Is China on the Verge of Releasing a Digital Fiat?
China’s central bank has revealed details of a plan to issue a blockchain-powered digital fiat – and appears to be assembling a host of resources and personnel to speed up the process.
Per a report from Beijing Business Today (republished by Shina), the deputy director of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC)’s Payment and Settlement Department, Mu Chang Chun, has confirmed that the bank has been working on releasing a digital fiat since 2014, and is now “ready” to roll the currency out.
The newspaper also says it has discovered the central bank is actively recruiting talent and acquiring or investing in blockchain technology firms in the country – perhaps preparing the ground for a forthcoming launch.
However, it looks like the central bank wants to be as hands-on as possible with its new fiat. Mu spoke of a “two-tier system,” whereby the PBoC issues tokens to commercial banks and other financial institutions in the country, who then distribute them for public use. Mu said this was very different from a “single-tier” system, whereby the central bank released tokens directly to the public.
Using commercial banks as an intermediary, he stated, would help reduce any risk involved in the project. He also added that the PBoC’s goal with the project was to radically change the existing money supply models banks currently use to cut down on waste and money laundering.
The report also states that “external factors” have provided a reason for the PBoC to “work overtime” on the development of its new digital currency in the past year – with tens of blockchain and digital currency patents filed within the space of the past 12 months.
The same media outlet reports that a central bank-funded subsidiary named Shenzhen Financial Technology appears to be particularly active. The company last week posted job ads for 31 blockchain researchers and engineers, offering salaries some 20%-30% higher than average for blockchain specialists in mainland China. The company also appears to have made investments in fintech enterprises located around the country.
Meanwhile, as reported, Beijing is possibly slowly starting to rethink its policy towards cryptocurrency as The Bank of China, one of the four biggest state-owned commercial banks (not the be confused with the PBoC), has released an overall positive infographic that explains what Bitcoin is, how it is used and what causes Bitcoin price fluctuations. Moreover, Chinese tech giants like gaming firm Tencent and e-commerce platform Alibaba are reportedly waiting in the wings, ready to help authorities work on blockchain-powered tokens.
China’s central bank has revealed details of a plan to issue a blockchain-powered digital fiat – and appears to be assembling a host of resources and personnel to speed up the process.
Per a report from Beijing Business Today (republished by Shina), the deputy director of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC)’s Payment and Settlement Department, Mu Chang Chun, has confirmed that the bank has been working on releasing a digital fiat since 2014, and is now “ready” to roll the currency out.
The newspaper also says it has discovered the central bank is actively recruiting talent and acquiring or investing in blockchain technology firms in the country – perhaps preparing the ground for a forthcoming launch.
However, it looks like the central bank wants to be as hands-on as possible with its new fiat. Mu spoke of a “two-tier system,” whereby the PBoC issues tokens to commercial banks and other financial institutions in the country, who then distribute them for public use. Mu said this was very different from a “single-tier” system, whereby the central bank released tokens directly to the public.
Using commercial banks as an intermediary, he stated, would help reduce any risk involved in the project. He also added that the PBoC’s goal with the project was to radically change the existing money supply models banks currently use to cut down on waste and money laundering.
The report also states that “external factors” have provided a reason for the PBoC to “work overtime” on the development of its new digital currency in the past year – with tens of blockchain and digital currency patents filed within the space of the past 12 months.
The same media outlet reports that a central bank-funded subsidiary named Shenzhen Financial Technology appears to be particularly active. The company last week posted job ads for 31 blockchain researchers and engineers, offering salaries some 20%-30% higher than average for blockchain specialists in mainland China. The company also appears to have made investments in fintech enterprises located around the country.
Meanwhile, as reported, Beijing is possibly slowly starting to rethink its policy towards cryptocurrency as The Bank of China, one of the four biggest state-owned commercial banks (not the be confused with the PBoC), has released an overall positive infographic that explains what Bitcoin is, how it is used and what causes Bitcoin price fluctuations. Moreover, Chinese tech giants like gaming firm Tencent and e-commerce platform Alibaba are reportedly waiting in the wings, ready to help authorities work on blockchain-powered tokens.
Coinbase UK Ditches Zcash, Founder Insists Coin is Compliant
The UK-based branch of popular American crypto exchange Coinbase is de-listing Zcash (ZEC) from its trading platform, an email sent out to clients late last week revealed.
According to the email, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency will be removed effective August 26, 2019. All clients are asked to either sell or convert their ZEC holding to another supported asset by that date. Failure to do so will lead to any remaining ZEC being automatically liquidated to British Pounds, the update said.
It is not known what the reason for the sudden removal of Zcash from the UK-based exchange is, but some speculate that it could be due to pressure from the British authorities. According to media reports, the UK tax authority HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have asked several crypto exchanges operating in the UK for customer and transaction data.
The exchanges that have received letters from the HMRC demanding information include Coinbase, eToro, and CEX.IO. And as Coinbase may have experienced, obtaining accurate transaction data – especially for transactions occurring outside of the exchange – may prove difficult with privacy-focused coins like Zcash.
However, Electric Coin Company, the firm behind Zcash, insists that the privacy coin is compliant, tweeting on Saturday that Zcash is “100% compatible” with UK know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The team also pointed out that UK residents can still buy Zcash on other exchanges, including CEX.IO.
The UK-based branch of popular American crypto exchange Coinbase is de-listing Zcash (ZEC) from its trading platform, an email sent out to clients late last week revealed.
According to the email, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency will be removed effective August 26, 2019. All clients are asked to either sell or convert their ZEC holding to another supported asset by that date. Failure to do so will lead to any remaining ZEC being automatically liquidated to British Pounds, the update said.
It is not known what the reason for the sudden removal of Zcash from the UK-based exchange is, but some speculate that it could be due to pressure from the British authorities. According to media reports, the UK tax authority HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have asked several crypto exchanges operating in the UK for customer and transaction data.
The exchanges that have received letters from the HMRC demanding information include Coinbase, eToro, and CEX.IO. And as Coinbase may have experienced, obtaining accurate transaction data – especially for transactions occurring outside of the exchange – may prove difficult with privacy-focused coins like Zcash.
However, Electric Coin Company, the firm behind Zcash, insists that the privacy coin is compliant, tweeting on Saturday that Zcash is “100% compatible” with UK know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The team also pointed out that UK residents can still buy Zcash on other exchanges, including CEX.IO.
This Might be the Real Reason Why Coinbase UK Delisted Zcash
The UK branch of major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase had to change its bank and a new partner is reportedly not willing to indirectly support privacy coins, such as Zcash (ZEC).
For unknown reasons, Barclays, the UK-based major bank, is no longer working with Coinbase, while the exchange has already found a new banking partner, Clearbank, one of the U.K. “challenger banks,” Coindesk reported, citing undisclosed people familiar with the situation.
A person familiar with the decision to delist Zcash said it was “completely to do with the new bank,” the report added.
Moreover, the end of the relationship with Barclays, disrupted Coinbase’s access to U.K. Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) – which in turn slowed deposits and withdrawals in GBP for U.K. customers, which now take days to process, it said. However, Clearbank is expected to restore Coinbase’s FPS access by the end of the third quarter, according to the report.
All involved companies declined to comment.
As reported, Zcash will be removed from Coinbase UK on August 26. All clients are asked to either sell or convert their ZEC holding to another supported asset by that date. Failure to do so will lead to any remaining ZEC being automatically liquidated to British Pounds.
At pixel time (05:01 UTC), ZEC trades at c. USD 56 and is down by 1% in the past 24 hours and by 10% in the past week.
The UK branch of major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase had to change its bank and a new partner is reportedly not willing to indirectly support privacy coins, such as Zcash (ZEC).
For unknown reasons, Barclays, the UK-based major bank, is no longer working with Coinbase, while the exchange has already found a new banking partner, Clearbank, one of the U.K. “challenger banks,” Coindesk reported, citing undisclosed people familiar with the situation.
A person familiar with the decision to delist Zcash said it was “completely to do with the new bank,” the report added.
Moreover, the end of the relationship with Barclays, disrupted Coinbase’s access to U.K. Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) – which in turn slowed deposits and withdrawals in GBP for U.K. customers, which now take days to process, it said. However, Clearbank is expected to restore Coinbase’s FPS access by the end of the third quarter, according to the report.
All involved companies declined to comment.
As reported, Zcash will be removed from Coinbase UK on August 26. All clients are asked to either sell or convert their ZEC holding to another supported asset by that date. Failure to do so will lead to any remaining ZEC being automatically liquidated to British Pounds.
At pixel time (05:01 UTC), ZEC trades at c. USD 56 and is down by 1% in the past 24 hours and by 10% in the past week.
How Mike Tyson Made Headlines in Cryptoland without Even Knowing It
The crypto news sites reported on Tuesday that a cryptocurrency offering is coming the cryptoland’s way, supposedly backed by the (in)famous boxer Mike Tyson - a project which reportedly turned out to be a fraud.
Unfortunately, even the crypto journalists can be fooled by scams from time to time. This time, at least a couple of news sites reported that the cryptoland is about to see a new and exciting entertainment platform, called Fight to Fame, which has behind it some major star power in the form of Mike Tyson. The site itself features the enticing words “coming soon” above a countdown clock, which right now shows that there is 20h left before the beginning of the project. But what exactly is the project?
According to what VentureBeat reported and what Cointelegraph reported, the purpose of the platform is to make fighters more influential, recognized, and in possession of more of their money through live matches, film, games, reality TV, social media, and betting, while blockchain “is like the glue that holds it all together.”
However, as Mondern Consensus rediscovered, cryptocurrency research firm Cointelligence wrote a detailed exposé about this very platform back in May, saying that this cryptocurrency project “with grand schemes to have competition-reality-show-like fights around the world, is in fact created and supported” by a fugitive wanted by the Interpol and the Chinese refulatory authorities, called Jianxiang Shi (aka Morgan), for allegedly defrauding “billions from ordinary Chinese in 2016 in a massive financial Ponzi scheme.”
Among many other wild claims, Fight to Fame Organizing Committee lists Tyson as the founder and the chairman of the organizing committee who is supposed to invite the major stars Silvester Stallone, Jet Li, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger to join.
Though the salespeople within the project use Mike Tysons’s name when traveling to various blockchain conferences around the world, “seeking millions of dollars in funding (and an eye to a future initial coin offering (ICO) or Security Token Offering (STO)) of so-called “Tyson Token,”” according to the research, Tyson is not a part of the project in any way.
Cointelligence claims that Shi and his associates have been using a video “they got Mike Tyson to record on the fly in early 2018 – without, that is, Mr. Tyson realizing the actual implications of the token scheme into which he was getting himself involved,” the utilization of which allegedly shocked Tyson.
Cointelligence shows a cease-and-desist letter sent by Tyson’s attorneys to Shi (Morgan), two of his associates and the Moregain Capital Group, which stated that they’ve all committed a “wrongful and tortious misappropriation of Mr. Tyson’s name, voice, photograph, and likeness … for commercial purposes without his consent in connection with the exploitation of purported ‘Tyson Token’-branded cryptocurrency (the ‘Illegal Product’)”, demanding that they immediately stop these actions.
The crypto news sites reported on Tuesday that a cryptocurrency offering is coming the cryptoland’s way, supposedly backed by the (in)famous boxer Mike Tyson - a project which reportedly turned out to be a fraud.
Unfortunately, even the crypto journalists can be fooled by scams from time to time. This time, at least a couple of news sites reported that the cryptoland is about to see a new and exciting entertainment platform, called Fight to Fame, which has behind it some major star power in the form of Mike Tyson. The site itself features the enticing words “coming soon” above a countdown clock, which right now shows that there is 20h left before the beginning of the project. But what exactly is the project?
According to what VentureBeat reported and what Cointelegraph reported, the purpose of the platform is to make fighters more influential, recognized, and in possession of more of their money through live matches, film, games, reality TV, social media, and betting, while blockchain “is like the glue that holds it all together.”
However, as Mondern Consensus rediscovered, cryptocurrency research firm Cointelligence wrote a detailed exposé about this very platform back in May, saying that this cryptocurrency project “with grand schemes to have competition-reality-show-like fights around the world, is in fact created and supported” by a fugitive wanted by the Interpol and the Chinese refulatory authorities, called Jianxiang Shi (aka Morgan), for allegedly defrauding “billions from ordinary Chinese in 2016 in a massive financial Ponzi scheme.”
Among many other wild claims, Fight to Fame Organizing Committee lists Tyson as the founder and the chairman of the organizing committee who is supposed to invite the major stars Silvester Stallone, Jet Li, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger to join.
Though the salespeople within the project use Mike Tysons’s name when traveling to various blockchain conferences around the world, “seeking millions of dollars in funding (and an eye to a future initial coin offering (ICO) or Security Token Offering (STO)) of so-called “Tyson Token,”” according to the research, Tyson is not a part of the project in any way.
Cointelligence claims that Shi and his associates have been using a video “they got Mike Tyson to record on the fly in early 2018 – without, that is, Mr. Tyson realizing the actual implications of the token scheme into which he was getting himself involved,” the utilization of which allegedly shocked Tyson.
Cointelligence shows a cease-and-desist letter sent by Tyson’s attorneys to Shi (Morgan), two of his associates and the Moregain Capital Group, which stated that they’ve all committed a “wrongful and tortious misappropriation of Mr. Tyson’s name, voice, photograph, and likeness … for commercial purposes without his consent in connection with the exploitation of purported ‘Tyson Token’-branded cryptocurrency (the ‘Illegal Product’)”, demanding that they immediately stop these actions.
Carey Olsen and JTC Help Criptyque To Secure Jersey Crypto Exchange License
Legal financial advising firm Carey Olsen and wealth services provider JTC have reportedly helped Criptyque in acquiring a Jersey crypto exchange license. This will help the secure mobile communication service provider to operate its soon-to-be-launched crypto exchange PryvateX.
PryvateX will differentiate itself in the crowded market of crypto exchange platforms by adopting a unique blend of centralized and decentralized exchange systems. It will provide the speed and usability of a centralized exchange while offering all the benefits of a DEX. Partner and head of digital assets and blockchain at Carey Olsen, Christopher Griffin actively provided regulatory advice for founding the exchange. He said,
It was a privilege to work with the Criptyque team to help deliver another ground-breaking digital assets business out of Jersey. It is testament to the flexibility and modernity of the jurisdiction’s robust regulatory framework that crypto start-ups continue to come to the island.
Criptyque has been working to build a unique blockchain ecosystem, which primarily focuses on security and privacy. The platform offers various services to its users, ranging from an encrypted messaging network for voice, text, and email, apart from the crypto wallet and the hyped PryvateX exchange.
Criptyque has also developed a native digital token, christened PryvateCoin, to work in association with its crypto exchange. The token will allow users to keep fees down on the exchange by using it for trade.
On JTC’s side, Mark Greyner and George Kellogg, head of funds and director of risk and compliance respectively, worked in tandem with Carey Olsen, to provide specialist advisory and structuring services prior to the launch of the exchange. Greyner led JTC taking support from Kellogg. Criptyque CEO Jonathan Parker-Bray said,
We are thrilled that PryvateX, our hybrid, secure cryptocurrency exchange, has been granted its Virtual Currency Exchange registration by the JFSC, a world-leading regulator. We are now in a position to provide ease of access to the market as well as peace of mind for more risk-adverse traders who may otherwise refrain from dealing in this new asset class.
Legal financial advising firm Carey Olsen and wealth services provider JTC have reportedly helped Criptyque in acquiring a Jersey crypto exchange license. This will help the secure mobile communication service provider to operate its soon-to-be-launched crypto exchange PryvateX.
PryvateX will differentiate itself in the crowded market of crypto exchange platforms by adopting a unique blend of centralized and decentralized exchange systems. It will provide the speed and usability of a centralized exchange while offering all the benefits of a DEX. Partner and head of digital assets and blockchain at Carey Olsen, Christopher Griffin actively provided regulatory advice for founding the exchange. He said,
It was a privilege to work with the Criptyque team to help deliver another ground-breaking digital assets business out of Jersey. It is testament to the flexibility and modernity of the jurisdiction’s robust regulatory framework that crypto start-ups continue to come to the island.
Criptyque has been working to build a unique blockchain ecosystem, which primarily focuses on security and privacy. The platform offers various services to its users, ranging from an encrypted messaging network for voice, text, and email, apart from the crypto wallet and the hyped PryvateX exchange.
Criptyque has also developed a native digital token, christened PryvateCoin, to work in association with its crypto exchange. The token will allow users to keep fees down on the exchange by using it for trade.
On JTC’s side, Mark Greyner and George Kellogg, head of funds and director of risk and compliance respectively, worked in tandem with Carey Olsen, to provide specialist advisory and structuring services prior to the launch of the exchange. Greyner led JTC taking support from Kellogg. Criptyque CEO Jonathan Parker-Bray said,
We are thrilled that PryvateX, our hybrid, secure cryptocurrency exchange, has been granted its Virtual Currency Exchange registration by the JFSC, a world-leading regulator. We are now in a position to provide ease of access to the market as well as peace of mind for more risk-adverse traders who may otherwise refrain from dealing in this new asset class.
119X Growth in 30 Days by BSHA3 Has Flipped The Viewpoint About FPGA Investments
One of the crypto coins called- BSHA3 has immersed as a rock star in the crypto world. The Blackminer platform supports it. Its rates spiked 119 times in just 30 days. As a result, it has attained the title of the first-ever crypto coin to be the 100X coin on the Blackminer platform. Now, there is an obvious buzz and attraction towards the coin.
Many FPGA investors and traders are seeking for this crypto coin. The huge spike in the coin’s growth has challenged the conventional thoughts about the crypto and has positioned the FPGA miners into a new light altogether. For instance, Ethereum Classic recently announced that it will fork for FPGA in the next year. By far Ethereum Classic has been busy forking the DigiByte coin. Likewise, the FPGA miner is getting welcomed all over and it now stands a bright future in the coming times. The sudden bursting growth of the crypto has brought in a lot of promise and attention.
FPGA miner, ASIC miner, and GPU miner are very different when it comes to investment design and structure. The difference lies in-
Repeated writing of the algorithm,
The continuous upgrading,
The fact that it consumes very low power, and
Last but not least, it offers high residual value.
Moreover, the FPGA miner is a highly profit yielding investment structure and is leaps and bounds ahead of the ASIC miner, and GPU miner.
Blackminer, in comparison to ASIC miner and GPU miner, consumes very low carbon and is environment-friendly.
It has stronger levels of immunity when it comes to forking.
On the other hand, it has very sturdy performance in hash rate.
If we look at the growth rate of the BSHA3 coin, last month, the hash-rate of the coin was 1/15 of what it is right now. Simply take notice of the growth and the amount of time in which did so. Looking at the fantastic growth trajectory, many users opted to sell off the coin when the rate was at its peak, to get 24 hourly earnings of 100 U.S Dollars. This highlights the fact that the coin offers a great ‘opportunity cost’ as well as other great qualities.
The users of the Blackminer have now migrated to BSHA3 algorithm after reaping great results and profits from BSHA3 spike. The increase in the algorithm options will tend to offer more and more profitable opportunities in the 100X coin. One can say that BSHA3 coin is a good example of ‘green circular economy’ in the mining world.
One of the crypto coins called- BSHA3 has immersed as a rock star in the crypto world. The Blackminer platform supports it. Its rates spiked 119 times in just 30 days. As a result, it has attained the title of the first-ever crypto coin to be the 100X coin on the Blackminer platform. Now, there is an obvious buzz and attraction towards the coin.
Many FPGA investors and traders are seeking for this crypto coin. The huge spike in the coin’s growth has challenged the conventional thoughts about the crypto and has positioned the FPGA miners into a new light altogether. For instance, Ethereum Classic recently announced that it will fork for FPGA in the next year. By far Ethereum Classic has been busy forking the DigiByte coin. Likewise, the FPGA miner is getting welcomed all over and it now stands a bright future in the coming times. The sudden bursting growth of the crypto has brought in a lot of promise and attention.
FPGA miner, ASIC miner, and GPU miner are very different when it comes to investment design and structure. The difference lies in-
Repeated writing of the algorithm,
The continuous upgrading,
The fact that it consumes very low power, and
Last but not least, it offers high residual value.
Moreover, the FPGA miner is a highly profit yielding investment structure and is leaps and bounds ahead of the ASIC miner, and GPU miner.
Blackminer, in comparison to ASIC miner and GPU miner, consumes very low carbon and is environment-friendly.
It has stronger levels of immunity when it comes to forking.
On the other hand, it has very sturdy performance in hash rate.
If we look at the growth rate of the BSHA3 coin, last month, the hash-rate of the coin was 1/15 of what it is right now. Simply take notice of the growth and the amount of time in which did so. Looking at the fantastic growth trajectory, many users opted to sell off the coin when the rate was at its peak, to get 24 hourly earnings of 100 U.S Dollars. This highlights the fact that the coin offers a great ‘opportunity cost’ as well as other great qualities.
The users of the Blackminer have now migrated to BSHA3 algorithm after reaping great results and profits from BSHA3 spike. The increase in the algorithm options will tend to offer more and more profitable opportunities in the 100X coin. One can say that BSHA3 coin is a good example of ‘green circular economy’ in the mining world.
Coinbase to ‘Store 5% of all the BTC in the World’ Following Xapo Deal
Major American cryptocurrency exchange and wallet Coinbase has bought the custody interests of Xapo, a company famous for stashing its rich clients’ crypto holdings in a secret Swiss former military bunker, located underneath a mountain.
Coinbase paid USD 55 million for the deal, and – per a company blog post – now has a whopping USD 7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies under its custodial management.
Per a report from Fortune, the move is part of “an aggressive push by Coinbase to expand its custody services,” and could result in Coinbase “storing over 5% of all Bitcoins in circulation.” The media outlet also says that Coinbase found itself dragged into a bidding war for the Xapo custodial interests, and was forced to outbid American investment services company Fidelity.
Coinbase said that it now stores cryptocurrency “on behalf of more than 120 clients in 14 different countries, making it the largest <...> institutional custodian in the world.”
Fortune reports that Xapo says it will continue running its own exchange business, and quotes its founder Wences Casares as stating he will remain the company’s CEO.
Casares said that Xapo had been looking to sell its custody interests for several months, and wanted to put its full efforts into its “core” exchange interests.
The CEO stated that its custodial services had only ever been intended as a “sideline” project, although much of the world has long been wowed by images and videos of the crypto vault, which would not look out of place in a James Bond film.
Major American cryptocurrency exchange and wallet Coinbase has bought the custody interests of Xapo, a company famous for stashing its rich clients’ crypto holdings in a secret Swiss former military bunker, located underneath a mountain.
Coinbase paid USD 55 million for the deal, and – per a company blog post – now has a whopping USD 7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies under its custodial management.
Per a report from Fortune, the move is part of “an aggressive push by Coinbase to expand its custody services,” and could result in Coinbase “storing over 5% of all Bitcoins in circulation.” The media outlet also says that Coinbase found itself dragged into a bidding war for the Xapo custodial interests, and was forced to outbid American investment services company Fidelity.
Coinbase said that it now stores cryptocurrency “on behalf of more than 120 clients in 14 different countries, making it the largest <...> institutional custodian in the world.”
Fortune reports that Xapo says it will continue running its own exchange business, and quotes its founder Wences Casares as stating he will remain the company’s CEO.
Casares said that Xapo had been looking to sell its custody interests for several months, and wanted to put its full efforts into its “core” exchange interests.
The CEO stated that its custodial services had only ever been intended as a “sideline” project, although much of the world has long been wowed by images and videos of the crypto vault, which would not look out of place in a James Bond film.
NEO Is in Talks to Integrate Celer Network to Improve Scalability
Blockchain project NEO is considering integrating Celer Network’s (CELR) layer-two scaling protocol to improve scalability.
Faster transactions, more possibilities
As industry-focused news outlet Crypto Briefing reported on Aug. 17, John Wang, NEO’s director of Eco Growth, said that integration with Celer is under discussion. Celer’s platform is a solution that enables faster off-chain transactions both for payments and generalized off-chain smart contracts.
To transfer value across the network, Celer uses its native CELR tokes. According to the report, community members say that Celer is fifteen times faster than Bitcoin’s (BTC) Lightning Network. Commenting on the development, Wang said:
“A public blockchain is more than a currency: it needs to have the infrastructure for lots of users to come to it … to enable people to do anything.”
New prospects for scaling
In March, major crypto exchange Binance’s token launch platform, Binance Launchpad, completed a $4 million sale of CELR tokens, following two other initial coin offerings such as the BitTorrent (BTT) token sale in January and the Fetch.AI (FET) token sale in February.
Earlier in August, blockchain-based decentralized application platform (DApps) Tron (TRX) released a sidechain scaling solution, the V1.0 code, designed to enhance and ensure the supposedly unlimited scaling capacity of the Tron mainnet. This will purportedly let DApps consume less energy and run with higher security and efficiency on Tron.
Blockchain project NEO is considering integrating Celer Network’s (CELR) layer-two scaling protocol to improve scalability.
Faster transactions, more possibilities
As industry-focused news outlet Crypto Briefing reported on Aug. 17, John Wang, NEO’s director of Eco Growth, said that integration with Celer is under discussion. Celer’s platform is a solution that enables faster off-chain transactions both for payments and generalized off-chain smart contracts.
To transfer value across the network, Celer uses its native CELR tokes. According to the report, community members say that Celer is fifteen times faster than Bitcoin’s (BTC) Lightning Network. Commenting on the development, Wang said:
“A public blockchain is more than a currency: it needs to have the infrastructure for lots of users to come to it … to enable people to do anything.”
New prospects for scaling
In March, major crypto exchange Binance’s token launch platform, Binance Launchpad, completed a $4 million sale of CELR tokens, following two other initial coin offerings such as the BitTorrent (BTT) token sale in January and the Fetch.AI (FET) token sale in February.
Earlier in August, blockchain-based decentralized application platform (DApps) Tron (TRX) released a sidechain scaling solution, the V1.0 code, designed to enhance and ensure the supposedly unlimited scaling capacity of the Tron mainnet. This will purportedly let DApps consume less energy and run with higher security and efficiency on Tron.
Japan’s E-commerce Leader Rakuten Publicly Unveils Its Cryptocurrency Exchange
Rakuten, Japan’s e-commerce giant, has publicly unveiled its digital currency exchange called Rakuten Wallet.
The company made an official announcement on Monday in which it disclosed that the users could begin spot trading activity through a dedicated mobile application in three digital currencies – Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Bitcoin (BTC). At present, the application is available on the Android platform. However, the firm has planned the early September release for the app’s iOS version.
With the dedicated app, consumers can carry out transactions, such as withdrawing/depositing crypto assets and withdrawing/depositing Japanese yen, every day of the year. The app offers many functions for crypto asset management, including crypto assets’ purchases and sales, chart-rate confirmation in real-time, and confirmation of the deposited assets in the Rakuten Wallet.
Providing more details on the exchange, Rakuten shared that the assets of the customers would be held in the cold wallet for ensuring safety. Moreover, private keys would be managed via a multi-signature plan. Apart from that, they have added two-step verification for preventing unauthorized usage. The two-step verification is needed during the log-in process as well as the withdrawal of funds and assets. The announcement also revealed that the consumers’ funds would be kept separate from the Rakuten Wallet’s funds.
What’s more interesting is that account opening and management with Rakuten Wallet comes with zero fees. In addition to that, the Wallet does not charge fees for money deposits or purchase and sales of crypto assets. For those consumers who already possess a Rakuten Bank account, opening an account with Rakuten Wallet becomes simpler. All they have to do is enter and submit the necessary information asked in the application form online.
Rakuten Inc. is a Tokyo-based e-commerce and internet firm that was established in 1997. Rakuten Wallet Inc., Rakuten Group’s consolidated subsidiary, which was formerly called “everybody’s bitcoin Inc.” became a registered virtual currency exchange company on 25th March 2019 with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau. The company had begun accepting account applications for its crypto-asset trading service back in April this year from consumers having a Rakuten Bank account or a Rakuten member ID.
Rakuten, Japan’s e-commerce giant, has publicly unveiled its digital currency exchange called Rakuten Wallet.
The company made an official announcement on Monday in which it disclosed that the users could begin spot trading activity through a dedicated mobile application in three digital currencies – Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Bitcoin (BTC). At present, the application is available on the Android platform. However, the firm has planned the early September release for the app’s iOS version.
With the dedicated app, consumers can carry out transactions, such as withdrawing/depositing crypto assets and withdrawing/depositing Japanese yen, every day of the year. The app offers many functions for crypto asset management, including crypto assets’ purchases and sales, chart-rate confirmation in real-time, and confirmation of the deposited assets in the Rakuten Wallet.
Providing more details on the exchange, Rakuten shared that the assets of the customers would be held in the cold wallet for ensuring safety. Moreover, private keys would be managed via a multi-signature plan. Apart from that, they have added two-step verification for preventing unauthorized usage. The two-step verification is needed during the log-in process as well as the withdrawal of funds and assets. The announcement also revealed that the consumers’ funds would be kept separate from the Rakuten Wallet’s funds.
What’s more interesting is that account opening and management with Rakuten Wallet comes with zero fees. In addition to that, the Wallet does not charge fees for money deposits or purchase and sales of crypto assets. For those consumers who already possess a Rakuten Bank account, opening an account with Rakuten Wallet becomes simpler. All they have to do is enter and submit the necessary information asked in the application form online.
Rakuten Inc. is a Tokyo-based e-commerce and internet firm that was established in 1997. Rakuten Wallet Inc., Rakuten Group’s consolidated subsidiary, which was formerly called “everybody’s bitcoin Inc.” became a registered virtual currency exchange company on 25th March 2019 with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau. The company had begun accepting account applications for its crypto-asset trading service back in April this year from consumers having a Rakuten Bank account or a Rakuten member ID.
China Outlined Plans for Development of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Which Includes Promotion of Digital Currency
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on 18th August laid out the strategies for the future improvement of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, which includes the research and development of digital assets and the national cryptocurrency dependent on the renminbi.
Especially, the news comes when the Chinese government declared that its national bank digital currency, which took five years is taking shape, is about to be revealed. In the meantime, China proceeds with its restriction on listings or exchanging of any cryptocurrency, which also includes Bitcoin.
A Major city in south China’s Guangdong Province, Shenzhen, is the nation’s first special economic zone. Shenzhen has a population of around 13 million, and its gross domestic output is 2.42 trillion yuan (roughly about 346 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, which increased 7.6 percent every year.
According to a document, regardless by 2025, Shenzhen will be one of the main cities on the planet as far as quality, Economic strength, and development. Moreover, its knowledge of research and development, industrial innovation, ecological environment, and the quality of public services will be exceptional.
Moreover, Shenzhen is generally known for the manufacturing of Hardware, which is playing an important role in helping China to execute its Greater Bay Area strategy. China’s DC/EP (Digital currency/electronic payment framework) will finally replace the yuan and predicted to help in making its currency adoption universal.
The city will support the research of the digital currency, and fintech applications, which also includes mobile payments. Furthermore, the guideline did not give more insights about what the local government will perform a study on the digital currency. But, the guideline demonstrates precisely how digital fiat currency is essential for China.
China has plans to promote the remodeling of the registration system of the ChiNext board, which is a Nasdaq-style leading group of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, which was set up to pull in fast-developing and innovative developing enterprises. Other improving sectors like 5G, cyberspace technology, Artificial intelligence, and biomedical innovation will get support from the city.
In early August, the Vice president of national bank’s Payment and settlement division, Mu Changchun said that China’s digital fiat currency planned is “nearly ready” for launch following five years of research and development work.
Shenzhen turned into the nation’s first Special Economic Zone in 1980. Organizations in the region are liable to fewer regulations and less red-tape. There are benefits of incentive and taxation to attract foreign ventures.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on 18th August laid out the strategies for the future improvement of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, which includes the research and development of digital assets and the national cryptocurrency dependent on the renminbi.
Especially, the news comes when the Chinese government declared that its national bank digital currency, which took five years is taking shape, is about to be revealed. In the meantime, China proceeds with its restriction on listings or exchanging of any cryptocurrency, which also includes Bitcoin.
A Major city in south China’s Guangdong Province, Shenzhen, is the nation’s first special economic zone. Shenzhen has a population of around 13 million, and its gross domestic output is 2.42 trillion yuan (roughly about 346 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, which increased 7.6 percent every year.
According to a document, regardless by 2025, Shenzhen will be one of the main cities on the planet as far as quality, Economic strength, and development. Moreover, its knowledge of research and development, industrial innovation, ecological environment, and the quality of public services will be exceptional.
Moreover, Shenzhen is generally known for the manufacturing of Hardware, which is playing an important role in helping China to execute its Greater Bay Area strategy. China’s DC/EP (Digital currency/electronic payment framework) will finally replace the yuan and predicted to help in making its currency adoption universal.
The city will support the research of the digital currency, and fintech applications, which also includes mobile payments. Furthermore, the guideline did not give more insights about what the local government will perform a study on the digital currency. But, the guideline demonstrates precisely how digital fiat currency is essential for China.
China has plans to promote the remodeling of the registration system of the ChiNext board, which is a Nasdaq-style leading group of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, which was set up to pull in fast-developing and innovative developing enterprises. Other improving sectors like 5G, cyberspace technology, Artificial intelligence, and biomedical innovation will get support from the city.
In early August, the Vice president of national bank’s Payment and settlement division, Mu Changchun said that China’s digital fiat currency planned is “nearly ready” for launch following five years of research and development work.
Shenzhen turned into the nation’s first Special Economic Zone in 1980. Organizations in the region are liable to fewer regulations and less red-tape. There are benefits of incentive and taxation to attract foreign ventures.
Facebook is not Behind Virtual Bootcamp for Libra Cryptocurrency Developers
Contrary to popular belief, Facebook is not behind the Virtual Bootcamp that is slated to begin in November, held for the Libra developers. This first incubator is being organized by Libracamp, a newly formed start-up by Israeli entrepreneurs. The start-up’s team of entrepreneurs is keen to make the most of the social media giant’s crypto project Libra for revenues. Interestingly, the team is at it without the 10M dollars necessary for joining the Libra Association.
Libracamp has obtained over 80 applications so far from participants keen to be a part of the start-up’s Bootcamp. Tomer Weiss, one of the co-founders of Libracamp, states that although the Calibra team of Facebook is corresponding with them, they are not sponsoring the program officially.
Weiss, in his conversation with CoinDesk, also added that they see it as programmable money apps and digital assets’ ‘iOS moment’. Imagine an incubator coming to entities to assist them in the ways they can put their firms on iOS prior to the iPhone launch, Weiss said.
As per the reports, the 5 co-founders of Libracamp have put together a whopping 125,000 dollars to distribute among the 5 selected teams for this 1st Bootcamp. Presently, they are raising funds for the winning team’s prize money of one million dollars apart from raising capital for the Bootcamp’s second batch next year.
The Libracamp platform would help associate Libra developers with the mentors, allow investors and opportunities while offering a robust crowdsourced vibe compared to other accelerator programs.
However, it must be noted that the roads ahead for Libra are difficult. In its recent 2nd Quarter filing with the US SEC, Facebook has indicated that Libra project might never see the light of the day, thanks to the regulatory concerns. Another co-founder of Libracamp, Yonatan Ben Simon, while sharing his views about regulatory issues said that if the project goes out, they’ll be a prime player in the world’s important financial infrastructure. If it doesn’t, the protocol could be applied to other stuff.
While other crypto start-ups, such as Orbs, is contemplating the expensive way of joining the Libra association formally, Libracamp is trying to make things smoother for everyone. For instance, Libracamp offered a modest grant to the Kyber Network, as well as a few other start-ups, before this Bootcamp. Kyber Network has already begun its work on the atomic swaps between Libra and Ethereum. The mentor of the Bootcamp, Lex Sokolin, stated that interoperability will take place between the largest networks in the world.
Facebook, on the other hand, has enough reasons to support and allow investments from external parties in a stronger ecosystem. After all, the social media giant has been widely criticized over the dominance it has over the infrastructure of the Libra ecosystem. Though many companies want to become a part of the Libra Association, it is the cost associated which restricts them. That’s when Libracamp offers great aid, financially as well as through mentorship access, especially to smaller firms.
It’s also worth noting that Facebook has chosen to stay away from building tools for the sanctioned markets such as Venezuela; the team of South American experts behind Valiu has already begun working on the solutions with Libracamp.
The Libracamp founders believe that their crew has asymmetric benefits to gain as Facebook has a massive daily active user base of 1.59 billion.
Contrary to popular belief, Facebook is not behind the Virtual Bootcamp that is slated to begin in November, held for the Libra developers. This first incubator is being organized by Libracamp, a newly formed start-up by Israeli entrepreneurs. The start-up’s team of entrepreneurs is keen to make the most of the social media giant’s crypto project Libra for revenues. Interestingly, the team is at it without the 10M dollars necessary for joining the Libra Association.
Libracamp has obtained over 80 applications so far from participants keen to be a part of the start-up’s Bootcamp. Tomer Weiss, one of the co-founders of Libracamp, states that although the Calibra team of Facebook is corresponding with them, they are not sponsoring the program officially.
Weiss, in his conversation with CoinDesk, also added that they see it as programmable money apps and digital assets’ ‘iOS moment’. Imagine an incubator coming to entities to assist them in the ways they can put their firms on iOS prior to the iPhone launch, Weiss said.
As per the reports, the 5 co-founders of Libracamp have put together a whopping 125,000 dollars to distribute among the 5 selected teams for this 1st Bootcamp. Presently, they are raising funds for the winning team’s prize money of one million dollars apart from raising capital for the Bootcamp’s second batch next year.
The Libracamp platform would help associate Libra developers with the mentors, allow investors and opportunities while offering a robust crowdsourced vibe compared to other accelerator programs.
However, it must be noted that the roads ahead for Libra are difficult. In its recent 2nd Quarter filing with the US SEC, Facebook has indicated that Libra project might never see the light of the day, thanks to the regulatory concerns. Another co-founder of Libracamp, Yonatan Ben Simon, while sharing his views about regulatory issues said that if the project goes out, they’ll be a prime player in the world’s important financial infrastructure. If it doesn’t, the protocol could be applied to other stuff.
While other crypto start-ups, such as Orbs, is contemplating the expensive way of joining the Libra association formally, Libracamp is trying to make things smoother for everyone. For instance, Libracamp offered a modest grant to the Kyber Network, as well as a few other start-ups, before this Bootcamp. Kyber Network has already begun its work on the atomic swaps between Libra and Ethereum. The mentor of the Bootcamp, Lex Sokolin, stated that interoperability will take place between the largest networks in the world.
Facebook, on the other hand, has enough reasons to support and allow investments from external parties in a stronger ecosystem. After all, the social media giant has been widely criticized over the dominance it has over the infrastructure of the Libra ecosystem. Though many companies want to become a part of the Libra Association, it is the cost associated which restricts them. That’s when Libracamp offers great aid, financially as well as through mentorship access, especially to smaller firms.
It’s also worth noting that Facebook has chosen to stay away from building tools for the sanctioned markets such as Venezuela; the team of South American experts behind Valiu has already begun working on the solutions with Libracamp.
The Libracamp founders believe that their crew has asymmetric benefits to gain as Facebook has a massive daily active user base of 1.59 billion.
Square Crypto’s Open Source Endeavor, Fostering Bitcoin Development will Witness Matt Corallo On Board
Square, Inc. is a mobile payment company based in San Francisco, California. The company markets software and hardware payments products and has expanded into business services. Square Crypto the division of parent company Square, Inc. is a payments solutions provider and focuses on open source Bitcoin development.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of the Square, Inc. foresees a bullish vehement regarding the acceptance of Bitcoins and the urge to conceptualize Bitcoin as a utopia invigorates the formation of this new team which will be headed by Steve Lee, a former director at Google and Matt Corallo as the first development engineer.
Jack Dorsey’s realization of Social Responsibility:
Jack Dorsey shares that it had been a strong calling, the acceptance of which led to the creation of this new team. The teaming up is with a purpose and Square Crypto is a host this open-source initiative, which is independent of business objectives.
Objective highlights of the open-source endeavor:
It looks forward to the development of Bitcoin to its utopian level, with underlying goals such as individual economic empowerment, crypto community development. The project is open-sourced cause the resulting work will be transparent and accessible. On a lighter side, it is a gratuitous movement by the company channelized to society. Social endeavor rides on its back a more accessible global financial system for the internet, which is in line with the broader interest of the company.
Matt Corallo on board?
Corallo is one of the most highly respected and a terrific Bitcoin developer in the world, making important contributions since 2011. He is also a co-founder of Blockstream, after leaving Blockstream, he moved to Chaincode Labs, the stated mission of which was to support and develop Bitcoin and other peer-to-peer decentralized systems.
The sound introduction is satiable enough to reason out his presence on the board, but not very pleasing. Corallo bears another feather in his hat. Corallo’s notable efficiency improvements such as the rust-lightning implementation, which makes it easier for users to build and interact with layers of the bitcoin network is one such reason. His profound experience a ‘bitcoin-dev’ encompasses projects from Core to Bitcoin, Fibre, BetterHash, and open-source initiative like Signal. Corallo’s take on Bitcoin development is bullish and he is all set to work with a team which addresses bigger problems actualizing widespread talent bases, embarking a user-friendly experience for the Bitcoin users.
Square crypto’s smart move is discursive thought, optimistic on the other side. As the former visualizes that the expertise, would bring in, Bitcoin engineering and the broader ecosystem of new devs to the team, which prepares the latter with a firm foundation and will accelerate the adoption of Bitcoin on a massive scale.
Square, Inc. is a mobile payment company based in San Francisco, California. The company markets software and hardware payments products and has expanded into business services. Square Crypto the division of parent company Square, Inc. is a payments solutions provider and focuses on open source Bitcoin development.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of the Square, Inc. foresees a bullish vehement regarding the acceptance of Bitcoins and the urge to conceptualize Bitcoin as a utopia invigorates the formation of this new team which will be headed by Steve Lee, a former director at Google and Matt Corallo as the first development engineer.
Jack Dorsey’s realization of Social Responsibility:
Jack Dorsey shares that it had been a strong calling, the acceptance of which led to the creation of this new team. The teaming up is with a purpose and Square Crypto is a host this open-source initiative, which is independent of business objectives.
Objective highlights of the open-source endeavor:
It looks forward to the development of Bitcoin to its utopian level, with underlying goals such as individual economic empowerment, crypto community development. The project is open-sourced cause the resulting work will be transparent and accessible. On a lighter side, it is a gratuitous movement by the company channelized to society. Social endeavor rides on its back a more accessible global financial system for the internet, which is in line with the broader interest of the company.
Matt Corallo on board?
Corallo is one of the most highly respected and a terrific Bitcoin developer in the world, making important contributions since 2011. He is also a co-founder of Blockstream, after leaving Blockstream, he moved to Chaincode Labs, the stated mission of which was to support and develop Bitcoin and other peer-to-peer decentralized systems.
The sound introduction is satiable enough to reason out his presence on the board, but not very pleasing. Corallo bears another feather in his hat. Corallo’s notable efficiency improvements such as the rust-lightning implementation, which makes it easier for users to build and interact with layers of the bitcoin network is one such reason. His profound experience a ‘bitcoin-dev’ encompasses projects from Core to Bitcoin, Fibre, BetterHash, and open-source initiative like Signal. Corallo’s take on Bitcoin development is bullish and he is all set to work with a team which addresses bigger problems actualizing widespread talent bases, embarking a user-friendly experience for the Bitcoin users.
Square crypto’s smart move is discursive thought, optimistic on the other side. As the former visualizes that the expertise, would bring in, Bitcoin engineering and the broader ecosystem of new devs to the team, which prepares the latter with a firm foundation and will accelerate the adoption of Bitcoin on a massive scale.
Paxful: Redefining the Way to Sell and Buy Bitcoin
Paxful is a peer-to-peer platform connecting the buyers and sellers who want to invest and trade in Bitcoin. It has redefined the convenience of buying and selling cryptocurrency and has evolved as one of the credible platforms for managing your digital wallets. The company was founded in 2015, and since then, it has made giant strides in winning customer confidence owing to its impeccable service and transparent dealings.
Wide choices and options
One can easily estimate the horizon of operations of Paxful from the fact that there are over 300 ways through which you can either buy or sell Bitcoin on Paxful. Some of the popular methods include:
1. Buying Bitcoin through cash deposit or bank transfer
2. Purchasing Bitcoin using online payment services like PayPal, Neteller, and Skrill
3. Purchasing Bitcoin using iTunes gift card
4. Amazon gift card can also be used in order to purchase Bitcoin
5. One can also buy Bitcoin directly by paying in cash in a local trade deal
6. Bitcoin can also be purchased using the other altcoins like Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple
Choose for yourself
In addition to the methods mentioned above, Paxful offers a host of other mechanisms through which you can buy Bitcoin. You can visit the website and search for the option that you want to use in order to buy Bitcoin. You will be required to fill in three important components before the transaction takes place: 1) the number of Bitcoins you want to purchase, 2) the currency you will be using to purchase Bitcoin, 3) and the payment method that you have chosen to buy Bitcoin.
There might be the case that you don’t find your preferred payment method, and in such a scenario, you can go ahead and suggest Paxful about your preferred method of payment. This will help Paxful to consider including your preferred method in the list of options the website provides to customers for buying and selling Bitcoin. The list of payment methods offered by Paxful is growing continuously as the company keeps on including different methods depending upon the need and demand of the customers. However, it should be noted that each payment method comes with its own level of risk, which you should be familiar with before starting a trade. Paxful encourages you to have full information about the payment method and assess various risks and rewards associated with the method before taking a plunge.
Paxful is a peer-to-peer platform connecting the buyers and sellers who want to invest and trade in Bitcoin. It has redefined the convenience of buying and selling cryptocurrency and has evolved as one of the credible platforms for managing your digital wallets. The company was founded in 2015, and since then, it has made giant strides in winning customer confidence owing to its impeccable service and transparent dealings.
Wide choices and options
One can easily estimate the horizon of operations of Paxful from the fact that there are over 300 ways through which you can either buy or sell Bitcoin on Paxful. Some of the popular methods include:
1. Buying Bitcoin through cash deposit or bank transfer
2. Purchasing Bitcoin using online payment services like PayPal, Neteller, and Skrill
3. Purchasing Bitcoin using iTunes gift card
4. Amazon gift card can also be used in order to purchase Bitcoin
5. One can also buy Bitcoin directly by paying in cash in a local trade deal
6. Bitcoin can also be purchased using the other altcoins like Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple
Choose for yourself
In addition to the methods mentioned above, Paxful offers a host of other mechanisms through which you can buy Bitcoin. You can visit the website and search for the option that you want to use in order to buy Bitcoin. You will be required to fill in three important components before the transaction takes place: 1) the number of Bitcoins you want to purchase, 2) the currency you will be using to purchase Bitcoin, 3) and the payment method that you have chosen to buy Bitcoin.
There might be the case that you don’t find your preferred payment method, and in such a scenario, you can go ahead and suggest Paxful about your preferred method of payment. This will help Paxful to consider including your preferred method in the list of options the website provides to customers for buying and selling Bitcoin. The list of payment methods offered by Paxful is growing continuously as the company keeps on including different methods depending upon the need and demand of the customers. However, it should be noted that each payment method comes with its own level of risk, which you should be familiar with before starting a trade. Paxful encourages you to have full information about the payment method and assess various risks and rewards associated with the method before taking a plunge.
US Treasury Department Tightens Against Cryptocurrency Addresses Associated With Chinese “Drug Kingpins”
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has enlisted three Chinese nationals and their cryptocurrency addresses, alleging they violated money laundering and drug smuggling laws.
The United States Treasury Department has constituted different cryptocurrency addresses associated to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list as per the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, which also commonly addressed as the Kingpin Act. These addresses and the individuals that link them have been claimed to be associated with foreign narcotics superintendent.
On August 21, the Treasury revamped its SDN list. The three accused narcotic operators linked with these addresses.
Naming Xiaobing Yan, Fujing Zheng, and Guanghua Zheng. All of the three are of Chinese origin and are deemed to be associated with addresses that are present on the SDN list. Guanghua Zheng has one another address for Litecoin.
Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, stated that Zheng and Yan have delivered hundreds of packets of synthetic opioids to the U.S., aiming to sell to customers through online advertising and another medium of sales, and via commercial mail, and other carriers to smuggle their drugs into the United States. They will be enlisted in a list that is sent to the President. He then decides whether it is apt to impose suggested U.S. measures.
OFAC’s actions look consistent, it’s for the second time the department has added cryptocurrency addresses to its sanctions list. In November 2018, the department blacklisted other 2 bitcoin addresses linked with an Iranian ransomware plan.
Chainalysis global head of policy Jesse Spiro told The Block,
We expect further action by OFAC to involve additional cryptocurrency addresses are linked to these individuals and others that are allegedly associated with narcotics trafficking going forward.
A news release from the white house in 2015 establishes the Kingpin Act as an implementation to cease trading between narcotics traffickers and U.S entities. The act states that the government distributes work to monitor foreign narcotics smugglers.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also trusts that Bitcoin will open gates to far greater monetary crimes. Mnuchin will closely observe the behaviors of Bitcoin, he stated in an interview. He believes that loads of dollars in the cryptocurrency have been and will be used for illegal tradings.
Mnuchin has also claimed Bitcoin is used for money laundering and this laundering invites more people due to its better management and evasion of record than dollars.
According to Mnuchin, the government endeavors to fight the “bad actors in the U.S. dollar each day to save the integrity of the U.S. financial framework.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has enlisted three Chinese nationals and their cryptocurrency addresses, alleging they violated money laundering and drug smuggling laws.
The United States Treasury Department has constituted different cryptocurrency addresses associated to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list as per the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, which also commonly addressed as the Kingpin Act. These addresses and the individuals that link them have been claimed to be associated with foreign narcotics superintendent.
On August 21, the Treasury revamped its SDN list. The three accused narcotic operators linked with these addresses.
Naming Xiaobing Yan, Fujing Zheng, and Guanghua Zheng. All of the three are of Chinese origin and are deemed to be associated with addresses that are present on the SDN list. Guanghua Zheng has one another address for Litecoin.
Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, stated that Zheng and Yan have delivered hundreds of packets of synthetic opioids to the U.S., aiming to sell to customers through online advertising and another medium of sales, and via commercial mail, and other carriers to smuggle their drugs into the United States. They will be enlisted in a list that is sent to the President. He then decides whether it is apt to impose suggested U.S. measures.
OFAC’s actions look consistent, it’s for the second time the department has added cryptocurrency addresses to its sanctions list. In November 2018, the department blacklisted other 2 bitcoin addresses linked with an Iranian ransomware plan.
Chainalysis global head of policy Jesse Spiro told The Block,
We expect further action by OFAC to involve additional cryptocurrency addresses are linked to these individuals and others that are allegedly associated with narcotics trafficking going forward.
A news release from the white house in 2015 establishes the Kingpin Act as an implementation to cease trading between narcotics traffickers and U.S entities. The act states that the government distributes work to monitor foreign narcotics smugglers.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also trusts that Bitcoin will open gates to far greater monetary crimes. Mnuchin will closely observe the behaviors of Bitcoin, he stated in an interview. He believes that loads of dollars in the cryptocurrency have been and will be used for illegal tradings.
Mnuchin has also claimed Bitcoin is used for money laundering and this laundering invites more people due to its better management and evasion of record than dollars.
According to Mnuchin, the government endeavors to fight the “bad actors in the U.S. dollar each day to save the integrity of the U.S. financial framework.
US Lagging behind China’s Development of National Digital Currency, Circle CEO
Jeremy Allaire, the Circle CEO, mentions that the U.S. is falling behind the development of China’s national digital money, which could change the manner in which western organizations conduct payments.
Recently, the Circle CEO, Jeremy Allaire spoke to the Global Coin Research podcast this week, said China is establishing the momentum in the advancement of digital currency which is equivalent to its fiat money, the renminbi, and could sooner pass around western rules and regulations through direct settlements. Moreover, Allaire said that Circle has a keen interest in stablecoin development, like USD Coin.
Additionally, in the middle of July, a Chinese court recognized Bitcoin legally as digital property. Soon after that, China’s state-possessed Bank had begun promoting Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. According to Allaire, this development might incite a model with better financial supervision and policy transmission and is hoping that each national bank would understand the benefits.
Over the last couple of months, Circle has been effectively seeking new development opportunities like the recent venture into Bermuda to support worldwide clients, and furthermore offering fiat-to-crypto exchanging, and presenting new asset pairs on its exchange Poloniex for Tether and USDC.
Jeremy Allaire is the Chairman, Co-founder, and CEO of Circle, a worldwide crypto financial service organization that supports people, establishments and entrepreneurs with a platform to invest resources, store, exchange and utilize digital assets and raise venture capital through online securities offering.
China‘s dislike of foreign technology is not a mystery, and the nation has consistently come up with their version of western technology and developments. The progressing disturbance with the U.S has just provoked China to find a way to be one step in front of its western partner.
Circle Internet Financial is a worldwide internet finance organization based on blockchain technology and controlled by crypto resources. Circle was established in 2013 by internet business visionaries, Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville. Circle has raised about 250 million dollars from investors, which includes Jim Breyer, Goldman Sachs, IDG Capital, and serves more than 8,000,000 clients universally.
Circle’s crypto-exchanging provides one of the most significant worldwide liquidity pools for digital asset trading, averaging 2 billion dollars in a month to month volume. Additionally, Circle has created working associations with regulators, giving close consideration to guidance from the U.S. SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).
Jeremy Allaire, the Circle CEO, mentions that the U.S. is falling behind the development of China’s national digital money, which could change the manner in which western organizations conduct payments.
Recently, the Circle CEO, Jeremy Allaire spoke to the Global Coin Research podcast this week, said China is establishing the momentum in the advancement of digital currency which is equivalent to its fiat money, the renminbi, and could sooner pass around western rules and regulations through direct settlements. Moreover, Allaire said that Circle has a keen interest in stablecoin development, like USD Coin.
Additionally, in the middle of July, a Chinese court recognized Bitcoin legally as digital property. Soon after that, China’s state-possessed Bank had begun promoting Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. According to Allaire, this development might incite a model with better financial supervision and policy transmission and is hoping that each national bank would understand the benefits.
Over the last couple of months, Circle has been effectively seeking new development opportunities like the recent venture into Bermuda to support worldwide clients, and furthermore offering fiat-to-crypto exchanging, and presenting new asset pairs on its exchange Poloniex for Tether and USDC.
Jeremy Allaire is the Chairman, Co-founder, and CEO of Circle, a worldwide crypto financial service organization that supports people, establishments and entrepreneurs with a platform to invest resources, store, exchange and utilize digital assets and raise venture capital through online securities offering.
China‘s dislike of foreign technology is not a mystery, and the nation has consistently come up with their version of western technology and developments. The progressing disturbance with the U.S has just provoked China to find a way to be one step in front of its western partner.
Circle Internet Financial is a worldwide internet finance organization based on blockchain technology and controlled by crypto resources. Circle was established in 2013 by internet business visionaries, Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville. Circle has raised about 250 million dollars from investors, which includes Jim Breyer, Goldman Sachs, IDG Capital, and serves more than 8,000,000 clients universally.
Circle’s crypto-exchanging provides one of the most significant worldwide liquidity pools for digital asset trading, averaging 2 billion dollars in a month to month volume. Additionally, Circle has created working associations with regulators, giving close consideration to guidance from the U.S. SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).
Bitcoin vs. Altcoins: Explaining the Difference
When it comes to the cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is regarded as the king in the stable. It was the first cryptocurrency that debuted in the market to end the dominance of Fiat currencies and since its inception, Bitcoin continues to remain the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It has already covered a decade long journey in its life cycle and witnessed many highs and lows.
Bitcoin and Altcoins
With time, however, other digital currencies also came into the market as the blockchain technology continued to evolve. All these new digital coins are called “altcoins” and although the technology of decentralization remains at the heart of each cryptocurrency, altcoins come with the added convenience of enhanced functionality owing to more number of used case scenarios. Take, for instance, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum which although operates on the same principle decentralization and peer-to-peer networking but comes with the added functionality of smart contracts. This smart contract feature allows Ethereum to execute the contract between two parties automatically using the open ledger technology. Similarly, we have several different applications and use cases for different altcoins, which help them to find their unique positioning against Bitcoin although fundamentally all digital coins work on the same principle.
Transaction Speed and Mining
Another important difference between Bitcoin and altcoins is the superior ability of the latter to handle a large number of transactions compared to Bitcoin. The process of verifying transactions in case of Bitcoin (which is also known as mining) is quite expensive and resource-intensive. However, altcoins use more innovative and affordable method for verifying transactions and hence, come across as a faster and affordable way of completing transactions. Consider the examples of altcoins like Dash and Ripple, which are known for their unique positioning vis-à-vis Bitcoin. Dash is focused on the speed and claims to process one transaction per second which is quite phenomenal compare to other altcoins as well as Bitcoin. Ripple, on the other hand, has focused on cross border transactions and offers a unique and convenient way of transferring the money between large institutions and organizations across borders.
Therefore, by focusing on some unique aspects and functionality, these altcoins have made a special place in the crypto sphere. In sum, both Bitcoin and altcoins work on the same blockchain technology; however, they differ on the aspects of functionality, transmission speed, and cost factor involved in the transactional process.
When it comes to the cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is regarded as the king in the stable. It was the first cryptocurrency that debuted in the market to end the dominance of Fiat currencies and since its inception, Bitcoin continues to remain the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It has already covered a decade long journey in its life cycle and witnessed many highs and lows.
Bitcoin and Altcoins
With time, however, other digital currencies also came into the market as the blockchain technology continued to evolve. All these new digital coins are called “altcoins” and although the technology of decentralization remains at the heart of each cryptocurrency, altcoins come with the added convenience of enhanced functionality owing to more number of used case scenarios. Take, for instance, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum which although operates on the same principle decentralization and peer-to-peer networking but comes with the added functionality of smart contracts. This smart contract feature allows Ethereum to execute the contract between two parties automatically using the open ledger technology. Similarly, we have several different applications and use cases for different altcoins, which help them to find their unique positioning against Bitcoin although fundamentally all digital coins work on the same principle.
Transaction Speed and Mining
Another important difference between Bitcoin and altcoins is the superior ability of the latter to handle a large number of transactions compared to Bitcoin. The process of verifying transactions in case of Bitcoin (which is also known as mining) is quite expensive and resource-intensive. However, altcoins use more innovative and affordable method for verifying transactions and hence, come across as a faster and affordable way of completing transactions. Consider the examples of altcoins like Dash and Ripple, which are known for their unique positioning vis-à-vis Bitcoin. Dash is focused on the speed and claims to process one transaction per second which is quite phenomenal compare to other altcoins as well as Bitcoin. Ripple, on the other hand, has focused on cross border transactions and offers a unique and convenient way of transferring the money between large institutions and organizations across borders.
Therefore, by focusing on some unique aspects and functionality, these altcoins have made a special place in the crypto sphere. In sum, both Bitcoin and altcoins work on the same blockchain technology; however, they differ on the aspects of functionality, transmission speed, and cost factor involved in the transactional process.
Brave Browser Creates Buzz by Making Wikipedia a Verified Publisher
Wikipedia, the ultimate source of information on the online arena, has joined hands with Brave browser to bring about a revolution in the advertising world.
The most widely used and trusted website in the world, Wikipedia, has partnered with Brave browser to shine in its esteemed list of verified publishers. With this partnership, moving forward Wikipedia will now be open to welcome tips, gratitudes, and donations in BAT. This will undoubtedly cause an elevation in the online encyclopedia’s revenue.
Brave Browser- The Revolutionary Platform for Advertising World
A brainwork of Brave Software Inc., Brave browser is a free and open-source web browser that facilitates users to support the websites with the Ethereum based token named BAT or Basic Attention Token. The users are given 70% of the total revenue while the leftover 30% is distributed between Brave and the advertisement publisher firm.
With the help of the decentralized portfolio, the advertising firms can directly build contact with their desired audience. Despite having a rough start, the current year brought several accolades to Brave browser’s credit. Today the browser boasts of some of the most prestigious and widely-used websites on its portal.
Some of the notable verified publisher’s that glorify Brave browser include social networking platform Twitter, Reddit, video platform Vimeo, along with British daily-The Bandwagon.
The not-so-usual approach and pedagogy of Brave browser have made it give a tough competition to online giants such as Google and Facebook who already have proven their mettle in the online marketing arena.
BAT Tokens to Become Wikipedia Contributor’s Favorite?
By making the seventh most visited website, Wikipedia, as its verified publisher, Brave browser has surely played a masterstroke as this is expected to increase the adoption levels of its reward program.
Wikipedia works on the donation-focused revenue model. A dedicated team of over one hundred and twenty thousand writers gives in their best to create reliable content for the readers while meeting the expenses on their own.
In 2017, the Wikimedia Foundation reported an annual income of over $109 million. Though there still hover clouds of uncertainty on relying on BAT coins as a reliable revenue source, these cryptocurrencies have the potential to earn essential revenues for Wikipedia in the future.
No matter how much more struggle Brave browser and its revolutionary crypto token BAT has to face to establish itself as a strong source of income for the contributors, the comprehensive step has indeed made the heads turn. The rising popularity of the platform is surely a thing to take notice of and applaud.
Wikipedia, the ultimate source of information on the online arena, has joined hands with Brave browser to bring about a revolution in the advertising world.
The most widely used and trusted website in the world, Wikipedia, has partnered with Brave browser to shine in its esteemed list of verified publishers. With this partnership, moving forward Wikipedia will now be open to welcome tips, gratitudes, and donations in BAT. This will undoubtedly cause an elevation in the online encyclopedia’s revenue.
Brave Browser- The Revolutionary Platform for Advertising World
A brainwork of Brave Software Inc., Brave browser is a free and open-source web browser that facilitates users to support the websites with the Ethereum based token named BAT or Basic Attention Token. The users are given 70% of the total revenue while the leftover 30% is distributed between Brave and the advertisement publisher firm.
With the help of the decentralized portfolio, the advertising firms can directly build contact with their desired audience. Despite having a rough start, the current year brought several accolades to Brave browser’s credit. Today the browser boasts of some of the most prestigious and widely-used websites on its portal.
Some of the notable verified publisher’s that glorify Brave browser include social networking platform Twitter, Reddit, video platform Vimeo, along with British daily-The Bandwagon.
The not-so-usual approach and pedagogy of Brave browser have made it give a tough competition to online giants such as Google and Facebook who already have proven their mettle in the online marketing arena.
BAT Tokens to Become Wikipedia Contributor’s Favorite?
By making the seventh most visited website, Wikipedia, as its verified publisher, Brave browser has surely played a masterstroke as this is expected to increase the adoption levels of its reward program.
Wikipedia works on the donation-focused revenue model. A dedicated team of over one hundred and twenty thousand writers gives in their best to create reliable content for the readers while meeting the expenses on their own.
In 2017, the Wikimedia Foundation reported an annual income of over $109 million. Though there still hover clouds of uncertainty on relying on BAT coins as a reliable revenue source, these cryptocurrencies have the potential to earn essential revenues for Wikipedia in the future.
No matter how much more struggle Brave browser and its revolutionary crypto token BAT has to face to establish itself as a strong source of income for the contributors, the comprehensive step has indeed made the heads turn. The rising popularity of the platform is surely a thing to take notice of and applaud.
Brazil Central Bank implements IMF Guidelines, Acknowledges Cryptocurrencies as Assets
Recently, the Central Bank of Brazil has proceeded to categorize selling or buying cryptocurrency resources as per IMF (International Monetary Fund) rules. Brazil’s national bank declared its choice just recently. Besides, with the new type of classification as per IMF standards, exchanged cryptocurrencies will be categorized as non-financial products and accordingly, will be taken into account as goods on the central bank’s accounting report.
A note published by the Central Bank of Brazil recently has authoritatively recognized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as assets, as Brazil has been importing Bitcoin, a move that has been described as “reducing the trade surplus” in its annual report.
As indicated by local news outlet Portal do Bitcoin, the nation’s central bank implemented the guidelines from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to categorize cryptocurrencies and will currently be adding cryptocurrency statistics when checking the nation’s exports and imports. Moreover, it also stated that digital currency mining is presently set to be viewed as a productive procedure.
Because they are digital, active crypto products have no customs registration, but purchases and sales by residents of Brazil imply the conclusion of foreign exchange contracts,
stated the agency. “Cryptocurrency mining activity is, therefore treated as a productive process.”
Furthermore, the Brazilian cryptocurrency news outlet remarks that Roberto Campos Neto, the president of the nation’s central bank, has commented something regarding cryptocurrency earlier. In July, Campos had guaranteed the growth of new technologies and markets which will enable the central banks to improve. Awareness of cryptocurrencies as property would allegedly make them qualified to be utilized as a payment instrument.
Nonetheless, a central bank accounting report is the same as an ordinary bank’s accounting report, gives a summary of its financial position, and is comprised of equity, assets, and liabilities. Moreover, executing foreign exchange agreements includes selling and buying of cryptocurrencies; the central bank considers selling and purchasing crypto resources in their import and export statistics.
Besides, because Brazil is a net importer of crypto resources, this has added to lowering down the trade surplus on its accounting report. Additionally, the central bank states that these categories were endorsed by the Balance of Payments Statistics Committee, an advisory panel to the IMF Statistics Department that centers on external sector statistics strategy.
Recently, the Central Bank of Brazil has proceeded to categorize selling or buying cryptocurrency resources as per IMF (International Monetary Fund) rules. Brazil’s national bank declared its choice just recently. Besides, with the new type of classification as per IMF standards, exchanged cryptocurrencies will be categorized as non-financial products and accordingly, will be taken into account as goods on the central bank’s accounting report.
A note published by the Central Bank of Brazil recently has authoritatively recognized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as assets, as Brazil has been importing Bitcoin, a move that has been described as “reducing the trade surplus” in its annual report.
As indicated by local news outlet Portal do Bitcoin, the nation’s central bank implemented the guidelines from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to categorize cryptocurrencies and will currently be adding cryptocurrency statistics when checking the nation’s exports and imports. Moreover, it also stated that digital currency mining is presently set to be viewed as a productive procedure.
Because they are digital, active crypto products have no customs registration, but purchases and sales by residents of Brazil imply the conclusion of foreign exchange contracts,
stated the agency. “Cryptocurrency mining activity is, therefore treated as a productive process.”
Furthermore, the Brazilian cryptocurrency news outlet remarks that Roberto Campos Neto, the president of the nation’s central bank, has commented something regarding cryptocurrency earlier. In July, Campos had guaranteed the growth of new technologies and markets which will enable the central banks to improve. Awareness of cryptocurrencies as property would allegedly make them qualified to be utilized as a payment instrument.
Nonetheless, a central bank accounting report is the same as an ordinary bank’s accounting report, gives a summary of its financial position, and is comprised of equity, assets, and liabilities. Moreover, executing foreign exchange agreements includes selling and buying of cryptocurrencies; the central bank considers selling and purchasing crypto resources in their import and export statistics.
Besides, because Brazil is a net importer of crypto resources, this has added to lowering down the trade surplus on its accounting report. Additionally, the central bank states that these categories were endorsed by the Balance of Payments Statistics Committee, an advisory panel to the IMF Statistics Department that centers on external sector statistics strategy.
TRON’s Justin Sun Backs Facebook’s Libra; Says It Will Facilitate “Bright Future”
Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON (TRX) and current CEO of BitTorrent, has always been a distinctive figure in and an active advocate of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. From the success of TRON and his acquisition of BitTorrent to his app PEIWO and his work with Ripple Labs, Sun has not steered off the spotlight lately.
Talking about Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, Libra, Sun tweeted,
I feel a huge #FOMO and bull run for crypto is on its way.
In a recent interview, the young tech entrepreneur that he’s quite optimistic about Facebook’s entry into the crypto world and also that might be one step towards facilitating blockchain’s bright future.
Among other things, in the interview, Sun opened up about whether he would be rapping with Vitalik Buterin, how he sees crypto adoption moving forward and also Tron’s partnership with Pornhub.
Sun began by sharing his thoughts on some of the most potent partnerships in the industry today. He suggested that the confluence of resources and ideas around cryptocurrency largely impacts the growth of the space. On TRON’s collaboration with USDT, Sun backed the importance of stablecoins in an ecosystem to provide confidence and stability to investors.
Lately, on the flip side, Facebook’s cryptocurrency exchange platform, Libra, and the government speculations regarding around it have been a matter of concern for many. Sun, though, believes that the adoption of blockchain by industry-leaders like Facebook will rather act as an assurance of its bright future. It’s going to hold importance in spreading the abilities of blockchain technology across the globe, he thinks. Sun stated in the interview that,
The centralized versus decentralized question will be worked out over time, with people voting on the path that they think works best.
Facebook, however, has hired a Washington-based lobbying firm, FS Vector, to help the social-media giant tackle the negative responses that the announcement of the Libra project has sparked, according to an O’Dwyer PR report published on Aug. 26, 2019.
Sun was also asked whether he was interested in collaborating with Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin. He replied, “Welcome aboard the TRON train!” He says his company is always open to collaborating with people in the industry.
Justin Sun’s ending note indicated how mass adoption of the technology will take a lot of time. He concludes that,
By the time of mass adoption, the early players will be big winners because there won’t be enough crypto for everybody.
Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON (TRX) and current CEO of BitTorrent, has always been a distinctive figure in and an active advocate of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. From the success of TRON and his acquisition of BitTorrent to his app PEIWO and his work with Ripple Labs, Sun has not steered off the spotlight lately.
Talking about Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, Libra, Sun tweeted,
I feel a huge #FOMO and bull run for crypto is on its way.
In a recent interview, the young tech entrepreneur that he’s quite optimistic about Facebook’s entry into the crypto world and also that might be one step towards facilitating blockchain’s bright future.
Among other things, in the interview, Sun opened up about whether he would be rapping with Vitalik Buterin, how he sees crypto adoption moving forward and also Tron’s partnership with Pornhub.
Sun began by sharing his thoughts on some of the most potent partnerships in the industry today. He suggested that the confluence of resources and ideas around cryptocurrency largely impacts the growth of the space. On TRON’s collaboration with USDT, Sun backed the importance of stablecoins in an ecosystem to provide confidence and stability to investors.
Lately, on the flip side, Facebook’s cryptocurrency exchange platform, Libra, and the government speculations regarding around it have been a matter of concern for many. Sun, though, believes that the adoption of blockchain by industry-leaders like Facebook will rather act as an assurance of its bright future. It’s going to hold importance in spreading the abilities of blockchain technology across the globe, he thinks. Sun stated in the interview that,
The centralized versus decentralized question will be worked out over time, with people voting on the path that they think works best.
Facebook, however, has hired a Washington-based lobbying firm, FS Vector, to help the social-media giant tackle the negative responses that the announcement of the Libra project has sparked, according to an O’Dwyer PR report published on Aug. 26, 2019.
Sun was also asked whether he was interested in collaborating with Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin. He replied, “Welcome aboard the TRON train!” He says his company is always open to collaborating with people in the industry.
Justin Sun’s ending note indicated how mass adoption of the technology will take a lot of time. He concludes that,
By the time of mass adoption, the early players will be big winners because there won’t be enough crypto for everybody.
Facebook Takes FS Vector On-Board to Resolve Regulatory Pressure on Libra
Facebook, the social networking giant, has collaborated with a lobbying firm, FS Vector, to render to the backlash poured upon it after the announcement of its planned cryptocurrency project, Libra.
The Washington based firm, FS Vector is a notable consultancy or advisory firm that works in the field of regulatory compliance, public policy, and business strategy for fin-tech, cryptocurrency, blockchain, and financial service providers.
The Details of FS Vector Facebook Account Spearhead
The registration documents concerning the lobbying firm filed with the United States Congress by Facebook opines that the social media firm is hiring FS Vector for seeking guidance on “Issues related to blockchain policy.”
According to the report, the account for Facebook is being spearheaded by FS Vector partner John Collins. Mr. John Collins has earlier served as the respectable vice president of international policy at the American Bankers Association’s international subsidiary, the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade.
He had also worked at the U. S Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and was the chief of the first research in digital currencies in the year 2013 by the Congress.
A Sense of Uncertainty Hovering Over Libra
Since the time of the official announcement made by Facebook about the launch of its cryptocurrency Libra, the financial regulatory authorities are in a concerning state.
The main issues that have raised the brows of the concerned authorities is a check on user privacy and trust, which have earlier been put at stake by Facebook several times.
Recently, the notable dignitaries from multiple data protection and privacy enforcement organizations working on the global level issued a statement highlighting the privacy requirements and essentials of the Libra platform.
Facebook has planned to get Libra association, the guiding body of the Libra project, get registered in Switzerland. This led to a meeting of United States regulators with Switzerland’s financial authorities to probe into the matter.
Owing to the increasing enforcement pressure, there is news of back out of some founding members of the Libra Association.
Facebook, the social networking giant, has collaborated with a lobbying firm, FS Vector, to render to the backlash poured upon it after the announcement of its planned cryptocurrency project, Libra.
The Washington based firm, FS Vector is a notable consultancy or advisory firm that works in the field of regulatory compliance, public policy, and business strategy for fin-tech, cryptocurrency, blockchain, and financial service providers.
The Details of FS Vector Facebook Account Spearhead
The registration documents concerning the lobbying firm filed with the United States Congress by Facebook opines that the social media firm is hiring FS Vector for seeking guidance on “Issues related to blockchain policy.”
According to the report, the account for Facebook is being spearheaded by FS Vector partner John Collins. Mr. John Collins has earlier served as the respectable vice president of international policy at the American Bankers Association’s international subsidiary, the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade.
He had also worked at the U. S Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and was the chief of the first research in digital currencies in the year 2013 by the Congress.
A Sense of Uncertainty Hovering Over Libra
Since the time of the official announcement made by Facebook about the launch of its cryptocurrency Libra, the financial regulatory authorities are in a concerning state.
The main issues that have raised the brows of the concerned authorities is a check on user privacy and trust, which have earlier been put at stake by Facebook several times.
Recently, the notable dignitaries from multiple data protection and privacy enforcement organizations working on the global level issued a statement highlighting the privacy requirements and essentials of the Libra platform.
Facebook has planned to get Libra association, the guiding body of the Libra project, get registered in Switzerland. This led to a meeting of United States regulators with Switzerland’s financial authorities to probe into the matter.
Owing to the increasing enforcement pressure, there is news of back out of some founding members of the Libra Association.
Ripple Use Is Growing, But Major Challenges Loom For The Platform and Investors
Ripple continues to expand its services, and focus on its core mission of becoming a blockchain-based protocol for fiat transfers. There is no longer any doubt that it can perform this function vastly better than the archaic SWIFT Network that it seeks to replace, and more banks continue to adopt it. Nevertheless, the XRP coin, and the company behind it, are now at a crossroads where competition is increasing, and investors are growing weary of market cap declines.
Earlier this week Santander Bank announced that it would be expanding its use of Ripple’s xCurrent network in the western hemisphere. Specifically, it is opening remittance options between Latin America and the United States via its One Pay FX mobile app. The app, which is already available in the U.K. and Spain, enables fiat to be sent nearly instantly, and for free, across borders.
The XRP token moved up on the news, and investors are no doubt pleased, but the situation is a bit more complex. Santander, along with most of Ripple’s adopters, presently use xCurrent, which does not utilize the XRP token. In fact, the vast majority of progress made by the platform is related to Ripple Labs, the company that manages the token and has been largely independent of token adoption and use.
Analysts have long held that what is good for Ripple Labs is ultimately good for holders of XRP, but this assumption may not necessarily hold true in all cases. The company owns more than half of the token supply, a portion of which it sells each month to raise revenue. These sales increase the circulating volume, thus depressing the price. XRP investors have tolerated this monthly coin dump on faith that Ripple Labs will push the token’s use by banks and other financial institutions more aggressively, but thus far this does not seem to be the case.
As for Ripple’s goal of becoming the go-to platform for cross border fiat transfers, competition is heating up. New players in this space keep emerging. In June Visa announced plans to begin offering this service, and last week South American banking services firm Bantotal did as well. These companies join IBM, JP Morgan, and a host of others both large and small that seek to gain a share of this multi-trillion dollar market. It is also worth noting that SWIFT is adapting its own platform to prevent being overtaken by these upstarts.
As Ripple makes progress it is also having to navigate a myriad of regulatory issues that could draw the ire of many crypto advocates. The company has long advocated for laws that would legitimize cryptocurrencies, and give governments greater agency over blockchain assets. This position is a stark contrast to many XRP investors, who value anonymity and private transactions. Ripple Labs has recently partnered with Confirm, a regulation technology startup, to track the XRP blockchain in an effort to fight money laundering and other illegal use.
Given the remarkable volatility of the blockchain space, Ripple’s ability to remain a top coin has been impressive. Nevertheless, it is far too early to know if it will succeed long-term. Whereas it remains fundamentally strong, it is now charged with providing a greater value to XRP holders, and demonstrating to banks that it is a better choice than its growing list of competitors.
Ripple continues to expand its services, and focus on its core mission of becoming a blockchain-based protocol for fiat transfers. There is no longer any doubt that it can perform this function vastly better than the archaic SWIFT Network that it seeks to replace, and more banks continue to adopt it. Nevertheless, the XRP coin, and the company behind it, are now at a crossroads where competition is increasing, and investors are growing weary of market cap declines.
Earlier this week Santander Bank announced that it would be expanding its use of Ripple’s xCurrent network in the western hemisphere. Specifically, it is opening remittance options between Latin America and the United States via its One Pay FX mobile app. The app, which is already available in the U.K. and Spain, enables fiat to be sent nearly instantly, and for free, across borders.
The XRP token moved up on the news, and investors are no doubt pleased, but the situation is a bit more complex. Santander, along with most of Ripple’s adopters, presently use xCurrent, which does not utilize the XRP token. In fact, the vast majority of progress made by the platform is related to Ripple Labs, the company that manages the token and has been largely independent of token adoption and use.
Analysts have long held that what is good for Ripple Labs is ultimately good for holders of XRP, but this assumption may not necessarily hold true in all cases. The company owns more than half of the token supply, a portion of which it sells each month to raise revenue. These sales increase the circulating volume, thus depressing the price. XRP investors have tolerated this monthly coin dump on faith that Ripple Labs will push the token’s use by banks and other financial institutions more aggressively, but thus far this does not seem to be the case.
As for Ripple’s goal of becoming the go-to platform for cross border fiat transfers, competition is heating up. New players in this space keep emerging. In June Visa announced plans to begin offering this service, and last week South American banking services firm Bantotal did as well. These companies join IBM, JP Morgan, and a host of others both large and small that seek to gain a share of this multi-trillion dollar market. It is also worth noting that SWIFT is adapting its own platform to prevent being overtaken by these upstarts.
As Ripple makes progress it is also having to navigate a myriad of regulatory issues that could draw the ire of many crypto advocates. The company has long advocated for laws that would legitimize cryptocurrencies, and give governments greater agency over blockchain assets. This position is a stark contrast to many XRP investors, who value anonymity and private transactions. Ripple Labs has recently partnered with Confirm, a regulation technology startup, to track the XRP blockchain in an effort to fight money laundering and other illegal use.
Given the remarkable volatility of the blockchain space, Ripple’s ability to remain a top coin has been impressive. Nevertheless, it is far too early to know if it will succeed long-term. Whereas it remains fundamentally strong, it is now charged with providing a greater value to XRP holders, and demonstrating to banks that it is a better choice than its growing list of competitors.
