🇩🇪 German Local Banks Expand Crypto Trading To Millions Of Retail Customers

Cryptocurrency trading is set to become more accessible in Germany as the country’s cooperative and savings banks expand digital asset services, allowing millions of retail customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly through their local lenders.

⬇️ The move marks a significant shift for Germany’s traditionally conservative banking sector, which had previously resisted offering crypto services to retail investors because of concerns over volatility and investor protection.

🔵Cooperative banks have already begun rolling out crypto trading through a platform developed by DZ Bank, enabling customers to trade cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Cardano.

🔵Meanwhile, DekaBank is preparing to launch a similar platform for Germany’s savings banks later this year, with the rollout expected to take place in phases.

➡️Each local institution will decide whether to offer the service, though industry participants expect widespread adoption. Representatives from DZ Bank said interest among member banks has been strong, with hundreds expected to introduce crypto trading over time.

Supporters say integrating digital assets into existing banking platforms could bring cryptocurrencies to a broader audience by allowing customers to trade through institutions they already know and trust. 🚀

As German cooperative banks begin offering crypto access through familiar banking apps, digital assets could become a more common part of everyday investment services across Europe. 🇪🇺

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🇬🇧UK's Bold New Crypto Rules Promise To Unlock Global Trading

The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) unveiled its cryptocurrency regulatory framework this week, winning early praise for taking an internationally connected approach.

🔵The FCA cut the amount of financial backing that needs to be set aside to 1% of the total value of the stablecoins they issue. It was previously 2%. The proposed requirement is lower than the 2% equivalent stipulation under the EU MiCA regulation.

➡️The FCA's aim is to simplify key elements of the regime to make it more workable in practice.

➡️The FCA also aims to simplify the framework for crypto exchanges. Under the new rules, they will need to set aside 40% of their trading capital to cover potential losses and apply a 40% potential loss to the value of their collateral when lending or trading with other parties.

"The publication of the FCA's final crypto rules is a major milestone for regulatory clarity and a strong outcome for the U.K.'s competitiveness in digital asset innovation," Katie Harries, Coinbase's head of policy for Europe, said.

❗️Particularly, FCA's new Qualifying Cryptoasset Trading Platform (QCATP) model should allow overseas exchanges to serve U.K. customers through locally authorized branches connected to existing global trading infrastructure.

About DeFi: "The U.K.'s future approach to DeFi will be critical," Harries said, arguing such restrictions would leave it out of step with jurisdictions such as the U.S., where policymakers are exploring DeFi as part of broader tokenization strategies.

The FCA's package of rules creates a framework that preserves access to global liquidity through overseas trading venues and allows non-U.K.-issued stablecoins to circulate. 🚀

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🇮🇳 India’s CG Semi Starts Production With 200 Million Chips

India’s CG Power & Industrial Solutions Ltd.’s new semiconductor unit has started production with an annual capacity of 200 million chips, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, marking a fresh milestone in the country’s goal to build a domestic chip industry and gain a foothold in the global supply chain.

The plant, operated by CG Semi Pvt. Ltd., aims to eventually scale up output to 5 billion chips a year, Modi said, while inaugurating the Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test facility in Sanand, Gujarat, his home state.

#BRICS

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🇦🇪🇺🇸A Tribute From The UAE To The U.S. On 250th Anniversary of U.S. Independence Day

#BRICS

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🇯🇵Fire hydrant signs with Starlink antennas tested for emergency Wi-Fi in disaster-prone Japan

Japan’s Fire Hydrant Sign Co., Ltd. has demonstrated an expansive Wi-Fi network that melds its established infrastructure of street signs with Starlink satellite broadband antennas. The big idea is that this network could provide important fallback connectivity in the event of a natural disaster knocking out fiber, mobile masts.

➡️ Japan sits on the intersection of multiple tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions – as well as some extreme weather.

Each sign, a common item of street furniture in residential neighborhoods, can become a dual-purpose emergency water supply sign and ‘communication hub.’ Japan has 120,000 fire hydrant signs nationwide, with the trial taking place near Kanagawa province, near Tokyo.

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⚡️🇦🇺🇫🇯Australia to Sign Fiji Security Pact, Finalize India Uranium Export Deal

Australia is poised to sign a new security agreement with Fiji and finalize a deal to export uranium to India during a series of meetings this week. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Fiji on Monday to sign the “Vuvale Union” with his Fijian counterpart.

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🇵🇹Portugal Has Launched 'Amalia,' Its First-Ever Open-Source AI Model

Rather than being ​used directly by the public, the large language foundation model ⁠is intended as a base technology that public institutions, companies, universities and ​researchers can use to build AI-powered applications tailored to their needs.

Amalia was developed by a consortium of Portuguese universities and research institutions, with government backing and €5.5 million ($6.26 ​million). Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said Amalia would help boost productivity across the public and private sectors, including banking, insurance, telecommunications and industry, while ensuring security.

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🛢OPEC+ Ratifies Planned Oil Quota Hike as Gulf Flows Rebound

Major OPEC+ members agreed another modest increase to their collective oil-production quotas for next month, adding to the prospect of more supply eventually hitting the market if a US-Iran peace pact can stick.

Seven nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed at a video conference on Sunday to add 188,000 barrels a day to their output target, OPEC said in a statement on its website. It’s in keeping with the group’s plan to finish reversing output curbs made a few years ago, and means that since the war began, they’ve added 940,000 barrels a day to quotas — equivalent to almost 1% of global demand.

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🇰🇷 South Korea Eyes Growth Fund From Chip Tax Windfall

South Korea plans to create an investment fund using tax revenue from its burgeoning semiconductor industry to finance long-term economic growth.

In a senior-level meeting of the government and the ruling party, Kang Hoon-sik said the additional revenue from the country’s chip industry should be invested for future growth.

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