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Tag: currency

  • Pi Network-like cryptocurrency mining apps come back

    Pi Network-like cryptocurrency mining apps come back

    Many cryptocurrency mining applications similar to Pi Network are being introduced again on Facebook and Telegram accounts in Vietnam.

    “Starting a business with 0 dong from Peace Network. Having an opportunity like Pi Network, why not try it?,” an account named Ngoc Van posted on a Facebook group about blockchain with more than 100,000 members, with instructions to download an app with pronunciation like Pi Network. He also spammed comments on many other groups with similar content.

    Ngoc Van said in the past month, he has “recruited” about 100 members to “mine” virtual currency.

    Not only Peace Network, he also installed a series of similar applications such as Rubi, StarCoin, LGBT Network, and BNP Network.

    “Compared to Pi, participating in a new project brings more opportunities because the amount of mining is more. Maybe some projects will bring real money,” Ngoc Van said.

    “As long as one or two of the projects go public, I can make some money. Otherwise, I have nothing to lose but a little time to spend every day,” he added.

    Cryptocurrency mining applications have appeared, disappeared and reappeared.

    According to the administrator of a blockchain group with 200,000 members on Facebook, the number of spam posts about cryptocurrency mining applications has increased day by day over the past few months, and they have had to use filters to block similar content.

    “Every day, dozens of such posts are submitted but not approved,” the administrator said. Compared to the craze two years ago, the applications are now more diverse, showing the expected amount of money earned if cryptocurrency mining projects are listed on digital currency exchanges in the future, assigning more tasks for users besides taking attendance.

    Some apps even have white papers and development roadmaps. The apps support web, iOS and Android operating systems.

    However, apps are basically the same way the Pi Network works. Users need to download the apps, then register, enter the referral code and “take attendance” every 24 hours.

    The Rubi app was released in May and now has over 100,000 downloads, a white paper but a vague development roadmap.

    “New apps are made professionally and methodically, not as simple as before, making more people trust them,” commented Giang Nam, a cryptocurrency player for more than five years.

    “With the mentality of losing nothing and fear of missing out, hundreds of thousands of people still install the apps and take attendance every day,” Giang Nam said.

    Among 10 such apps, most of which have between 10,000 and hundreds of thousands of downloads.

    When installing, apps require providing a lot of important information, such as accessing location, reading and modifying the contents of memory, reading contacts, and accessing the network.

    Previously, apps needed only users’ names and email addresses or phone numbers.

    Currently, users are required to complete KYC (identity verification) from the beginning, including providing personal information, a photo of ID cards or passports, a selfie portrait, in addition to a phone number and an email address.

    “This is a huge data warehouse that the people behind the apps are targeting. Users think they have nothing to lose, but in reality they face many risks due to the disclosure of personal information, from the making of forged documents to receiving scam calls or messages,” Giang Nam said.

    Vo Do Thang, director of the Athena Cyber Security Center, said most of cryptocurrency mining apps aim to collect user data.

    “There aren’t any apps that give free money,” Thang said, adding that “this trick is actually to entice users to provide personal information.”

    According to him, these data will then be collected to serve many purposes.

    With the data, artificial intelligence (AI) can accurately classify each person, even make “a genealogy” of each person to see who they are related to, what they do, what their habits or hobbies are to perform tricks in a way that makes it difficult for the victims to detect.

    “Before downloading any app, it is necessary to consider who is behind the app, how reputable it is. Avoid clicking and becoming a prey for bad guys”, Thang said.

    Philips Hung Cao, deputy general Director of cybersecurity company VinCSS, said KYC on many unlicensed cryptocurrency mining apps is not managed and supervised by the authorities.

    If KYC is required, users should ask at least three questions: Is personal information protected under privacy laws and regulations? Is the information shared with third parties? If the personal information declared on the app is leaked and used for fraudulent purposes, who will be responsible for compensation? “With these three questions, unlicensed virtual currency mining apps certainly cannot meet and users will understand themselves that they should not do eKYC or KYC,” he said.

    Another source of revenue for cryptocurrency mining apps on smartphones is advertising. Most the apps include ads, forcing users to see before accessing a feature.

    In addition to the risk of information being stolen, experts say such apps also waste time, take up phone resources, and create a feeling of “virtual hope” for participants.

    After five years of being present and receiving many expectations, money earned by using cryptocurrency mining app Pi Network is still worthless now, and the team behind it is almost silent.

    Pi Network has been under investigation after critics said it lacks the transparency associated with blockchain, and could be used for nefarious purposes like fraud and data collection.

    Cryptocurrencies are not recognized as a legitimate means of payment in Vietnam whose central bank has warned that owning, trading and using cryptocurrencies are risky and not protected by law.

  • Dollar drops on black market

    Dollar drops on black market

    The U.S. dollar plunged on the black market Wednesday after data shows a decline of the greenback’s value globally as U.S. inflation seems to be cooling down.

    The dollar fell 0.48% from Monday to VND25,000 at unofficial exchange points. It has dropped 1.96% since the peak of VND25,500 last month.

    Vietcombank, Eximbank and several other lenders kept the exchange rate unchanged from Tuesday at VND24,860. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) also maintained its reference rate at VND23,677.

    The USD Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against major currencies, has fallen 5.3% since its peak in early September.

    Data last week had shown that U.S. inflation cooled more than expected in October, raising bets that the Fed could temper its tightening cycle after delivering four consecutive 75 basis point hike this year.

    Goldman Sachs said it expects a “significant” decline in U.S. inflation next year due to easing in supply chain constraints, a peak in shelter inflation and slower wage growth.

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  • US removes Vietnam from currency monitoring list

    US removes Vietnam from currency monitoring list

    Vietnam has been removed from the currency monitoring list by the U.S. Treasury Department.

    The U.S. Treasury Department remained satisfied with progress made by the Asian country in addressing U.S. concerns about its currency practices, it said in a semi-annual report Thursday.

    India, Italy, Mexico and Thailand were also removed from the list.

    It noted no major U.S. trading partner manipulated its exchange rates to gain unfair competitive advantage through June 2022, but said it would stay in close touch with Switzerland on its currency practices.

    Seven economies kept on the list were Japan, China, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore South Korea and Taiwan.

    The Treasury report again called out China for its failure to publish foreign exchange intervention and the broader lack of transparency around key features of its exchange-rate mechanism.

    A senior Treasury official said efforts by the U.S. Treasury and the International Monetary Fund had failed to make any headway with Beijing on the issue so far.

    Treasury noted that Japan had intervened in the foreign exchange market to stem the pace of depreciation in the yen, its first such move since 1998, and underscored its believe that such actions should be taken only rarely.

    “Treasury’s firm expectation is that in large, freely traded exchange markets, intervention should be reserved only for very exceptional circumstances with appropriate prior consultations,” it said.

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  • Vietnamese currency falls to new low against dollar

    Vietnamese currency falls to new low against dollar

    Vietnam has set its reference rate for the Vietnamese dong at a record low as the greenback strengthens globally amid economic uncertainty.

    The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on Thursday set the reference rate for the Vietnamese dong at VND23,281, the weakest since at least 2005, according to data compiled.

    At commercial banks, the Vietnamese dong is now at its lowest since March 2020 after having declined by around 3.5% in the year-to-date.

    Vietcombank, the country’s largest lender, had sold the U.S. dollar for VND23,740. Top private player Techcombank’s rates were VND23,708, while that of Sacombank were VND23,950.

    But an expert forecasts the Vietnamese dong to decline further to VND24,000 a U.S. dollar.

    “The dong is too strong at the moment for an export-oriented economy,” Trinh Nguyen, a senior economist at Natixis SA in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg.

    “That said, they care about imports and inflation so won’t allow excessive depreciation.”

    The SBV allows the Vietnamese dong to trade within a band of 3% on either side of the reference rate, which is based on eight currencies and set daily.

  • Vietnamese currency hits 2-year low against dollar

    Vietnamese currency hits 2-year low against dollar

    Vietnamese banks on Monday traded the dong against the U.S. dollar at the lowest rate in two years as the greenback strengthens globally amid economic uncertainty. The Vietnamese dong declined by 0.3 percent from last weekend to VND23,510 per U.S. dollar at state-owned Vietcombank.

    It fell by 0.34 percent at BIDV and 0.26 percent at Vietinbank, also state-owned lenders. Among private lenders, the currency is 0.21 percent weaker at Sacombank, and 0.17 percent weaker at Eximbank. The changes came after the State Bank of Vietnam on Monday let the Vietnamese dong slide by 0.04 percent against the greenback to VND23,121, the lowest this year.

    It has been pumping more U.S. dollar into the market to reduce pressure on the exchange rate.

    RongViet Securities estimates that the central bank has sold over $10 billion to the market this year, or around 10 percent of Vietnam’s foreign exchange reserves, to stabilize the market.

    The U.S. Dollar Index has been hovering around a 20-year high mark since last month amid global economic uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine crisis and supply chain disruptions due to China’s “zero-Covid” policy.

    Concerns of global inflation has urged investors to buy more U.S. dollars as a safe-haven currency.

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  • Crypto Bank Raises Money for Foreign Expansion

    Crypto Bank Raises Money for Foreign Expansion

    Seba is raising nearly $120 million, in a bid to fuel its expansion outside of Switzerland. Zug-based Seba raised 110 million Swiss francs ($118 million) from a host of new and existing investors, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The round was significantly oversubscribed, with demand far exceeding the initial funding target, the fledgling bank said. It didn’t disclose a valuation of itself, as rivals have done.

    Seba said it will use the funds to keep hiring and to expand into new markets. Investors in this round included Altive, Ordway Selections, Summer Capital, DeFi Technologies, Alameda Research, and Julius Baer.

    This comes just days after rival Sygnum raised $90 million in Asia-focused fundraising. The two banks were both granted licenses in Switzerland 28 months ago.

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  • Swissquote To Launch Crypto Exchange

    Swissquote To Launch Crypto Exchange

    Switzerland’s largest online bank is riding the crypto wave. Swissquote’s ambitions include setting up its own trading platform for digital currencies, sales manager Jan De Schepper said.

    Swissquote plans to open its own crypto exchange before the end of the first half of 2022. We want to enable more trading in various cryptocurrencies on the platform, Jan De Schepper said.

    Other ambitions in the crypto space include becoming the leading Swiss provider of digital assets. To achieve this the broker aims to add more cryptocurrencies to its offering, in addition to stablecoins and staking services, which are currently in high demand.

    Swissquote’s crypto exchange starts its operations as planned, there will be a sudden surge in trading platforms for digital assets in Switzerland.

    In recent weeks, Swiss Stock Exchange SIX launched a fully licensed digital exchange, SDX. Just days later, Berner Kantonalbank launched SMEIX, a platform that lists tokenized small caps.

    In September 2020, crypto bank Sygnum got the green light from regulators to launch its new trading system, which also acts as an exchange for crypto assets.

    Last June, Deutsche Boerse bought Swiss fintech Crypto Finance; the acquisition gives Germany’s exchange a direct entry point for digital asset investments, including post-trade services.

    Swissquote has already bulked up its workforce in response to the surging demand for digital tokens and coins last spring and will continue hiring to fuel further expansion. Our compliance and customer service teams were almost overrun by the crypto rush, recalls De Schepper.

    The hiring spree has paid off in reducing waiting times for clients calling in. Now, we regularly manage to open a trading account on the same day, De Schepper says. In exceptional cases when special clarification is needed, account opening can take up to a week, he says.

    Net income from crypto investments increased by over 1000 percent to 63.2 million Swiss francs in the first half of 2021. At the end of 2021, Swissquote expects to double its pre-tax profit.  However, expenses will also rise: Swissquote is investing heavily in infrastructure.

    The online brokers have a clear head start over other institutions as many Swiss institutions remained cautious about cryptocurrencies for a long time, mainly for compliance reasons.

    However, with recent record prices, the mood has changed as Swissquote CEO Marc Buerki recently said in an interview: Traditional banks have at times gone into panic mode, trying to catch up with developments in the space.

    Setting up a brand new crypto offering from scratch is costly and requires a lot of time and expertise, De Schepper points out while spotting a sales opportunity: In the current market phase, banks would be better off partnering with an established bank like Swissquote, he says.

  • Citi Eyes Crypto Opportunities

    Citi Eyes Crypto Opportunities

    The U.S. bank joins its peers in ramping up crypto-related efforts as client demand spikes  Citi is awaiting regulatory approval to trade bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), Coindesk reported on Wednesday, citing two sources, including one at the bank.

    One of the sources said the bank is actively recruiting traders to its London crypto trading desk to begin working with bitcoin futures, though Citi denied this in a statement to «Insider.» It also denied that it was looking into products like bitcoin exchange-traded notes.

    We are presently considering products such as futures for some of our institutional clients, as these operate under strong regulatory frameworks, a spokesperson told the publication.

    Citi’s Wall Street rivals have shown increased interest in the space of late. Goldman Sachs reportedly restarted its crypto trading desk in March to deal bitcoin futures and non-deliverable forwards to support clients like hedge funds. In June, it also announced plans to offer options and futures trading in ether, and in July, its asset management unit filed for an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to offer an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on crypto-related companies.

    J.P. Morgan opened access for its wealth clients to five related funds and BNY Mellon joined a crypto consortium that includes State Street and six unnamed banks.

    In July, Bank of America’s prime brokerage unit started the clearing and settlement of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) for hedge funds in Europe.

  • Thai Central Bank to Trial Retail Digital Currency

    Thai Central Bank to Trial Retail Digital Currency

    The pilot will initially be conducted on a limited group under the BOT before it is expanded to the public, retail stores, banks and non-banking facilities.

    The Bank of Thailand is set to begin testing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the second quarter of 2022, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday.

    The BOT will assess all results and associated risks from the Pilot Test, to ensure that Retail CBDC is beneficial to the public, business sector, and country as a whole, and does not undermine economic and financial stability in the future, Vachira Arromdee, BOT assistant governor, said in the statement.

    BOT said public demand for retail CBDC will gradually rise over time and that CBDC could become an alternative payment option in the future.

    It cited a public survey and focus group discussions conducted in April 2021, in which most respondents agreed with the BOT’s approach to retail CBDC development and viewed the currency as a beneficial infrastructure open to access and competition, with the potential to foster greater development of a safe financial innovation in the future.

    Respondents also agreed that the CBDC design guidelines can help mitigate any negative impacts on the Thai financial sector.

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  • Vietnam leads globally in cryptocurrency adoption

    Vietnam leads globally in cryptocurrency adoption

    Vietnam leads globally in cryptocurrency adoption with 41 percent of respondents claiming to have bought Bitcoin and the like, according to a recent survey.

    Twenty percent of Vietnamese said they had purchased Bitcoin, the highest among 27 countries polled with 42,000 respondents, according to the survey by U.S. based financial consultancy Finder.

    “Remittance payments may have played a significant role in these numbers, with cryptocurrency an option for migrants who want to send money home and avoid exchange fees,” the report stated.

    Despite having the 53rd largest economy based on gross domestic product, Vietnam placed 13th in realized Bitcoin gains for 2020, according to Cointelegraph.

    Adoption was especially high in Asia, with 30 percent of respondents in Indonesia and India claiming to have bought cryptocurrency, the Finder’s survey found.

    In Malaysia and the Philippines, this proportion was 29 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

    There were between 1,160 and 2,511 respondents for each country covered in the study.

    Data from Statista in February showed Vietnam had the second-highest rate in terms of cryptocurrency use among 74 surveyed economies, driven by remittance payments.

    Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not recognized as legitimate means of payment in Vietnam. The State Bank of Vietnam has warned that owning, trading and using cryptocurrencies are risky and not protected by law.

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  • US gets its way as Vietnam agrees not to devalue currency

    US gets its way as Vietnam agrees not to devalue currency

    The U.S. Trade Representative’s office has determined that no tariff action is warranted against Vietnam after its central bank agreed to refrain from “competitive devaluation” of the dong.

    “I commend Vietnam for its commitment to addressing U.S. concerns with its currency practices,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.

    The recent agreement between the U.S. Treasury and the State Bank of Vietnam “provides a satisfactory resolution of the matter subject to investigation and accordingly that no trade action is warranted at this time,” the statement said.

    Under the agreement, Vietnam committed not to devalue its currency for trade advantage and to make its monetary and exchange rate policies more transparent.

    The deal follows months of U.S. pressure and a rising trade surplus with that country.

    The U.S. had declared Vietnam a currency manipulator and threatened to impose punitive tariffs on its exports.

    Vietnam rejected this repeatedly, saying it did not manipulate its currency for unfair trade advantages.

  • J.P. Morgan Opens Crypto Fund Access to All Wealth Clients

    J.P. Morgan Opens Crypto Fund Access to All Wealth Clients

    J.P. Morgan has reportedly allowed all of its wealth management clients to access cryptocurrencies via funds.

    J.P. Morgan’s wealth management clients gained access to five crypto products, effective July 19.

    Four of the products are from Grayscale Investments and one is from Osprey funds.

    According to the memo, J.P Morgan advisors will only execute unsolicited crypto trades for clients, including those who use the bank’s Chase trading app.

    J.P. Morgan is the latest U.S. bank to ramp up its digital currency offering following global custodian BNY Mellon’s entry into a crypto consortium that includes State Street and six other banks.

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  • Vietnam pledges not to devalue currency in agreement with US Treasury

    Vietnam pledges not to devalue currency in agreement with US Treasury

    Vietnam has pledged not to deliberately weaken its dong currency, reaching an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to make its monetary and exchange rate policies more transparent.

    The agreement, announced in a joint statement by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Thi Hong after a virtual meeting on Monday, follows months of U.S. pressure on Vietnam over its currency practices and ballooning U.S. trade surplus.

    The Trump administration in its final weeks had declared Vietnam a currency manipulator and had threatened to impose punitive tariffs on imports from Vietnam.

    Vietnam, which benefited from the shift of U.S. supply chains away from China amid a tariff war, saw its goods trade surplus with the United State jump 25 percent in 2020 to $69.7 billion despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Vietnam is a growing source of U.S. imports of furniture, electronics, computers and apparel.

    In the joint statement, Vietnam confirmed its commitment under International Monetary Fund rules “to avoid manipulating its exchange rate in order to prevent effective balance of payments adjustment or to gain an unfair competitive advantage and will refrain from any competitive devaluation of the Vietnamese dong.”

    The Vietnamese central bank said the focus of its monetary policy framework is “to promote macroeconomic stability and to control inflation.”

    But the central bank agreed to “improve exchange rate flexibility over time,” allowing the dong to move in line with the development of the country’s markets and economic fundamentals, and to further modernize and make more transparent its monetary policy and exchange rate framework.

    The Treasury said it would inform other U.S. government agencies about the agreement to address U.S. concerns.

    “I believe the State Bank of Vietnam’s attention to these issues over time not only will address Treasury’s concerns, but also will support the further development of Vietnam’s financial markets and enhance its macroeconomic and financial resilience,” Yellen said in the statement.

    The Treasury under Yellen in April removed a “currency manipulator” label from Vietnam that had been imposed by the Trump administration last December. But the Treasury said that Vietnam, along with Taiwan and Switzerland, had tripped its thresholds for the designation under a 2015 law.

    The department at the time said it would commence “enhanced engagement” with Hanoi to correct the situation, which led Vietnam’s foreign currency intervention and global current account surplus to exceed 2 percent of its GDP.

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  • Vietnam to trial virtual currency

    Vietnam to trial virtual currency

    The Vietnamese government has ordered its central bank to study virtual money using blockchain technology over three years amid rising interests in this type of currency.

    The State Bank of Vietnam will be in charge of studying and trialing the use of virtual money from this year until 2023 as part of key objects in mastering core technologies, according to a government decision.

    The government does not give a clear definition of virtual currency and assets.

    For now, cryptocurrencies remain an illegal means of transaction in Vietnam. However, the trading of Bitcoin and the like is popular with many investors using foreign platforms and social media to make money from this asset.

    Vietnam has the second-highest rate of cryptocurrency usage among 74 economies, according to a survey by market researcher Statista.

  • Hong Kong Explores Central Bank Digital Currency

    Hong Kong Explores Central Bank Digital Currency

    The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is exploring the feasibility of issuing a digital currency for the city, joining central banking efforts worldwide to create electronic money.

    A paper exploring the feasibility of issuing a retail-focused central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be delivered within 12 months, according to the HKMA at a recent media briefing.

    Issues that will be considered in the paper include potential use cases, data privacy, anti-money laundering standards, and more.

    In addition, HKMA officials also announced a new trial to explore how Hong Kong residents can top up a digital yuan wallet using the city’s local payment system.

    People are now a lot more used to digital payments and if other central banks are exploring possible use cases for CBDCs you have to try out to see whether you can make it successful, said HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue at the briefing.

    This marks the second stage of e-CNY trials in Hong Kong following a smaller scale trial also focused on the usage of digital yuan wallets in Hong Kong.

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