Binance: this week's scoops!

Binance Charity launches Australian bushfires donation programme

Binance Charity Foundation, the charity and official philanthropic branch of Binance, the world leader in cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced the launch of a project to help victims of bush fires in Australia. Binance is committed to donating $1 million to the Australia Bushfire Donations project. All funds raised will be used to help mitigate the impact of this disaster.

"It's hard watching bush fires burning across Australia and their devastating effects on the ecology and the local community. We want to help," said Changpeng Zao, head of Binance. "Donating to the Australian bush fire charity is the most direct and effective approach to making an impact, and we are also calling on the entire crypto community to join us in supporting that nation".

XRP could be classified as a security or commodity

In a recent interview, Heath Tarbert, president of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, says that XRP, the world's third largest cryptocurrency, could be classified as a security by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, he says that the situation isn't yet clear and that the token could be considered a commodity, thus falling under the CFTC's oversight.

"Part of the question is that we share jurisdiction with the SEC. If it's a share, it falls under their jurisdiction. If it's a commodity, it falls under ours. So we worked closely with the SEC for a year to find out what falls under which jurisdiction."

It is important to note that the CFTC classified digital currencies as commodities in 2015, and that it now has full jurisdiction over crypto derivatives and other financial products subject to the Commodity Exchange Act. This includes futures, options and other derivatives, as well as all cryptocurrency trading platforms that use margin, leverage and funding.

CME bitcoin options now available

CME launched options on Bitcoin futures on CME Globex a few days ago. Each contract, quoted in USD, represents 5 BTC and is cleared centrally to avoid counterparty risk. The CME relies on transaction flow data from several of the largest Bitcoin exchanges to accurately track BTC prices.

According to the announcement: "Options on Bitcoin futures offer greater capital efficiency and a new way of managing exposure to bitcoins."

Note: In traditional finance, a vanilla option is a contract that gives the buyer (the owner or the holder of the option) the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset or an instrument at an underlying price determined before or on a fixed date, depending on the form of the option. However, a futures contract requires the buyer to buy an underlying asset or instrument and the seller to sell it at a specified price on a specified future date, unless the holder's position is closed before the specific deadline.

ECB calls for central bank digital currency (CBDC)

In an interview this month with French magazine Challenges, and when asked about the ECB's dedication to the exploration and development of a CBDC, ECB President Christine Lagarde highlighted the urgent need for quick and low-cost payments, an area where she aims to exercise her leadership position, rather than remain observant of a changing world. In the interview, Mrs. Lagarde says:

"The ECB will continue to assess the costs and benefits of issuing a digital central bank currency that would ensure that people are still able to use central bank money even if the use of physical money eventually decreases."

The ECB has debated the pros and cons of introducing its own digital currency, which would allow holders to withdraw cash through the central bank - just as it does for banknotes, but without the disadvantage of storing large amounts of cash.