Despite the delay, the Peoples Bank of China (PBC) is closer to launching its official digital currency. By working together with several large private companies, the nations central bank has finished the development process and is working on the proper legislation before the CBDC is released.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese central bank digital currency (CBDC) was delayed indefinitely. However, as the country is portraying initial stages of recovering after the deadly virus, a new report informed that the CBDCs launch is closer than anticipated.

The Chinese central bank has completed the development process by collaborating with several local firms, including Huawei, China Merchants Bank, Tencent, and the tech giant Alibaba.

The latter has reportedly publicized five patents related to the future digital currency from January 21st to March 17th. The patents cover various areas of the digital currencys future usage. Those include issuance, digital wallets, transaction recording, anonymous trading support, and assistance in supervising and dealing with illegal accounts.

Aside from all patents, the digital currency has to comply with local legislation as well. This, according to the report, could raise issues, because the currency has to operate with banking and insurance regulators on supervision. This process could be quite lengthy. Therefore, the exact time of the CBDC launch cannot be determined yet.

As the world is arguably entering the next, long-awaited, recession, most central banks are taking extreme measures to fight the economy curtail. The U.S. Fed, for example, cut the interest rates in an unprecedented manner and even announced unlimited quantitative easing.

Chinas approach for stabilizing its economy might differ substantially with the digital currency launch. Cao Yan, managing director of Digital Renaissance Foundation, believes that the PBC should accelerate the development of the CBDC.

He outlined two main merits; firstly, it would establish Chinas leadership position in this new digitally-oriented world. Secondly, a CBDC could be more efficient during times of uncertainty than simply lowering rates.

If there is a chance China is considering lowering its interest rate into negative territory as a final option and directing such policy to commercial loans and lending, a circulated digital currency rather than M0 will be able to achieve that. he explained.

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March24, 20205 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If youre a cannabis entrepreneur, you already know that banking and payment processing are major issues in the cannabis industry.

There are limited payment options if you sell CBD.It is magnitudes more difficult if you are selling THC-centered products.

RELATED:How To Guerilla Market Your Cannabis Brand

Last year, banking issues in the cannabis industry reached the national spotlight when NPR published the aptly-titled article Bags Of Cash, Armed Guards And Wary Banks: The Edgy Life Of A Cannabis Company CFO.

Once (or if) you can find a bank to work with, your bank account runs the risk of being shut down at a moments notice.

Then, you face the challenge of payment processing. Its more difficult for startups with no payment processing history to obtain one. And if a payment processor decides to ban you, your business will be left temporarily unable to accept credit cards.

On top of that, processing fees in the cannabis industry are significantly higher when compared to traditional commerce. We are talking between 4 percent and 6 percent, triple the average of other industries.

A solution is on the horizon.

An emerging, immature, and often misunderstood Bitcoin cryptocurrencytechnology was unleashed on the world in 2009.11 years later, it hascome a longway. Bitcoin can be bought and sold in every country. Mainstream financial channels like CNBC and Bloomberg have teams dedicated to Bitcointechnology.

The promise is appealing. You can be your own bank. No more frozen funds. Transactions cant be censored and the fees cost next to nothing. Plus, payment processing cannot be shut off, unlike traditional banking.

RELATED:Coronavirus Spikes Demand For Cannabis Delivery As People Stockpile Products

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum intend to solve the problems faced by high-risk banking industries. Its worth noting that on a dark web marketplace known as the Silk Road,thenumber oneproduct sold (by far) was marijuana. The Silk Road is now defunct, but when it was still functioning back in 2011, it showed that Bitcoin has a role to play as a digital currency.

Is cryptocurrency a viable payment solution for your cannabis business?

Like many new technologies, cryptocurrency is not easy to understand. The complexity is where most people lose interest.

Heres something to think about:Most of us do not know how the internet works.Transferring data via "packets," the interaction of protocols like TCP, SMTP, and HTTPS, its all quite detailed under the hood. But this does not prevent you from shopping online, sending an email, or reading this article.

Our company hadprior experience with cryptocurrency, so it made the decision easier than it would be for other cannabis entrepreneurs.

Now that you want to enable the payment option, you have to get set up.

To acceptonline payments, we used the free tool Coinbase Commerce, which integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce and most major platforms. It took us about 30 minutes from signing up to having it live.

We were set up and ready to go, except for one thing: customers.

If you spend even 15 minutes interacting with the cryptocurrency community on Twitter, Reddit, or anywhere else, youll quickly see they are a passionate, enthusiastic (albeit tribal) group.

By sharing a few links on Reddit channels, we received cryptocurrency orders on the first day.

The most interesting and effective part was our charity initiative. By using cryptocurrency to cross borders and feed people in Venezuela and South Sudan, two countries with extremely limited banking options, it showed a fundamental advantage cryptocurrency holds over traditional banking.

RELATED:Cryptocurrency and the Allure of a Cashless Cannabis Industry

It sparked some sales and press for our startup. A few CBD stores reached out to us asking how they could accept cryptocurrency.Even our coffee supplier is open to receiving Bitcoin.There is a lot of underlying interest in the cannabis industry, but they are primarily spectators who arent sure how to participate.

After a few months of time has passed using cryptocurrency, it has been a positive experience. We think all cannabis companies should consider accepting Bitcoin at their business. Keep in mind, cryptocurrency orders are only a small fraction of our total orders. Thatshould be expected at any cannabis company. Your dollars will not turn into Bitcoin overnight.

Thats not to say there arent some drawbacks to consider. First off, if you use Coinbase Commerce, youll have to manually convert your cryptocurrency back into U.S. Dollars. There are services like GoCoin that do this for you for a 1 percentfee (still a lot cheaper than credit card processing).

Second, if you have storefront locations, the cashiers will have to know how to accept payments. AnyPay offers a free POS app, but like any software, it still takes some time to learn.

In the coming years, cryptocurrency has the potential for exponential growth, and there are perks to being an early adopter.Id encourage you to be skeptical of experts who dismiss cryptocurrency in its early days.Remember, Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, once predicted: "By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet's impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine's.

Cryptocurrency will not be a magic bullet for your business. But in an industry that has an uncertain banking future, why not offer your customers an additional payment method and get some free press in the process?

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We Implemented Cryptocurrency In Our Cannabis Business. Here's What We Found. - Green Entrepreneur

CoreWeave, the largest U.S. miner on the Ethereum blockchain, is redirecting the processing power of 6,000 specialized computer chips toward research to find a therapy for the coronavirus.

These graphics processing units (GPUs) will be pointed toward Stanford University's Folding@home, a long-standing research effort that unveiled a project on Feb. 27 specifically to boost coronavirus research by way of a unique approach to developing pharmaceutical drugs: connecting thousands of computers from around the world to form a distributed supercomputer for disease research.

CoreWeave co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Brian Venturo said the project has at least a shot at finding a drug for the virus. As such, CoreWeave has responded by doubling the power of the entire network with its GPUs, which are designed to handle repetitive calculations.

According to Venturo, those 6,000 GPUs made up about 0.2 percent of Ethereum's total hashrate, earning roughly 28 ETH per day, worth about $3,600 at press time.

There is no cure for the coronavirus just yet (though various groups are working on vaccines and research to combat the disease, including IBM's supercomputer). Venturo noted that Folding@home has been used to contribute to breakthroughs in the creation of other important drugs.

"Their research had profound impacts on the development of front-line HIV defense drugs, and we are hoping our [computing power] will aid in the fight against coronavirus," Venturo said.

The coronavirus is taking a toll across the world. Italy and Spain are on lockdown. Conferences, stores and restaurants are closing to stem the spread of the disease; by stoking fears, it's slamming the financial markets in the process.

World computer

When the idea of using GPUs for coronavirus research was mentioned to CoreWeave, the team didn't think twice.

They had a test system up and running "within minutes," Venturo said. Since then, the project quickly snowballed. CoreWeave has been contributing over half of the overall computing power going into the coronavirus wing of Folding@home.

"The idea of 'should we do this?' was never really brought up, it kind of just happened. We were all enthusiastic that we might be able to help," Venturo added.

Folding@home is a decentralized project in the same vein as Bitcoin. Instead of one research firm alone using a massive computer to do research, Folding@home uses the computing power of anyone who wants to participate from around the world even if it's just a single laptop with a little unused computing power to spare.

In this case, the computing power is used to find helpful information relating to the coronavirus. Much like in bitcoin mining, one user might detect a "solution" to the problem at hand, distributing this information to the rest of the group.

"Their protein simulations attempt to find potential 'pockets' where existing [U.S. federal agency Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] approved drugs or other known compounds could help inhibit or treat the virus," Venturo said.

Viruses have proteins "that they use to suppress our immune systems and reproduce themselves. To help tackle coronavirus, we want to understand how these viral proteins work and how we can design therapeutics to stop them," a Folding@home blog post explains.

Simulating these proteins and then looking at them from different angles helps scientists to understand them better, with the potential of finding an antidote. Computers accelerate this process by shuffling through the variations very quickly.

"Our specialty is in using computer simulations to understand proteins moving parts. Watching how the atoms in a protein move relative to one another is important because it captures valuable information that is inaccessible by any other means," the post reads.

Long shot

Folding@home could use even more power. Venturo urges other GPU miners to join the cause.

Even without these calls for participation, though, miners of other cryptocurrencies are already independently taking action. Tulip.tools founder Johann Tanzer put out a call to action to Tezos bakers (that blockchains equivalent of miners) last week, promising to send the leading contributor to Folding@home a modest 15 XTZ, worth roughly $20 at press time.

The initiative blew up, to Tanzer's surprise. Though they might not be contributing as much power as CoreWeave, 20 groups of Tezos miners are now contributing a slice of their hashing power to the cause. Tanzer's pot has swelled to roughly $600 as Tezos users caught wind of the effort and donated.

But that's not to say all miners can participate. While GPUs are flexible, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), a type of chip designed specifically for mining, aren't, according to Venturo. Though ASICs are more powerful than GPUs, they're really only made for one thing: To mine cryptocurrency. This is one advantage Venturo thinks Ethereum has over Bitcoin, since GPU mining still works on the former, whereas the latter is now dominated by ASICs.

"This is one of the great things about the Ethereum mining ecosystem, it's basically the largest GPU compute resource on the planet. We were able to redeploy our hardware to help fight a global pandemic in minutes," Venturo said. (However, it's worth noting that Ethereum has seen ASICs enter the fray. Not to mention, ether miners might soon go extinct when a pivotal upgrade makes its way into the network.)

ASICs are useless for the Folding@Home effort, but if bitcoin miners have old GPUs lying around from the early days that they could contribute, too.

Even if other miners join up, though, it's still a long shot that the effort will lead to a helpful drug.

"After discussing with some industry experts [...] we believe the chance of success in utilizing the work done on Folding@Home to deliver a drug to market to be in the 2-5% range," Venturo said.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Thousands of These Computers Were Mining Cryptocurrency. Now They're Working on Coronavirus Research - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

These days, its taken as a given that KYC must be endured to trade cryptos on centralized exchanges. In fact, there are still dozens of exchanges you can access without having to risk your personal documents and identity. The following guide examines six such platforms, and considers precautions you should take when using KYC-less crypto exchanges.

Also read: BTC Hashrate Follows Price Drop 20% Lower Before Bitcoin Halving

Know Your Customer (KYC) legislation requires businesses to verify the identity of individuals using their service, particularly where the transmission of money is involved. This includes virtual currencies. As a result, the majority of crypto exchanges now enforce KYC. However, it is not mandatory to use a KYC exchange (also referred to as surveillance exchanges by their detractors) to trade. A number of exchanges legally operate in jurisdictions that do not mandate KYC, or have no official headquarters, placing them in a grey area in terms of legal obligations.

Generally speaking, KYC exchanges that are fully regulated offer better protections for their customers, and there may be greater redress in the event of something going wrong, such as a hack. However, this does not mean that KYC-free exchanges are less trustworthy; it is the duty of each trader to perform their due diligence and choose a reputable exchange.

It is not the case that only shadowy individuals seek KYC-less exchanges, such as for tax evasion or criminal purposes. In fact, many traders flock to these platforms because they recognize that KYC requirements make everyone less safe through creating a honeypot for hackers. If you value your privacy, and wish to keep your personal details out of the reach of busybodies and criminals, it makes sense to seek platforms where you can exercise your right to trade cryptocurrencies in peace. Here are six exchanges that fit the bill.

Low fees, a fast trading engine and advanced bidding tools are among the features that Nominex flaunts. Up to 3 BTC a day can be deposited and withdrawn without requiring KYC. The Seychelles-based exchange (registered in the same locale as Bitmex) operates a popular affiliate program, offers demo accounts for traders finding their feet, and is about to launch daily trading tournaments.

Stop, Stop Limit, Trailing Stop, and Scaled are among the order types that can be placed on Nominex. Theres 24-hour customer support and trading fees are reduced by 50% for holders of the native NMX token.

Bybit is a popular derivatives exchange that could become a lot more popular if Bitmex introduces KYC, as has been rumored. Founded in Singapore, Bybit doesnt require KYC, although U.S. residents are excluded from trading. Its most popular product is its BTC-USD perpetual swap, although Bybit also offers futures for XRP, EOS, and ETH. Bybit features a clean and intuitive layout and good customer support that operates around the clock and in multiple languages.

One of the best things about Bybit is its guides to margin trading. These help traders learn the terms, tricks and tips required to effectively swap derivatives products. Theres a Bybit mobile app available on the iOS and Google Play stores, while regular trading competitions keep things fresh.

The worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange is also a bastion of KYC-less trading. There are some caveats though. For one thing, U.S. citizens must trade on Binance US, which comes with KYC. Moreover, there are signs that Binance may transition to full KYC at some stage as its compelled to comply with the numerous jurisdictions where it operates. For now, though, spot trading can be accessed without requiring KYC, and you can withdraw up to 2 BTC per day. For margin trading, however, as well as various other Binance products, KYC is required.

Bitmax is a popular altcoin exchange thats carved out a niche since launching in 2018. Theres reasonable liquidity, margin trading, a wide range of coins listed, and a native BTMX token that provides discounted trading fees and other benefits. The exchange holds regular airdrops and allows users to earn USDT for lending BTMX. Fiat deposits can be made with credit or debit card and theres no KYC requirement, with a 2 BTC daily withdrawal limit.

Many exchanges operate partial KYC, Kucoin among them. What this means is that most traders will not be required to complete verification unless there is suspicious activity or in the case of them wishing to exceed the 2 BTC daily trading limit. Like leading exchanges Binance and Huboi, Kucoin has transitioned into a crypto company that offers a broad range of services, operating under various subdivisions. Although the liquidity could be better, Kucoin has a lot of things in its favor. Its easy to use for one thing and lists a number of tokens that arent available on major exchanges.

Theres a lot more to exchange.Bitcoin.com than merely the ability to sign up without undergoing KYC. BCH trading pairs, SLP tokens, and useful assets that arent available on other platforms are among its many attributes. Theres also the strength of the Bitcoin.com brand, which gives the exchange greater credibility than some of the other KYC-less platforms on the market. The clean and intuitive interface is free of clutter, and theres a community feel to Bitcoin.com Exchange, which is particularly popular with BCH proponents.

Its important to do your own research before signing up for a cryptocurrency exchange. Read reviews, check its policies on accessing the platform from different countries, and determine the quality of its customer support. Finally, and this applies to using all centralized exchanges, regardless of KYC, dont leave all your crypto on there. Only deposit what you actively need for trading purposes and keep the rest of your stack in a noncustodial wallet. Trade safe, be smart, and keep your identity private by avoiding surveillance exchanges.

What KYC-free exchanges do you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see whats happening in the industry.

Kai's been manipulating words for a living since 2009 and bought his first bitcoin at $12. It's long gone. He specializes in writing about darknet markets, onchain privacy, and counter-surveillance in the digital age.

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6 Cryptocurrency Exchanges That Don't Require KYC - Bitcoin News