🕗 TransferGo Real-Time Remittance Transfers 🕗
👏 The British company TransferGo made real-time payments based on Ripple technology available for residents of India.
📢 "We’re delighted to be one of the first companies in the market to offer our customers real-time money transfers by using Ripple’s revolutionary blockchain technology, we’re able to establish real-time communication between us and our banking partners in India, allowing TransferGo customers to send money to family and friends or make international payments immediately", - said Daumantas Dvilinskas, founder and CEO of TransferGo.
🐌 Also, representatives of the company explained that Ripple services can replace "the multiple slow incumbent communications systems", including SWIFT, that processes payments within 2-3 days.
🗃 However, it's still unknown which of the Ripple products (xCurrent, xRapid or xVia) is used by TransferGo.
🔥 As a reminder, in July the money transfer service TransferGo provided its users with the opportunity to buy and sell Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, XRP and Litecoin through the TransferGo application.
👏 The British company TransferGo made real-time payments based on Ripple technology available for residents of India.
📢 "We’re delighted to be one of the first companies in the market to offer our customers real-time money transfers by using Ripple’s revolutionary blockchain technology, we’re able to establish real-time communication between us and our banking partners in India, allowing TransferGo customers to send money to family and friends or make international payments immediately", - said Daumantas Dvilinskas, founder and CEO of TransferGo.
🐌 Also, representatives of the company explained that Ripple services can replace "the multiple slow incumbent communications systems", including SWIFT, that processes payments within 2-3 days.
🗃 However, it's still unknown which of the Ripple products (xCurrent, xRapid or xVia) is used by TransferGo.
🔥 As a reminder, in July the money transfer service TransferGo provided its users with the opportunity to buy and sell Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, XRP and Litecoin through the TransferGo application.
💎 ZEN Investment Trust 💎
🚀 Investment company Grayscale Investments officially announced the launch of the ZEN Investment Trust - a fund exclusively focused on Horizen (ZEN) cryptocurrency.
🗣 "We’ve been very impressed with the Horizen team and its vision for ZEN as a leading privacy coin. Grayscale is at the forefront of asset management in this emerging industry, and we will continue to offer our clients access to the most interesting blockchain projects in the world", - said Grayscale Managing Director Michael Sonnenshein.
🏷 The project, formerly known as Zencash, changed its name to Horizen in August. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency's ticker remains the same - ZEN.
🚨 In June, Zencash network has suffered from 51% attack, as a result of which unknown attackers stole more than $550,000. However, in a few weeks, Grayscale Investments announced the launch of the ZEN Investment Trust. Robert Viglione, president and co-founder of Horizen, in his turn, said that the consensus mechanism had been improved since then and the network's overall hash rate is large enough. So, he claims that such attacks will not happen again.
☝️ For your information, in addition to ZEN, Grayscale Investments also manages investment funds for Bitcoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum and Zcash.
🚀 Investment company Grayscale Investments officially announced the launch of the ZEN Investment Trust - a fund exclusively focused on Horizen (ZEN) cryptocurrency.
🗣 "We’ve been very impressed with the Horizen team and its vision for ZEN as a leading privacy coin. Grayscale is at the forefront of asset management in this emerging industry, and we will continue to offer our clients access to the most interesting blockchain projects in the world", - said Grayscale Managing Director Michael Sonnenshein.
🏷 The project, formerly known as Zencash, changed its name to Horizen in August. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency's ticker remains the same - ZEN.
🚨 In June, Zencash network has suffered from 51% attack, as a result of which unknown attackers stole more than $550,000. However, in a few weeks, Grayscale Investments announced the launch of the ZEN Investment Trust. Robert Viglione, president and co-founder of Horizen, in his turn, said that the consensus mechanism had been improved since then and the network's overall hash rate is large enough. So, he claims that such attacks will not happen again.
☝️ For your information, in addition to ZEN, Grayscale Investments also manages investment funds for Bitcoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum and Zcash.
🙋🏻♂️ Bitcoin ETFs: One More, Please 🙋🏻♂️
🤔 The largest in the US cryptocurrency company Coinbase is exploring the possibility of launching a Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) and is consulting with BlackRock for this purpose.
💡 In June, Coinbase launched an index fund for accredited investors from the United States, but, according to the latest information, now it wants to expand the offer to retail investors. It is also possible that Coinbase will not stop with Bitcoin and will provide an investment basket tied to several cryptocurrencies.
📚 As was mentioned above, the Californian company intends to take advantage of the BlackRock experience. BlackRock, one of the world's largest investment firms, has formed a working group on the cryptocurrency market last summer.
🙄 However, according to the available information, BlackRock representatives have not yet given any specific recommendations to their collegues fromCoinbase. Moreover, as was reported by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink not so long ago, the company's users are not interested in such a new class of assets and the company itself is not interested in Bitcoin ETF launch.
⏳ If Coinbase really decides to launcch Bitcoin ETF, it will join Gemini, Bitwise Asset Management, VanEck and several other firms that are also trying to launch similar products. However, all their attempts still meet resistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
🤔 The largest in the US cryptocurrency company Coinbase is exploring the possibility of launching a Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) and is consulting with BlackRock for this purpose.
💡 In June, Coinbase launched an index fund for accredited investors from the United States, but, according to the latest information, now it wants to expand the offer to retail investors. It is also possible that Coinbase will not stop with Bitcoin and will provide an investment basket tied to several cryptocurrencies.
📚 As was mentioned above, the Californian company intends to take advantage of the BlackRock experience. BlackRock, one of the world's largest investment firms, has formed a working group on the cryptocurrency market last summer.
🙄 However, according to the available information, BlackRock representatives have not yet given any specific recommendations to their collegues fromCoinbase. Moreover, as was reported by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink not so long ago, the company's users are not interested in such a new class of assets and the company itself is not interested in Bitcoin ETF launch.
⏳ If Coinbase really decides to launcch Bitcoin ETF, it will join Gemini, Bitwise Asset Management, VanEck and several other firms that are also trying to launch similar products. However, all their attempts still meet resistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
👨👩👧👦 New Member Of The Poloniex Family 👨👩👧👦
✅ Crypto exchange Poloniex has added support for Qtum digital currency.
🚩 According to the trading platform's blog, the possibility of deposit/withdrawl of funds is already available. Trading in the new asset, represented with QTUM/USDT, QTUM/BTC and QTUM/ETH pairs, started yesterday, September 7, at 16:00 UTC.
📋 According to CoinMarketCap, currently Qtum is the 26th cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. The price of the coin is close to $4.
⚙️ The Qtum project is developing a public blockchain of the same name, combining the Bitcoin transaction model with the Ethereum consensus system. The Qtum team chose Bitcoin (and its UTXO model of record-keeping) as the base of the protocol because of Bitcoin’s proven track record of security and stability. On top of this base, Qtum integrates the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) (and potentially other VMs in the future) in order to support a diverse decentralized application ecosystem.
🔙 As a reminder, a week ago Poloniex has also added new trading pairs with a tokenized dollar - Tether (USDT).
✅ Crypto exchange Poloniex has added support for Qtum digital currency.
🚩 According to the trading platform's blog, the possibility of deposit/withdrawl of funds is already available. Trading in the new asset, represented with QTUM/USDT, QTUM/BTC and QTUM/ETH pairs, started yesterday, September 7, at 16:00 UTC.
📋 According to CoinMarketCap, currently Qtum is the 26th cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. The price of the coin is close to $4.
⚙️ The Qtum project is developing a public blockchain of the same name, combining the Bitcoin transaction model with the Ethereum consensus system. The Qtum team chose Bitcoin (and its UTXO model of record-keeping) as the base of the protocol because of Bitcoin’s proven track record of security and stability. On top of this base, Qtum integrates the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) (and potentially other VMs in the future) in order to support a diverse decentralized application ecosystem.
🔙 As a reminder, a week ago Poloniex has also added new trading pairs with a tokenized dollar - Tether (USDT).
🇦🇺 Australian Watchdog Makes Amendments 🇦🇺
✊️ The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will toughen the approach to crypto exchanges and ICO regulation.
📂 The regulator presented an organizational plan for 2018-2022 with emphasis on "monitoring threats of harm from emerging products" such as ICOs and cryptocurrencies. ASIC declares that already this year it will start implementing new "principles for regulating market infrastructure providers to crypto exchanges" and will actively intervene where "there is poor behavior and potential harm to consumers and investors. Moreover, the Commission will license and monitor financial market participants, settlement facilities and derivative trading.
🔍 For your information, last year, a number of amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act came into force in Australia. In accordance with these amendments, The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) obliged crypto exchanges to register with ASIC. Currently, local cryptocurrency companies are required to identify their customers and take other measures to counter money laundering (KYC / AML).
🆕 A new "multidisciplinary" regulatory framework follows cross-department efforts the ASIC has been taking to implement supervisory approaches, such as dispatching staff onsite in financial institutions related to emerging tech including cryptocurrency.
💸 As a reminder, in June it also became known that the Australia Taxation Office (ATO) will be collecting Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on cryptocurrency gains, essentially classifying them as assets.
✊️ The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will toughen the approach to crypto exchanges and ICO regulation.
📂 The regulator presented an organizational plan for 2018-2022 with emphasis on "monitoring threats of harm from emerging products" such as ICOs and cryptocurrencies. ASIC declares that already this year it will start implementing new "principles for regulating market infrastructure providers to crypto exchanges" and will actively intervene where "there is poor behavior and potential harm to consumers and investors. Moreover, the Commission will license and monitor financial market participants, settlement facilities and derivative trading.
🔍 For your information, last year, a number of amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act came into force in Australia. In accordance with these amendments, The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) obliged crypto exchanges to register with ASIC. Currently, local cryptocurrency companies are required to identify their customers and take other measures to counter money laundering (KYC / AML).
🆕 A new "multidisciplinary" regulatory framework follows cross-department efforts the ASIC has been taking to implement supervisory approaches, such as dispatching staff onsite in financial institutions related to emerging tech including cryptocurrency.
💸 As a reminder, in June it also became known that the Australia Taxation Office (ATO) will be collecting Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on cryptocurrency gains, essentially classifying them as assets.
🏦 New Crypto Exchanges 🏦
1️⃣ Bitone Trade HK
🔜 Bit One Hong Kong Limited announced on September 6 that it's going to launch Bitone Trade HK platform already this month.
💰 It's expected that the new platform will support 30 cryptocurrencies and add more than 100 coins in the future.
💬 The company comments:
"Our platform is launched in Hong Kong which is Asia’s international financial center and we provide customers with stable and secure services. Mainly for the Asian market, our goal is to achieve a monthly transaction volume of US$5 billion".
2️⃣ Huobi
🇮🇩 Huobi Group continues to expand. On September 7 a launch ceremony for its Indonesian exchange was held. The Huobi Indonesia Digital Currency Exchange is built on Huobi Cloud platform.
💰 Huobi representatives add:
"The new exchange will list 123 tokens and incorporate a two-factor authentication (2FA) to help secure each digital asset".
💎 Currently, the platform offers three base cryptocurrencies: USDT, BTC and ETH.
3️⃣ Probit
🔜 According to local Korean media, a new crypto exchange called Probit will be launched by Probit Private Limited in mid-October.
💰 The platform plans to add 157 cryptocurrencies and support eight languages including English, Korean and Chinese.
🔊 The company's representatives claim:
"The Probit exchange can handle more than 1.5 million orders per second. More than 95% of digital assets are stored in a cold wallet to prevent hacking or theft. In addition, it supports hardware keys and software double authentication, so that customer accounts cannot be hacked".
‼️ It was stated that the main goal of the new project is to provide a virtual currency traiding platform with the highest level of security.
4️⃣ Coinone
🚀 One of the largest South Korean crypto exchanges, Coinone, has eventually officially launched a trading platform in Indonesia. The plan to launch it was first announced in April.
💎 The exchange charges a maker fee of 0.25% and a taker fee of 0.3%. Now the platform supports six cryptocurrencies: BTC, BCH, LTC, QTUM, XRP and ETH. Additionally, Coinone Indonesia currently offers trading coupons which "are used to remove the trading fee for a period of time".
1️⃣ Bitone Trade HK
🔜 Bit One Hong Kong Limited announced on September 6 that it's going to launch Bitone Trade HK platform already this month.
💰 It's expected that the new platform will support 30 cryptocurrencies and add more than 100 coins in the future.
💬 The company comments:
"Our platform is launched in Hong Kong which is Asia’s international financial center and we provide customers with stable and secure services. Mainly for the Asian market, our goal is to achieve a monthly transaction volume of US$5 billion".
2️⃣ Huobi
🇮🇩 Huobi Group continues to expand. On September 7 a launch ceremony for its Indonesian exchange was held. The Huobi Indonesia Digital Currency Exchange is built on Huobi Cloud platform.
💰 Huobi representatives add:
"The new exchange will list 123 tokens and incorporate a two-factor authentication (2FA) to help secure each digital asset".
💎 Currently, the platform offers three base cryptocurrencies: USDT, BTC and ETH.
3️⃣ Probit
🔜 According to local Korean media, a new crypto exchange called Probit will be launched by Probit Private Limited in mid-October.
💰 The platform plans to add 157 cryptocurrencies and support eight languages including English, Korean and Chinese.
🔊 The company's representatives claim:
"The Probit exchange can handle more than 1.5 million orders per second. More than 95% of digital assets are stored in a cold wallet to prevent hacking or theft. In addition, it supports hardware keys and software double authentication, so that customer accounts cannot be hacked".
‼️ It was stated that the main goal of the new project is to provide a virtual currency traiding platform with the highest level of security.
4️⃣ Coinone
🚀 One of the largest South Korean crypto exchanges, Coinone, has eventually officially launched a trading platform in Indonesia. The plan to launch it was first announced in April.
💎 The exchange charges a maker fee of 0.25% and a taker fee of 0.3%. Now the platform supports six cryptocurrencies: BTC, BCH, LTC, QTUM, XRP and ETH. Additionally, Coinone Indonesia currently offers trading coupons which "are used to remove the trading fee for a period of time".
⚡️ CoinGate Supports The Lightning Network ⚡️
📣 The processing service CoinGate announced the support for the Lightning Network. From now on, all the merchants using the CoinGate service have the opportunity to make payments in the off-chain Bitcoin structure.
👁🗨 During the testing period, CoinGate requested its customers to report bugs while conducting transactions. Later, CoinGate representatives reported that such bugs were not found.
🔅 There are Swiss watches manufacturers (Chronoswiss and Louis Chevrolet), online bookmakers, Mmoga.com game store, Italian winter clothes store, Bitlaunch hosting provider, a Lithuanian music festival and many others among the new Lightning Network members.
🔙 For the first time CoinGate announced its plans to integrate LN in May, when payment processing began testing the lightning technology using a "testing" online store.
💎 According to CoinGate representatives, the Lightning Network is an ideal of how Bitcoin should work in the future. However, LN still has deficiencies - the network successfully copes with the processing of microtransactions, but it's still difficult to carry out transactions with larger amounts.
📣 The processing service CoinGate announced the support for the Lightning Network. From now on, all the merchants using the CoinGate service have the opportunity to make payments in the off-chain Bitcoin structure.
👁🗨 During the testing period, CoinGate requested its customers to report bugs while conducting transactions. Later, CoinGate representatives reported that such bugs were not found.
🔅 There are Swiss watches manufacturers (Chronoswiss and Louis Chevrolet), online bookmakers, Mmoga.com game store, Italian winter clothes store, Bitlaunch hosting provider, a Lithuanian music festival and many others among the new Lightning Network members.
🔙 For the first time CoinGate announced its plans to integrate LN in May, when payment processing began testing the lightning technology using a "testing" online store.
💎 According to CoinGate representatives, the Lightning Network is an ideal of how Bitcoin should work in the future. However, LN still has deficiencies - the network successfully copes with the processing of microtransactions, but it's still difficult to carry out transactions with larger amounts.
🔍 Time To Find The Truth 🔍
⏸ The US Securities and Exchange Commission suspended trading of two XBT Provider products: Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One. The agency attributes "a lack of current, consistent and accurate information which leads to confusion amongst market participants" as a reason.
🤷🏻♂️ The SEC explains that some broker-dealers submitted to enable the offer and sale of these financial products characterize them as cryptocurrency ETFs. Nevertheless, the issuer of instruments characterizes them as "non-equity linked certificates".
✳️ Noting that both instruments are listed and traded on the Nasdaq/OMX in Stockholm and have recently been quoted on OTC Link operated by OTC Markets Group Inc., the SEC added:
"The Commission is of the opinion that the public interest and the protection of investors require a suspension of trading in the securities of the above quoted company".
⏳ The suspension of trading will last until September 20.
😉 In addition to Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One, the XBT Provider AB company has two more products: Bitcoin Tracker Euro and Ether Tracker Euro. However, it seems that the SEC temporary ban will not affect them.
⏸ The US Securities and Exchange Commission suspended trading of two XBT Provider products: Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One. The agency attributes "a lack of current, consistent and accurate information which leads to confusion amongst market participants" as a reason.
🤷🏻♂️ The SEC explains that some broker-dealers submitted to enable the offer and sale of these financial products characterize them as cryptocurrency ETFs. Nevertheless, the issuer of instruments characterizes them as "non-equity linked certificates".
✳️ Noting that both instruments are listed and traded on the Nasdaq/OMX in Stockholm and have recently been quoted on OTC Link operated by OTC Markets Group Inc., the SEC added:
"The Commission is of the opinion that the public interest and the protection of investors require a suspension of trading in the securities of the above quoted company".
⏳ The suspension of trading will last until September 20.
😉 In addition to Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One, the XBT Provider AB company has two more products: Bitcoin Tracker Euro and Ether Tracker Euro. However, it seems that the SEC temporary ban will not affect them.
👠 Women's Business 👠
🙋🏻 Crypto Valley Association (CVA) in Switzerland decided to elect two women as members of the council to diversify the existing male team. Women will perform the same role as current members, including partisipation in the co-chairs working groups and engagement with the authorities and different organizations.
🗣 Leeanne Abapo Senn, member of CVA’s diversity taskforce, says:
"The measure will be no mere window-dressing exercise. We want to create a space that works for everyone rather than just carry on with the same old boys’ club and their cronies. Our objective is to elevate the dynamic women who have contributed to the Crypto Valley and to create a stronger, more inclusive ecosystem".
🔜 The vote is scheduled for September 20. So, membership of the council will be expanded from five to seven. Two new seats in the council attracted an unexpected number of candidates - 43.
⭐️ Founded last year, Crypto Valley promotes the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. It brings together more than 1,000 representatives of the crypto space and blockchain industry, including companies, consultants, lawyers and journalists who want to express their political and economic voice in Switzerland, one of the leading countries friendly to the cryptocurrency industry in Europe.
🙋🏻 Crypto Valley Association (CVA) in Switzerland decided to elect two women as members of the council to diversify the existing male team. Women will perform the same role as current members, including partisipation in the co-chairs working groups and engagement with the authorities and different organizations.
🗣 Leeanne Abapo Senn, member of CVA’s diversity taskforce, says:
"The measure will be no mere window-dressing exercise. We want to create a space that works for everyone rather than just carry on with the same old boys’ club and their cronies. Our objective is to elevate the dynamic women who have contributed to the Crypto Valley and to create a stronger, more inclusive ecosystem".
🔜 The vote is scheduled for September 20. So, membership of the council will be expanded from five to seven. Two new seats in the council attracted an unexpected number of candidates - 43.
⭐️ Founded last year, Crypto Valley promotes the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. It brings together more than 1,000 representatives of the crypto space and blockchain industry, including companies, consultants, lawyers and journalists who want to express their political and economic voice in Switzerland, one of the leading countries friendly to the cryptocurrency industry in Europe.
👀 No End In Sight 👀
🔒 The Chinese messenger WeChat blocked accounts related to the sale of Bitmain mining equipment and the cryptomarket movement analysis.
❌ In particular, on September 10, the official sales channel of Bitmain - "antminersale" - got blacklisted.
💬 "Following users' complaints, the platform has reviewed and discovered that this account – without having acquired authorized credentials or licenses – has been publishing and distributing information of relevant businesses it is involved in", - the messenger's notice said.
🤔 However, the second similar Bitmain account - "antminerofficial" - is still available on WeChat. Bitmain representatives, in their turn, declined to comment on the situation.
🚫 In addition to Bitmain, the operator of the Goldcoins channel (the crypto market's analysis and forecasts) has also reported problems with access to its account. The same happend to Delphy project, which develops an analogue to the Augur prediction market on the Ethereum blockchain. In both cases, WeChat reported the same reasons for blocking as for Bitmain.
🤷🏻♂️ As a reminder, WeChat began blocking media accounts related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies at the end of August. According to the available information, over 30 accounts have been already banned. Nevertheless, WeChat has not yet explained the reasons for such decisions.
🔒 The Chinese messenger WeChat blocked accounts related to the sale of Bitmain mining equipment and the cryptomarket movement analysis.
❌ In particular, on September 10, the official sales channel of Bitmain - "antminersale" - got blacklisted.
💬 "Following users' complaints, the platform has reviewed and discovered that this account – without having acquired authorized credentials or licenses – has been publishing and distributing information of relevant businesses it is involved in", - the messenger's notice said.
🤔 However, the second similar Bitmain account - "antminerofficial" - is still available on WeChat. Bitmain representatives, in their turn, declined to comment on the situation.
🚫 In addition to Bitmain, the operator of the Goldcoins channel (the crypto market's analysis and forecasts) has also reported problems with access to its account. The same happend to Delphy project, which develops an analogue to the Augur prediction market on the Ethereum blockchain. In both cases, WeChat reported the same reasons for blocking as for Bitmain.
🤷🏻♂️ As a reminder, WeChat began blocking media accounts related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies at the end of August. According to the available information, over 30 accounts have been already banned. Nevertheless, WeChat has not yet explained the reasons for such decisions.
🔮 Nasdaq-Predictor 🔮
📊 The second largest stock exchange of the world, Nasdaq, in the near future may provide institutional investors with a special tool for analyzing the behavior of the cryptocurrency markets.
⚙️ According to a source familiar with the plans of the exchange, a forecasting tool for price movements of digital assets will be added to the Analytics Hub, launched by Nasdaq last year. The service draws on machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to parse through social media and other alternative data sources to give investors a better way to assess market movement.
🤓 At the moment, only traditional assets are available on the Analytics Hub. However, the possible emergence of instruments related to cryptocurrencies is indicated the interest held by the Wall Street community.
"Given the abundance of interest, we are exploring cryptocurrency related datasets. Whether or not we launch a crypto-related product remains to be seen", - said the Nasdaq's head of alternative data, Bill Dague.
🔜 Nevertheless, the source responsible for the above information stressed that the new tool beta testing is already underway. The launch is scheduled for November.
🔥 It's also reported that the new service will provide sentiment on some 500 crypto assets, and that it takes a three-pronged approach to its analysis, looking at fund flows via wallets, data from exchanges and social media.
📊 The second largest stock exchange of the world, Nasdaq, in the near future may provide institutional investors with a special tool for analyzing the behavior of the cryptocurrency markets.
⚙️ According to a source familiar with the plans of the exchange, a forecasting tool for price movements of digital assets will be added to the Analytics Hub, launched by Nasdaq last year. The service draws on machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to parse through social media and other alternative data sources to give investors a better way to assess market movement.
🤓 At the moment, only traditional assets are available on the Analytics Hub. However, the possible emergence of instruments related to cryptocurrencies is indicated the interest held by the Wall Street community.
"Given the abundance of interest, we are exploring cryptocurrency related datasets. Whether or not we launch a crypto-related product remains to be seen", - said the Nasdaq's head of alternative data, Bill Dague.
🔜 Nevertheless, the source responsible for the above information stressed that the new tool beta testing is already underway. The launch is scheduled for November.
🔥 It's also reported that the new service will provide sentiment on some 500 crypto assets, and that it takes a three-pronged approach to its analysis, looking at fund flows via wallets, data from exchanges and social media.
🔍 Identity Verification 🔍
🇰🇷 South Korean banks are going to limit services to crypto exchanges' users who have not pass the identification procedure at the request of the country's financial regulators.
👤 In January, South Korean authorities tightened crypto trading regulations on local exchanges, requiring platforms' users to identify their personality using bank accounts.
Thus, traders have to open an account with any bank cooperating with a crypto exchange under the so called "real-name system". In case of non-compliance with the requirement, traders can withdraw funds from their accounts, but lose their opportunity to deposit Korean won into their accounts.
🏦 However, only four major crypto platforms of the country - Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit - have offered their clients services for converting their accounts into verified ones.
👥 To date, only about 40-50% of users of these exchanges complied with the January requirements. At the same time, most traders continue to conduct operations with cryptocurrencies with funds deposited on exchanges before the tightening of the trading rules.
🎁 Some exchanges, for their part, have taken a number of measures to encourage the users' verification. In particular, Bithumb cut its daily withdrawal limit by 10% for unidentified users, and Upbit distributed about 100 million Korean won ($88,000) among those traders who fulfilled the requirements.
⚔️ Recently, financial institutions have promised to strengthen measures against unverified users. According to the local publications, banks will put limits on services, deposit and withdrawal of funds in Korean won, unless traders create new verified accounts by a certain date.
🇰🇷 South Korean banks are going to limit services to crypto exchanges' users who have not pass the identification procedure at the request of the country's financial regulators.
👤 In January, South Korean authorities tightened crypto trading regulations on local exchanges, requiring platforms' users to identify their personality using bank accounts.
Thus, traders have to open an account with any bank cooperating with a crypto exchange under the so called "real-name system". In case of non-compliance with the requirement, traders can withdraw funds from their accounts, but lose their opportunity to deposit Korean won into their accounts.
🏦 However, only four major crypto platforms of the country - Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit - have offered their clients services for converting their accounts into verified ones.
👥 To date, only about 40-50% of users of these exchanges complied with the January requirements. At the same time, most traders continue to conduct operations with cryptocurrencies with funds deposited on exchanges before the tightening of the trading rules.
🎁 Some exchanges, for their part, have taken a number of measures to encourage the users' verification. In particular, Bithumb cut its daily withdrawal limit by 10% for unidentified users, and Upbit distributed about 100 million Korean won ($88,000) among those traders who fulfilled the requirements.
⚔️ Recently, financial institutions have promised to strengthen measures against unverified users. According to the local publications, banks will put limits on services, deposit and withdrawal of funds in Korean won, unless traders create new verified accounts by a certain date.
🤝 Crypto Cooperation 🤝
🚀 The leading cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume, Binance, and Malta Stock Exchange signed a Memorandum Of Understanding, according to which the security token exchange will be launched.
🌟 Representatives of the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) expressed the hope that the new regulated platform will have an excellent reputation and will be fully consistent with all regulatory requirements.
💬 Wei Zhou, the new Chief Financial Officer of Binance, in his turn, suggested that the partnership with MSE will contribute to the development of the blockchain ecosystem in Malta.
💬 "This partnership will allow Binance and MSX to host traditional financial assets on blockchain technology through security tokens", - added Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
📌 Earlier it became known that Binance also intends to support the Malta Stock Exchange accelerator program aimed to support fintech and crypto startups.
😎 For your information, in addition to Binance, MSE also cooperates with the OKEx exchange. Together thay are going to launch a platform for security token trading called OKMSX.
🚀 The leading cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume, Binance, and Malta Stock Exchange signed a Memorandum Of Understanding, according to which the security token exchange will be launched.
🌟 Representatives of the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) expressed the hope that the new regulated platform will have an excellent reputation and will be fully consistent with all regulatory requirements.
💬 Wei Zhou, the new Chief Financial Officer of Binance, in his turn, suggested that the partnership with MSE will contribute to the development of the blockchain ecosystem in Malta.
💬 "This partnership will allow Binance and MSX to host traditional financial assets on blockchain technology through security tokens", - added Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
📌 Earlier it became known that Binance also intends to support the Malta Stock Exchange accelerator program aimed to support fintech and crypto startups.
😎 For your information, in addition to Binance, MSE also cooperates with the OKEx exchange. Together thay are going to launch a platform for security token trading called OKMSX.
🔥 Bittrex's Positive Trend 🔥
🌐 Bittrex announced Bittrex International, an affiliate of Bittrex, which will own and manage Bittrex's international businesses, outside the United States. The mission of Bittrex International is to be a driving force in the blockchain revolution, increasing adoption of this innovative technology around the world.
🇲🇹 At the same time, Bittrex announced the establishment of Bittrex Malta Ltd., a secure, reliable and advanced digital asset platform operating in Malta. All digital assets listed on Bittrex Malta will also be available for the international network of Bittrex exchanges. The platform will operate within the regulatory framework of the European Union and the Government of Malta.
⚡️ In recent times Bittrex is very active. It has announced a number of promising initiatives. So, in August, in partnership with CatalX, it announced the launch of a platform for cryptocurrency trading in Canada. Additionally, the exchange entered into a partnership with the Rialto Trading platform to expand Rialto’s Alternative Trading System (ATS) to include blockchain-based (digital) securities.
💫 Not so long ago, Bittrex acquired a 10% of the shares of the Malta blockchain company Palladium, which should become the "first regulated and unified platform" for fiat money, banks and crypto exchanges.
Almost simultaneously, Bittrex announced a partnership with the Cryptofacil platform. Together they plan to establish a cryptocurrency trading platform in Uruguay oriented to Latin America and the Caribbean.
💎 Moreover, recently Bittrex added support for four new trading pairs with fiat: ETC/USD and XRP/USD in August and ADA/USD and ZEC/USD in September. At the same time, Bitcoin Gold was delisted.
🌐 Bittrex announced Bittrex International, an affiliate of Bittrex, which will own and manage Bittrex's international businesses, outside the United States. The mission of Bittrex International is to be a driving force in the blockchain revolution, increasing adoption of this innovative technology around the world.
🇲🇹 At the same time, Bittrex announced the establishment of Bittrex Malta Ltd., a secure, reliable and advanced digital asset platform operating in Malta. All digital assets listed on Bittrex Malta will also be available for the international network of Bittrex exchanges. The platform will operate within the regulatory framework of the European Union and the Government of Malta.
⚡️ In recent times Bittrex is very active. It has announced a number of promising initiatives. So, in August, in partnership with CatalX, it announced the launch of a platform for cryptocurrency trading in Canada. Additionally, the exchange entered into a partnership with the Rialto Trading platform to expand Rialto’s Alternative Trading System (ATS) to include blockchain-based (digital) securities.
💫 Not so long ago, Bittrex acquired a 10% of the shares of the Malta blockchain company Palladium, which should become the "first regulated and unified platform" for fiat money, banks and crypto exchanges.
Almost simultaneously, Bittrex announced a partnership with the Cryptofacil platform. Together they plan to establish a cryptocurrency trading platform in Uruguay oriented to Latin America and the Caribbean.
💎 Moreover, recently Bittrex added support for four new trading pairs with fiat: ETC/USD and XRP/USD in August and ADA/USD and ZEC/USD in September. At the same time, Bitcoin Gold was delisted.
Forwarded from GCN Blockchian
MOVING NIGERIA INTO THE WORLD OF BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY
Nigeria is no doubt the largest black nation in world gifted with both natural and human resources and continuously striving towards attaining the rank of a developed nation. Despite reforms in her banking sector in previous years, financial operations had been tied to fiat currencies with no indicators of moving into the world of blockchain and crypto currency.
With the western world advancing in blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and developing arrays of decentralized applications, Nigeria and many of her neighboring countries are still in the fight to digitize banking services.
In 2012 the country announced her intention to run a cashless economy by the year 2020. Six years down and it is obvious that the goal is far from actualization. While private investors in the banking and technological industry had contributed immensely to the cashless economy goal, by developing countless online banking applications with diverse services, USSD codes to facilitate online transaction and spending millions of dollars on advertisement of those services, the queues in banking halls tell a different story. Millions of Nigerians are still dependent on fiat currency for their transactions.
According to the Nigerian communication commission’s online database, the number of active internet subscribers in quarter 1 – 2018 is 126,378. This number is nothing compared to the estimated 198 million population. The figures above reveals that only 0.000064% of Nigerian’s population where on the internet in the first quarter of 2018.
One would begin to wonder how long it will take to achieve the cashless economy milestone talk more of moving completely into the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
The Nigeria government currently are making no effort at bringing blockchain and crypto currency to stay. This may be as a result of lack of proper awareness on the part of both legislative and executive arm of government.
It is believed that information precede transformation but Information alone can’t fix the transformation required in the case of Nigeria’s financial revolution. A deliberate effort at educating, enlightenment, provision of data infrastructure, technical support and making the cost of internet affordable for the ever growing population of Nigeria will help push Nigeria. A step towards her cashless economy goal and further into blockchain and cryptocurrencies. More so, the education sector needs to include courses on Blockchain technology such as Blockchain 101 and the likes to her current curriculum for students studying finance and Information technology related course. Organizing blockchain events across the country will help in crating awareness.
Best Julie is 23 year old from Delta State, south-south Nigerian whom through her friend picked interest in blockchain technology and currently developing her career in the crpto space. I love to build and develop communities.
Reference
Nigerian Communication Commission. Subscriber Statistics. Retrieved on September 8, 2018 from https://www.ncc.gov.ng/stakeholder/statistics-reports/subscriber-data#internet-service-operator-data
Premium Times. Nigeria’s population now 198 million – NPC April 12, 2018. Retrieved on September 8 2018 from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/264781-nigerias-population-now-198-million-npc.html
Nigeria is no doubt the largest black nation in world gifted with both natural and human resources and continuously striving towards attaining the rank of a developed nation. Despite reforms in her banking sector in previous years, financial operations had been tied to fiat currencies with no indicators of moving into the world of blockchain and crypto currency.
With the western world advancing in blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and developing arrays of decentralized applications, Nigeria and many of her neighboring countries are still in the fight to digitize banking services.
In 2012 the country announced her intention to run a cashless economy by the year 2020. Six years down and it is obvious that the goal is far from actualization. While private investors in the banking and technological industry had contributed immensely to the cashless economy goal, by developing countless online banking applications with diverse services, USSD codes to facilitate online transaction and spending millions of dollars on advertisement of those services, the queues in banking halls tell a different story. Millions of Nigerians are still dependent on fiat currency for their transactions.
According to the Nigerian communication commission’s online database, the number of active internet subscribers in quarter 1 – 2018 is 126,378. This number is nothing compared to the estimated 198 million population. The figures above reveals that only 0.000064% of Nigerian’s population where on the internet in the first quarter of 2018.
One would begin to wonder how long it will take to achieve the cashless economy milestone talk more of moving completely into the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
The Nigeria government currently are making no effort at bringing blockchain and crypto currency to stay. This may be as a result of lack of proper awareness on the part of both legislative and executive arm of government.
It is believed that information precede transformation but Information alone can’t fix the transformation required in the case of Nigeria’s financial revolution. A deliberate effort at educating, enlightenment, provision of data infrastructure, technical support and making the cost of internet affordable for the ever growing population of Nigeria will help push Nigeria. A step towards her cashless economy goal and further into blockchain and cryptocurrencies. More so, the education sector needs to include courses on Blockchain technology such as Blockchain 101 and the likes to her current curriculum for students studying finance and Information technology related course. Organizing blockchain events across the country will help in crating awareness.
Best Julie is 23 year old from Delta State, south-south Nigerian whom through her friend picked interest in blockchain technology and currently developing her career in the crpto space. I love to build and develop communities.
Reference
Nigerian Communication Commission. Subscriber Statistics. Retrieved on September 8, 2018 from https://www.ncc.gov.ng/stakeholder/statistics-reports/subscriber-data#internet-service-operator-data
Premium Times. Nigeria’s population now 198 million – NPC April 12, 2018. Retrieved on September 8 2018 from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/264781-nigerias-population-now-198-million-npc.html
📲 Bisq Mobile Apps 📲
🚀 Developers of the decentralized crypto exchange Bisq announced the release of mobile applications for Android and iOS.
📩 The mobile version of the Bisq platform allows users to receive notifications on trading operations, prices, offers, etc. At the same time, there is an associated desktop program that communicates with the app.
💎 The latest version of the Bisq decentralized exchange has a number of new options. In particular, privacy has been improved and a new payment method, called Halcash, has been implemented.
📈 According to Bisq representatives, the number of users of the platform is steadily growing, as well as transactions' volumes. According to Bisq developer Christoph Atteneder, ShapeShift's decision to introduce mandatory KYC procedures will facilitate the transition of the crypto industry participants to decentralized platforms.
🎉 To increase the popularity and liquidity of the platform, the Bisq team organizes the "September Market Kick-Start Day" event: "On September 20th 2018 we will try to get as many people as possible to place offers on Bisq as a way to kick-start liquidity after the summer and also launch the newest release". Users who make at least one offer on that day will be rewarded 10 BSQ tokens.
🚀 Developers of the decentralized crypto exchange Bisq announced the release of mobile applications for Android and iOS.
📩 The mobile version of the Bisq platform allows users to receive notifications on trading operations, prices, offers, etc. At the same time, there is an associated desktop program that communicates with the app.
💎 The latest version of the Bisq decentralized exchange has a number of new options. In particular, privacy has been improved and a new payment method, called Halcash, has been implemented.
📈 According to Bisq representatives, the number of users of the platform is steadily growing, as well as transactions' volumes. According to Bisq developer Christoph Atteneder, ShapeShift's decision to introduce mandatory KYC procedures will facilitate the transition of the crypto industry participants to decentralized platforms.
🎉 To increase the popularity and liquidity of the platform, the Bisq team organizes the "September Market Kick-Start Day" event: "On September 20th 2018 we will try to get as many people as possible to place offers on Bisq as a way to kick-start liquidity after the summer and also launch the newest release". Users who make at least one offer on that day will be rewarded 10 BSQ tokens.
🏦 BitGo As Custodian 🏦
👍 Representatives of the Californian cryptocurrency startup BitGo announced that it obtained a permission for work in the US as a digital assets custodian focusing on institutional clients.
💎 The permit to launch BitGo Trust was issued by the the South Dakota Division of Banking. Representatives of the startup think that this will allow them to offer its users regulated services that meet AML/KYC requirements, services from a really qualified custodian.
🔮 BitGo co-founder and CEO Mike Belshe also added that BitGo will eventually look to become a broker-dealer, but he declined to give a timeline. He also expressed the hope that there will be significant demand on BitGo Trust services among institutional players who seek for financial products that strictly comply with all regulatory requirements.
💡 For your information, the startup management decided to establish its own cryptocurrency custodian after the failure of the deal on aquisition of the Kingdom Trust, a South Dakota-chartered, fully regulated trust company with over $12 billion in assets under custody.
👍 Representatives of the Californian cryptocurrency startup BitGo announced that it obtained a permission for work in the US as a digital assets custodian focusing on institutional clients.
💎 The permit to launch BitGo Trust was issued by the the South Dakota Division of Banking. Representatives of the startup think that this will allow them to offer its users regulated services that meet AML/KYC requirements, services from a really qualified custodian.
🔮 BitGo co-founder and CEO Mike Belshe also added that BitGo will eventually look to become a broker-dealer, but he declined to give a timeline. He also expressed the hope that there will be significant demand on BitGo Trust services among institutional players who seek for financial products that strictly comply with all regulatory requirements.
💡 For your information, the startup management decided to establish its own cryptocurrency custodian after the failure of the deal on aquisition of the Kingdom Trust, a South Dakota-chartered, fully regulated trust company with over $12 billion in assets under custody.
⭐️ EOSfinex For Full Decentralization ⭐️
🌿 The fourth crypto exchange in terms of trading volume, Bitfinex, announced the launch of the decentralized trading platform EOSfinex based on the EOS blockchain.
🔥 Bitfinex representatives say that the new decentralized exchange will uphold the true values of p2p-trading, will be scalable and unconstrained by borders, and also built on the principles of transparency, speed and integrity.
🔥 The mission of EOSfinex is achieving full decentralization, including on-chain order books, matching and settlement. Also great attention is paid to performance.
‼️ The Bitfinex statement also emphasizes that the key to a truly valuable decentralised trading experience comes through eliminating the need for trust. EOSfinex creates a transparent and auditable network of peer-to-peer exchange which can be monitored and verified by participants from around the world at any time.
🔆 At the initial stage of the exchange operation, all major pairs (EOS/BTC, BTC/USD and ETH/USD) will be available to users. Then, new tokens are expected to be added. Exchange contracts will be flexible and will allow users to trade any token created by a specific trusted contract. Furthermore, Bitfinex representatives claim that adding a new pair is trivial and can be done by anyone after the trusted contract issues a new tradable token.
🌿 The fourth crypto exchange in terms of trading volume, Bitfinex, announced the launch of the decentralized trading platform EOSfinex based on the EOS blockchain.
🔥 Bitfinex representatives say that the new decentralized exchange will uphold the true values of p2p-trading, will be scalable and unconstrained by borders, and also built on the principles of transparency, speed and integrity.
🔥 The mission of EOSfinex is achieving full decentralization, including on-chain order books, matching and settlement. Also great attention is paid to performance.
‼️ The Bitfinex statement also emphasizes that the key to a truly valuable decentralised trading experience comes through eliminating the need for trust. EOSfinex creates a transparent and auditable network of peer-to-peer exchange which can be monitored and verified by participants from around the world at any time.
🔆 At the initial stage of the exchange operation, all major pairs (EOS/BTC, BTC/USD and ETH/USD) will be available to users. Then, new tokens are expected to be added. Exchange contracts will be flexible and will allow users to trade any token created by a specific trusted contract. Furthermore, Bitfinex representatives claim that adding a new pair is trivial and can be done by anyone after the trusted contract issues a new tradable token.
💎 Wallet For Crypto Collectibles 💎
🚀 The cryptocurrency startup Vault announced the launch of a wallet for the storage of non-fungible tokens and other crypto collectibles on Apple's App Store. To celebrate this event, the startup promised to givie away a free collectibles to wallet's first users.
👛 Co-founder of the project John Egan stressed that the company's goal was to make the process of purchase and store crypto collectibles easier for new users unfamiliar with the blockchain.
👨👩👧👦 According to Egan, the problem with existing wallets is that they are focusing on developers, not users. He believes that decentralized applications can attract new users in the crypto sphere: "Vault doesn't present them with a lot of technical information, just gives them a way to start using Dapps".
‼️ At the moment, Vault isn't going to list token prices or enable the trading of tokens:
"It's like the early days of baseball cards, you didn't buy them to make 50 [times] their value later, you bought them to own them or trade them with your friends. I think that's the big opportunity with collectibles … you want to have these things because you want them, not because you're chasing prices … I think that's what the future is, the utility is coming", - John Egan said.
📒 Users of the Vault cryptocurrency wallet have the opportunity to add friends as contacts, so they don't need to remember long and complex wallet addresses.
🔥 "We're not a trading desk, we're not a Coinbase, we're not a Gemini, we're trying to be a utility. I think if we're successful long-term, you'll begin to see this ecosystem flourish like you saw the web flourish", - concluded John Egan.
🚀 The cryptocurrency startup Vault announced the launch of a wallet for the storage of non-fungible tokens and other crypto collectibles on Apple's App Store. To celebrate this event, the startup promised to givie away a free collectibles to wallet's first users.
👛 Co-founder of the project John Egan stressed that the company's goal was to make the process of purchase and store crypto collectibles easier for new users unfamiliar with the blockchain.
👨👩👧👦 According to Egan, the problem with existing wallets is that they are focusing on developers, not users. He believes that decentralized applications can attract new users in the crypto sphere: "Vault doesn't present them with a lot of technical information, just gives them a way to start using Dapps".
‼️ At the moment, Vault isn't going to list token prices or enable the trading of tokens:
"It's like the early days of baseball cards, you didn't buy them to make 50 [times] their value later, you bought them to own them or trade them with your friends. I think that's the big opportunity with collectibles … you want to have these things because you want them, not because you're chasing prices … I think that's what the future is, the utility is coming", - John Egan said.
📒 Users of the Vault cryptocurrency wallet have the opportunity to add friends as contacts, so they don't need to remember long and complex wallet addresses.
🔥 "We're not a trading desk, we're not a Coinbase, we're not a Gemini, we're trying to be a utility. I think if we're successful long-term, you'll begin to see this ecosystem flourish like you saw the web flourish", - concluded John Egan.
✨ Attract Innovators Globally ✨
🇫🇷 The French Parliament at the legislative level approved the rules for conducting initial coin offerings (ICOs) as an article of the Business Growth and Transformation bill (PACTE). This was reported by the Minister for the Economy and Finance of the country Bruno Le Maire on his Twitter:
"Legislative base for ICO is created. It will help attract innovators from all over the world".
📑 According to the document, for conducting ICO in France, the companies have to obtain permission from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) (Financial Markets Regulator). Token issuers at the request of AMF have to provide the necessary information that will ensure that customers are aware of the decisions of crowdsales organizers.
🛡 Thus, the issue of the investors protection quality will be given special attention.
🤓 It should be noted that the adopted legislation is a part of a broader programme of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, to stimulate business growth and transformation.
For your information, in January, Bruno Le Maire announced the establishing of a working group on the development of mechanisms for the crypto field regulation.
🇫🇷 The French Parliament at the legislative level approved the rules for conducting initial coin offerings (ICOs) as an article of the Business Growth and Transformation bill (PACTE). This was reported by the Minister for the Economy and Finance of the country Bruno Le Maire on his Twitter:
"Legislative base for ICO is created. It will help attract innovators from all over the world".
📑 According to the document, for conducting ICO in France, the companies have to obtain permission from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) (Financial Markets Regulator). Token issuers at the request of AMF have to provide the necessary information that will ensure that customers are aware of the decisions of crowdsales organizers.
🛡 Thus, the issue of the investors protection quality will be given special attention.
🤓 It should be noted that the adopted legislation is a part of a broader programme of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, to stimulate business growth and transformation.
For your information, in January, Bruno Le Maire announced the establishing of a working group on the development of mechanisms for the crypto field regulation.
