BITCOIN

Binance Australia said on May 18 that it is “unable to facilitate PayID AUD deposits for Binance users” due to a third-party payment service provider’s decision to discontinue support for the crypto exchange. Binance Australia said while it works to find an alternative, users can still “buy and sell crypto using credit or debit cards.” Scott Collary, an executive at the service provider, claimed that “scammers are increasingly using overseas exchanges.” Binance Australia Seeks an Alternative Third-Party Payment Service Provider Crypto exchange Binance Australia announced on May 18 that it had “temporarily” suspended Australian dollar services after its payment service provider Westpac abruptly discontinued support for the platform. As a consequence, the crypto exchange said it is now “unable to facilitate PayID AUD deposits for Binance users.” The exchange warned users that the action taken by the third-party payment service will also likely impact bank transfer withdrawals. Fello

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the commencement of its e-HKD pilot which “will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories.” The pilot paves the way for “the possible implementation of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC),” the central banking institution explained. Pilot Program for e-HKD Begins The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced Thursday “the commencement of the e-HKD Pilot Programme.” The central banking institution revealed that 16 firms from the financial, payment, and technology sectors have been selected to participate in the first round of e-HKD pilots for 2023. The HKMA detailed: The pilots will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenized deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions, and settlement of tokenized assets. “The HKMA will conduct a series of pilots in close collaboration with various stakeholders to ex

Authorities in Pakistan intend to prohibit all internet-based crypto services despite significant digital-asset investments made by Pakistanis. The decision comes as government officials in Islamabad take a strong stance against the legalization of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Crypto ‘Will Never Be Legalized in Pakistan,’ Minister Tells Senators Pakistan’s government announced on Wednesday its decision to suspend cryptocurrency services offered online in the country, local media reported. One of the declared goals of the measure is to prevent illegal transactions with digital assets. The State Bank of Pakistan ( SBP ) and the Ministry of Information Technology have already started working on banning cryptocurrencies, Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha revealed during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue. Cryptocurrency will “never be legalized in Pakistan,” Pasha insisted, quoted by the News International daily. She cited requirements by