wholesale CBDC by 2029 latest

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is working on Project Agila for wholesale central bank digital currency trials (wCBDC) trials. During a press briefing on the topic, Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said he expected the wCBDC to go live within the term of new BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr which runs until 2029. FinTech News reported that the launch would be early in the term.

The purpose of the current trials is to help both the central bank and ten participating commercial banks to go up the learning curve.

The Deputy Governor outlined three uses cases. The highest priority requirement is for interbank settlement on weekends and holidays. Another is the settlement of securities. And a third is cross border payments. Notably, the BSP is an observer of the mBridge project involving the BIS and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

@ Newshounds News™

Read more:  Ledger Insighta

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WHAT IS A NON-MARKET ECONOMY AND WHICH COUNTRIES ARE IN THIS CLASS

Nonmarket Economy Status under U.S. Trade Laws

The Department of Commerce has the authority to designate countries as NMEs for the purpose of U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) laws. An NME is a country that Commerce determines “does not operate on market principles of cost or pricing structures, so that sales of merchandise in such country do not reflect the fair value of merchandise.”

In designating a country as an NME, Commerce considers the extent to which :
(1) the country’s currency is convertible;
(2) its wage rates result from free bargaining between labor and management;
(3) joint ventures or other foreign investment are permitted;
(4) the government owns or controls the means of production; and
(5) the government controls the allocation of resources and price and output decisions.

"Commerce may also consider other factors that it considers appropriate. An NME designation remains in effect until revoked by Commerce. There are currently 12 countries, including Vietnam, designated as NMEs. Commerce designated Vietnam as an NME in 2002 during its antidumping investigation into Vietnamese catfish exports."

VIETNAM
"The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday it has delayed a difficult decision on whether to upgrade VIETNAM to market economy status by about a week until early August, citing IT disruptions from the CrowdStrike software bug.

A decision on the upgrade that Hanoi has long sought had been due by Friday. The upgrade is opposed by U.S. steelmakers, Gulf Coast shrimpers and honey farmers, but backed by retailers and some other business groups."

"VIETNAM has long argued it should be freed of the non-market label because of recent economic reforms, and it said that retaining the moniker is bad for increasingly close two-way ties that Washington sees as a counterbalance to China.

Opponents of upgrading VIETNAM - one of 12 economies labeled by Washington as non-market, including China, Russia, North Korea and Azerbaijan - argue that Hanoi's policy commitments have not been matched by concrete actions and it operates as a planned economy governed by the ruling Communist Party."

@ Newshounds News™

Read more:  CRS Reports, Reuters

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Silver Falls As Dollar Index Rebounds Amid Key Economic Data Analysis.

Silver prices experienced a significant decline of 4.2%, settling at 81,331 due to the fluctuating dollar index as traders assessed key economic data. 

The U.S. economy demonstrated stronger-than-expected growth in the second quarter, with a 2.8% annualized rate increase in GDP, as reported by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

Despite substantial rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023, the U.S. economy remains robust, buoyed by a resilient labor market even though the unemployment rate has risen to a 2-1/2-year high of 4.1%.

Additionally, the Labor Department reported a larger-than-expected decrease in new applications for unemployment benefits, with a drop of 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 235,000 for the week ending July 20. This reduction is partly attributed to the fading impact of weather-related distortions and temporary automobile plant closures.  

The previous week saw a rise in claims due to disruptions from Hurricane Beryl and retooling closures in the automobile sector. In a surprising move, China's central bank reduced its one-year medium-term lending facility rate by 20 basis points to 2.3%, the most significant cut since April 2020. This unexpected rate cut aims to stimulate economic activity amid global economic uncertainties.

From a technical perspective, the silver market is experiencing fresh selling pressure, with a 6.52% increase in open interest, bringing it to 29,188. Prices have fallen by 3,563 rupees, indicating a bearish trend. Currently, silver is receiving support at 79,830, and if this level is breached, it could test 78,330. On the upside, resistance is anticipated at 83,665, with a potential move above this level leading to a test of 86,000.

Silver Price Today

Open 27.99

High 28.22

Low 27.75

Prev close 27.98

@ Newshounds News™

Read more:  Investing  

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RKF Jr. says he would include Bitcoin, gold, and platinum in a basket to back Treasury bills

(Kitco News) – The list of politicians calling on the U.S. government to purchase and hold Bitcoin (BTC) as a strategic reserve asset continues to grow, with Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becoming the latest to advocate for holding the top crypto in the Treasury.

Kennedy spoke during industry day at Bitcoin 2024, the annual Bitcoin conference currently underway in Nashville, Tennesse, where he unveiled a plan that could see the U.S. become the world’s largest BTC holder.

During a conference panel with Roundtable’s Scott Melker and Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long, RFK Jr. admonished the Federal Reserve, saying the central bank had the interest of bankers, not the general public, at heart.

“The relationship between Congress and the Fed is both parasitical to our country, and it’s a symbiotic relationship,” he said. “The Fed is not a public institution … The decision-makers are appointed by the banking industry. Its function with these cycles of quantitative easing followed by high interest rates are… strip-mining cash and equity from the American middle class and pumping it upward to this new oligarchy of billionaires.”

"The coup de grâce was the lockdowns during Covid, which shut down all the small business in this country, which is what we should be nurturing, and kept open the Walmarts, and the Amazons, and Facebook, and the oil industry, and the processed food industries, and Big Ag, they all flourished during that period,” he added. “And meanwhile, Main Street just got liquidated.”

To help start the process of leveling the playing field and returning the U.S. to a system of sound money, Kennedy recommended the creation of a basket of hard currencies and other assets that could be used to provide solid backing for the U.S. dollar.

“I would be willing to add Bitcoin to the balance sheet. I’m going to do that. I’m gonna actually do a basket of hard currencies of maybe platinum and gold and other hard currencies and begin issuing at least the class of Treasury bills that are anchored to hard currency,” he said. “Let’s say the first year by 1% and then maybe the next year by 2% to watch how that goes because that will inject discipline into the product and ultimately get up to 100%.”

“I would like to have the federal government begin to buy Bitcoin and over my term of office [and] ultimately have an equivalent amount of Bitcoin that we have gold,” he added. “Because Bitcoin is an honest currency, it’s a currency that’s based upon proof of work.”

 The plan, as laid out by RFK Jr., would see the government purchase enough BTC to equal the amount they hold in gold – currently estimated at 8,134 tons worth approximately $615 billion.

According to data provided by Arkham, the Department of Justice currently holds 213,239 Bitcoin that were acquired through various enforcement actions, meaning that to achieve Kennedy’s goal, the Treasury would need to acquire more than 9 million additional BTC at the current market price – equal to 45% of all the BTC that will ever exist.

For perspective, MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, owns 226,331 BTC, and BlackRock, the largest spot Bitcoin ETF manager, controls 334,000 BTC.

 Kennedy said the goal of the move is to redefine monetary policy and enhance fiscal discipline within the federal government.

 He also appealed to the crypto community’s ideals of personal freedom, property rights, and governmental integrity, saying, “Bitcoin is not only an offramp to this inflationary highway which is the highway to hell, but it also is a way of restoring integrity to our government. It’s a way of restoring personal freedoms, it’s a way the middle class can isolate itself from inflation, which is just a form of government theft.”

As president, he vowed to reform the Fed, block the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and end “money printing” to fund budget deficits. 

@ Newshounds News™

Read more:  Kitco 

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