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Blockchain Observations

Being a forum for blockchain ideas

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

MiCA regulation for stablecoins: standard for worldwide application

On June 30, new strict rules for stablecoin issuers went into effect across the European Union under the bloc’s Market in Crypto Asset (MiCA) regulation. This impending regulation represents a major change in the regulatory framework for stablecoins within Europe. In this blog we will go into more detail what this new regulation entails in terms

/regulation /crypto

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

Ripple stablecoin launch: a game changer

On 4 April, Ripple announced its plan to launch its own stablecoin, next to XRP, pegged 1:1 to the US dollar later this year. This is envisioned as a key development for Ripple, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralised finance. This announcement was well received by both the crypto world and the traditional financial...

/crypto

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

Blockchain and TradFi: from disruption to transformation

Blockchain has longtime been looked at as a disruptive technology for the traditional financial (TradFi) industry. But that idea is fundamentally changing. TradFi institutions are increasingly realizing the importance of distributed ledger technology and blockchain’s opportunities. They are more and more prepared to use this innovative technology f...

/crypto

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs: two months later

Spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have been launched in the US on 10 January. We are now two months later. They have attracted an unexpected high number of investors, breaking records in terms of inflows and trading volumes. With the Bitcoin reaching a record high of $69.000 early March. The introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the bullis...

/crypto

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

EBA AML/CFT Guidelines to crypto asset service providers (CASPs)

The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently came with updated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) guidelines. These are extended to encompass all crypto-asset services providers (CASPs and are aimed to prevent the abuse of fund and crypto-asset transfers for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. To addr...

/crypto

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

Real world asset tokenization: breakthrough in 2024

Since its introduction back in 2017, digital-asset tokenization has not yet taken off in a meaningful way, limited to just stable coins and NFTs. This is however fundamentally changing. Tokenization, the process of transforming real world assets (RWA) into digital tokens on a blockchain network, is gaining momentum and has attracted considerable in...

/crypto

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

Main trends in blockchain and crypto in 2024: A great year

Since I started writing blogs on blockchain it has become a tradition for me to dedicate my yearly last blog on describing the key trends we may expect for the next year. And I am sure, 2024 will be a great year for this technology from various aspects. As we step into the new year, we are at the point of some exciting developments that are set to...

/crypto

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

Blockchain interoperability solutions and challenges: Where are we now?

Blockchain technology has gained significant attention in recent years. This due to its decentralised nature and potential applications across various industries. But there are still a number of issues that are limiting its uptake by various industries esp. the financial sector. By far the most widely recognised problematic issue is that of intero...

/crypto

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETF application: a rocky way towards approval

BlackRock, the world largest asset manager, last June has applied at the SEC for a spot Bitcoin ETF for its American clients. According to Blackrock there is still large interest of their clients to have Bitcoin in their portfolio. In the past years BlackRock has continuously pushed the boundaries of ETF offerings, reaffirming its position as a lea...

/crypto

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

Blockchain and Web3.0: A great Marriage

An interesting occurrence that is getting growing attention is the gradual shift towards the third phase in the internet’s development journey, named Web3.0. Web3.0 is the next evolution of the internet, which is focused on decentralization, openness, and trust. Blockchain may thereby play a dominant role. In this blog I will go into more detail w...

/crypto

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