News of the cryptocurrency market:
As central bank digital currencies continue to be researched and tested by countries across the globe, it becomes more apparent that the United States dollar’s reign might be challenged once the concept is implemented on a regional scale.
While most retail CBDCs focus on internal economic matters, some projects aim to facilitate trade relations within a specific region, forming a digital alternative to the greenback. The most eloquent example would be the East Asia cryptocurrency that was proposed earlier in June — a virtual asset backed by a basket of currencies including the Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, South Korean won and Hong Kong dollar.
The United States dollar remains the undisputed king when it comes to international trade. According to the International Monetary Fund, around 61% of all foreign exchange reserves are allocated in the dollar as of 2019. Similarly, the U.S. sovereign currency serves as the main medium for cross-border deals, even for deals not involving the U.S. itself. For instance, 86% of India’s imports are paid for in dollars, while only 5% of them actually originate in the U.S.
A group of researchers from SophosLabs state that hackers operating the cryptojacking malware, Glupteba, have been using the Bitcoin blockchain network to communicate in secret.
According to the report published on June 24, cybercriminals rely on a command and control center where they send encrypted secret messages that require a 256-bit AES decryption key. The purpose of the communication channel is for hackers to receive updated configuration information for the malware. This data is used by attackers to obtain precise instructions and thus update the malicious software.
Glupteba is what’s known as a zombie or software robot that can be controlled remotely. It has various functions such as a rootkit, security suppressor, virus, router attack tool, browser stealer, and as a cryptojacking tool.
Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, one of the major traditional Japanese financial institutions, has unveiled a plan to develop a security token exchange. Tokai Tokyo is already an investor in Huobi Japan.
According to Nikkei, as the first step in the journey, Tokai Tokyo is investing in blockchain company Hash Dash Holdings to leverage the company’s knowledge to develop the exchange. Hash Dash aims to apply blockchain technology to the financial industry for issuing digital securities and providing a trading service on smartphones. The planned exchange will trade in tokenized real estate, and Tokai Tokyo, Hash Dash and ICHX TECH will explore this sector by digitizing Japanese real estate and trade it at iSTOX, a digital security exchange in Singapore it has invested in. They are also exploring digitizing IPs and corporate bonds.
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