138. Bitcoin halvening approaches as China and Libra battle for supremacy

Simon Taylor is back this week to talk about the latest and greatest news in blockchain, Bitcoin and crypto. Of course, he is not alone, and in this episode, Simon is joined in the studio by:

• Garrick Hileman - Head of Research at Blockchain.com
• Isabelle Corbett - Head of Government Relations at R3
• Max Kantelia - Co-founder of Zilliqa

This week is all about CBDCs and stablecoins. First up, Libra is back in the headlines and making waves in the stablecoin world as it tries to win regulatory approval. Meanwhile, China is taking its digital yuan up a level. Not only has the central bank confirmed mobile app trials, but big brands are also getting in on the action with Starbucks, McDonald's and a host of other big firms testing the CBDC. A lot can happen in a few weeks, and in this episode, we continue to dig into the latest blockchain and crypto news including:

• Facebook scales back Libra as it tries to win regulatory approval (03:30)
• China Launches National Blockchain Network (08:55)
• China Central Bank Confirms Digital Yuan Mobile App Trials (09:39)
• Starbucks, McDonald’s Among 19 Firms to Test China’s Digital Yuan (14:09)
• Central Banks Recommended to Ban Stablecoins (19:16)
• Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly raising as much as $450M for new crypto fund (27:05)
• Options Market Signals Doubt Bitcoin Price Will Rise After Halving (36:20)

The Tweet of the Week comes from @DTAPCAP about bitcoin trades in Lebanon. Why not send us your best tweets? See if you can get a shout out on the show!

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an immediate financial and operational crisis, permanently reshaping the financial services industry. This change must be swift and unavoidable - check out our research report to find out more: Info.11fs.com/covid19

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Special Guests: Garrick Hileman, Isabelle Corbett, and Max Kantelia .

Links:

• Facebook scales back Libra as it tries to win regulatory approval
• China’s National Blockchain Will Change the World
• China Central Bank Confirms Digital Yuan Mobile App Trials
• Starbucks, McDonald’s Among 19 Firms to Test China’s Digital Yuan
• Central banks recommended approaching stablecoins with caution
• Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly raising as much as $450M for new crypto fund
• Options Market Signals Doubt Bitcoin Price Will Rise After Halving
• Tweet of the Week