In a rare speech, the UK’s GCHQ head Jeremy Fleming warns China’s tech ambitions, including a CBDC currency, are a security issue “that will define our future” (Dustin Volz/Wall Street Journal)

Dustin Volz / Wall Street Journal:
US DOJ forms the Digital Asset Coordinators Network with 150+ federal prosecutors across the country to target illegal activities involving digital currencies  —  New effort is part of trend toward putting more resources to target illegal activities involving digital currencies

Amitoj Singh / CoinDesk:
The Reserve Bank of India plans to begin testing its CBDC on November 1, with nine banks participating, and a retail version by the end of November  —  A pilot for a retail version will start within a month.  —  India’s central bank will introduce a pilot wholesale central bank digital currency …

Savannah Fortis / Cointelegraph:
Changpeng Zhao says the National Bank of Kazakhstan plans to integrate its CBDC on the BNB Chain; Kazakhstan gave Binance a license to operate on October 6  —  Officials in Kazakhstan continue their close relationship with Binance, as the National Bank plans to integrate its CBDC on the BNB Chain.

Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch:
African e-commerce giant Jumia announces co-founders Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec have stepped down as co-CEOs, replaced by executive Francis Dufay  —  African e-commerce giant Jumia has made a new change in management as co-founders Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec step down effective today …

Swati Bhat / Reuters:
The Reserve Bank of India plans to launch a retail pilot for its CBDC on December 1, after testing with nine banks since November 1  —  The Reserve Bank of India’s first pilot for a retail e-rupee, its version of the central bank digital currency (CBDC), will be launched on Dec. 1, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

ProPublica:
A book excerpt details how the FBI failed to undertake fundamental reforms to combat cybercrime, including confronting escalating cyberthreats like ransomware  —  In this excerpt from “The Ransomware Hunting Team: A Band of Misfits’ Improbable Crusade to Save the World From Cybercrime,” …