| Bitcoin | $47,069 | 7 day: +25.1% | | Ethereum | $1,772 | 7 day: +7.4% | | All crypto | $1.43T | 7 day: +27% | | Bitcoin dominance | 61.5% | 7 day: +0.1% | Prices as of 5:15 p.m. EST
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 Mexico City Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) could launch a digital currency project for customers in Mexico, according to Coindesk's interpretation of recent job posts. - According to a Coindesk report, the e-commerce giant's job posts suggest a growing team that will be developing a digital currency project in Mexico.
- The description included in a job post mentions a payment product dubbed "Digital and Emerging Payments (or DEP)," that will allow customers to "convert their cash into digital currency" in order to pay for services, goods, and streaming entertainment.
- The $1.6T company is hiring a Software Development Manager and a Senior Manager of Software Development to work on "DEP."
- The three-year initiative will reach Amazon customers outside of Mexico, as well, starting with countries like Brazil.
Click to tweet the following text (you can edit it before sending): Amazon $AMZN could be launching a #digitalcurrency project for customers in #Mexico soon, as indicated by two recent job posts. Coindesk 
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 Janet Yellen U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen discussed the rise of money laundering using cryptocurrencies at the financial sector innovation policy roundtable. - A Coindesk report notes that the 78th U.S. Treasury Secretary supports cryptocurrencies yet remains mindful of its unfortunate uses for some terrorist activities.
- Yellen spoke at a public-private forum on Feb. 10 and discussed "Financial Sector Innovation Policies" to protect the U.S. financial system.
- Yellen commended Congress for passing the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act in December 2020, allowing the Treasury Dept. to reinforce the framework designed in the 1970s.
- She indicated that the Treasury is ready to aid Feds in developing effective ways to stop the flow of dark money from organized crime, terrorist financiers, and black-market weapon sellers.
Click to tweet the following text (you can edit it before sending): U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is concerned about #digitalcurrency crime and the use of #crypto to launder money. Coindesk
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Thailand's Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith criticized retail investors speculating on cryptocurrencies and risking the country's financial stability. - Thailand's Finance Minister spoke sternly about local retailers shifting their cash into cryptocurrencies and speculating for investment returns.
- Termpittayapaisith said cryptocurrencies could cause financial instability in the country's capital markets.
- During a capital market conference held on Feb. 11, the minister said that trading on licensed exchanges has increased to approximately $2.17B within the last month.
- Termpittayapaisith said that cryptocurrencies carry enormous risk, and investors need awareness to avoid excessive speculation.
- In Thailand, government agencies strictly monitor crypto trading activities on exchange platforms and have planned to enforce anti-money laundering (AML) rules onto exchanges.
- Regulators such as the Thai SEC's Secretary-General Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol voiced similar warnings about crypto trading, asking for moderation among retail investors to avoid unregulated market activities.
Bloomberg
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 Fabio Panetta European Central Bank's (ECB) Executive Board member Fabio Panetta suggested that EU citizens could be limited to hold €3,000 ($3,633) worth of CBDC to prevent bank runs. - During a recent interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, the Executive Board member of the ECB, Fabio Panetta, spoke about the European Commission's digital currency initiatives.
- Panetta noted the potential systemic instability caused by central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
- According to the Italian economist, the ECB could launch a digital euro within the next five years after ensuring its safety, reliability, and universal acceptance.
- When interviewer Tim Bartz asked about how the digital euro would work, Panetta said the details are not available at the moment and still under consultation.
- Panetta revealed that the ECB might limit how much digital euro a European citizen could hold and repeated the ECB's stance on their relationship with other commercial banks as "partners" who will play a significant role in the digital euro system.
- Similar to China's testing roll-out, the ECB plans to implement small digital euro trials in European cities.
Click to tweet the following text (you can edit it before sending): ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta suggests EU citizens could be limited to hold €3,000 worth of #CBDC to prevent #digitaleuro bank runs. Bloomberg
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- European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that she does not consider bitcoin to be a real currency and that it is "very unlikely" that central banks will hold bitcoin as a reserve asset anytime soon.
- Mastercard (NYSE:MA) is planning to support digital currencies later this year, allowing users to "transact in an entirely new form of payment" and "open merchants up to new customers who are already flocking to digital assets."
- SCB 10X, a venture capital arm of Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank, launched a $50M fund to invest in blockchain and DeFi-enabled projects.
- Yesterday, Celo (CELO), a blockchain-based payments protocol, raised $20M from Electric Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and Greenfield One. Celo operates a peer-to-peer payment app called Valora.
- London-headquartered crypto mining company Argo Blockchain (NYSE:ARGO), and New York-based DPN LLC, signed a non-binding letter of intent to procure 320 acres of land in West Texas. The $17.5M deal allows Argo to build a facility on the land with up to 200-megawatt capacity.
- Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) CEO Jack Dorsey contributed $1M as a gift to Coin Center, a non-profit organization promoting favorable policies in D.C. regarding cryptocurrencies. The news was announced in a tweet dated Feb. 10 from Coin Center's executive director Jerry Brito.
- Barry Silbert's Grayscale also donated $1M to Coin Center in January.
- Blue Ridge Bank (NYSE:BRBS), a community bank, now allows bitcoin purchases from its branch ATMs.
- Twitter's (NYSE:TWTR) CFO says the company is thinking about adding bitcoin to its balance sheet. The "tipping point" would be "if people are asking to transact [with the company] in bitcoin," adding that this is the same approach to matching assets to liabilities as the company takes with other global currencies.
- Uber (NYSE:UBER) is considering accepting bitcoin as a form of payment.
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 |  | Curated by Associated Press fanboy, eye-strained news terminal watcher, and bitcoin follower since $1, Aaron Wise. Temporarily listening to news squawk boxes in Florida while awaiting the construction of cryptopia. |  | | Editor | Charlotte Hayes-Clemens is an editor and writer based in Vancouver. She has dabbled in both the fiction and non-fiction world, having worked at HarperCollins Publishers and more recently as a writing coach for new and self-published authors. Proper semi-colon usage is her hill to die on. | |
