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Signage is seen outside of a Metro Bank in London, Britain, May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 30 (Reuters) - Metro Bank (MTRO.L) on Thursday announced sweeping cost-cutting plans aimed at bolstering its finances, which could see the embattled British lender lay off 20% of its staff and axe some of its biggest customer perks including seven-day opening hours. The lender expects to take a lower-than-expected one-off restructuring charge of between 10 million pounds and 15 million pounds in 2023. Metro Bank did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on the precise number of roles at risk, but the lender employs around 4,000 people, according to its latest annual report. It is also reviewing its seven-day opening and extended store hours and will "selectively streamline lending" to focus on relationship banking to maximise risk-adjusted returns.

Persons: Hannah McKay, Jaime Gilinski, Daniel Frumkin, outflows, Yadarisa, Sinead Cruise, Elizabeth Howcroft, Rashmi Aich, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Metro Bank, REUTERS, Metro, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Colombian, Bengaluru

Six people listed on Israel's previous Tron seizure notices who responded to Reuters questions denied connections to militant groups. Iran has previously used Tron to skirt U.S. sanctions. 'BLINDSPOT'Since its 2008 birth, the Bitcoin blockchain, and since then crypto more widely, have been magnets for criminals drawn by liquidity and a reputation for anonymity. In 2021, the first year NBCTF published seizure notices, it froze 30 Bitcoin wallets. No Bitcoin wallets appear in notices in the subsequent years.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mriganka Pattnaik, Merkle, Hayward Wong, Tron, Wong, Israel, NBCTF, Weeks, Justin Sun, Sun, Binbin Deng, Shlomit Wagman, VanEck, Wagman, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Nidal al, Gebeily, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Hezbollah, Reuters, Israel's, Bureau for, British Virgin Islands, Dubai Co, Israel, Hamas, Islamic, West Bank, Tron, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Sun, Force, Harvard University, Authority, Militant, Thomson Locations: Iran, Israel, United States, New York, Britain, Singapore, Gaza, British Virgin, Jihad, Dubai, Venezuela, Jenin, Tehran, Paris, U.S, London, Beirut

☆ British investment managers get green light for tokenised funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - British investment managers have got the go-ahead to develop tokenised funds, in which assets are split into smaller tokens backed by blockchain technology, the industry's trade body said on Friday. Tokenisation, or fractionalisation, of funds will enable a fund's assets to trade more cheaply and transparently and investors to buy into a wider range of assets, industry proponents say. Funds authorised by Britain's Financial Conduct Authority can take the first steps towards offering tokenised funds, provided the investments are in mainstream assets and valuation and settlement arrangements don't change, the Investment Association said in a statement. Scrimgeour is chair of a working group which is working with the FCA and Britain's finance ministry to open up opportunities for tokenised funds. Investment managers and exchanges in the United States, Europe and Asia have already taken tentative steps in offering tokenised funds.

Persons: Kevin Coombs, tokenisation, Michelle Scrimgeour, Scrimgeour, Carolyn Cohn, Elizabeth Howcroft, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Britain's Financial, Investment Association, Legal, General Investment Management, FCA, BlackRock, Investment, Thomson Locations: Canary Wharf, London, Britain, United States, Europe, Asia

[1/3] Richard Teng, head of the Middle East and North Africa for crypto firm Binance gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 30, 2022. Teng faces an especially tough task in transforming the culture of Binance, four of the people said. Still, leading a cultural shift at Binance - a firm shaped by Zhao in his own image - would be "hugely difficult," she said. For years it dominated the crypto market, but this year has rapidly lost market share. Last month it controlled 32% of crypto spot and 50% of derivatives trading, according to crypto firm CCData, down from 55% and 62% respectively in January.

Persons: Richard Teng, Abdel Hadi Ramahi, Teng, Changpeng Zhao, Janet Yellen, Binance, Carol Alexander, Zhao, Yi He, Binance's, Simon Matthews, Richard, Matthews, FinCEN, John Reed Stark, Rajeev Bamra, OKX, Joseph Edwards, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Elisa Martinuzzi, Louise Heavens Organizations: Reuters, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S, Treasury, University of Sussex, Investors, Treasury's, Internet Enforcement, Singapore, Abu, Abu Dhabi Global, Singapore Exchange, Moody's Investors Service, Securities, Thomson Locations: East, North Africa, Dubai, United Arab, U.S, Abu Dhabi, France, Seychelles, London

☆ What US charges does crypto exchange Binance face?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao speaks at a Binance fifth anniversary event in Paris, France, July 8, 2022. The agreement will resolve criminal charges that Binance conducted an unlicensed money transmitter business, conspiracy and breaching sanctions regulations, the U.S. Department of Justice said. UNLICENSED MONEY SERVICE BUSINESSThe U.S. said that Binance, Zhao and other executives "knowingly and willfully conspired" to operate as an unlicensed money services business (MSB) from August 2017 until October 2022. MONEY LAUNDERING CHECKSThe U.S. said that Binance facilitated "billions of dollars" of crypto transactions for its customers, including in the United States, without implementing so-called "know your customer" checks. From around January 2018 to May 2022, Binance processed 1.1 million crypto transactions worth at least $898.6 million between U.S. customers and those who lived in Iran, the U.S. said.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, ZHAO, Tom Wilson, Binance, Zhao, laundered, Crypto, Elizabeth Howcroft, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: ZHAO REUTERS, U.S . Department of Justice, Reuters, Binance, U.S, Treasury's, Palestinian, Hamas, Islamic, Palestine Islamic, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, U.S, United States, Russian, Iran, Islamic State, al Qaeda, Palestine, London

The market reaction reflects an expectation that a $4 billion payment would be manageable for Binance, four crypto investors and market participants said. Its status has for years left investors wary of risks to the wider market from a string of regulatory and legal headaches facing Binance. Any resolution of the DOJ probe would remove the risk to the crypto market of Binance's sudden collapse, said Sui Chung, CEO of crypto index provider CF Benchmarks. "Binance disappearing overnight remains a potential systemic risk to the crypto market," Chung said. Other investors cited the personal wealth of Zhao as being sufficient to cover any settlement with the DOJ.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Bitcoin, Binance, Anatoly Crachilov, Crachilov, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Sui Chung, Chung, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Justice Department, Bloomberg, Reuters, London, Asset Management, DOJ, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Assets Fund, Thomson Locations: Binance, London

Milei's dollar plans, however, put pressure on the embattled peso currency, which is held in check by strict capital controls. The official exchange rate is near 350 per dollar, but dollars trade well over twice that in popular parallel markets. Milei said in the run-up to the election he wanted to ditch the peso altogether in favour of the dollar. Milei had also heavily criticised China and Brazil in the runup to the elections, two of Argentina's main trading partners. China said on Tuesday it would be a "serious mistake" if Milei opted to cut ties between the two countries.

Persons: dollarization, Javier Milei, Miel, Milei, Morgan Stanley's, Viktor Szabo, Banks, Banks Grupo Supervielle, Marc Jones, Elizabeth Howcroft, Mayur Kamdar, Karin Strohecker, Bernadette Baum, Emelia Organizations: Argentina, Abrdn, U.S ., Banks Grupo, Banco, Banco BBVA Argentina, Grupo Financiero, Thomson Locations: BUENOS AIRES, MERV, London, Argentina, U.S, Grupo Financiero Galicia, China, Brazil

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Crypto firm Tether said on Monday that it had frozen $225 million worth of its cryptocurrency which it said had been linked to a human trafficking group in Southeast Asia. The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Tether and OKX collaborated with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on the investigation, Tether said without elaborating. The crypto tokens were "linked to an international human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia responsible for a global “pig butchering” romance scam," Tether said. There are $87.9 billion tether tokens in circulation, making it the third biggest cryptocurrency after bitcoin and ether, according to CoinGecko data.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, OKX, Elizabeth Howcroft, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Secret Service, U.S . Department of Justice, DOJ, United Nations, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Southeast Asia, The

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) plans to launch in 2024 a custody service for storing blockchain-based assets excluding cryptocurrency, the bank said on Wednesday. The service, which is a partnership with Swiss digital asset firm Metaco, will allow institutional clients to store blockchain-based tokens representing traditional financial assets, as opposed to crypto or stablecoins, HSBC said. The bank last year launched a digital asset platform, HSBC Orion, which allows financial institutions to issue blockchain-based versions of financial assets, also known as tokenised securities. HSBC did not give a figure for the size of the market for blockchain-based assets excluding cryptocurrencies. In 2019, HSBC announced a platform called Digital Vault, which allows investors to access digital records of securities bought on private markets.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Zhu Kuang Lee, Banks, Elizabeth Howcroft, Sinead Cruise, Mark Potter Organizations: HSBC Bank, REUTERS, HSBC, cryptocurrency, Swiss, HSBC Orion, Blockchain, blockchain, Thomson Locations: London

Worldline's (WLN.PA) stock slide, which saw around $4 billion wiped off its market value, is the latest wake-up call. COMMISSIONS CUTRevenue growth has suffered at payments firms as inflation has force European consumers to spend less, while investors fret about the euro zone slipping into recession. Some analysts say payments firms have also been caught napping, after a period of growth during COVID lockdowns. In a further sign of investor wariness, venture capital investment flows into European payment firms have also dried up. Now, it may leave private equity investors to pick up the pieces for payment service firms, analysts said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Paul Charpentier, Bryan Garnier, napping, Jefferies, Hannes Leitner, Leitner, Charpentier, wariness, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo, Morgan Stanley, Worldline, Bryan Garnier's Charpentier, Elizabeth Howcroft, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, PayPal, Holdings, Companies, Barclays, Reuters, Spain's Banco Sabadell, Fidelity National Information Services, CVC Capital Partners, CVC, Thomson Locations: London, U.S, Nexi, Europe

☆ Explainer: Crypto's role in terrorist financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency's role in terrorist financing and funding militant groups has come under renewed scrutiny following a deadly attack in Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas. HOW MUCH CRYPTO IS USED IN TERRORIST FINANCING? The FATF said this year that crypto presents "increasing terrorist financing risks", but that the "vast majority" of terrorist financing still uses regular money. Chainalysis said that terrorist financing "represents a small fraction of the less than 1% of the entire crypto market occupied by illicit activity". Terrorist financing is a small part of the illicit uses of crypto, which include scams, ransomware and theft.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, cryptocurrency, Chainalysis, Elizabeth Howcroft, Tom Wilson, John O'Donnell, Ed Osmond Organizations: REUTERS, Hamas, U.S, United Nations, Bloomberg, North, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, cryptocurrencies, North Korea

☆ Bitcoin hits two-month high above $30,000 in volatile week
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Bitcoin jumped on Friday above $30,000 for first time since July , taking gains for the week past 10%, against a backdrop of volatile trading across cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by circulation, climbed as high as $30,022, its highest since July 23. There was no immediate news catalyst for the move in bitcoin, said Joseph Edwards, head of research at London crypto firm Enigma Securities. The approval of any such applications, crypto investors have said, could usher in a new wave of capital to the asset class.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Bitcoin, Joseph Edwards, Ben Laidler, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Amanda Cooper Organizations: La Maison du, REUTERS, Securities, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, BlackRock, Thomson Locations: La, Paris, France, cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, London

Oil prices rose last week as investors priced in the chance of escalation in the world's top oil-producing region, while U.S. Treasuries and gold prices rose as traders bought safe-haven assets. Traders are waiting to see if the conflict draws in other countries, which would drive up oil prices further and deal a fresh blow to the global economy. Oil prices eased but were still above $90 a barrel after surging last week. Before Hamas' attack, market sentiment had been driven by the global economy and the idea that the U.S. Federal Reserve was planning to keep rates higher for longer. European government bond yields rose after European Central Bank officials reiterated concerns about inflation.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Fiona Cincotta, Antony Blinken, Cincotta, Israel's shekel, Kyle Rodda, Rodda, Elizabeth Howcroft, Kevin Buckland, David Evans, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Staff, Israel's, U.S, Traders, Nasdaq, U.S . Federal Reserve, Treasury, European Central Bank, Capital.com, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Israel, Gaza, Iran, East, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, London, Tokyo

Last February, the State Department said that Hamas raises funds in other Gulf countries and gets donations from Palestinians, other expatriates and its own charities. Blockchain researchers TRM Labs said this week in a research note that crypto fundraising has previously increased following rounds of violence involving Hamas. However, since last weekend's violence, prominent Hamas-linked support groups had moved just a few thousands dollars through crypto, TRM noted. Between Dec. 2021 and April this year, Israel seized almost 190 crypto accounts it said were linked to Hamas. SHIPS AND SHELLSWhether through crypto or other means, Hamas' allies have found ways to get money to Gaza.

Persons: Matthew Levitt, Levitt, Tom Robinson, TRM, Israel, they've, Stephen Reimer, Saeed Azhar, Sinead Cruise, Tom Wilson, Tommy Wilkes, Andrew Mills, John O'Donnell, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: LONDON, Hamas, Barclays, Islamic Resistance Movement, State Department, Reuters, TRM Labs, The U.S . State Department, U.S . Treasury, UN, Qatari, Royal United Services Institute, Parisa, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Gaza, Israel, U.S, Iran, Qatar, United States, Britain, The, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Tehran, Islamic Republic, New York, London, Doha, Dubai

But bitcoin fell sharply after a Fox Business reporter said on the social media platform X that BlackRock denied the report. loadingBlackRock later confirmed to Reuters that "the iShares Bitcoin ETP application is still under review by the SEC." "Crypto markets have just shown how sensitive they are to any potential good news, with their premature rally today on rumors of the approval of a spot bitcoin ETF," said Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro. Crypto markets have been awaiting news on several pending spot bitcoin ETF applications, which, if approved, are widely expected to drive investment in the sector. The SEC has denied all spot bitcoin ETF applications on the grounds applicants have not shown they can protect investors from market manipulation.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, bitcoin, Ben Laidler, Joseph Edwards, Lucas Kiely, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Hannah Lang, Suzanne McGee, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Sharon Singleton, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, BlackRock, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Fox Business, Reuters, SEC, Securities, Columbia, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, London, Washington

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency issuer Tether has frozen 32 crypto wallet addresses containing a combined $873,118 it said were linked to "terrorism and warfare" in Israel and Ukraine, the company said on Monday. Israeli police said last week they had frozen crypto accounts used to solicit donations for Hamas on social media. Tether said that it is committed to "working closely" with law enforcement agencies globally "to combat cryptocurrency-funded terrorism and warfare." Crypto has been widely used in Ukraine since Russia's invasion last year, with Kyiv raising over $100 million in crypto after appealing for donations. Pro-Russian groups have used crypto for funding in eastern Ukraine, blockchain researcher Chainalysis said last year.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Crypto, Chainalysis, TRM, Elizabeth Howcroft, Tom Wilson, Mark Potter, Rod Nickel Organizations: REUTERS, TRM Labs, Israel's National Bureau for, Reuters, bitcoin, Thomson Locations: Israel, Ukraine, Hamas, U.S

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Crypto firm Tether's Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino will also become its CEO from December 2023, the company said on Friday, in a surprise management shake-up for one of the crypto world's top tokens. Current CEO, Jean-Louis van der Velde, will "transition to an advisory role for Tether", the company said in a statement. Tether issues a stablecoin, also called Tether, which is designed to maintain a 1:1 dollar peg and is widely used in crypto-to-crypto trading. Little is known about van der Velde, who keeps a low public profile. Ardoino became chief technology officer of Tether in 2017, the company said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Paolo Ardoino, Jean, Louis van der Velde, van der Velde, Ardoino, Elizabeth Howcroft, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Tether's, Twitter, Thomson

☆ Analysis-Hamas' Cash-To-Crypto Global Finance Maze in Israel's Sights
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

In the past, Hamas has said financial restrictions placed on its donors were an attempt to neutralise legitimate resistance against Israel. However, since last weekend's violence, prominent Hamas-linked support groups had moved just a few thousands dollars through crypto, TRM noted. Between Dec. 2021 and April this year, Israel seized almost 190 crypto accounts it said were linked to Hamas. SHIPS AND SHELLSWhether through crypto or other means, Hamas' allies have found ways to get money to Gaza. "Qatari aid to the Gaza Strip is fully coordinated with Israel, the UN and the U.S.," the Qatari government official said.

Persons: Al Sayegh, John O'Donnell, Elizabeth Howcroft, Matthew Levitt, Levitt, Tom Robinson, TRM, Israel, they've, Stephen Reimer, Saeed Azhar, Sinead Cruise, Tom Wilson, Tommy Wilkes, Andrew Mills, Frank Jack Daniel Organizations: Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON, Reuters, Hamas, Barclays, Islamic Resistance Movement, State Department, TRM Labs, The U.S . State Department, U.S . Treasury, UN, Qatari, Royal United Services Institute, Parisa Locations: DUBAI, Gaza, Israel, U.S, Iran, Qatar, United States, Britain, The, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Tehran, Islamic Republic, New York, London, Doha, Dubai

☆ Crypto token ether could rise five-fold by end-2026, StanChart says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Representation of Ethereum, with its native cryptocurrency ether, is seen in this illustration taken November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, may rise more than five-fold in value by the end of 2026, according to global bank Standard Chartered (STAN.L), its latest prediction of rocketing crypto prices. The price of crypto tokens are generally driven by the sentiment of investors. Ether has gained some 30% this year, though remains almost 70% below its all-time high of about $4,869, hit in Nov. 2021. StanChart said in July that top crypto token bitcoin could reach $50,000 this year and $120,000 by the end of 2024.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Geoff Kendrick, Kendrick, StanChart, Bitcoin, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Chartered, StanChart, FX Research, Reuters, Thomson Locations: West

Signage for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Britain's financial regulatory body, is seen at their head offices in London, Britain March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator on Tuesday said it was stopping peer-to-peer platform rebuildingsociety.com from approving financial promotions for Binance and other crypto asset firms, days after Binance announced it had partnered with the company. A Binance spokesperson via email on Tuesday said that the company had invested "an enormous amount of time and resources" in ensuring that it is compliant with the Financial Conduct Authority's rules. "We shared our agreement with Rebuildingsociety.com with the FCA on Oct. 2, almost a full week before the requirements of the updated Financial Promotions Regime came into effect," the Binance spokesperson said. Under the FCA's rules, a firm it has authorised can approve promotions of companies it does not regulate, a system that is being tightened from February by the watchdog.

Persons: Toby Melville, Binance, Elizabeth Howcroft, Huw Jones, Mark Porter Organizations: Financial, Authority, REUTERS, FCA, Rebuildingsociety.com, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, cryptoassets, Leeds, UK

☆ Israel freezes crypto accounts seeking Hamas donations, police say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Israel has frozen cryptocurrency accounts used to solicit donations for the Palestinian militant group Hamas on social media, police said on Tuesday. Hamas launched devastating attacks from Gaza into Israel on Saturday, in one of the most serious escalations in the Israel-Palestinian conflict in years. The statement did not give further details of how many accounts were frozen, nor the value of crypto seized. "The data we use to pinpoint individuals, addresses, and infrastructures associated with specific organisations stems from intelligence provided by law enforcement and investigative tools we, and our partners, have developed." Reuters reported in May that Israel had seized around 190 crypto accounts at Binance since 2021, including two it said were linked to Islamic State and dozens it said were owned by Palestinian firms connected to Hamas.

Persons: Israel, Binance, Henriette Chacar, Tom Wilson, Nidal, Elizabeth Howcroft, Nick Macfie Organizations: Cyber Unit, Ministry of Defense, Reuters, Hamas, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Binance, Islamic State, Jerusalem, London

"It's pretty evident that the jobs market and the consumer are doing OK. Claims are still very, very low," he said. If claims are up to mid-250,000 by year's end, "that's a fairly obvious sign that there's a loosening of the labor market." "The question everyone's asking is: can yields continue to rise further and at what point are yields going to cause some serious damage on the economy?" The dollar index fell 0.234%, with the euro up 0.25% at $1.0529. All 11 sectors of the S&P index were in the red, with the big megacap growth stocks leading the decline.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Wall, Mike Sanders, Baylee Wakefield, Brent, Dennis Kissler, Elizabeth Howcroft, Elaine Hardcastle, Sharon Singleton, Richard Chang Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Madison Investments, Labor Department, Reuters, Aviva Investors, Treasury, Bank of Japan, Analysts, Bank of, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, BOK, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Madison , Wisconsin, Bank of Japan

REUTERS/Staff/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Thursday, after a plunge in oil prices and softer U.S. labour data late on Wednesday helped bring U.S. Treasury yields back down from 16-year highs. European government bond yields were mixed, with the benchmark 10-year German yield up 2 basis points at 2.921% . "The question everyone’s asking is: can yields continue to rise further and at what point are yields going to cause some serious damage on the economy?” said Baylee Wakefield, a portfolio manager at Aviva Investors. ING FX analysts cautioned in a client note that markets may be putting too much weight on Wednesday's private payrolls data. In currencies, the U.S. dollar index was down 0.1% at 106.530 , off a peak earlier in the week of 107.34.

Persons: ”, Baylee Wakefield, Elizabeth Howcroft, Elaine Hardcastle, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Staff, Wednesday, Treasury, U.S . Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, Aviva Investors, Analysts, ING, U.S, Bank of, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, U.S, Bank of Japan, Japan

Prosecutors are calling some FTX customers to testify that they were told their assets were safe, and to share how FTX's collapse affected them. "As the crypto market has recovered, many FTX customers are concluding that they can sell their claim, buy crypto again, and do much better than letting their claim depreciate," said Matthew Sedigh, CEO of Xclaim, a bankruptcy claims exchange. Some creditors Reuters interviewed declined to share evidence of their FTX claims because they contained personal information. 'A GREAT SUPPORT'Looking for answers, FTX creditors have created support groups. Xclaim lists over 2,000 FTX claims for sale, worth around $610 million at last November's crypto prices, Sedigh said.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Eduardo Munoz, Lee Rees, FTX, Rees, doesn't, Fried, scammers, Matthew Sedigh, John Ray, Kroll, ”, Maxime, Marc Antoine, Julliard, …, Sunil Kavuri, Kavuri, Sedigh, Luc Cohen, Michelle Price, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Alameda Research, Reuters, FTX, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, London, FTX, Washington

☆ Central bank test lab develops global bitcoin mapping system
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - A global central bank test lab has designed a prototype bitcoin monitoring system aimed at giving authorities a clearer picture on how, when and where the cryptocurrency is used. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) project, codenamed Atlas, began at the Dutch central bank more than five years ago, but its potential value has been underscored over the last 18 months by a series of chaotic collapses across the crypto industry. Cross-border crypto flows are particularly relevant for central banks in the context of cross-border payments, economic analysis and balance of payments statistics, the BIS said. "Central banks need to gain first-hand knowledge of crypto and DeFi and the risks and opportunities they present to the financial system," the BIS said. It added the dashboards would now be made available to a group of "test" central banks to gather feedback and for further development.

Persons: Atlas, Elizabeth Howcroft, Gareth Jones Organizations: Bank for International Settlements, Atlas, BIS, Regulators, Thomson Locations: London

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