News Roundup - Buenos Aires High Schools to Integrate Ethereum Technology Into Curriculum

Major news stories this week;

1. Buenos Aires High Schools to Integrate Ethereum Technology Into Curriculum
2. UK’s crypto dreams stall as registrations with financial regulator remain low
3. Stables Money onboards Coins.ph's Philippine peso stablecoin
4. Moscow to test crypto for international payments
5. PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin hits $1B market cap

Story Summaries;

1. The ETH Kipu Foundation has established a significant partnership with the Ministry of Education of Buenos Aires to integrate Ethereum and blockchain technology into the high school curriculum. This collaboration represents a notable advancement in technology education within Argentina. This partnership is set to impact the broader Latin American region. As part of this initiative, students in Buenos Aires will commence professional internships related to blockchain projects starting August 27. This practical engagement is expected to provide students with valuable experience and insights into the blockchain industry. Additionally, the partnership will facilitate the development of an online course focused on Solidity, the programming language used for creating Ethereum applications. This course aims to train 500 young adults aged 18 and older. This will equip them with the skills necessary to enter the Ethereum development community. In addition to this, it will contribute to local businesses through blockchain technology.
2. The industry’s dreams of turning the UK into a crypto haven have stalled as the Financial Conduct Authority hasn’t approved any crypto businesses for six months. Back when now-defenestrated Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2022, he pledged to transform Blighty into a “global cryptoasset technology hub.” That promise now seems far away. The last entity the Financial Conduct Authority registered was institutional market-maker Portofino Technologies in February, according to the regulator’s registry. Registry data updated on August 1 shows the FCA received 34 applications in the past 12 months, four of which were successful. Apart from Portofino, the firms approved in that period were crypto bank Banxa UK, payments giant PayPal, and custodian Koimanu.
3. Philippine cryptocurrency exchange Coins.ph and Australia’s Stables Money have partnered to use Coins.ph’s Philippine peso-pegged PHPC stablecoin for remittances. The Philippine peso already makes up over a quarter of Stables Money’s send transactions. Stables Money entered the Philippine market in March. The Philippines is the largest importer of remittances in Southeast Asia. Remittances to the country reached $34.9 billion in 2020, according to the World Bank. PHPC was admitted to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ regulatory sandbox in May and launched in July. It is backed by reserves held by Coins.ph. Stables Money CEO Bernardo Bilotta said: “Recognizing the Philippines as a key player in global remittances, we expanded to deliver smooth PHP transactions. With 28.44% of our send transactions now in PHP, this move highlights our commitment to […] those sending money to the Philippines.”
4. Russia is set to begin trials for crypto exchanges on September 1 as a strategy to mitigate the impact of international sanctions, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. The upcoming trials will focus on facilitating conversion between rubles and cryptos using the National Payment Card System. The system, fully regulated by the Bank of Russia, includes features like interbank settlement and clearing, making it a viable platform for these trials. The tests aim to provide Russia with an alternative for cross-border transactions, especially in light of difficulties with traditional payment systems. Russian exporters have faced challenges buying foreign supplies and receiving payments due to ongoing Western sanctions. Success in these trials could provide a powerful alternative to traditional financial systems. Plus, it potentially leads to broader crypto adoption for cross-border transactions.
5. PayPal’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin, PayPal USD, has surpassed $1 billion in total market capitalization, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Launched in 2023, PayPal USD is backed 1:1 by US dollars and is issued by Paxos Trust Company, a US-regulated crypto custodian. It competes with other regulated, dollar-backed stablecoins such as Circle Internet Financial’s USD Coin. “The shift toward digital currencies requires a stable instrument that is both digitally native and easily connected to fiat currency like the US dollar,” said Dan Schulman, PayPal’s president and CEO, in a 2023 statement. An Ethereum-compatible ERC-20 token, PYUSD is the only stablecoin supported on PayPal’s payment rails. It is designed to be “available to an already large and growing community of external developers, wallets and Web3 applications” and easily onboarded by cryptocurrency exchanges, according to PayPal.

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And that’s all for last week’s news! Wishing you a great week ahead!

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