Bitcoin Daily: Philippines Central Bank Eyes Issuing Cryptocurrency; Security Firm Ledger Details Data Breach

The Philippines central bank is now considering creating its own central bank digital currency (CDBC), it said during a virtual meeting, having formed a committee to address the issue, Bloomberg reported.

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    The bank, called Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP, will look at the feasibility and potential implications of implementing a digital coin.

    Benjamin Diokno, governor of the bank, said he doesn’t personally think the digital coins pose a threat to other types of currency. He added that while cryptocurrency is important, the blockchain technology behind it is equally so.

    “Cryptocurrency for us has always been beyond the asset itself but more on the blockchain technology that underpins it,” he said, according to Bloomberg.

    Several other countries are considering CDBCs, including the U.K., Sweden and Thailand, according to recent PYMNTS reports.

    In other news, Ledger, the crypto wallet maker, reported a data breach that resulted in the exposure of 1 million email addresses and other data, according to a blog post on the company’s website.

    In addition to email addresses, the data accessed included names, phone numbers, ordered products and postal addresses.

    The company said in the post that the breach resulted from an unauthorized third party hacking into the company’s eCommerce and marketing database, which is used for the company’s order confirmations and promotions, through an application programming interface (API) key, which has since been deactivated to stop more data from leaking.

    The company said it was able to fix the problem “immediately,” according to the post, and did a third-party investigation through Orange Cyberdefense to determine the issue.

    Meanwhile, TradeStation, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Monex, is launching its own crypto lending service called Crypto Earn, according to Cointelgraph.

    Monex announced the plan Wednesday (July 29) in its earnings report. Crypto Earn, the company said, will be C2B2B, meaning it will allow for lending to institutions from borrowed assets from clients.

    The announcement comes after the company’s cryptocurrency brokerage platform launch last November. That program, called TradeStation Crypto, supported Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin.

    Crypto trading is currently available in 40 states in the U.S., Cointelgraph reported.


    CarParts.Com leverages App and Paid Memberships While Exploring Potential Sale

    CarParts.com CEO David Meniane led the company’s Tuesday (Aug. 12) earnings call by saying that it remains engaged in exploring strategic alternatives and is “highly confident” that it is nearing completion of this process.

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      “We’re currently evaluating several different transaction structures, including a potential sale of the company and strategic investments that we believe have the potential to strengthen our capabilities and unlock new growth,” Meniane said.

      Meniane added that there is no certainty that the company will complete a deal.

      CarParts.com announced in a March 5 press release that it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company, to “maximize value for our shareholders.”

      In the meantime, CarParts.com is pursuing strategic initiatives to boost the company’s value, Meniane said Tuesday.

      The company achieved positive adjusted EBITDA in June and delivered second-quarter results that showed improvement over the previous quarter, Meniane said.

      Meniane attributed the improved results to the company’s mobile app surpassing 1 million users and accounting for 12% of eCommerce revenues; services like products and shipping protection, paid memberships and roadside assistance contributing high-margin fee income; and its eCommerce and mobile app product roadmap delivering improvements in conversion rates, units per order and average order value.

      For the remainder of the year, CarParts.com is focused on expanding its product offering, generating high-margin fee income, scaling its B2B offering, continuing to grow its mobile app business and managing cash flow and inventory levels, Meniane said.

      “We know this transformation is a multiyear effort,” Meniane said. “We’re focused on rebuilding the core foundation of CarParts.com, one that can scale, innovate and deliver a seamless, high-quality customer experience, while driving greater discipline in both our cost structure and capital deployment.”

      Meniane also highlighted challenges faced by CarParts.com. These include noncompliant products imported from China driving a “race to the bottom,” tariffs and inflation weighing on consumer demand, and the macroeconomic environment requiring the company to seek new opportunities for growth.

      “As we progress through the remainder of the year, we’ll continue to navigate a dynamic macro environment, including ongoing tariff and impact and pricing volatility, with discipline and agility,” Meniane said. “Our focus remains on profitable growth, anchored by the strong foundation we’ve built.”