Morning Post - September 23

headlines

▌The Central Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance reached an agreement to allow the use of cryptocurrencies for cross-border settlement

Russia’s deputy finance minister, Alexei Moiseev, said government ministries and the central bank had “generally” agreed on a rule allowing residents to use cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments. The proposed policy change is reportedly aimed at allowing Russian nationals to use digital wallets.It is reported that in 2020, the country passed legislation banning the use of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), for payments. President Vladimir Putin also signed a bill in July banning digital financial assets as a means of payment. In May, Trade Minister Denis Manturov suggested that Russia legalize crypto payments “at the earliest opportunity.”

cryptocurrency

▌Payment giant Stripe now supports USDC payments for freelancers

Payments giant Stripe has enabled Circle’s USDC stablecoin payments for freelancers, according to an announcement. Stripe estimates that approximately 4.4 billion people now have the potential to receive payments using USDC. Circle co-founder Jeremy Allaire claims that the USDC token represents a more inclusive way of sending money to people around the globe.

▌Liverpool: Upgrade NFT sports game developer Sorare to official global partner

The official website of Liverpool Football Club announced that the Premier League giants have expanded their cooperation with NFT sports game developer Sorare, upgrading Sorare to the official global partner of the Red Army. Liverpool Football Club joined forces with Sorare for the first time last year and launched digital star cards of first-line players including Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk on Sorare's platform. The two parties will carry out in-depth cooperation in multimedia fan content in the future.

▌Wintermute warns hackers to return funds or face legal action

Wintermute left an on-chain message for the hacker who stole $160 million worth of cryptocurrency from the company, urging it to accept the $16 million "white hat" bounty and return the remaining nearly $144 million to Wintermute. If the person complies with the request, no legal action will be taken. As of this writing, the hackers have 12 hours to accept the bounty. On the other hand, if the assets are not returned, the team will take action to "appropriate agencies and avenues."

important economic trends

▌ING: The Bank of England may not be able to meet market expectations for interest rate hikes, and the Monetary Policy Committee has increasingly divided opinions

ING said the BoE's interest rate decision was increasingly divided, suggesting that market expectations were unlikely to be met. The Bank of England raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.25%, with five Monetary Policy Committee members supporting the move, but three members favoring a 75 basis point hike and one member backing an increase of 25 basis points. For the first time since the financial crisis, the Bank of England has seen a tripartite split, ING analysts said in a note. To investors, they said, the widening gap should be taken as a signal that the BoE is unlikely to move in line with market expectations for a rate hike, with swaps markets now pricing in a peak in rates near 5% next year.

▌Senior Director of Economics at the Conference Board: The leading indicators of the US economy have fallen for the sixth consecutive month, which may indicate a recession

Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director of economics at the Conference Board: The leading indicators of the US economy have fallen for the sixth consecutive month, which may indicate a recession. Of the components of the indicator, only jobless claims and yield spreads have played a positive role over the past six months, while the role of yield spreads has narrowed recently. In addition, strength in the labor market is expected to continue to moderate in the coming months. In fact, the average working week in manufacturing has shrunk in four of the past six months, a notable sign as businesses cut hours ahead of layoffs. Economic activity across the U.S. will continue to slow more broadly, and may contract. A major reason for the slowdown is the rapid tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve in response to inflationary pressures.