Rand Plunges After US Weapons Accusations Against South Africa, Schiff Criticizes Misleading Inflation Numbers, and More — Bitcoin.com News Week in Review

Another exciting week in crypto and finance has come and gone, with news of U.S. government accusations against South Africa, regarding the alleged supply of the Russian state with ammunition. In other news, ten Southeast Asian nations are challenging U.S. dollar dominance, having agreed to “encourage the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions.” In the world of crypto, Monday’s Bitcoin Cash network upgrade now sees the protocol with thousands of tokens being created via the Cashtokens functionality. This and much more, just below.

South African Currency Plunges to New Low Versus the Dollar a Day After the US Accused Country of Secretly Supplying Ammunition to Russia

The South African currency’s exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar plunged to a new all-time low of ZAR19.51:US$1 on May 12. The rand’s latest fall came a day after the U.S. ambassador to South Africa accused the country of secretly supplying weapons to Russia. Banking giant JP Morgan said it now projects South Africa’s gross domestic product to contract by 0.2%, down from the earlier positive projection of 0.3%.

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10 Southeast Asian Nations Challenge Dollar Dominance With Push for Local Currencies

The leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have agreed to “encourage the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions.” The group comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This move will help them reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar.

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Economist Peter Schiff Warns About a New, Incoming Great Depression Crisis, Criticizes Misleading Inflation Numbers

Peter Schiff, best-selling author and chief economist of Europac, has warned about the coming of a new Great Depression period in America. In an interview, Schiff stated that official Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers were designed to mislead the public and that the country was going to face a depression worse than the one it faced back in the 1930s.

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Cashtokens Take Center Stage Following Bitcoin Cash Upgrade: Over 26,000 Tokens Created

Following the recent Bitcoin Cash upgrade on Monday, data reveals that approximately 1,308 fungible tokens and 25,336 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have emerged on the blockchain. Moreover, the Cashtokens token ecosystem is now accessible through the blockchain explorers 3xpl.com and salemkode.com, allowing users to explore its potential.

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