Venezuelan Petro goes live, Turkcoin and crypto ruble on the way

Turkey is contemplating its own national cryptocurrency
Other US sanctioned countries are also exploiting digital options to overcome restrictions

Tanya Abrosimova Independent Analyst

While Nicolas Maduro boasts about the successful launch of oil-backed petro coin and promises to issue another one as soon as the next week, other countries under Western sanctions are pondering over introducing their national cryptocurrencies.

As we have written earlier, Iranian central bank is considering its own digital coin. Now it comes out that Politicians in Turkey are discussing a state-backed cryptocurrency "Turkcoin."

According to Al-Monitor, Middle East-oriented media resource, Ahmet Kenan Tanrikulu, the deputy chair of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party has prepared a report where he suggested to introduce Turkcoin to tokenize asset-backed securities.

"The world is advancing toward a new digital system. Turkey should create its own digital system and currency before it's too late." - he told in the interview to Al-Monitor

Earlier Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister hinted that the government was developing plans to launch a national cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, the head of the Russian Ministry of Finance Anton Siluanov denied the possibility of creating national cryptocurrency but supported the idea of the private crypto ruble, issued without public financing.

The Central Bank of Russian Federation seems to be of a different opinion as in 2017 the regulator announced the plans to launch national digital currency.

Author

Tanya Abrosimova

Independent Analyst

AUD/USD consolidates above 0.7200 after hot Chinese CPI data

AUD/USD is extending its consolidative price action above 0.7200 during the Asian session on Wednesday, uninspired by hot Chinese CPI and PPI data. Meanwhile, rising RBA rate-hike bets act as a tailwind for the Aussie amid Yen-inspired US Dollar weakness. Traders await the release of US inflation figures later in the week for fresh impetus.

USD/JPY stays in red near 153.50 amid aggressive BoJ hike bets

USD/JPY keeps the bearish tone intact at around 153.50 during European trading hours on Wednesday. A strong Reuters Tankan business survey adds to the case for continued BoJ policy normalisation and supports the Japanese Yen. This, along with a broadly weaker US Dollar, keeps the pair close to a nearly seven-month low set on Tuesday.

Gold recovers further from one-week low, retakes $4.400 amid sustained USD selling

Gold builds on its intraday recovery from a one-week low and reclaims the $4,400 mark heading into the European session on Wednesday. The commodity, for now, seems to have snapped a three-day losing streak amid a weaker US Dollar, which remains depressed near its lowest level in over two weeks amid the Bank of Japan-inspired rally in the Japanese Yen.

Pi Network's rebound holds as momentum improves

Pi Network (PI) extends its recovery on Wednesday, trading above $0.098 after finding support around the 50-day Exponential Moving Average earlier this week. The rebound comes as the Pi Core Team highlights the importance of strengthening its developer ecosystem to expand application-level utility across the network.

Oil, Apple and JPY in focus

Oil prices are rising on Wednesday as tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the US threaten oil supplies as the two sides battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Stock futures have switched their attention from a strong earnings season to the challenges ahead, including a 10-year Treasury yield that is hovering close to the 4.8% level.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.