Daily Digest - 19th May 2023

Headlines

▌Coinbase launches subscription service Coinbase One

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is launching its subscription service, Coinbase One, in 35 countries to retain users amid the crypto bear market and boost its recurring revenue stream.

Initially launching in beta in fall 2021, Coinbase One will be publicly available in the US, UK, Germany and Ireland starting today.

The company will roll out the service in 31 other European countries in the coming months.

Phil McDonnell, senior director of product management at Coinbase, said the subscription service offers a range of features, including no transaction fees, higher staking rewards, 24/7 customer support, and pre-filed tax refund documents.

Policies

▌U.S. Chamber of Digital Commerce calls on Congress to prioritise legal framework for cryptocurrencies

The Chamber of Digital Commerce has issued a call to action for Congress to prioritise advancing a legal framework for cryptocurrencies.

The advocacy group is asking Congress to create a "Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology Committee" to develop a comprehensive policy package.

The committee's recommendations draw on policies from the days of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, when "Project Solarium" was launched to address national security concerns during the Cold War.

▌American Bankers Association urges lawmakers to regulate stablecoin issuers

The American Bankers Association (ABA) is urging lawmakers to regulate stablecoin issuers like banks, arguing that two bills on the issue to be discussed this week "fall short of the bill."

On Thursday, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Fintech and Inclusion debated two bills on stablecoin regulation, one introduced by committee chair Patrick McHenry and the other by ranking member Maxine Waters.

The ABA said that while it supports parts of both bills, they fall short in several areas.

Specifically, McHenry did not include financial stability as a factor regulators must consider when evaluating applications from payment stablecoin issuers.

Additionally, neither bill makes public disclosures to issuers or requires third-party audits of reserves.

Blockchain application

▌University Retailer Follett Partners with GreenLight to Adopt Blockchain Academic Credentials

Follett Higher Education, one of the largest college campus retailers with more than 1,100 brick-and-mortar stores, announced a partnership with Greenlight Credentials.

Greenlight provides blockchain-based verifiable credentials for students' academic records.

Greenlight puts control of these transcripts in the hands of students in electronic format.

It helps high school students applying to college and college graduates looking for their first job.

Using a combination of blockchain and decentralised identity, universities or potential employers can verify the validity of academic records.

▌XRP surpassed BTC to become the currency with the largest trading volume in South Korean exchanges

According to data from CoinMarketCap, XRP ranks first in terms of trading volume on several South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges.

Data shows that the XRP/KRW trading pair on the Bithumb exchange accounted for 26% of the total trading volume, reaching $37,619,722, surpassing BTC to become the asset with the largest trading volume.

The trading volume of the XRP/KRW trading pair on Upbit accounted for 17.26% of the total trading volume, or $149,157,173.