Bitcoin Daily: Mauritius To Test Digital Currency; JPMorgan Adds 2 Crypto Exchanges As Bank Clients

The Bank of Mauritius is progressing toward providing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) per its governor, CoinDesk reported.

Harvesh Seegolam, bank governor, said at a virtual conference, “At the level of the Bank of Mauritius, we’re currently working on a project and very shortly we’ll be making announcements … with respect to a potential introduction of a CBDC.”

Seegolam noted that any digital currency would need to be distributed via the current banking system to steer clear of the risk of putting the island’s financial system in an uneven position. The island’s study into a CBDC was reportedly first revealed by Yandraduth Googoolye, a prior governor.

In other news, JPMorgan Chase & Co. brought on Gemini Trust Co. and Coinbase Inc. — two bitcoin exchanges — as banking clients in its corporate and investment bank last month, Bloomberg reported, citing an unnamed source.

The two exchanges work with digital currencies, including ether, litecoin and bitcoin. And, while the bank will reportedly mainly help the exchanges handle their cash in the United States, it won’t reportedly deal with any digital currency transactions.

Meanwhile, international blockchain firm Binance unveiled its investment in Indonesian digital currency exchange Tokocrypto in an announcement.

Tokocrypto Co-Founder and CEO Pang Xue Kai said in the announcement, “This investment in Tokocrypto serves to validate Indonesia’s promising blockchain ecosystem, showcasing the confidence from a leading global player.”

The firm indicated that the funds would be used to speed up the expansion of the exchange’s business with the inclusion of technology improvements and new products as well as services, among other efforts.

And, Telegram Messenger LLP canceled plans to create a digital transaction ledger, Bloomberg reported.

The action was, for the most part, forecasted after a court took the side of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this year, with the agency having contended that Telegram went against securities laws with the sale of digital currency to investors without registration in 2018. The company’s chief executive, Pavel Durov, said his platform is stopping work on the effort.

Durov said per the report, “We are leaving it to the next generation of entrepreneurs and developers to pick up the banner and learn from our mistakes.”