China Evergrande Shares Hit New Low Amid Debt Crisis; Kaisa misses pay date

China Evergrande Shares Hit New Low Amid Debt Crisis;  Kaisa misses pay date

LONDON: The cryptocurrency dogecoin jumped more than 20% on Friday as Tesla began accepting it as payment for goods in its online store.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, “Tesla merch purchasable with Dogecoin,” fulfilling a promise he made in December 2021.

The digital coin, originally created as a joke in 2013 but since considered a legitimate investment product, was 14% higher at $0.1972 as of 10:19 a.m. London.

Musk helped dogecoin soar around 4000% in 2021 with tweets such as “how much is that dog in the window? and claims it’s the “people’s crypto”.

e-book warning

A central bank digital currency operated by the Bank of England and used by consumers could harm financial stability, increase the cost of credit and erode privacy, but a version for wholesale use in the financial sector requires a largest assessment, a committee of the UK’s House of UK. Lords said Thursday.

Britain’s central bank and finance ministry said in November they would hold a consultation in 2022 on whether to proceed with a CBDC to be introduced after 2025 at the earliest.

Central banks around the world have stepped up plans for CBDCs to avoid the potential risks of private cryptocurrencies dominating digital payments. However, an e-book used for everyday payments could see people moving money from bank accounts to digital wallets, undermining banks and causing financial instability, the committee said.

It could also increase borrowing costs as banks have lost one of their main sources of funding, the Economic Affairs Committee said. The central bank’s ability to monitor transactions could also harm privacy, he said.

Many of the consumer benefits of a CBDC could be “achieved through alternative means with less risk”, committee chairman Michael Forsyth told Reuters, suggesting regulation would be a better tool to ward off the threat of crypto issued by Big Tech companies.

However, a wholesale CBDC used to transfer large sums could make securities trading and settlement more efficient, according to the report. Britain’s central bank and Treasury should consult on its merits over expanding the existing settlement system, he said.

The UK parliament should have the final say on any decision to launch an e-book, the report says, calling on lawmakers to also vote on its governance.

Watch out for the NFT gap

Clothing retailer Gap launched non-fungible tokens of its signature hoodies on Thursday, helping to boost its shares by around 5%.

The company’s push into virtual assets follows similar moves by brands such as Nike, which last month announced the acquisition of NFT maker RTFKT. Mattel Inc. has also released NFT versions of its Barbie and Hot Wheels lines.

While artwork NFTs have sold for millions of dollars over the past year, Gap said its NFTs will cost between approximately $8.30 and $415 for a collectible that comes with a physics hoodie.

Gap is collaborating with Brandon Sines, the artist behind the Frank Ape cartoon, on the NFT collection hosted on the Tezos blockchain.

Robert P. Matthews