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The EU oil coordination group says the situation is currently stable, mainly due to the reduction in global inventories over the past few months.The EUs oil coordination group will continue to monitor the security of the EUs oil supply and coordinate actions as necessary.June 26 – The European Central Bank (ECB) will discontinue approximately 40 regulatory guidelines for banks as part of measures to reduce the regulatory burden on the banking sector. ECB Executive Board member Heinz Ehrlich stated on Friday that the ECB had reviewed over 130 such documents “to make them more concise and easier to use.” He indicated that the cancelled documents were either outdated and replaced by new regulations, or no longer applicable, while others had been revised. Following the financial crisis, European authorities have sought to reduce the massive requirements imposed on banks to improve regulatory efficiency while maintaining the hard-won resilience of the financial system. However, European banks believe these reforms are still insufficient, as the United States is pushing for even greater regulatory deregulation by eliminating and reducing some requirements.June 26th - The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) announced that the newly revised "Regulations on Registration and Filing of New Cosmetic Raw Materials and Data Management" has just been released and will officially take effect on July 15th. The new regulations will remove obstacles and difficulties in cosmetic raw material innovation, enhancing the efficiency and empowering the research and development of my countrys cosmetic industry. Li Yunfeng, Deputy Director of the Cosmetic Supervision Department of the NMPA, stated that the new regulations encourage companies to adopt new technologies and methods such as animal substitution testing, reducing international trade technical barriers and providing policy support for promoting the export of Chinese cosmetic products.On June 26, it was reported that certified public accountants (CPAs) play a vital role in maintaining market economic order and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the public. The 23rd session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National Peoples Congress passed a decision on amending the Certified Public Accountants Law on June 26, which will take effect on January 1, 2027. This amendment to the CPA Law, while maintaining the basic framework and main systems of the current law, focuses on strengthening Party leadership, improving regulatory measures, and increasing accountability. It aims to address prominent issues in the CPA industry, such as audit fraud, promote the CPA industrys fulfillment of its "gatekeeper" responsibilities, and drive the industrys healthier development.

Bitcoin Lightning Network-Based Strike Can Rival Visa – MS

Cory Russell

Apr 25, 2022 09:49

Morgan Stanley is optimistic about the bitcoin Lightning Network's potential as a consumer payment option.


They believe Strike, a Lightning Network-based payment technology, can compete with or even outperform Visa in the digital payments market.


Strike has partnered with Shopify and NCR, the world's leading supplier of point-of-sale payment solutions.


Morgan Stanley published a new analysis on the Lightning Network, bitcoin's Layer 2 fast payment system, and its potential to enable a "long-term move towards payments and settlements utilizing digital and cryptocurrencies rather than fiat currencies like the US dollar."


Morgan Stanley's positive analysis on the Lightning Network's potential for broader adoption comes after Strike, a US-based digital payments platform built on top of bitcoin's Lightning Network, announced earlier this month a new integration agreement with e-commerce giant Shopify.


Customers who paid in bitcoin will now be able to receive payments in US dollars from US Shopify businesses. Strike has announced collaborations with NCR, the world's leading supplier of point-of-sale (PoS) payment services.

Morgan Stanley Believes That Lightning Network Will Be Able to Compete With Visa

Morgan Stanley outlined why it believes Strike, a Lightning Network-based digital payment network, can compete with or perhaps exceed Visa in its recent study.


Morgan Stanley observes that "in essence, Strike is directly competing with Visa Direct, which provides real-time settlement," adding that "the primary distinction for merchants will be paid a significantly lower transaction cost."


"The customer advantage is that they may, if they choose, host their bitcoin on a private, secure network, enabling an element of secrecy connected with their transaction," the bank says.


Morgan Stanley emphasizes the importance of Strike's cooperation with NCR. "NCR software is used by one in every six PoS devices worldwide," the bank says, "so this news is important even if just a tiny percentage of retail businesses opt to add crypto capabilities."

Cons of Making Bitcoin Payments

The Morgan Stanley analysis points out some of the disadvantages of utilizing a bitcoin-based payment system, such as the cryptocurrency's underlying volatility on a day-to-day basis, which makes forecasting future buying power problematic.


Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley says that existing tax regulations, which require users to pay capital gains taxes on cryptocurrencies they sell, are a barrier to greater acceptance of bitcoin as a widely used means of exchange.


The bank, on the other hand, mentions the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act, which has been introduced in the US Congress. If passed, the law would exclude personal bitcoin transactions from taxation as long as the profits are less than $200.


Morgan Stanley, on the other hand, cautions that this plan may meet criticism, particularly from anti-crypto members of Congress, since it serves to establish bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) as credible alternatives to the US currency.


The Morgan Stanley analysis "suggests we are at the beginning of an age when more and more people may opt to pay for items using Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies over time," according to Alex Gladstein, who summarized it on Twitter.

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