Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are gaining wider acceptance by the day. While only 9 countries have launched crypto CBDCs, 14 are in the pilot stage, 16 are developing technology and 40 are conducting research – in all, 87 countries are exploring CBDC technology – the race for the future of money is well and truly on. 

France is the latest country to join the discussion, as it completed the first stage of CBDC experimentation on Thursday (16th December). That said, what exactly is a CBDC?

## What is a CBDC?

A CBDC is essentially a digital form of fiat currency issued by a central bank. It can be in the form of a retail currency or a wholesale currency. A retail CBDC is intended for public use while a wholesale CBDC is meant to serve as a medium of exchange between financial institutions. 

Both forms of technology are backed by the full credit of a government. CBDCs will make purchasing goods, sending local and cross-border payments and layering possibilities on transactions much easier, among other possibilities. 

While private cryptocurrencies offer these capabilities in several shapes and forms, they are decentralised, not centralised and controlled by a government. 

## France's CBDC quest

On Thursday, The Banque de France completed the first stage of wholesale CBDC experimentation. The next step is exploring cross-border transactions. Interestingly, France has been exploring wholesale CBDC technology since March 2020. 

France conducted experiments with numerous partners, including HSBC, the final stage of which was issuing a digital bond on a blockchain with settlement in wholesale CBDC. The Banque de France is exploring a retail CBDC as well. 

## Conclusion

As private crypto assets are gaining prevalence and people are avoiding the use of cash (apps like Google Pay and [Cash App](https://cash.app/) are being increasingly used), governments all over the world are looking at CBDC technology to combine the power of crypto with the craze of digital currency.

For more Business news, see [here](/news/category/crypto-business-news).


France Jumps on Crypto CBDC Bandwagon

Wouldn’t you know it?  Of all the people in our global community, 2021 was the year that _cryptocurrency users_ received the accolade of being the [most charitable investors](https://www.fastcompany.com/90691172/fidelity-crypto-charity-2021-report) on the planet.  As society embraces cryptocurrencies on a wider scale, it’s a fact that people are increasingly using digital assets instead of fiat to make donations to their favourite charities. 

United Way Worldwide, the international network of 1,800+ non-profit fundraising affiliates, reported a jaw-dropping 350% increase over the past year in donations that were made using cryptocurrency.  No less impressive, the largest grantmaker in the U.S., Fidelity Charitable, recently reported receiving over $274 million in cryptocurrency donations in 2021.  That’s almost _four times_ the grantmaker’s prior record of $69 million in 2017.

## Crypto-Philanthropy

While crypto-philanthropy may be surging in 2021, it isn’t because the concept is entirely new.  Remember when the cryptocurrency market had its “coming out” party during the 2017-18 bull market and American actor turned celebrity tech investor, Ashton Kutcher, donated crypto on “The Ellen Degeneres Show?”  Or when a philanthropic project called the [Pineapple Fund](https://pineapplefund.org/) was initiated by an anonymous investor who went on to donate more than 5000 Bitcoins to over 50 different charities through the fund?

Tech and crypto wealth are rapidly becoming a big part of global philanthropy.  Now, faith-based organizations, churches, and non-profits are beginning to recognize that, with the proper online platform in place, they can draw in larger donations than regular fiat would alone as crypto expands its role in the rapidly growing online economy.

While the larger and more widely recognisable charities and international “do gooders” like the American Red Cross and Save the Children are already active in providing platforms that allow donors to contribute crypto instead of fiat, smaller organizations are still struggling with how they can set up a similar system to benefit from the recent wave of crypto-philanthropy and are determining if it even makes sense for them to do so.  It’s a compelling question considering that smaller charities make up the majority of registered non-profit's in America. 

## Bitcoin Donations

In 2018, [Engiven](https://engiven.com/) and [The Giving Block](https://thegivingblock.com/) were launched.  These two sites have become the most popular crypto-giving platforms for assisting non-profit's and especially churches in setting up online platforms for making cryptocurrency donations.  This year The Giving Block has said that it expects to facilitate cryptocurrency donations for charities totalling between $100 and $150 million.  This past November, the cryptocurrency donation platform Engiven said it accepted what the company is calling “the largest single Bitcoin donation known to date” which turned out to be a Bitcoin donation made to an undisclosed faith-based organisation totalling $10 million.

How liberating it is for the crypto-community to beat the traditional philanthropists to the top of the “most charitable” list?  But perhaps the better part of the story is how the cryptocurrency market has opened a new way for charities to source their efforts to make the world a better place. 



Crypto Investors Recognised for Charitable Giving

Nike has [announced](https://news.nike.com/news/nike-acquires-rtfkt) that the acquisition of RTFKT, a leading brand that merges culture and gaming, on their website. RTFKT is a company that creates virtual shoes and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) for the gaming industry.

With this acquisition, Nike looks to expand their customer base to include gamers and digital content creators. The RTFKT team will continue to work on developing new products and services for Nike, with an aim to incorporate the RTFKT shoe 3D scanning technology into their products.

## What is RTFKT?

RTFKT was founded in 2020 by Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le and Steven Vasilev. Their main product is a virtual shoe that can be used during workouts or just for fun to play games with.

President and CEO of Nike Inc, John Donahoe said; “This acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike’s digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming, and culture".

 “We’re acquiring a very talented team of creators with an authentic and connected brand. Our plan is to invest in the RTFKT brand, serve and grow their innovative and creative community and extend Nike’s digital footprint and capabilities.”  

“This is a unique opportunity to build the RTFKT brand and we are excited to benefit from Nike’s foundational strength and expertise to build the communities we love,” says Benoit Pagotto, one of RTFKT’s co-founders.

With this move, Nike looks to expand its digital footprint and capitalise on the growing trend of immersive content.


Nike acquires virtual shoe and NFT maker, RTFKT

The Black Swan events of December may have knocked Bitcoin, the world’s most popular crypto-currency, down 30% in value this month. But, judging from the resilience of the mining activity around the world, which has experienced a full recovery since the Chinese “_ban_”, the cryptocurrency investment community has further evidence to suggest that digital currencies will continue to rebound from whatever may get thrown at them.

## The 'Mecca' of Crypto-Mining

Once upon a time, China was _the_ mecca of cryptocurrency mining with reliable estimates putting the country’s slice of the global crypto-mining pie at the 65% to 75% mark.  Then, September 2021 happened.  The communist nation with a population of 1.4 billion [essentially banned all cryptocurrency transactions](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-central-bank-vows-crackdown-cryptocurrency-trading-2021-09-24/), including any mining activity that was happening in the country.  The Chinese ban was thought to be the sound of the death knell for digital currencies, but, again, the cryptocurrency market has shown remarkable “comeback” potential.

The recent rebound in global cryptocurrency mining was declared by measuring what’s referred to as the [_hashrate_](https://www.yahoo.com/now/hash-rate-cryptocurrency-calculated-172307967.html#:~:text=The%20hash%20rate%20is%20the,part%20of%20the%20mining%20operation.), a term that’s used to describe the computational power of all the mining activity taking place on the bitcoin network.  Specifically, it refers to the amount of computing power per second that the cryptocurrency mining process requires.

Getting back to China, once the ban was announced last summer the cryptocurrency market may have plummeted, but the miners simply folded up their tents, packed their gear, and took their operations to countries that demonstrated a more amiable attitude towards digital currencies.  For example, the United States has been a big beneficiary of the Chinese ban – The US is a provider of plentiful, inexpensive electricity and even Kazakstan, where electricity is _even less_ expensive saw a huge migration in cryptocurrency miners.

Cryptocurrency mining has certainly received its fair share of press, especially now that the effects of the Chinese ban have been eclipsed by the market’s recent global mining activity, so it’s worth taking a moment to understand what cryptocurrency mining really is.

## What is cryptocurrency mining?

Most of society believes the cryptocurrency mining process is just a way of creating new coins.  That’s true, but there’s more involved.  Crypto mining is deemed successful once miners have validated cryptocurrency transactions on a blockchain network and then successfully add them to a distributed ledger.  Most importantly, the mining process prevents the “[double-spending](https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/double-spending-problem-crypto)” of digital currency.  In the most basic sense, cryptocurrency mining is the process of solving very complicated mathematical puzzles.  If you can solve them fast enough, you’re rewarded with a coin.  However, cryptocurrency miners that solve these puzzles slower than their competition _don’t_.  It’s a process called “[proof of work](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/proof-work.asp#:~:text=Proof%20of%20work%20(PoW)%20is,transactions%20and%20mining%20new%20tokens.).”

The most remarkable thing about this story is that a global superpower instituted a countrywide ban of cryptocurrency transactions, and less than six months later the cryptocurrency market is making a “chest thumping” statement with a full recovery.


China Crypto Ban Brushed Off as Mining Recovers

The cryptocurrency _brain trust_ got a chance to speak in front of congress at a House Financial Services Committee hearing this week.  A collection of six of the most influential CEOs in crypto passionately lobbied lawmakers to adopt a “_mostly_ hands off” approach in terms of new regulatory measures being considered as Washington tries to determine how best to regulate a $3 trillion digital assets market – an environment that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has compared to the “Wild West.”

Since the inception of the cryptocurrency market a decade ago, it’s safe to say that a majority of the adults living in the U.S. now have a basic understanding of what cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are, and [16% of them have actually invested](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/11/16-of-americans-say-they-have-ever-invested-in-traded-or-used-cryptocurrency/) in the digital assets – this is especially true for men in the 18 – 29 age bracket. 

## A Global Force for Good

The overall tone of the hearing was undoubtedly “pro-crypto” as there wasn’t a single detractor among the witnesses that did speak.  Essentially, the crypto CEOs promoted the digital asset market as a global force for good and urged congress to lead the world in embracing it.

The talking points were many, but one of the most profound messages was that the technology _powering_ the cryptocurrency market can not only expedite and cut the costs of financial transactions, but lawmakers were urged to look at blockchain technology as a “revolutionary innovation” that the U.S. could step in and lead _globally_…if it so chooses and with the right leadership in place.

During the hearing republicans and democrats both showed clear signs of skepticism toward the financial risks associated with the cryptocurrency market, _but it was the Republicans_ who sided with the CEOs in their viewing the approach that the SEC has taken toward the industry as being “distasteful,” at best.  The recent clashes between the SEC and major crypto firms are well documented as agency chair, Gary Gensler, has long tried to paint digital assets as a security or a type of investment contract that merits SEC regulatory oversight.

## Cryptocurrency Leaders Disagree

A future in which the SEC would actually be considered for regulatory oversight means a clear misinterpretation of the market by lawmakers.  Their argument against SEC regulation rests on the fact that blockchain tokens _are not_ securities but rather digital property or a way to record ownership.  Clearly, we are still very early in the regulatory process if the two sides still haven’t been able come up with a list of agreed-upon definitions for key terms like “what _is_ a digital asset?”

All of the rifts discussed at the hearing could be a signal that it may still take years to put together a solid and permanent regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, but there were very specific comments that would give cryptocurrency investors hope.

For example, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), poised to chair the committee if the GOP wins back the House, said it is a priority to ensure that the "cryptocurrency revolution" happens in the U.S. rather than overseas.

Hopefully, lawmakers will take McHenry’s advice.


Top Crypto CEOs Engage Lawmakers at Hearing

Crypto hardware wallet technology provider, Ledger, has launched a debit card that will allow users to pay for goods and services with their crypto. The debit card has been named 'The Crypto Life' card, also known as 'CL', and was announced at the company's Op3n conference.

The CL card is linked to the user's Ledger Nano S hardware wallet, which is used to store their crypto assets. The card can be used at any merchant that accepts Visa cards. When a purchase is made, the relevant amount of crypto is transferred from the user's wallet to the merchant's account.

## Available to US and EU Customers

The debit card will be available to Ledger's US and EU customers, and users will be able to pay crypto to over 50 million retailers, Ledger said.

Ledger Chief Experience Officer Ian Rogers told [CoinDesk](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/12/09/wallet-maker-ledger-launches-crypto-linked-debit-card-for-us-and-eu-customers/) that the company began as an option to “HODL,” but that users “increasingly want to do more and more with crypto.”

“What we are trying to do is provide an alternative to the banking system, which is kind of broken for a lot of people,” Rogers said.



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Crypto Business News | Page 18

Read the latest crypto business and market news from around the world.

France Jumps on Crypto CBDC Bandwagon

Crypto Investors Recognised for Charitable Giving

Nike acquires virtual shoe and NFT maker, RTFKT

China Crypto Ban Brushed Off as Mining Recovers

Top Crypto CEOs Engage Lawmakers at Hearing

Ledger Wallet Launches Crypto Debit Card

SEC crypto chronicles- Gary Gensler affirms BTC as commodity

FTX founder says no talks to buy Robinhood

Bitcoin Scam Instagram: Why this Phrase Matters