3 Nations to Replace their Currency with CBDC by 2030; Digital Currency Group Acquires Luno; Ziglu Launches P2P Payments in UK

Last week (7-12 September) was yet another interesting week in the Blockchain & Crypto world. Ziglu now offers a fully regulated way to transfer Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash to other users for free; 3 to 5 nations worldwide will entirely replace their fiat currency with a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, by 2030, a European think tank predicts; after providing initial seed funding to Luno in 2014, Digital Currency Group has acquired the cryptocurrency exchange platform, and more!

Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in the new age of finance this week. Let’s connect the dots.

Ziglu Launches P2P Payments after Getting EMI Licence in UK

Ziglu now offers a fully regulated way to transfer Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash to other users for free.

United Kingdom FinTech firm Ziglu announced the launch of its peer-to-peer (P2P) payments service for both fiat and cryptocurrency on September 7.

This comes just after receiving both the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Electronic Money Institution licence, and the Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5MLD) licence last week.

Ziglu launched in June, with a vision to offer simple and secure access to any currency. The platform is undergoing continuous development and many more features are scheduled for the future.

Ziglu founder and CEO Mark Hipperson described the licencing process as tough and time-consuming, but essential in establishing a respected position within the space.

The Number of Active DAOs is up 660% Since 2019

DeepDAO has launched a new interface for examining the health and wealth of the top decentralized organizations in crypto.

The growth of active decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) is accelerating, increasing from 10 last year to around 76 today, according to DeepDao founder and CEO Eyal Eithcowich.

DeepDAO provides insights and analysis into decentralized autonomous organizations, with the platform recently launching a new interface allowing users to better probe the health and wealth of DAOs.

The platform’s data shows that a large assets under management (AUM) figure does not necessarily indicate the health and good governance of a DAO.

For example, mStable is the top-ranking project by assets under management and capital flows, however, it ranks poorly by membership and proposals — with just nine members having voted on 29 proposals in total.

By contrast, dxDAO ranks second by proposals with 268, and third for membership, with 428, despite having less than 10% of mStable’s AUM.

The recent decentralized finance (DeFi) boo has given renewed importance to DAOs as a critical component of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, with many projects seeking to distribute governance voting rights among their users.

3 Nations to Replace their Currency with CBDC by 2030

Three to five nations worldwide will entirely replace their fiat currency with a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, by 2030, a European think tank predicts.

Dutch FinTech-focused non-profit think tank dGen released a report devoted to geopolitical trends of CBDCs on Sept. 9.

Titled “CBDCs: Geopolitical Ramifications of a Major Digital Currency,” the 30-page report takes a deep dive on the status of major global fiat currencies like the United States dollar, the euro, and China’s yuan. Compiled with support from institutions like the European Central Bank (ECB), Standard Chartered Bank, and the Frankfurt School, the report makes some big predictions on the impact of CBDCs on the global financial system.

As such, dGen predicts that three to five nations globally will completely replace their national currency with a CBDC in ten years. While dGen does not make an exact guess at which countries will make the switch by 2030, the report outlines significant progress in CBDC by jurisdictions like the Bahamas and Sweden. The think tank noted that Sweden’s e-krona development comes in line with the country’s plan to go cash-free by 2025.

Among other predictions, dGen forecasts that the euro will be overtaken by China’s digital yuan project if Europe does not develop its own CBDC by 2025. The think tank stressed the need for the ECB to establish a “suitable environment for the prosperity of the digital euro,” noting that otherwise the fiat currency is at risk of losing its position in the global economy.

Digital Currency Group Acquires Luno

After providing initial seed funding to Luno in 2014, Digital Currency Group has acquired the cryptocurrency exchange platform.

One of the largest organizations investing in blockchain companies, Digital Currency Group, or DCG, has acquired the British multinational cryptocurrency exchange Luno.

DCG first bought a stake in Luno by investing in the exchange’s seed round in 2014. Since then, the exchange has spread its roots across 40 countries and currently boasts of more than five million registered users on its platform.

In an official announcement, DCG said it will make a “significant commitment” to help Luno further expand its territories in countries it already operates in and also help it launch in other countries. DCG did not reveal the financial terms of the deal.

Speaking on the acquisition by DCG, Luno co-founder and CEO Marcus Swanepoel said that it was the perfect time to get the full backing of DCG as the industry was going through a “pivotal moment.” He further added that the acquisition will significantly accelerate their ability to reach their goal to help upgrade 1 billion people to a better financial system by 2030.

In a tweet today, DCG said the acquisition will help both companies accelerate the “creation and adoption of a better, more accessible financial system.”

DCG said that Luno will keep operating as an independent organization under the leadership of its CEO while DCG will provide leadership, partnership and investment capital to help the exchange scale its business.

Based in New York, DCG currently backs more than 160 companies in 35 countries. It also fully owns the world’s largest digital asset management company Grayscale Investments, whose total Bitcoin holdings recently passed $3 billion.

Continue reading on other top stories and get the Weekly Blockchain & Crypto Digest to your inbox every Friday by subscribing to Connecting the Dots Newsletter.

Week in Brief

Ziglu now offers a fully regulated way to transfer Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash to other users for free.

DeepDAO has launched a new interface for examining the health and wealth of the top decentralized organizations in crypto.

Three to five nations worldwide will entirely replace their fiat currency with a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, by 2030, a European think tank predicts.

After providing initial seed funding to Luno in 2014, Digital Currency Group has acquired the cryptocurrency exchange platform.

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About: I am a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading company's expansion into Europe , I'm an active member of FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.

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