Anchor Funds Stolen During Liquid Hack Returned, B-Day Lands in El Salvador, A Joint CBDC Arises, Mining Soars in Vietnam, SEC Could Sue Coinbase

In this edition:

• Anchor Stablecoins That Made 10% of the Value of the Liquid Hack, Have Been Successfully Returned

• B-Day Lands in El Salvador – What You Need to Know
• An International, Joint CBDC? Why Not!
• Crypto Mining Soars in Vietnam, Along With Adoption
• SEC Might Sue Coinbase Over Crypto Yield Program

Welcome aboard, fellow Anchorians! I hope this August was kind to you and that, much like in the world of crypto, there were many excitements in your lives.

Since our Roundup comes out monthly now, it’s not easy to choose the most interesting topics, but here’s what we opted for this time – good news for Anchor token holders who use Liquid, a word from El Salvador, CBDC updates around the world, Vietnam’s recent crypto efforts, and Coinbase’s potential trouble in paradise. 

As we all know (too well), the crypto industry is disruptive and revolutionary, crucial developments can happen in just a few months whereas, in other industries, that could take years. I guess that’s why we choose crypto just like Ash Ketchum does with Pikachu. Oh, random info alert, but did you know that Ash’s name in Japan is Satoshi?

While that piece of information soaks in, let’s start with what you really came for here – the news! Buckle up, the 91st edition of Anchor’s Crypto Roundup is ready – let’s dive right in!

Anchor Stablecoin Successfully Returned Its Funds Stolen From the Liquid Exchange

After Liquid has been hacked on the 19th of August to the tune of approximately $94 million, Anchor stablecoin discovered that the hackers made off with 10 million ANCT. Anchor has now managed to retrieve those funds.

The tokens, valued at $8.048million, have been frozen since the first news of the hack, and Anchor stablecoin has been working on utilizing all previously taken precautionary measures to return the funds. 

In spite of the volatility this hack might have caused, ANCT remained stable.

“It was designed to withstand serious market fluctuations, so we saw this situation as an opportunity to validate our assumptions. Anchor Token has remained stable on exchanges throughout this period.” COO of Anchor, Cristian Bronescu stated.

B-Day Lands in El Salvador – What You Need to Know

The ‘Buy the dip’ phrase has been around so long that now even sovereign countries are actually doing it, and they’re buying big! So, El Salvador’s authorities did something extraordinary, as we all know, and made BTC legal tender in this Latin American country. 

Yeah, even McDonald’s is now accepting BTC for its meals, but only in one country – El Salvador! The Salvadoran government has utilized the fact BTC’s price went under $43k and bought, in total, 550 bitcoins! Wow. 

‘’Thanks for the dip @IMFNews. We saved a million in printed paper. El Salvador now holds 550 bitcoin,’’ President Bukele tweeted. 

Naturally, not everyone in El Salvador is excited about the fact BTC has become this country’s legal tender – opposition disagrees with the government’s decision (but that’s what every opposition always does, right?), and some retirees protested against the Bitcoin Law (we can’t expect them to fully comprehend the advantages either). 

Reportedly, 70% of the population is against the adoption, while IMF (surprise, surprise) warned El Salvador against using BTC as legal tender. Is this country grasping at straws or doing something truly revolutionary? Only time will tell. Innovations have always been opposed at first, but over time, they became a reality for everyone. 

Whatever happens next, we will talk about it in the next editions of our Roundups, so stay tuned!

An International, Joint CBDC? Why Not!

Okay, it’s 2021 and CBDCs have been a thing for some time now. We often talk about new CBDC projects around the globe and mention when a country decides to take this step. Nonetheless, this situation surely is unique!

Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Africa have announced a launch of a joint CBDC pilot, dubbed Project Dunbar, in partnership with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub from its Singapore Center! 

‘’Project Dunbar brings together central banks with years of experience and unique perspectives in CBDC projects and ecosystem partners at advanced stages of technical development on digital currencies. With this group of capable and passionate partners, we are confident that our work on multi-CBDCs for international settlements will break new ground in this next stage of CBDC experimentation and lay the foundation for global payments connectivity.’’

A joint announcement also highlights the perks of easy international transactions: “These multi-CBDC platforms will allow financial institutions to transact directly with each other in the digital currencies issued by participating central banks, eliminating the need for intermediaries and cutting the time and cost of transactions.”

In a nutshell, the joint initiative from these four countries will ‘’prototype shared DLT platforms enabling institutions to settle cross-border transactions using central bank digital currencies’’.

Crypto Mining Soars in Vietnam, Along With Adoption

Vietnam has a very interesting place in the world of crypto. Its government is not very keen on cryptocurrencies, but its people are true champions of crypto adoption.

According to the Chainalysis report on crypto adoption, Vietnam is ranked as the number 1 country globally, based on the Global Crypto Adoption Index. Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, however, warns its citizens that crypto is still unregulated in this country. 

That didn’t stop crypto mining from soaring in the country recently! According to the store owners, crypto enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, demand for mining equipment has significantly risen this month. Why is that?

“First, Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies have simultaneously seen price hikes, and miners have started to make profits. Second, the pandemic has prolonged, reducing investment options, and so more people have opted for coin mining,” said Le Hung, administrator of a big Vietnamese mining community. 

Again, Vietnamese authorities have banned crypto as a means of payment in 2018, while constantly urging people to avoid cryptocurrencies. This policy, nonetheless, doesn’t seem to be working. 

SEC Might Sue Coinbase Over Crypto Yield Program

Trouble in paradise? The United States Securities and Exchange Commission allegedly has plans to sue Coinbase over its crypto yield program, which the SEC deems as a security.

“They refuse to tell us why they think it’s a security, and instead subpoena a bunch of records from us (we comply), demand testimony from our employees (we comply), and then tell us they will be suing us if we proceed to launch, with zero explanation as to why,” shared Brian Armstrong, the exchange’s CEO. 

Armstrong also explained that Coinbase approached the SEC earlier to brief them about the program, precisely to avoid any unpleasant situations or legal actions. Coinbase Lend program plans to offer 4% annual yield returns on deposits of the USD Coin (USDC). The SEC warns – all we can see is a security. 

‘’Look….we’re committed to following the law. Sometimes the law is unclear. So if the SEC wants to publish guidance, we are also happy to follow that (it’s nice if you actually enforce it evenly across the industry equally btw),’’ Armstrong concluded. 

Good point, though. If the law isn’t precise enough and doesn’t refer to a specific situation, how can you call it illegal? On the other hand, the SEC has a very clear job and it’s their right to follow it through. Will there be legal action or is this just a misunderstanding? We’ll find out soon enough!

Final Thoughts

Okay, the 91st edition of our Crypto Roundup has officially come to an end! In 9 months, somebody will welcome their newborn, and we will celebrate the jubilee 100th edition. Will you be there?

Jokes aside, we sincerely hope you found this Roundup insightful and learned something new! Whatever happens in the world of crypto in the next 30 days, we’ll make sure to follow that up. 

Please, stay safe and take care, my dear fellow Anchorians. And until the next month, you know the drill well – I wish you safe winds and the following seas!

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is not legal, accounting, or financial advice. I am not a lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor. I am not registered as an investment adviser with any federal or state regulatory agency. The Information should not be construed as investment or trading advice and is not meant to be a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any cryptocurrencies.