Swiss bank Maerki Baumann will start working with digital assets.
Maerki Baumann will be the second bank in Switzerland after Falcon Private Bank which started working with cryptocurrencies.
According to the representatives of the bank, the decision was a response to the growing demand for this type of services.
However, the financial institution at this stage will not offer the possibility of direct investment in new assets.
Nevertheless, interested users will be able to get consultations from the relevant experts.
The bank still does not recommend to invest large amounts in new assets without conducting personal research.
Maerki Baumann will be the second bank in Switzerland after Falcon Private Bank which started working with cryptocurrencies.
According to the representatives of the bank, the decision was a response to the growing demand for this type of services.
However, the financial institution at this stage will not offer the possibility of direct investment in new assets.
Nevertheless, interested users will be able to get consultations from the relevant experts.
The bank still does not recommend to invest large amounts in new assets without conducting personal research.
🚨U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration: only 10% of all crypto transactions are related to crime.
Lilita Infante, DEA’s representative:The volume has grown tremendously, the amount of transactions and the dollar value has grown tremendously over the years in criminal activity, but the ratio has decreased.
This data was obtained as a result of an analysis of available blockchain data, which DEA started in 2013 when it was detected that criminals started to use bitcoin for illegal activities on the darkweb, such as money laundering and terrorism financing.
Also she added: The blockchain actually gives us a lot of tools to be able to identify people. I actually want them to keep using them.
Lilita Infante, DEA’s representative:The volume has grown tremendously, the amount of transactions and the dollar value has grown tremendously over the years in criminal activity, but the ratio has decreased.
This data was obtained as a result of an analysis of available blockchain data, which DEA started in 2013 when it was detected that criminals started to use bitcoin for illegal activities on the darkweb, such as money laundering and terrorism financing.
Also she added: The blockchain actually gives us a lot of tools to be able to identify people. I actually want them to keep using them.
Decentralized music-sharing protocol Audius has raised $5.5 million in a Series A funding round led by General Catalyst and Lightspeed Capital the firm announced Wednesday.
The project seeks to use a blockchain platform to help artists control the music they share, according to a press release.
While a release date is not yet clear, the musician-owned platform would allow artists to publish their work and interact with fans, rather as platforms like SoundCloud operate today. However, Audius would provide artists with a greater degree of control over their intellectual property than existing systems do today, the release claims.
The startup boasts advisers including BitTorrent chief architect Greg Hazel, Augur co-founder Jeremy Gardner and musician 3LAU, among others.
The project seeks to use a blockchain platform to help artists control the music they share, according to a press release.
While a release date is not yet clear, the musician-owned platform would allow artists to publish their work and interact with fans, rather as platforms like SoundCloud operate today. However, Audius would provide artists with a greater degree of control over their intellectual property than existing systems do today, the release claims.
The startup boasts advisers including BitTorrent chief architect Greg Hazel, Augur co-founder Jeremy Gardner and musician 3LAU, among others.
💠Startup Havven plans to release stable coin nUSD based on EOS network this year.
Currently, this "stable coin" exists in the network Ethereum. The emission of the US dollar-linked token nUSD started in June this year.
However, representatives of Havven noted that the transfer of tokens from Ethereum to EOS is not the main goal of the project. According to them, the developers intend to make sure that both networks work separately.
Currently, this "stable coin" exists in the network Ethereum. The emission of the US dollar-linked token nUSD started in June this year.
However, representatives of Havven noted that the transfer of tokens from Ethereum to EOS is not the main goal of the project. According to them, the developers intend to make sure that both networks work separately.
👍 Starting from August 20 users of Bittrex exchange will be able to trade Ethereum Classic and Ripple in pairs with US dollar.
With time other pairs are promised to be added. Also, in the future the access to trading will be opened to the users worldwide.
With time other pairs are promised to be added. Also, in the future the access to trading will be opened to the users worldwide.
That do you think about the crypto community' reaction regarding delayed SEC decision on Bitcoin ETF?
The main thing to remember is that bitcoin is very early-stage venture, but has real-time price feed — and that’s a unique thing. People get excited about the price and overreact. Bitcoin was last down 6.3 percent at $6,288.30, which still makes it about 82 percent higher year on year.
The main thing to remember is that bitcoin is very early-stage venture, but has real-time price feed — and that’s a unique thing. People get excited about the price and overreact. Bitcoin was last down 6.3 percent at $6,288.30, which still makes it about 82 percent higher year on year.
The secretary-general of the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission , said a total of 20 crypto exchanges had already registered for licenses
Thailand's new licensing system for firms working with digital assets has seen a flurry of applications from companies seeking to offer token sales and exchange services just weeks after it went into effect, an official has said.
In a news report from Bangkok Post on Thursday, Rapee Sucharitakul, the secretary-general of the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said a total of 20 crypto exchanges had already registered for licenses.
As CoinDesk has previously reported, rules created to regulate ICOs took effect on July 16 after a royal decree was made public in May. As part of the scheme, projects that intend to offer crypto exchange services must also gain approval from the SEC before trading starts.
"Many companies interested in opening digital asset exchanges have said digital assets and cryptocurrency trading in the Thai market are quite active," Sucharitakul said.
In addition, the SEC said around 50 ICOs have expressed interest in becoming registered to conduct compliant token sales in the country.
However, before the SEC can grant licenses to individual projects, it must first select the so-called "ICO portals" – online marketplaces where potential ICO issuers can operate their token sales. Sucharitakul said that, out of the five companies that have expressed interest in becoming ICO portals, three have already filed applications.
In the same region, regulators from the Philippines embarked on a similar effort just last week, releasing draft rules for the regulation of token sales. The nation is currently seeking public comment on how to let ICOs operate in a regulated environment.
Thailand's new licensing system for firms working with digital assets has seen a flurry of applications from companies seeking to offer token sales and exchange services just weeks after it went into effect, an official has said.
In a news report from Bangkok Post on Thursday, Rapee Sucharitakul, the secretary-general of the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said a total of 20 crypto exchanges had already registered for licenses.
As CoinDesk has previously reported, rules created to regulate ICOs took effect on July 16 after a royal decree was made public in May. As part of the scheme, projects that intend to offer crypto exchange services must also gain approval from the SEC before trading starts.
"Many companies interested in opening digital asset exchanges have said digital assets and cryptocurrency trading in the Thai market are quite active," Sucharitakul said.
In addition, the SEC said around 50 ICOs have expressed interest in becoming registered to conduct compliant token sales in the country.
However, before the SEC can grant licenses to individual projects, it must first select the so-called "ICO portals" – online marketplaces where potential ICO issuers can operate their token sales. Sucharitakul said that, out of the five companies that have expressed interest in becoming ICO portals, three have already filed applications.
In the same region, regulators from the Philippines embarked on a similar effort just last week, releasing draft rules for the regulation of token sales. The nation is currently seeking public comment on how to let ICOs operate in a regulated environment.
🚀 OEL Foundation
The supply chain industry generates over 13% of global GDP and is the lifeblood of the global economy. Innovations in this industry drive savings to every business and consumer on the planet.
Trillions of dollars are spent every year transporting everything from raw materials to finished goods, and every year billions in value is lost due to delays and disputes, driving up transport costs and slowing the cash flow cycle. The largest brands in the world lose 1% of revenue they can never invoice without proof of delivery to retailers, and transporters wait weeks to be paid.
The industry is ready to move to a blockchain-based platform that provides real transparency and proof of activity. This will allow every participant to invoice and be paid faster, grow their business, improve service and lower costs.
The Open Enterprise Logistics (OEL) Foundation and Alliance has been established to provide a standard Enterprise Architecture for all supply participants to build logistics dApps and blockchain-enable their technology.
Early adopters have already achieved real-world success, with Alliance member OpenPort becoming the first in the world to sell a blockchain-powered transport invoice on the AssetChain marketplace. https://bit.ly/2GqoBHD
OEL Alliance members are acting now to remove the paper trail, create trust and liquidity, and bypass intermediaries.
Members – from the largest shippers to the smallest transporters – will use the OPN (“open”) token to fuel the ecosystem behind one of the largest industries in the world. The TGE for OPN is a chance be part of an enterprise project that will change how goods and payments flow through the supply chain.
Website: https://oel.foundation/
Telegram: https://t.me/OELFoundation
ANN thread: https://bit.ly/2l986r8
The supply chain industry generates over 13% of global GDP and is the lifeblood of the global economy. Innovations in this industry drive savings to every business and consumer on the planet.
Trillions of dollars are spent every year transporting everything from raw materials to finished goods, and every year billions in value is lost due to delays and disputes, driving up transport costs and slowing the cash flow cycle. The largest brands in the world lose 1% of revenue they can never invoice without proof of delivery to retailers, and transporters wait weeks to be paid.
The industry is ready to move to a blockchain-based platform that provides real transparency and proof of activity. This will allow every participant to invoice and be paid faster, grow their business, improve service and lower costs.
The Open Enterprise Logistics (OEL) Foundation and Alliance has been established to provide a standard Enterprise Architecture for all supply participants to build logistics dApps and blockchain-enable their technology.
Early adopters have already achieved real-world success, with Alliance member OpenPort becoming the first in the world to sell a blockchain-powered transport invoice on the AssetChain marketplace. https://bit.ly/2GqoBHD
OEL Alliance members are acting now to remove the paper trail, create trust and liquidity, and bypass intermediaries.
Members – from the largest shippers to the smallest transporters – will use the OPN (“open”) token to fuel the ecosystem behind one of the largest industries in the world. The TGE for OPN is a chance be part of an enterprise project that will change how goods and payments flow through the supply chain.
Website: https://oel.foundation/
Telegram: https://t.me/OELFoundation
ANN thread: https://bit.ly/2l986r8
Medium
Acudeen Facilitates the First Blockchain-Enabled Invoice Factoring Transaction in the Philippines with OpenPort
Following last week’s exciting news of a partnership between Acudeen Technologies and OpenPort, The Acudeen Team is proud to announce that…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is set to make final decisions on nine proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the next two months
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed a decision on a proposed rule change from the Cboe BZX Exchange that, if approved, would allow for the listing of an ETF backed by blockchain startup SolidX and investment firm VanEck.
Yet the SolidX-VanEck proposal – first put forward in June – is just one of four filings in waiting.
Combined with past submissions from firms ProShares, Direxion and GraniteShares, a total of 10 bitcoin-related funds are being weighed by SEC officials, according to public records, although the VanEck/SolidX bitcoin ETF is the only "physical" ETF among all the proposals.
Those deadlines are set by the time at which the proposals are published in the U.S. Federal Register, with an initial decision due 45 days after that time. The agency can then punt those decisions to as many as 240 days following publication in the Register.
The deadline for a decision on two funds from ProShares is August 23, is just over two weeks away. The rule change paving the way for those products was submitted by NYSE Arca on December 4, 2017.
September will see a series of deadlines for bitcoin ETFs, starting on September 15, the date by which two funds by GraniteShares will receive a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. The funds were initially proposed on January 5.
The deadline for Direxion's four funds is September 21, as indicated by public records, after being first submitted on January 4.
As CoinDesk reported, the SEC punted its decision on the SolidX-VanEck proposal to September 30. However, given the way in which the agency considers such proposals, additional time may be carved out, pushing a final decision deadline to as far as late February of next year.
To be sure, the agency could release its decisions ahead of its prescribed deadline (as the SEC did this week). But past examples indicate that the SEC will wait until closer to the deadlines, all but ensuring additional nail-biting by the crypto community.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed a decision on a proposed rule change from the Cboe BZX Exchange that, if approved, would allow for the listing of an ETF backed by blockchain startup SolidX and investment firm VanEck.
Yet the SolidX-VanEck proposal – first put forward in June – is just one of four filings in waiting.
Combined with past submissions from firms ProShares, Direxion and GraniteShares, a total of 10 bitcoin-related funds are being weighed by SEC officials, according to public records, although the VanEck/SolidX bitcoin ETF is the only "physical" ETF among all the proposals.
Those deadlines are set by the time at which the proposals are published in the U.S. Federal Register, with an initial decision due 45 days after that time. The agency can then punt those decisions to as many as 240 days following publication in the Register.
The deadline for a decision on two funds from ProShares is August 23, is just over two weeks away. The rule change paving the way for those products was submitted by NYSE Arca on December 4, 2017.
September will see a series of deadlines for bitcoin ETFs, starting on September 15, the date by which two funds by GraniteShares will receive a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. The funds were initially proposed on January 5.
The deadline for Direxion's four funds is September 21, as indicated by public records, after being first submitted on January 4.
As CoinDesk reported, the SEC punted its decision on the SolidX-VanEck proposal to September 30. However, given the way in which the agency considers such proposals, additional time may be carved out, pushing a final decision deadline to as far as late February of next year.
To be sure, the agency could release its decisions ahead of its prescribed deadline (as the SEC did this week). But past examples indicate that the SEC will wait until closer to the deadlines, all but ensuring additional nail-biting by the crypto community.
ShapeShift Acquires Bitfract (Which Lets You Trade a Bitcoin for Multiple Altcoins in a Single Transaction)
he Switzerland-based crypto exchange ShapeShift announced that it had acquired Texas-based startup Bitfract, which has developed a tool that lets you trade a Bitcoin for multiple altcoins in one simple transaction in order to make it safer/easier "for average users to gain exposure to diversified digital asset portfolios."
Here is how Bitfract works:
1. As you can see in the screenshot above, you need to select your input asset (currently, Bitcoin, but Ether and Litecoin shupport should be coming soon) and the amount that you want to "convert" into some altcoins (both coins and tokens). Next, you select your output cryptocurrencies (from a list of around 64 altcoins, a few which, such a STEEM, are temporarily unavailable) and for each of these "outputs", you need to specify the percentage of your input Bitcoin holding that you wish to convert into that cryptocurrency. When you are finished with your portfolio allocation, you click on the "Exchange" button to go to the next step.
2. You need to specify your wallet address for each of the altcoins you chose to convert to in step 1. Then, you click on a "Confirm button" to go to step 3.
3. Bitfract shows you a QR code representing its Bitcoin deposit address. You then need to send the amount of Bitcoin you specified in step 1 from your Bitcoin wallet to the Bitcoin deposit address shown to you. As soon as your bitcoins have been received and confirmed, Bitfract starts the exchange (using the ShapeShift APIs).
Erik Voorhees, the founder and CEO of ShapeShift, explained why his company had decided to acquire Bitfract:
“The Bitfract team made expert use of ShapeShift’s open API to build a product that we ourselves were planning to build. This demonstrated a great alignment of strategy and thinking, and their execution was so exceptional that we wanted to bring their talented team and technology on board.”
Willy Ogorzaly, a co-founder and CEO of Bitfract, explained why he was so happy about his company being acquired by ShapeShift:
“Out of all of the companies and exchanges in crypto, ShapeShift has always aligned most closely with our mission and values. When Erik asked if we wanted to join ShapeShift, the answer was immediately yes. We believe in a decentralized future where individuals freely control their digital wealth, and our team is honored to work alongside Erik and everyone at ShapeShift to make this a reality.”
Shapeshift says that, following the completion of the acquisition, "the Bitfract tool will be maintained and continue to operate as a demonstration of the power of ShapeShift’s open API" and the Bitfract engine will be "incorporated into ShapeShift’s core platform in the near future."
he Switzerland-based crypto exchange ShapeShift announced that it had acquired Texas-based startup Bitfract, which has developed a tool that lets you trade a Bitcoin for multiple altcoins in one simple transaction in order to make it safer/easier "for average users to gain exposure to diversified digital asset portfolios."
Here is how Bitfract works:
1. As you can see in the screenshot above, you need to select your input asset (currently, Bitcoin, but Ether and Litecoin shupport should be coming soon) and the amount that you want to "convert" into some altcoins (both coins and tokens). Next, you select your output cryptocurrencies (from a list of around 64 altcoins, a few which, such a STEEM, are temporarily unavailable) and for each of these "outputs", you need to specify the percentage of your input Bitcoin holding that you wish to convert into that cryptocurrency. When you are finished with your portfolio allocation, you click on the "Exchange" button to go to the next step.
2. You need to specify your wallet address for each of the altcoins you chose to convert to in step 1. Then, you click on a "Confirm button" to go to step 3.
3. Bitfract shows you a QR code representing its Bitcoin deposit address. You then need to send the amount of Bitcoin you specified in step 1 from your Bitcoin wallet to the Bitcoin deposit address shown to you. As soon as your bitcoins have been received and confirmed, Bitfract starts the exchange (using the ShapeShift APIs).
Erik Voorhees, the founder and CEO of ShapeShift, explained why his company had decided to acquire Bitfract:
“The Bitfract team made expert use of ShapeShift’s open API to build a product that we ourselves were planning to build. This demonstrated a great alignment of strategy and thinking, and their execution was so exceptional that we wanted to bring their talented team and technology on board.”
Willy Ogorzaly, a co-founder and CEO of Bitfract, explained why he was so happy about his company being acquired by ShapeShift:
“Out of all of the companies and exchanges in crypto, ShapeShift has always aligned most closely with our mission and values. When Erik asked if we wanted to join ShapeShift, the answer was immediately yes. We believe in a decentralized future where individuals freely control their digital wealth, and our team is honored to work alongside Erik and everyone at ShapeShift to make this a reality.”
Shapeshift says that, following the completion of the acquisition, "the Bitfract tool will be maintained and continue to operate as a demonstration of the power of ShapeShift’s open API" and the Bitfract engine will be "incorporated into ShapeShift’s core platform in the near future."
🔜 Mobu (MOBU)
Mobu is a decentralised platform and end-to-end solution for launching compliant security tokens - "The Future of Security tokens".
The 80 Trillion dollar big securities market is coming to the blockchain. But there are still plenty of problems which occur when launching a security token. One of the main problems which arise when planning on launching a security token is the fact that it is a legal, regulatory and technical nightmare launching one. Furthermore, until now there is also no trusted competitive environment for ICO service providers to ensure lower pricing and better quality.
Those problems MOBU aims to solve.
MOBU is an ecosystem/marketplace that implements a unique MOB20 standard protocol to ensure compliant security tokens and similar to how the HTTP protocol defined the internet, the MOB20 protocol aims to define a set of commands that a compliant security token should implement!
Mobu uses the blockchain technology to create a set of rules that govern the issuance of security tokens while programming them into smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. This way they are transparent and immutable. And they decide on security tokens due to the lower fees, the more complex versions of dividend policies and voting rights, the possibility to execute deals faster and succeed cross-border funding within a larger investor base, as well as suffering fewer manipulations by financial institutions.
In the Mobu ecosystem the token issuers(real future companies on MOBU) post bounties to get service providers, Developers earn MOBU tokens for creating smart contracts, KYC providers pay MOBU tokens to join the network/ecosystem, Investors pay MOBU tokens for KYC process, legal representatives and escrow providers earn MOBU tokens for offering services. Mobu additionally will steel bank partnerships to ensure FIAT can easily be converted to crypto all around the world and MOBU tokens can be earned worldwide. Furthermore, Lockup utility will ensure scarcity of MOBU tokens!
The Pre-ICO with up to 25% bonus will start on 1st of September, you can already put yourself on the interest list on their website by clicking "Register Your Interest" and filling out your data.
🔶 Documents:
📑 Whitepaper — Mobu Whitepaper
🔶 Additional links:
🌐 Website — mobu.io
✈️ Telegram — t.me/mobuCHAT
🕊 Twitter — twitter.com/MobuICO
📓 Facebook — facebook.com/MobuICO
🐣 Reddit — reddit.com/r/Mobu/
📸 Instagram — instagram.com/MobuICO/
🐱 Github — github.com/mobuadmin
🗣 Bitcointalk — bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4726508.0
📚 Bitcoin Wiki — en.bitcoinwiki.org/wiki/MOBU
📺 YouTube — Mobu YouTube channel
📝 Medium — medium.com/mobu-io
🔶 ICO-Dates:
Symbol: MOBU
Token type: ETH (ERC20)
ICO Price: 1 RBY = 0.15 USD
Min purchase: 0.1 ETH
Total supply: Tokens are only issued when physically sold
(350,000,000 tokens maximum possible supply, as per smart contract)
Soft cap: 1,000,000 USD
Hard cap: 35,000,000 USD
ICO Start date: 1st of December 2018
The Pre-ICO starts on 1st of September and comes with an up to 25% Bonus, visit their website and click on "Register Your Interest" to keep informed.
🔶 Our Score:
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 4.5/5
The Mobu project, which delivers a product which is genuinely needed, is managed by a strong team and advisory board with lots of experience in a broad spectrum. They have a detailed whitepaper and a clear vision while entering a vast market where up until now none competitor is active. Security tokens are apparently "the future of Crypto", and thus, we expect Mobu to be a strong player and a success story in this area. The MVP is announced for this month, just before the Pre-Sale starts, and once we had a chance to test the platform, we will consider to higher the current rating.
🔶 Promotional video: https://youtu.be/ydlXE_E2UUo
Mobu is a decentralised platform and end-to-end solution for launching compliant security tokens - "The Future of Security tokens".
The 80 Trillion dollar big securities market is coming to the blockchain. But there are still plenty of problems which occur when launching a security token. One of the main problems which arise when planning on launching a security token is the fact that it is a legal, regulatory and technical nightmare launching one. Furthermore, until now there is also no trusted competitive environment for ICO service providers to ensure lower pricing and better quality.
Those problems MOBU aims to solve.
MOBU is an ecosystem/marketplace that implements a unique MOB20 standard protocol to ensure compliant security tokens and similar to how the HTTP protocol defined the internet, the MOB20 protocol aims to define a set of commands that a compliant security token should implement!
Mobu uses the blockchain technology to create a set of rules that govern the issuance of security tokens while programming them into smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. This way they are transparent and immutable. And they decide on security tokens due to the lower fees, the more complex versions of dividend policies and voting rights, the possibility to execute deals faster and succeed cross-border funding within a larger investor base, as well as suffering fewer manipulations by financial institutions.
In the Mobu ecosystem the token issuers(real future companies on MOBU) post bounties to get service providers, Developers earn MOBU tokens for creating smart contracts, KYC providers pay MOBU tokens to join the network/ecosystem, Investors pay MOBU tokens for KYC process, legal representatives and escrow providers earn MOBU tokens for offering services. Mobu additionally will steel bank partnerships to ensure FIAT can easily be converted to crypto all around the world and MOBU tokens can be earned worldwide. Furthermore, Lockup utility will ensure scarcity of MOBU tokens!
The Pre-ICO with up to 25% bonus will start on 1st of September, you can already put yourself on the interest list on their website by clicking "Register Your Interest" and filling out your data.
🔶 Documents:
📑 Whitepaper — Mobu Whitepaper
🔶 Additional links:
🌐 Website — mobu.io
✈️ Telegram — t.me/mobuCHAT
🕊 Twitter — twitter.com/MobuICO
📓 Facebook — facebook.com/MobuICO
🐣 Reddit — reddit.com/r/Mobu/
📸 Instagram — instagram.com/MobuICO/
🐱 Github — github.com/mobuadmin
🗣 Bitcointalk — bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4726508.0
📚 Bitcoin Wiki — en.bitcoinwiki.org/wiki/MOBU
📺 YouTube — Mobu YouTube channel
📝 Medium — medium.com/mobu-io
🔶 ICO-Dates:
Symbol: MOBU
Token type: ETH (ERC20)
ICO Price: 1 RBY = 0.15 USD
Min purchase: 0.1 ETH
Total supply: Tokens are only issued when physically sold
(350,000,000 tokens maximum possible supply, as per smart contract)
Soft cap: 1,000,000 USD
Hard cap: 35,000,000 USD
ICO Start date: 1st of December 2018
The Pre-ICO starts on 1st of September and comes with an up to 25% Bonus, visit their website and click on "Register Your Interest" to keep informed.
🔶 Our Score:
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 4.5/5
The Mobu project, which delivers a product which is genuinely needed, is managed by a strong team and advisory board with lots of experience in a broad spectrum. They have a detailed whitepaper and a clear vision while entering a vast market where up until now none competitor is active. Security tokens are apparently "the future of Crypto", and thus, we expect Mobu to be a strong player and a success story in this area. The MVP is announced for this month, just before the Pre-Sale starts, and once we had a chance to test the platform, we will consider to higher the current rating.
🔶 Promotional video: https://youtu.be/ydlXE_E2UUo
Twitter
MOBU (@MobuICO) / Twitter
Technology-enabled digital investment bank to streamline capital markets. The full infrastructure solution for the next generation of assets.
🔳Lite.IM software, which will allow its users to manage Litecoin transactions with SMS and Telegram, has been launched by Zulu Republic.
This startup is based in Zug, Switzerland and wants to create the world’s first truly viable micro-economy on the Ethereum blockchain.
Lite.IM will allow users to interact with Litecoin blockchain using text commands through a special API-system.
According to the representative’s opinion a lot of people live in the countries with limited access to the Internet or under strict censorship by political regimes. In addition, 64% of the world's population owns mobile phones, but only 33% have smartphones. This is the reason why Zulu Republic is so convinced about SMS option.
This startup is based in Zug, Switzerland and wants to create the world’s first truly viable micro-economy on the Ethereum blockchain.
Lite.IM will allow users to interact with Litecoin blockchain using text commands through a special API-system.
According to the representative’s opinion a lot of people live in the countries with limited access to the Internet or under strict censorship by political regimes. In addition, 64% of the world's population owns mobile phones, but only 33% have smartphones. This is the reason why Zulu Republic is so convinced about SMS option.
Ⓜ️Microsoft has launched Ethereum product on its Azure platform.
It is developed on the base of the ‘Blockchain as a Service’ model. Also this solution is working on Proof of Authority algorithm, it does not require mining and is based on the approved validators principle.
A new product includes decentralized application Governance DApp, which provides its members with the opportunity to manage the network and add additional authorities to it. At the same time the administrators have the right to change the validators through the voting system.
The participants will be obliged to cover the basic infrastructure expenses, such as calculating, storage and network interaction. There will be no additional fees.
Also with the help of Parity WebAsembly, the developers will be able to create smart contracts with C, C++ and Rust programming languages.
It is developed on the base of the ‘Blockchain as a Service’ model. Also this solution is working on Proof of Authority algorithm, it does not require mining and is based on the approved validators principle.
A new product includes decentralized application Governance DApp, which provides its members with the opportunity to manage the network and add additional authorities to it. At the same time the administrators have the right to change the validators through the voting system.
The participants will be obliged to cover the basic infrastructure expenses, such as calculating, storage and network interaction. There will be no additional fees.
Also with the help of Parity WebAsembly, the developers will be able to create smart contracts with C, C++ and Rust programming languages.
🔥 Orvium - Open and Transparent Science Powered By Blockchain
It is time to get involved and get the control back of the human knowledge.
Orvium is more than another startup — you are about to participate in a project driven by top engineers and scientists with many years of experience driving innovation at CERN, the birthplace of the Web, and NASA.
Orvium aims to disrupt one of the most lucrative industry world-wide, with profit margins reported to exceed those of companies such as Google, Amazon, and Apple, while making science more transparent, universal and open than ever. Orvium creates a unique decentralized platform powered by blockchain, decentralized storage, big data and artificial intelligence to create an unprecedented decentralized solution to process, validate, disseminate and preserve scientific knowledge forever.
We want you to be part of our future: Our TGE offers you the unique opportunity to buy ORVIUM tokens and join an excellent team. With your participation, we are going to scale science and become the leading publication platform while returning the benefits of science to society. The Web was originally designed to meet the demand for transparent and automatic information sharing between scientists around the world, lets do it now and for all.
Early-birds will be rewarded with a 10% bonus during our pre-sale.
Join us and be part of this exciting journey:
https://t.me/orvium
https://orvium.io
It is time to get involved and get the control back of the human knowledge.
Orvium is more than another startup — you are about to participate in a project driven by top engineers and scientists with many years of experience driving innovation at CERN, the birthplace of the Web, and NASA.
Orvium aims to disrupt one of the most lucrative industry world-wide, with profit margins reported to exceed those of companies such as Google, Amazon, and Apple, while making science more transparent, universal and open than ever. Orvium creates a unique decentralized platform powered by blockchain, decentralized storage, big data and artificial intelligence to create an unprecedented decentralized solution to process, validate, disseminate and preserve scientific knowledge forever.
We want you to be part of our future: Our TGE offers you the unique opportunity to buy ORVIUM tokens and join an excellent team. With your participation, we are going to scale science and become the leading publication platform while returning the benefits of science to society. The Web was originally designed to meet the demand for transparent and automatic information sharing between scientists around the world, lets do it now and for all.
Early-birds will be rewarded with a 10% bonus during our pre-sale.
Join us and be part of this exciting journey:
https://t.me/orvium
https://orvium.io
Telegram
Orvium
Public group of the Orvium Project orvium.io
🔹Fintech company Intuit has been granted a patent for processing bitcoin payments through text messages.
It is not the first time the company filed the application for this patent. First time they tried to receive it in 2014, but only now they could succeed.
The document describes how to transfer funds between users using mobile phones within a virtual account system.
This is a method of processing payments. It assumes receipt by the payment service of a text message from the sender indicating the amount of payment and the identification number of the recipient's mobile device.
💡Intuit offers business and financial management solutions for SMBs, financial institutions, consumers, and accounting professionals.
It is not the first time the company filed the application for this patent. First time they tried to receive it in 2014, but only now they could succeed.
The document describes how to transfer funds between users using mobile phones within a virtual account system.
This is a method of processing payments. It assumes receipt by the payment service of a text message from the sender indicating the amount of payment and the identification number of the recipient's mobile device.
💡Intuit offers business and financial management solutions for SMBs, financial institutions, consumers, and accounting professionals.
CRYPTOCARZ IS THE WORLD'S FIRST BLOCKCHAIN-ENABLED VR RACING EXPERIENCE
CRYPTOCARZ IS A MULTIPLAYER, VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)-ENABLED RACING EXPERIENCE, DEVELOPED USING THE ETHEREUM BLOCKCHAIN.
To play, users will have to load the car assets into the game from an Ethereum wallet, where they are stored as an ERC721 token. The ERC721 token has paved the way for a new class of digital assets called non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These allow users to own, customise and maintain control in the
same way as in the physical world.
Blockchain Studios contends that this new asset class opens up new opportunities for user engagement and ownership. We believe that the first wave of innovation will come from gaming. CryptoCarz is the first platform to bring together blockchain, VR and gaming technologies. By giving gamers new options to visualise, own, adapt and race their own car, we think a new era in gaming has arrived.
WE BELIEVE GAMING IT WILL BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RISE – AND INTEGRATION – OF THREE TECHNOLOGIES: BLOCKCHAIN, E-SPORTS AND VR.
Each of them, independently, represents a paradigm shift for game development and consumption. Their attributes will make technology more individual, inclusive and immersive. The combination of these technologies will give rise to new scenarios, where gamers can own, modify, trade and play in an unprecedented way
THE CONCEPT
Cars, gaming and cryptocurrency are shared passions at Blockchain Studios, so combining them was a natural choice when we started working on CryptoCarz. We see strong synergies between the cryptocurrency community and gamers and we believe there is a market for a game that blends racing, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. CryptoCarz is a multiplayer, fully immersive, VR-enabled racing experience, powered by the Ethereum blockchain. To race in the game, a user will have to demonstrate ownership of a car that is modelled and stored as an ERC721 Ethereum token in the gamer’s private wallet. The car will then be loaded into the game via integration with MetaMask and other proprietary tools
The game will initially offer 20 car models representative of the top cryptocurrencies. Each model will have a maximum of 650 units, hard-coded and numerically defined in the smart contract.No further cars in these models will be produced in the future.
Links:
Telegram Group: https://t.me/cryptocarz
Website: www.cryptocarz.io
Whitepaper: https://www.cryptocarz.io/docs/CryptoCarz_WP.pdf
One pager: https://www.cryptocarz.io/docs/CryptoCarz_1P.pdf
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cryptocarz
Medium blog: https://medium.com/@cryptocarz
CRYPTOCARZ IS A MULTIPLAYER, VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)-ENABLED RACING EXPERIENCE, DEVELOPED USING THE ETHEREUM BLOCKCHAIN.
To play, users will have to load the car assets into the game from an Ethereum wallet, where they are stored as an ERC721 token. The ERC721 token has paved the way for a new class of digital assets called non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These allow users to own, customise and maintain control in the
same way as in the physical world.
Blockchain Studios contends that this new asset class opens up new opportunities for user engagement and ownership. We believe that the first wave of innovation will come from gaming. CryptoCarz is the first platform to bring together blockchain, VR and gaming technologies. By giving gamers new options to visualise, own, adapt and race their own car, we think a new era in gaming has arrived.
WE BELIEVE GAMING IT WILL BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RISE – AND INTEGRATION – OF THREE TECHNOLOGIES: BLOCKCHAIN, E-SPORTS AND VR.
Each of them, independently, represents a paradigm shift for game development and consumption. Their attributes will make technology more individual, inclusive and immersive. The combination of these technologies will give rise to new scenarios, where gamers can own, modify, trade and play in an unprecedented way
THE CONCEPT
Cars, gaming and cryptocurrency are shared passions at Blockchain Studios, so combining them was a natural choice when we started working on CryptoCarz. We see strong synergies between the cryptocurrency community and gamers and we believe there is a market for a game that blends racing, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. CryptoCarz is a multiplayer, fully immersive, VR-enabled racing experience, powered by the Ethereum blockchain. To race in the game, a user will have to demonstrate ownership of a car that is modelled and stored as an ERC721 Ethereum token in the gamer’s private wallet. The car will then be loaded into the game via integration with MetaMask and other proprietary tools
The game will initially offer 20 car models representative of the top cryptocurrencies. Each model will have a maximum of 650 units, hard-coded and numerically defined in the smart contract.No further cars in these models will be produced in the future.
Links:
Telegram Group: https://t.me/cryptocarz
Website: www.cryptocarz.io
Whitepaper: https://www.cryptocarz.io/docs/CryptoCarz_WP.pdf
One pager: https://www.cryptocarz.io/docs/CryptoCarz_1P.pdf
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cryptocarz
Medium blog: https://medium.com/@cryptocarz
Better Ways of Storing Value Than Bitcoin, Claims Trump’s Fmr. Economic Advisor
Four months after leaving the White House as a chief economic advisor, Gary Cohn is looking for his next challenge.
Among the various opportunities available, the former Goldman Sachs president has revealed that he is eyeing the cryptocurrency world. If he has his way, there could be some disruption in the offing.
“I’m not keen on what’s going on. I’m keen on what I think could be the new world of crypto, but it’s got to have a use. It can’t just be a store of valuation, there are other more practical ways to store value,” Cohn told Bloomberg at a charity event after being asked what his next move will be after leaving the White House as Trump’s chief economic advisor.
Unhappy with the status quo
This is not the first time that the former Trump advisor who quit after the president slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports is hinting his discomfort with cryptocurrencies as they currently exist. As previously reported by CCN, Cohn argued in May this year that a global cryptocurrency will emerge eventually but it will not be bitcoin.
Then Cohn stated that the ‘complicated’ nature of bitcoin worked against the flagship cryptocurrency. Consequently, Cohn predicted that the global cryptocurrency of the future will be one that is well understood and one which is not generated by mining.
“It will be a more easily understood cryptocurrency. It will probably have some blockchain technology behind it, but it will be much more easily understood how it’s created, how it moves and how people can use it,” said Cohn.
FOMO-Resistant
ast year in December even as bitcoin was reaching record highs Cohn revealed that he wasn’t invested in the flagship cryptocurrency. At the time he indicated that he was hoping for a more mainstream digital currency with lower transaction costs to emerge in the United States.
At Goldman Sachs, Cohn had been the president and co-chief operating officer of the famed Wall Street giant where he was seen a likely successor to Lloyd Blankfein, the investment bank’s outgoing CEO. Among the mainstream financial firms, Cohn’s former employer has a fairly progressive stance with regards to cryptocurrencies.
Most recently it was reported that Goldman Sachs was looking into unveiling bitcoin custodial services for investment funds and other institutional investors. The investment bank has also made key hires from the cryptocurrency field as rumors swirled that it was launching a bitcoin trading desk.
Four months after leaving the White House as a chief economic advisor, Gary Cohn is looking for his next challenge.
Among the various opportunities available, the former Goldman Sachs president has revealed that he is eyeing the cryptocurrency world. If he has his way, there could be some disruption in the offing.
“I’m not keen on what’s going on. I’m keen on what I think could be the new world of crypto, but it’s got to have a use. It can’t just be a store of valuation, there are other more practical ways to store value,” Cohn told Bloomberg at a charity event after being asked what his next move will be after leaving the White House as Trump’s chief economic advisor.
Unhappy with the status quo
This is not the first time that the former Trump advisor who quit after the president slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports is hinting his discomfort with cryptocurrencies as they currently exist. As previously reported by CCN, Cohn argued in May this year that a global cryptocurrency will emerge eventually but it will not be bitcoin.
Then Cohn stated that the ‘complicated’ nature of bitcoin worked against the flagship cryptocurrency. Consequently, Cohn predicted that the global cryptocurrency of the future will be one that is well understood and one which is not generated by mining.
“It will be a more easily understood cryptocurrency. It will probably have some blockchain technology behind it, but it will be much more easily understood how it’s created, how it moves and how people can use it,” said Cohn.
FOMO-Resistant
ast year in December even as bitcoin was reaching record highs Cohn revealed that he wasn’t invested in the flagship cryptocurrency. At the time he indicated that he was hoping for a more mainstream digital currency with lower transaction costs to emerge in the United States.
At Goldman Sachs, Cohn had been the president and co-chief operating officer of the famed Wall Street giant where he was seen a likely successor to Lloyd Blankfein, the investment bank’s outgoing CEO. Among the mainstream financial firms, Cohn’s former employer has a fairly progressive stance with regards to cryptocurrencies.
Most recently it was reported that Goldman Sachs was looking into unveiling bitcoin custodial services for investment funds and other institutional investors. The investment bank has also made key hires from the cryptocurrency field as rumors swirled that it was launching a bitcoin trading desk.
$270 Million: Chinese Firm Backs Overstock Blockchain Subsidiary in Record Investment
GSR Capital, a Chinese private equity firm is set to establish what would become the largest ever single investment in a blockchain platform. The investment by GSR Capital will see it acquire about 3.1 million shares of US-based Overstock, amounting to about 10% in overall shares of the company.
As contained in a letter of intent as confirmed to Forbes, GSR Capital will invest as much as $270 million to acquire 18% of tZero platform in the initial stage of the investment. Afterwards, the company shall pay another $104.55 million for the already mentioned 10% stake in Overstock.
The platform tZero is a subsidiary of Overstock that enables the trading of public and private securities issued on a blockchain. In tZero’s ICO, GSR Capital yet plans to inject another $30 million as additional investment, making up the total amount raised to $134 million.
Cumulatively the total amount involved in this transaction could reach $404 million, raising the valuation of tZero to $1.5 billion as early as December 15 2018, all things being equal.
This fragmented deal involves a couple of independent letters of intent signed by all parties involved in what the executive chairman and CEO of Overstock.com, Patrick Byrne describes as a parabolic “Wedding Cake”.
According to Byrne, independent letters of intent were signed by GSR and tZero, and GSR and Overstock. Three other invested are also expected to be announced soon coming from Asia and the Middle East.
Although based in the United States, Byrne notes the difficulty in raising capital at home as a key reason why offshore investments appear to be leading in terms of the firm’s capitalization processes. This is the reality even with a fully registered and SEC-licensed company like Overstock.
“U.S. capital is, to be honest, they’re gun shy on this whole blockchain issue, and I’m sorry to say the US is not the leading country in the world”, says Byrne
Byrne continues by making known the plans of tZero to spend raised funds in rolling out multiple tokenized securities exchanges around the world in parallel with its SEC-licensed U.S. operation.
This exercise records another milestone for blockchain in its adoption by mainstream establishments. It is the first blockchain experience for GSR Capital in terms of public investment, having been popular for its investments in the areas of electric vehicles and clean energy.
GSR Capital, a Chinese private equity firm is set to establish what would become the largest ever single investment in a blockchain platform. The investment by GSR Capital will see it acquire about 3.1 million shares of US-based Overstock, amounting to about 10% in overall shares of the company.
As contained in a letter of intent as confirmed to Forbes, GSR Capital will invest as much as $270 million to acquire 18% of tZero platform in the initial stage of the investment. Afterwards, the company shall pay another $104.55 million for the already mentioned 10% stake in Overstock.
The platform tZero is a subsidiary of Overstock that enables the trading of public and private securities issued on a blockchain. In tZero’s ICO, GSR Capital yet plans to inject another $30 million as additional investment, making up the total amount raised to $134 million.
Cumulatively the total amount involved in this transaction could reach $404 million, raising the valuation of tZero to $1.5 billion as early as December 15 2018, all things being equal.
This fragmented deal involves a couple of independent letters of intent signed by all parties involved in what the executive chairman and CEO of Overstock.com, Patrick Byrne describes as a parabolic “Wedding Cake”.
According to Byrne, independent letters of intent were signed by GSR and tZero, and GSR and Overstock. Three other invested are also expected to be announced soon coming from Asia and the Middle East.
Although based in the United States, Byrne notes the difficulty in raising capital at home as a key reason why offshore investments appear to be leading in terms of the firm’s capitalization processes. This is the reality even with a fully registered and SEC-licensed company like Overstock.
“U.S. capital is, to be honest, they’re gun shy on this whole blockchain issue, and I’m sorry to say the US is not the leading country in the world”, says Byrne
Byrne continues by making known the plans of tZero to spend raised funds in rolling out multiple tokenized securities exchanges around the world in parallel with its SEC-licensed U.S. operation.
This exercise records another milestone for blockchain in its adoption by mainstream establishments. It is the first blockchain experience for GSR Capital in terms of public investment, having been popular for its investments in the areas of electric vehicles and clean energy.
Overstock.com soars after its blockchain sub gets 1.5 billion investment
nfinitely bigger online retailing peer Amazon, were nothing special: the company reported Q2 revenues of $483 million, generating a net loss for the quarter of $2.20 on a gross margin of 19% in the quarter.
But the company's earnings were not the reason why OSTK shares soared as much as 25% after hours: the reason was the surprising announcement by the company that Hong Kong-based private-equity firm GSR Capital had agreed to invest as much as $375 MM in exchange for equity in the retailer and, more importantly, its tZero blockchain subsidiary, which as a reminder capitalized on the cryptocurrency craze in late 2017 and concluded an Initial Coin Offering on December 18, 2017, almost to the day when Bitcoin hit an all time high of just under $20,000.
As Overstock announced in its press release, GSR agreed to:
✅ buy $30MM in tZero tokens.
✅ buy up to 3.1MM shares of OSTK for $104 million (a 5% discount to the Aug. 1 closing price of $33.72).
✅ invest as much as $270MM for up to 18% of tZero’s equity at a whopping post-money valuation of $1.5 Billion.
And since Overstock's market cap as of Thursday's close was just over $1.1 billion, this means that with one term sheet, the company's tZero sub is suddenly worth more than the entire parent company. More importantly, the GSR transaction will boost the company's cash and equivalent holdings to over half a billion dollars. Back in December, when Overstock launched its tZero ICO, it said that it was hoping to raise at least $250 million - and as much as $500 million - "to build out a blockchain system that the firm said would allow it to create an exchange to trade blockchain-based assets, like ICOs." In the end it raised aggregated funds of just approximately $134 million, and today's transactions adds to that and enables CEO Patrick Byrne to pursue his Security Token ambitions.As a result of the deal, OSTK stock has jumped and was trading as high as $46/share after hours. Even with the surge however, the stock remains well below its highs hit in late 2017 and early 2018, when its share price more than doubled to a high of $86.90 in January, due to its blockchain investments rather than its online retailing activities, which have seen it categorized as a cryptocurrency "play". Overstock has been one of the few retailers that has aggressively pursued cryptos as both a method of payment and as a means by which to grew the company with its own unique token. As we reported recently, following a burst of adoption of cryptos by various vendors, as the price of bitcoin has tumbled in 2018, so has the rate of adoption. Which is why Overstock's experiment with cryptos and tokens will be closely watched to determine if the digital currency has any chance of becoming useful in practice instead of just in theory.
nfinitely bigger online retailing peer Amazon, were nothing special: the company reported Q2 revenues of $483 million, generating a net loss for the quarter of $2.20 on a gross margin of 19% in the quarter.
But the company's earnings were not the reason why OSTK shares soared as much as 25% after hours: the reason was the surprising announcement by the company that Hong Kong-based private-equity firm GSR Capital had agreed to invest as much as $375 MM in exchange for equity in the retailer and, more importantly, its tZero blockchain subsidiary, which as a reminder capitalized on the cryptocurrency craze in late 2017 and concluded an Initial Coin Offering on December 18, 2017, almost to the day when Bitcoin hit an all time high of just under $20,000.
As Overstock announced in its press release, GSR agreed to:
✅ buy $30MM in tZero tokens.
✅ buy up to 3.1MM shares of OSTK for $104 million (a 5% discount to the Aug. 1 closing price of $33.72).
✅ invest as much as $270MM for up to 18% of tZero’s equity at a whopping post-money valuation of $1.5 Billion.
And since Overstock's market cap as of Thursday's close was just over $1.1 billion, this means that with one term sheet, the company's tZero sub is suddenly worth more than the entire parent company. More importantly, the GSR transaction will boost the company's cash and equivalent holdings to over half a billion dollars. Back in December, when Overstock launched its tZero ICO, it said that it was hoping to raise at least $250 million - and as much as $500 million - "to build out a blockchain system that the firm said would allow it to create an exchange to trade blockchain-based assets, like ICOs." In the end it raised aggregated funds of just approximately $134 million, and today's transactions adds to that and enables CEO Patrick Byrne to pursue his Security Token ambitions.As a result of the deal, OSTK stock has jumped and was trading as high as $46/share after hours. Even with the surge however, the stock remains well below its highs hit in late 2017 and early 2018, when its share price more than doubled to a high of $86.90 in January, due to its blockchain investments rather than its online retailing activities, which have seen it categorized as a cryptocurrency "play". Overstock has been one of the few retailers that has aggressively pursued cryptos as both a method of payment and as a means by which to grew the company with its own unique token. As we reported recently, following a burst of adoption of cryptos by various vendors, as the price of bitcoin has tumbled in 2018, so has the rate of adoption. Which is why Overstock's experiment with cryptos and tokens will be closely watched to determine if the digital currency has any chance of becoming useful in practice instead of just in theory.
World Bank turns to CBA for world’s first blockchain bond
The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) has mandated the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) as the sole arranger of the first bond globally to be created, allocated, transferred and managed through its life cycle using distributed ledger technology (DLT).
According to the duo, indicative investor interest in bond-i (blockchain operated new debt instrument) has been “strong”. The duo expects to launch the transaction following a period of consultation with a “broader set” of investors.
Arunma Oteh, World Bank Treasurer, says it worked with information technology colleagues and the CBA over several months on the project.
James Wall, executive general manager of international, CBA, adds that blockchain can “increase the efficiency of financing solutions to better achieve World Bank’s goal to end extreme poverty”.
Blockchain will be used to streamline processes among numerous debt capital market intermediaries and agents.
The World Bank issues between $50-$60 billion annually in bonds for sustainable development.
It cites its 70-year track record in the capital markets. Such as a globally traded and settled bond issued in September 1989; and the first e-bond issued in January 2000. As a frequent issuer in the Australian dollar market, it has since 1986 raised nearly AU$60 billion ($43.7 billion) from investors globally.
The bond-i blockchain platform was built and developed by the CBA Blockchain Centre of Excellence. Since 2009, CBA has acted as lead manager for a number of IBRD bond issuances in the Australian and New Zealand capital markets.
World Bank infrastructure for the bond will run in Washington, DC on the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform. Microsoft validated the system’s operational capabilities.
The World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and “other creditworthy countries” to support its “sustainable development goals and to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity”.
The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) has mandated the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) as the sole arranger of the first bond globally to be created, allocated, transferred and managed through its life cycle using distributed ledger technology (DLT).
According to the duo, indicative investor interest in bond-i (blockchain operated new debt instrument) has been “strong”. The duo expects to launch the transaction following a period of consultation with a “broader set” of investors.
Arunma Oteh, World Bank Treasurer, says it worked with information technology colleagues and the CBA over several months on the project.
James Wall, executive general manager of international, CBA, adds that blockchain can “increase the efficiency of financing solutions to better achieve World Bank’s goal to end extreme poverty”.
Blockchain will be used to streamline processes among numerous debt capital market intermediaries and agents.
The World Bank issues between $50-$60 billion annually in bonds for sustainable development.
It cites its 70-year track record in the capital markets. Such as a globally traded and settled bond issued in September 1989; and the first e-bond issued in January 2000. As a frequent issuer in the Australian dollar market, it has since 1986 raised nearly AU$60 billion ($43.7 billion) from investors globally.
The bond-i blockchain platform was built and developed by the CBA Blockchain Centre of Excellence. Since 2009, CBA has acted as lead manager for a number of IBRD bond issuances in the Australian and New Zealand capital markets.
World Bank infrastructure for the bond will run in Washington, DC on the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform. Microsoft validated the system’s operational capabilities.
The World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and “other creditworthy countries” to support its “sustainable development goals and to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity”.