Beijing’s consideration of a yuan-backed stablecoin could mark a new front in the global financial system, but experts say dollar dominance, liquidity and trust are high hurdles. China appears to be weighing the launch of a yuan-backed stablecoin, with an initial rollout in Hong Kong and Shanghai, a surprising shift after years of cracking down on crypto while promoting its central bank digital currency, the digital yuan. In the latest episode of Byte-Sized Insight, Cointelegraph spoke with two leaders analyzing China’s potential move into stablecoins: Martin Chorzempa, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Patrick Tan, CEO of blockchain intelligence firm ChainArgos. The news, first reported on Wednesday, highlighted Beijing’s ambitions to strengthen the yuan’s role in international finance. Still, experts say the path forward is anything but certain, especially with the track record of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan. Read more
The bill would require the central bank to buy 2,000 Bitcoin annually over five years and hold the assets for at least two decades. The Congress of the Philippines is weighing a proposal that could see the country’s central bank establish a strategic reserve of 10,000 Bitcoin, positioning the country among the first in Southeast Asia to adopt Bitcoin as a strategic asset. A House of Representatives bill filed by Camarines Sur Representative Migz Villafuerte in June made headlines on Thursday, as it aims to mandate the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank, to purchase 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC) annually over a five-year period. The bill, called the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act,” aims to mandate the BSP to buy 10,000 Bitcoin worth $1.1 billion at current market prices. The bill states that the asset would be locked in a trust for at least 20 years. This would mean that the coins could not be sold, swapped or disposed of, except for when retiring government debt. Read more