Former United States President Donald Trump is intensifying his cryptocurrency advocacy as part of his 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump reportedly declared “he would be the crypto president” at a fundraising event in San Francisco hosted by Craft Ventures’ general partner, David Sacks and tech billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya.

Trump also reiterated his support for crypto and his plans to push the industry forward, highlighting the Democratic Party’s intention to take the opposite approach with harsh regulations.

However, some experts believe that a crypto shift is happening in Washington. Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan thinks the U.S. is finally moving toward regulatory clarity, which could open it up to the country’s $20 trillion financial advisory industry.

Meanwhile, the industry doesn’t just wait for things to change. Crypto exchange Coinbase donated $25 million to crypto-focused super political action committee (PAC) Fairshake as it ramps up lobbying ahead of the November U.S. elections.

The latest donation brings the total amount raised by the PAC and its affiliates this election cycle to $160 million. This amount matches recent donations from Ripple and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Qatar launches first phase of CBDC project

The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has completed the infrastructure for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) project and launched the first phase of an experimental project. The QCB will look at settlements of large payments among large local and international banks.

Few details of the project were released. The state news agency said it would focus on distributed ledger technology and artificial intelligence, enhancing liquidity and transactions with securities. The project will run through October.

A day before the announcement of the CBDC project, the QCB launched a new fintech sandbox. The Express Sandbox offers a “reduced testing period, rapid testing cycles, and a streamlined overall evaluation process” for eligible participants.

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Worldcoin suspends Spanish operations

The Spanish Agency for Data Protection said that the Tools for Humanity Corporation — the company behind the human identity and financial network Worldcoin — will not resume collecting and processing data until the end of 2024 or until final resolutions of an ongoing investigation.

The data protection authority of Bavaria is also investigating the organization regarding its treatment of personal user data.

Spain and Germany are only two of the many countries that have raised eyebrows at the Worldcoin scheme.

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UAE central bank approves licensing system for stablecoins

The board of directors of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) approved the issuance of a new system to oversee and license stablecoins. The initiative aims to boost digital transactions, advance the country’s digital economy and foster innovation. 

According to the local lawyer, the regulations clarify the issuance, licensing and supervision of dirham-backed payment tokens. Payment tokens must be backed by UAE dirhams and cannot be linked to other currencies, digital assets or algorithms.

In February, the CBUAE announced it would issue a CBDC. The issuance of a CBDC aims to address cross-border payment inefficiencies and drive domestic payment innovation.

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