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BRICS to Promote National Currencies Before Issuing Common One The BRICS bloc is now focused on expanding the use of the currencies of its members, according to the representative of one of them. The establishment of a single currency for the group is not an immediate task at this point in time, the diplomat indicated in an interview.

Latam Insights — Steve Hanke Advocates Dollarization in Argentina, Bitcoin City Plans Unclear in El Salvador, Sunacrip Implicated in Venezuela Layoffs Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue, economist Steve Hanke calls to dollarize Argentina, Bitcoin City plans are still not formalized in El Salvador, and Venezuelan crypto watchdog Sunacrip is allegedly involved in mass layoffs.

Evil Crypto’ Can Be Used in Foreign Trade, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Says Cryptocurrency may be bad for investors but it can be useful in international settlements, according to a top government official in Moscow. Russian authorities intend to set up a special committee that would issue permits to operators employing crypto in foreign trade transactions, he indicated.

Syria Urges BRICS to Lead in Ditching Dollar, Talks Yuan Adoption With China BRICS nations can lead efforts to abandon the U.S. dollar in international settlements, according to President Bashar Assad of Syria. At a meeting with China’s top diplomat for the region, the leader of the war-torn Middle Eastern country called for using the Chinese yuan for cross-border trade.

Bitcoin Pump

Bitcoin Network Hits 75% Progress Towards Next Reward Halving At 11:06 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on April 29, 2023, at block height 787,500, the number of blocks left to discover until the next Bitcoin blockchain halving is now fewer than 52,500 blocks. This means the network has progressed 75% through the 210,000-block halving cycle, which will ultimately result in a reduction of the block reward from 6.25 bitcoins per block to 3.125 bitcoins per block.

US Senator Rand Paul Warns of US Dollar Losing Reserve Currency Status — Says ‘It’s Not an Unfounded Prediction’ U.S. Senator Rand Paul has warned that the U.S. dollar could lose its status as a global reserve currency. “For a variety of reasons, both foreign policy as well as fiscal irresponsibility, yes, the dollar is in a precarious position,” said the lawmaker.

Billionaire Ray Dalio Warns US and China on Brink of War, Beyond Ability to Talk — US-China Trade Could Collapse Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has warned that the U.S. and China are “on the brink of war” and “are beyond the ability to talk.” The billionaire added that their relations “are getting so bad” that U.S.-China trade could collapse. He cautioned that the next 18 months “will be a very risky period.”

Economist Predicts Shift to Tripolar Reserve Currency World — Yuan, Euro to Disrupt US Dollar’s Dominance Economist Stephen Jen, a former Morgan Stanley managing director, expects a shift “from a unipolar reserve currency world to a multipolar world,” with the Chinese yuan, the euro, and the U.S. dollar forming a “tripolar” reserve currency configuration.

Japan’s Inflation Surges to 3.5% as New BOJ Governor Takes the Helm This week, the Statistics Bureau of Japan unveiled the latest core consumer price index (CPI) report for the country, revealing a surge to 3.5%. This figure comes as a surprise to analysts who had predicted a more modest 2.9% for the end of the quarter. It’s worth noting that Japan’s inflation has been steadily rising since June 2021. The timing of this uptick is also notable, as Kazuo Ueda has recently assumed the role of the 32nd governor of the Bank of Japan.

Reports by Fed and FDIC Reveal Vulnerabilities Behind 2 Major US Bank Failures On Friday, Michael Barr, the vice chair for supervision at the U.S. Federal Reserve, published a report on the vulnerabilities that led to the ultimate failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). In addition, Marshall Gentry, the chief risk officer of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), released a similar report on Signature Bank’s collapse and its overreliance on uninsured deposits.

No Rate Hikes in Russia, Central Bank Keeps Interest Rate Level Again Bank of Russia decided to maintain the interest rate at 7.5% amid moderate inflation, estimated at 2.5% on an annual basis in April, although this may change later this year. The monetary authority improved its forecast for the Russian economy and now expects growth entirely in positive figures, up to 2.0% for 2023.

First Republic Bank Faces Potential Takeover by FDIC Amidst Financial Struggles According to multiple reports, First Republic Bank is facing significant financial difficulties and could be taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) if private sector banks do not intervene. The FDIC has reportedly approached several large commercial banks regarding purchasing First Republic after the bank’s stocks dropped more than 50% on Friday.

Netflix Star Driving Bitcoin Adoption With Porsche Flying El Salvador Flag Scottish-Salvadoran driver Sebastian Melrose has made his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup racing championship. The 25-year-old, who took part in a popular Netflix TV series last year, drives a Bitcoin-branded 911 that features the flag of crypto-friendly El Salvador on its rooftop.

Report: Kenya to Start Levying Tax on Revenue Earned by Crypto Exchanges According to regulations published by the country’s treasury secretary, global crypto exchanges used by Kenya’s estimated 4 million users will start paying a 1.5% tax on revenues earned.

Almost 50 Russian Banks Accept Yuan Deposits Amid Low Demand for Dollar Accounts A growing number of banking institutions in Russia are offering customers the option to save in Chinese yuan. The trend coincides with declining demand for U.S. dollar and euro deposits amid currency restrictions that triggered a flight of funds to bank accounts abroad.

Argentina to Settle Chinese Imports in Yuan to Safeguard Dwindling Dollar Reserves The economy minister of Argentina, Sergio Massa, announced that starting this month, payments for imports coming from China will be settled using the Chinese yuan. The agreement, which will allow the country to safeguard its dwindling dollar reserves, involves the disbursement of more than $1 billion in April.

World’s Largest Regional Organization to Switch to Settlements in National Currencies A China-led regional organization that covers more than half of Eurasia intends to transition to settlements in the currencies of its members. While the plan is to abandon the U.S. dollar in mutual payments, participating nations are yet to consider a common currency.

Terra Classic Advocates Propose Plan to Re-Establish USTC’s Peg With US Dollar, Token’s Value Surges by Over 9% Almost 12 months back, terrausd (UST), an algorithmic stablecoin, suffered a detachment from the U.S. dollar, causing the Terra ecosystem to crumble shortly thereafter. At present, supporters of the Terra Classic blockchain community are deliberating on a plan to revive the ecosystem by re-establishing the once-stable token’s peg with the U.S. dollar. In response to the proposed development, the value of UST, renamed USTC, has escalated by more than 9% in the past 24 hours.

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