Multipolar Market

Saudi Arabia Joins mBridge Platform, an International Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Project

After three years of development, the joint project of several major central banks (Thailand, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China/Hong Kong) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has reached the stage of a minimally viable product. The multi-currency blockchain platform, created by the Chinese Research Institute of Digital Currency, operates on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) network compatible with Ethereum. It is designed for real-time cross-border payments (multi-CBDC). In January, the first real transaction on the platform took place between the UAE and China.

In the future, mBridge could address issues of financial accessibility, high costs, and slow settlements in various jurisdictions, including countries under external restrictions. Currently, the mBridge project includes over 26 countries and international financial institutions as observers. In 2023, several Western experts stated that creating an alternative settlement infrastructure based on wholesale CBDCs threatens the dominance of dollar financial institutions and could reduce the effectiveness of sanction pressure policies. Forbes highlights that Saudi Arabia, a leading oil supplier to China, could use mBridge for commodity settlements bypassing the US dollar amid Beijing's "currency transition" policy.

BIS confirmed that in June, the Saudi Central Bank joined mBridge as a full member. The project is actively inviting new participants, including commercial banks and private sector representatives, to join the platform. Thanks to DLT technologies, it can serve as a testbed. It is expected that new use cases will be proposed based on the pilot's results. Since the beginning of the year, at least nine Chinese banks and tech giant Tencent (owner of China's leading mobile payment system WeChat Pay) have confirmed their participation in platform trials.

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Solana ETF on the Horizon?

Finally, some has filed an application to create a Solana ETF: VanEck and 21Shares.

They believe that SOL is a digital commodity just like BTC or ETH and plan to launch a spot ETF directly, bypassing the futures-based approach previously seen with BTC and ETH.

Here's the current status:

- Spot Bitcoin ETF: Approved and launched earlier this year
- Spot Ethereum ETF: Approved and expected to launch in early autumn (approximately)
- Spot Solana ETF: Application filed, awaiting response from the SEC

The launch of a Solana ETF is not expected anytime soon. An optimistic forecast would be 2025, considering the regulatory challenges.

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Gazprom Launches Satellite Production

The assembly of spacecraft at "Gazprom SPKA" will begin operations in July, and by 2025, the enterprise plans to produce two satellites per week.

Gazprom will manufacture communication satellites and Earth remote sensing satellites.

If these satellites were powered by nuclear reactors, the only thing that could make this news more Russian would be a bear.

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IMF Fighting "the Wrong Battle"

The IMF has stated that the US has an excessively large deficit and too much debt, and also warned about the dangers of its increasingly aggressive trade policy.

Calling the world's largest economy "strong, dynamic, and adaptable," the fund issued an unusually harsh critique of its largest shareholder.

IMF Fighting "the Wrong Battle"

Reuters: Russia's Oil and Gas Revenues Grew by More Than 50%

In June of last year, revenues amounted to ₽529 billion. This year, the expected revenue is ₽814 billion. For May 2024, earnings were ₽794 billion compared to ₽529 billion a year earlier.

Overall, for January-April 2024, oil and gas revenues in the budget increased by 82% and are comparable to the record levels of 2022. Reuters explains this phenomenon as being due to the ineffective G7 price caps and the increased prices caused by Western sanctions.

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Money Continues to Flow from the EU to the US

Volkswagen is investing up to $5 billion in the American car manufacturer Rivian.

This involves a joint venture where the two automakers will share technologies and create a unified electric vehicle platform. However, they will continue to produce cars under their own brands. Naturally, this will take place in the US, not in the EU.

Volkswagen has been facing significant issues with the development of its electric vehicles, including reliability, software, and production costs. The company has tried developing in-house, acquiring startups, and negotiating with Chinese manufacturers, but these efforts have not been successful.

Congratulations to the United States though!

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Cow Fart Tax

Denmark will charge farmers 100 euros per cow per year as a tax on greenhouse gas emissions. This tax will also affect other livestock such as horses, pigs, and sheep. "I think it's madness," said Peter Kiær, chairman of the farmers' union Bæredygtigt Landbrug. The Danish Minister for Climate stated that agriculture is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Denmark.

Every day we stray further from common sense...

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UPD: My bad, 50k it was FEDs offer LMAO