“Bitcoin is important with a market value of ~$900bn, but the digital asset ecosystem is so much more: tokens that act like operating systems, decentralized applications (DApps) without middlemen, stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to replace national currencies, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) enabling connections between creators and fans.”

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SEBA Bank has announced receiving a license for the safekeeping of digital assets from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority …” />

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The G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) aims to ‘temporarily ease the financing constraints’, with the IMF and World Bank providing technical assistance. Ethiopia, like many African countries, is facing two debt management structures: the Paris Club (IMF and World Bank (WB) included) and China’s frameworks. The establishment of a Creditor’s Committee headed by France and China signals a step towards a bilateral management of debt.

“It is a good omen and we can hope for a restructuring that is tailored to the particular situation of each country, with more transparency on the amount of debt owed. Mid-term results (3 to 5 years) will also be decisive. If this approach is effective in stabilising public finances, it will also be in the interest of Paris Club members and China to maintain it,” Estelle Prin, China analyst and lecturer in geopolitics at Sciences Po Lyon, tells The Africa Report.

[…] the ratings of international credit agencies should be taken with caution, especially since they have no real foothold in Ethiopia or Africa to set their ratings.”

In his address to the UN General Assembly on 21 September, China’s President Xi Jinping stated: “We must improve global governance and practice true multilateralism”, a statement that seems to have several origins.

“China currently has more of a realistic diplomatic and economic approach. It could be linked to the fact it has a lot of investment overseas amidst a crisis. Additionally, though economic growth is recovering, we are far from the previous average 12% rate. A more hypothetical factor is Paris members’ difficulty to restructure, given the lack of transparency on the debt owed to China. As Covid-19 is highly affecting the continent, requests for a bilateral approach have also come from indebted countries,” says Prin.

Transparency and framework

There is work ahead however, as the exact amount of debt to restructure is still to be determined. “It is estimated that…

Read more at www.theafricareport.com

A large fire destroyed more than 200 homes and shops on the Honduran island of Guanaja on Saturday, making numbers of inhabitants escape to safety and condemning the tourist-dependent escape, relief officials stated.

Dramatic video footage on social media showed rows of sea houses collapsing into flames and wooden houses collapsing in Guanaja, a Caribbean island about 70 kilometers (44 miles) off the north coast of Honduras.

The Honduran Air Force dropped water on the island to extinguish the fire but not before it damaged many homes. Videos were taken after the inferno was taken under control shows dozens of concrete houses without roofs and windows.

“We can validate that we have no human losses but large material losses,” stated Max Gonzales, minister of the National System for Risk Management and National Contingencies (SINAGER) agency.

As per reports, four people were wounded in the fire, which damaged 90 homes and destroyed another 120, including some used as shops, Gonzales stated.

The fire broke out before sunrise, and residents struggled to bring it under control as the island had no fire service.

Guanaja is one of the three charming bay islands of Honduras, where snorkelers and divers come to see dolphins and a large coral reef.

Read more at wicnews.com

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was sworn in Monday for a new five-year term as his government faces a host of challenges including a months-long conflict in the northern region of Tigray.

Abiy, who won a landslide election victory in June, took the oath of office administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice Meaza Ashenafi, following similar oaths by the speaker and deputy speaker of the parliament’s lower house.

“I, Abiy Ahmed Ali, today in the House of People’s Representatives, accept the appointment as prime minister, as I pledge to undertake responsibly and with faith to the constitution the responsibility placed upon me by the people,” he said while being sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice Meaza Ashenafi.

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The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) is one of the foreign dignitaries attending the occasion.

(AFP)

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© Reuters. Brazil Set To Adopt Bitcoin As Its Legal Tender

• Brazil prepares to adopt as a legal tender.
• The bill to regulate Bitcoin will soon head to the plenary of the Chamber in a few days.

The debate for a digital asset adoption in Brazil started a few years back. Today, the Brazilian government is on the verge of finalizing plans with the aid of the Central Bank. Brazil’s Federal Deputy, Aurero Ribeiro has noted in an interview that Brazilians will soon be able to buy houses, cars, and even McDonald’s with Bitcoin after the approval of its law. According to him, this will soon happen.

Brazil is introducing a bill to make #Bitcoin legal tender.It is the 9th largest economy in the world! Bigly!

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WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) – It is critical that United Nations officials expelled from Ethiopia be allowed to return to the country, the U.S. State Department said on Monday.

State Department spokesman Ned Price made the comment during a regular briefing, after Ethiopia last week said it was expelling seven U.N. officials days after the world body’s aid chief warned a government blockade of aid had likely forced hundreds of thousands of people in the northern region of Tigray into famine.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Writing by Michael Martina)

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Jean-Pierre Verster, the founder of a South African hedge fund Protea Capital Management, has said he does not believe there is “intrinsic value” in cryptocurrencies. He insists that cryptocurrencies have “elements of a Ponzi scheme” and for that reason, he has not invested in them.

A ‘Wonderful Technology’

In remarks made during an interview, Verster however appears to adopt a stance on blockchain technology that is similar to that of cryptocurrency opponents. He explained:

I think the technology of blockchain is a wonderful technology. And will find applications when it comes to having open ledgers – when it comes to transactions that you need to make sure are captured somewhere or recorded somewhere in a way that people can’t after the facts – fiddle with those recordings. For that blockchain is great.

Although he points to foreign exchange restrictions and hyperinflation as some of the legitimate factors that contribute to the popularity of cryptocurrencies, Verster still attacks “the application of blockchain into cryptocurrency.”

Inevitable Crash

He also warns of an inevitable crash should all the people who wanted to get involved in the currencies finally do so. Verster explained further:

So it has got these elements of a Ponzi scheme, which means that for a long period of time, prices go up, go up, and it looks like value increases, and then it all comes crashing down. So I have not invested in crypto myself.

These latest anti-crypto comments by Verster — who also confesses that he is no crypto bull — are a reiteration of his disdain for types of investments that make him “dependant on what the other person thinks the asset is worth.”

Do you agree with what Verster has said about cryptocurrencies? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an…

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(Adds comments from Griffin, background on regulatory status of cryptocurrencies)

By John McCrank

Oct 4 (Reuters) – Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel Securities, one of the world’s biggest market-making firms, said the company does not trade cryptocurrencies due to regulatory uncertainties around them.

Some market makers – firms that provide market liquidity by streaming buy and sell quotes for others to trade against – such as Jump Trading and DRW, have embraced the nascent asset class, but Griffin said Citadel Securities has not.

“I just don’t want to take on the regulatory risk in this regulatory void that some of my contemporaries are willing to take on,” he told the Economic Club of Chicago.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler told a Senate hearing last month that his agency was examining several aspects of cryptocurrencies, including the offer and sale of crypto tokens, crypto trading and lending platforms, and the custody of crypto assets.

“Chairperson Gensler is spot on on the need to have thoughtful regulation around cryptocurrency,” Griffin said.

“I actually think that doing so will make it a smaller market because it will become a far more competitive market when there is regulatory clarity and that will be good,” he said.

Regulators globally have voiced concerns that the rise in privately operated currencies could undermine their control of their financial and monetary systems, increase systemic risks and hurt investors.

Griffin said Citadel would trade cryptocurrencies if they were regulated, regardless of what he thinks of them personally.

“Let’s face it, it’s a jihadist call that we don’t believe in the dollar,” he said. (Reporting by John McCrank in New York Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

Read more at finance.yahoo.com