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martedì 12 marzo 2019

Germany Follows Russia: Government To Outline Crypto Strategy By Mid-2019

Germany Follows Russia: Government To Outline Crypto Strategy By Mid-2019

The Cabinet of Germany has revealed that it will introduce a blockchain strategy for the country by mid-2019, which follows decisions by other countries, such as Russia, to introduce clear regulations on the validity and status of cryptocurrency in their respective countries.
A document was released which outlined their intentions for the emerging digital asset class. The German Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy will be designing the strategy, but other departments will also contribute to the regulatory framework.
Reuters has reported that the German government has been in touch with companies and industry groups that could become stakeholders in what is a burgeoning industry.
The report reads:
According to the sources, companies and industry groups that could become stakeholders in a blockchain deployment process in Europe’s biggest economy were invited to supply recommendations from this week onwards. While concrete results were being sought, it was as yet unclear whether those would immediately materialize in any legislative moves, they said. Blockchain startups have said that without a legal framework, there are high entrance hurdles. Governments urge caution toward cryptocurrencies that run on the technology.

March 2, 2019 by Abhimanyu Krishnan

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https://www.investinblockchain.com/germany-crypto-strategy-mid-2019/

 

President of HKEx on incorporating Blockchain into the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong
Stock Connect

As a financial center of Asia, Hong Kong is a model of globalization. With the slowdown of global economic development in recent years, Hong Kong has been greatly affected. As one of the key technologies of financial technology, blockchain’s importance is self-evident for Hong Kong, which is a finance hub and is looking for technology breakthrough.
On February 28, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced “Strategic Planning 2019-2021”. This three-year plan outlined the development blueprint for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the next three years.
Through the “Strategic Plan 2019-2021” of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Li Xiaojia, president of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, pointed out that in the future, the HKEx will accelerate pace of reforming its core system and improve efficiency of its market operations on the premise of ensuring stable operation of the market.
In the adoption of new technologies, HKEx will gradually explore new technology applications including blockchain and cloud computing in a pilot-based manner. For example, the HKEx will apply blockchain technology in the post-transaction allocation of the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect.
At present, the development of blockchain is getting more and more fierce. On February 28th, China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) released the 43rd Statistical Report on Internet Development in China.
According to the report, as of June 2018, the number of blockchain companies in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom ranked top three. A total of 298 companies in China are active in the blockchain industry ecosystem.
The top five cities in terms of blockchain enterprises are Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. Among them, Beijing ranks first among 175 blockchain enterprises. In 2017, the Hangzhou government plans to build a “blockchain city”. This move is an attempt to realize the “Blockchain 10 Policies” in Guangzhou Huangpu District and the development zone. In April 2018, the “Hangzhou Blockchain Industrial Park in China” was established, consciously occupying the active position, actively guiding the development of the industry and seizing the commanding heights.

February 28, 2019 by Global Coin Research Team

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Litecoin Is Rocketing, Boosting Bitcoin And Ethereum--Here's Why

Litecoin, currently the world's fifth largest major cryptocurrency by value, has leaped higher today following a steady rise over the last few days, pushing bitcoin, ethereum, and the wider cryptocurrency market higher.
The litecoin price, which is some 85% down from its all-time highs, has risen 17% over the last 24 hours to a year-to-date high of $55. Litecoin began the year at just over $30 per coin.
Bitcoin has meanwhile added 3%, according to CoinMarketCap data, as traders and investors again try to cross the psychological $4,000 mark, with data signaling the long-running bitcoin bear market could be coming to an end. Ethereum rose almost 8% over the last 24 hours, buoyed by the wider market.
Litecoin's rally, which has seen some $500 million added to its market capitalization over the last 24 hour period, comes as the crisis-hit Venezuela launches a government-sanctioned cryptocurrency remittance service, allowing users to send bitcoin and litecoin into the country.
People in Venezuela have been struggling against economic collapse and hyperinflation over recent years, with the president Nicolas Maduro clinging onto power despite a U.S.-backed challenge from opposition leader Juan Guaido and international sanctions.
The service is designed to "guarantee financial inclusion along with the social protection of the people of Venezuela" though it warns it could be disabled at any time "depending on the availability of funds in bolívars."
“Remesas is a service of the Patria Platform that allows you to send remittances to Venezuela in cryptocurrencies," according to the government's Patria website. "The resources sent will be available in sovereign bolivars in the Monedero Patria as soon as the transfer is confirmed."
Use of bitcoin, litecoin and other cryptocurrencies in Venezula has risen over recent months as people trade on platforms such as LocalBitcoins to dodge international sanctions and the collapsing bolívar.
There were more than 25 billion bolívars traded on LocalBitcoins last week, according to CoinDance data.
Others have meanwhile suggested litecoin has benefitted in recent months from developer efforts to improve security and privacy and several high-profile partnerships—as well as its upcoming halving event.
“A combination of climbing crypto volumes and their ability to sustain these levels has created a welcome change for investors. In turn, this has given crypto prices a real boost over the last 24 hours, allowing market momentum to stretch its legs again," said Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at brokerage eToro.

March 6, 2019 by Billy Bambrough

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Blockchain Spending in 2019 to Grow to $2.9 Billion, 88.7% Growth Since 2018

 

The amount spent on blockchain technology by businesses seeking to utilise the trust-enhancing features of distributed ledgers is expected to grow to $2.9 million in 2019. This would represent a growth of 88.7% over the $1.5 billion spent on the technology during 2018.
The reported figures come from the International Data Corporation (IDC) who recently updated its “Worldwide Semiannual Blockchain Spending Guide.” According to a representative for the IDC, the tech has moved out of the design phase and into actual use and this shift will drive a lot of the expected spending through the next ten months.
New Industries Finding New Ways to Use Blockchain.
The IDC report states that the financial sector will continue to account for the lion’s share of the spending on blockchain technology during 2019. The estimated figure here is $1.1 billion. This will come from a variety of interests, including: banking, securities and investment services, and insurers.
Another notable sector expected to be a part of the group of biggest blockchain spenders is that of manufacturing and resources. These industries will reportedly account for $653 million combined. They are also expected to see the largest growth in spending over the entire five year period with a CAGR of 77.6%.
Coming close behind manufacturing and resources is the distribution and services industries. Firms doing business in these industries  are expected to spend $642 billion on exploring and implementing blockchain technology during 2019.
According to IDC vice president of the Customer Insights and Analysis programme, Jessica Goepfert, the technology is still very much in its infancy and businesses are still at the phase of explosive innovation when it comes to its implications:
“The use cases that comprise the blockchain opportunity are developing as swiftly as the technologies enabling it. While spending for more developed use cases in the financial sector like trade finance and cross-border payments is still healthy and growing strong, relative to six months ago we’ve seen an acceleration in spending across a variety of other areas, such as energy settlements and warranty claims.”
As part of the report, documenting the five year period between 2018 and 2022, the IDC states that it expects the total spent on blockchain to reach $12.4 billion by the final year of the sample.

March 4, 2019 by Rick D.

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China, censorship and the blockchain quandary

Thanks to blockchain, internet users have achieved some victories in the fight against China’s strict internet censorship.
One historic moment arose in April, 2018. Peking University‘s former student, Yue Xin, had penned a letter detailing the university’s attempts to hide sexual misconduct. The case involved a student, Gao Yan, who committed suicide in 1998 after a professor sexually assaulted and then harassed her.
The letter was blocked by Chinese social networking websites, but an anonymous user posted it on the Ethereum blockchain.
In another case, in July, Chinese citizens used blockchain to preserve an investigative story which condemned inferior vaccines being given to Chinese babies. The vaccines produced by Shenzhen-based Changsheng Bio-Tech failed to fight tetanus and whooping cough. The company has also allegedly faked data for about 113,000 doses of human rabies vaccine.
A blockchain is a secure database stored in a distributed set of computers. Every addition to the database must be digitally signed, making clear who is changing what and when.
To ensure that only authorized users have access to the information, blockchains use cryptography-based digital signatures that verify identities. A user signs transactions with a “private key,” which is generated when an an account is created. A private key typically is a long and random alphanumeric code, known only to the person who controls the account.
Using complicated algorithms, blockchains also create “public keys” from private keys. Public keys are known to the public and make it possible to share information. For instance, a Bitcoin wallet address is a public key. Any Bitcoin user can send payments to that address. However, only the person with the private key can spend the Bitcoin.
From researching blockchain and China’s internet control measures, I can see that blockchain systems’ features are in conflict with the goals of the Chinese Communist Party. Truly decentralized blockchains will challenge the ability of authoritarian nations to maintain a tight grip over their populations.

Censorship-resistance

Blockchain makes censorship extremely difficult.

March 1, 2019 by Nir Kshetri

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About STARBIT

Starbit aims at spreading theoretical - practical knowledge among ordinary people, without being an expert or willing to become an expert. Starbit is aware of the impact that blockchain and crypto currencies will have on people's lives: for this reason it promotes a mass literacy.
Starbit selects everything needed for a person to be informed and about blockchain technologies and various applications, making it easier, in a progressive manner, accessible to all, thus saving time and resources to anyone interested in this area. The goal is to offer various degrees of knowledge (first level is free as Club Member and the others included in the products purchasable by customers) to those who are interested in playing an acting rule. Starbit also offers an opportunity to those who want to transform all this in a work from home opportunity.
DISCLAIMER
Registration to the Club is totally free and gives access to the basic information on Blockchain and its applications on the market, the most important of which is constituted by the so-called crypto currencies. At the Club members who are interested in having a more complete knowledge and information is also offered the possibility (it is an option, not an obligation) to buy upgradable services or applications (the acquisition of knowledge is a fact known to be progressive over time).
Any coins  (when free attributed by third parties) that may result gradually, will of course be the exclusive property of the customer and should not be considered in any relationship the servicies or applications purchased.
For maximum clarity applies the following example: if a person acquires an organic farming course that includes in addition to the theory, also a practical detection of cultivation of an organic garden (like was done by Michelle Obama at the White House), any products (carrots, tomatoes, peas, etc.) that will enrich his table, will obviously be of full ownership of those who have grown the organic garden and will not of course no relation to the person who sold the course, even if he has supplied the equipment for the practical test, such as seeds, tools, pots, fertilizers, various preparations, etc.
Subscribers to the Club have the power to start the business, if authorized and in acceptance of all the terms and conditions for the Promoter, explained in the Promoter Agreement and in the Policies and Procedures. They should not incur any fees and never any obligation to buy anything. If as a result of the promotion done, some new Club member, decide to buy a package Information, the Promoter will receive a commercial fee as provided by the terms and conditions above mentioned. It is not authorized anyone to provide news other than those listed here and on the official website, to promise false gains and / or try to push the purchase of the products, which must instead be the result of personal conviction. In particular, it must never be made no reference to any kind of investment if not purely cultural nature. This Club is fully committed to compliance with the laws of the countries in which it operates. It's also open to collaboration with those who help him to improve.For each queries or suggestions please contact via the official website. For questions please contact support@starbit.com

EY executive director sees blockchain as valuable problem-solving tool

EY executive director sees blockchain as valuable problem-solving tool

 

Emerging tech can help speed insurance claim process.
While blockchain is a big buzzword in the business world these days, EY executive director David Bassi says he doesn’t think about the hype around what it may be capable of doing someday, but instead considers blockchain as one more tool in his bag to solve issues now.
“We’ve got this transformative technology. What does it really do, how are people using it, and why does it matter?” he explained. “I don’t play in the space where it’s all about finding new technology and finding cool things to do with it. I play in the space where we’ve got a problem and we’re trying to find a solution.”
Bassi’s work at EY centers around the insurance industry, an area that he says blockchain can be useful because of its ability to speed processes that involve information changing hands repeatedly and information that needs to be accurate and quickly accessible.
“In business transactions, I’ll start with information, I’ll send it to an intermediary who may send it to another party, who may send it to another party. And by the time it gets to the end user, it may not look the same as it did originally,” he said. “Despite all the work we do on authentication, on insuring the information remains accurate as it moves along, we still get into arguments.”
Blockchain can allow all involved parties of a particular incident to access the same information, track who made changes and when they made them, and ultimately result in a faster payment of claims, Bassi noted. He used the example of marine shipping company Maersk, pointing out the huge number of people and documentation needed to keep track of cargos and ships, as well as the outside companies that needed the information in a timely manner – especially insurance companies.
“Everybody had problems with the administrative costs, everybody had problems with information security,” he said. “When there’s such a large group of entities involved, blockchain is a great solution, but you need to get everyone aligned on how it’s going to create value for all of them. So an important part of the journey was bringing them all together and helping them understand what was in it for them, and creating a system that worked for them.”

February 28, 2019 by Farmer School of Business

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London Stock Exchange Leads $20 Million Bet On Blockchain To Cut Out Custody Middlemen

If Nivaura gets its way, the world’s capital markets will run like vending machines. Instead of a complex web of depositors holding stock certificates and investment banks holding cold, hard cash, while counterparties frantically move around virtual representations of their assets, investors will deal directly with each other and hold their own assets, using the blockchain technology made famous by bitcoin.
After three years of making occasional but notable appearances in the press, Nivaura has harnessed the attention of some of the largest financial players in the world and turned it into $20 million in seed funding to make its founders’ vision a reality. Closed on Tuesday and announced today, the unusually large seed funding round is being led by the London Stock Exchange, the sixth-largest exchange in the world by volume, and stands to change the way investors and companies connect.
If Nivaura achieves its goals though, it’s not just the companies that survive the simplified transaction flow that stand to benefit. By changing the role these traditional middlemen play, Nivaura CEO Avtar Sehra estimates that the time to market for issuing bonds, loans and equity will be cut by at least 60%, time that he expects will result in savings for investors as well.
“In the traditional world, you have this complex and paid chain of custody that can be eliminated using a blockchain,” says Sehra, who previously worked as an astro-physicist and applies his experience conducting scientific experiments to simplifying capital markets. “But also the cost of custody potentially goes down for the investors as well.”
In addition to the London Stock Exchange, the $20 million seed round is being joined by the venture capital arm of Santander bank, law firm Allen & Overy, blockchain venture capital firm Digital Currency Group and several others.
Nivaura currently employs about 30 people, dispersed throughout England and Italy, where the company’s chief technical officer and chief information officer live, and plans to expand its team to the United States and Asia using the new funding. In addition to the new hires, who will help scale the platform, called Nivaura Connect, into different regulatory jurisdictions, the company plans to invest the funds in research and development efforts aimed at using artificial intelligence to tailor services for customers based on past usage patterns.
As part of the investment, Nivaura’s board of directors will add two new members, Spencer Lake, the former head of global markets for HSBC, who is also joining as an investor and commercial advisor on business development, and Nikhil Rathi, the CEO of London Stock Exchange plc and director of international development for the London Stock Exchange Group.
Current board members are Sehra; cofounder Marcello Fiori, who is the head of the company’s blockchain development; Alan Morgan, the former head of financial services for McKinsey, Europe-Middle East, who serves as chairman; Peter Walker, from Link Asset Services and Simon Hill, a senior partner at Allen & Overy.

February 27, 2019 by Michael del Castillo

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Julius Baer gets into crypto banking with
SEBA partnership

ZURICH (Reuters) - Julius Baer plans to offer access to digital assets through a partnership with Swiss start-up SEBA Crypto in the latest move into cryptocurrencies by a Swiss private bank.
The partnership, which follows a similar move by smaller rival Falcon Private Bank, will enable customers of Julius Baer, Switzerland’s third-largest listed bank, to store, trade and invest in digital assets, the two firms said on Tuesday.
Banks see promise in the blockchain technology underpinning cryptocurrencies, but have not rushed into an industry which has faced regulatory scrutiny and extreme price swings.
Falcon has allowed private and institutional clients to invest in bitcoin, ether and litecoin and has gradually expanded its offerings since a partnership with Bitcoin Suisse in 2017.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase this month said it would launch its own digital coin.
“We are convinced that digital assets will become a legitimate sustainable asset class of an investor’s portfolio,” Julius Baer markets head Peter Gerlach said in a statement.
SEBA is seeking a license from Switzerland’s financial market supervisor to build a bank offering cryptocurrency services as well as extending traditional banking services to firms in the new industry.
It closed a 100 million Swiss franc ($100 million) funding round in September and plans to launch its own cryptocurrency via an initial coin offering in the third quarter this year. It aims to go live during the second quarter of this year.

February 26, 2019 by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi

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Kabam founder Kevin Chou believes blockchain will revolutionize game economics

Kevin Chou, who led Kabam in mobile games and Gen.G in esports, announced last week that he has created a blockchain gaming company called Forte (pronounced for-tay).
He and his cofounder Brett Seyler drew the team from Kabam, GarageGames, Unity, and Linden Lab. They have reviewed the rise of blockchain and cryptocurrency, and they want to create something that will make a bigger impact than many of the startups, scams, and crazy ideas we’ve seen so far in the crypto space. Kevin Chou, who led Kabam in mobile games and Gen.G in esports, announced last week that he has created a blockchain gaming company called Forte (pronounced for-tay).
He and his cofounder Brett Seyler drew the team from Kabam, GarageGames, Unity, and Linden Lab. They have reviewed the rise of blockchain and cryptocurrency, and they want to create something that will make a bigger impact than many of the startups, scams, and crazy ideas we’ve seen so far in the crypto space.
I talked to Chou and Seyler in an exclusive interview, and they noted they are well aware of the crypto bust and the scams — and the impact they have had in creating skepticism about crypto among investors, gamers, and developers. But they are forging ahead with a plan to take advantage of blockchain — a decentralized immutable ledger — technology that has mostly been used to create secure and transparent cryptocurrencies.
“The emergence of free-to-play and cloud gaming let us deliver games on Facebook and on mobile,” Chou said in our interview. “But while we got hundreds of millions of people to play, a very small percentage paid. So the incentives for the game developer were very hard to align with the incentives for the players. It devolved into ‘pay to win’” schemes that left many users frustrated.
Chou will be a speaker at our GamesBeat Summit 2019 event on April 23 and April 24 in Los Angeles.
Here’s an edited transcript of our interview.
GamesBeat: Where is Forte going to be based?
Kevin Chou: We’re setting up in the Financial District in San Francisco. We have a small office near some of the other blockchain technology folks. It’s been good to get a new company off the ground and get it all started here.
GamesBeat: Tell me more about what you’re doing.
Chou: The high level is that we’re a bunch of game developers and game platform makers that are starting a new blockchain technology company. The key news we’re coming out with is that me and Brett and several other Kabam folks are getting together to start this company. We don’t have a funding announcement, which we typically like to do with these types of coming-out stories. We’re probably about two weeks away from closing a major partnership that we’re lined up to announce before GDC, with some big numbers attached to it.

February 26, 2019 by Dean Takahashi

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7 Universities Offering Online Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and FinTech Education

In the relatively young market of blockchain and cryptocurrency, finding accurate information on a specific topic can be time-consuming and sometimes difficult to achieve. In this article, I want to provide reputable online blockchain courses, brought to you by renowned universities.
You can enroll in all courses without any admission requirements, except the MSc in Digital Currency. To be eligible for enrollment, you will need to verify obtaining a Bachelors Degree in any random field. The MSc has specific application dates and starting times. Most courses referred to in this article can be followed for free.
These online courses are often offered as a Massive Open Online Course or MOOC. MOOCs provide an affordable, flexible way to learn new skills, advance your career and improve upon your personal development. Platforms like edX and Coursera collaborate with renowned universities and institutions to offer affordable and free online courses.
MSc in Digital Currency, at the University of Nicosia
In 2014, the largest private university in Cyprus, University of Nicosia, started offering the Master in Digital Currency. The MSc in Digital Currency is designed to help financial services and business professionals, entrepreneurs, government officials, and public administrators better understand the technical underpinnings of digital currency, how it will likely interact with existing monetary and financial systems, and what opportunities exist for innovation in digital currency systems.
The program is structured into three semesters, with each completion being rewarded with 30 ECTS. The total tuition fee is estimated at 12,800 EUR.
If you are interested in applying for the MSs in Digital Currency, but you are not ready to fully commit yet, I suggest following the free MOOC. You can register for the course, DFIN-511: Introduction into Digital Currencies, by following this link. Over 22,000 students have already enrolled in the free MOOC, with a completion rate of 17%.
University of Oxford
One of the world’s top-rated universities, the University of Oxford, also offers various online blockchain courses, without admission requirements. For instance, the Oxford Blockchain Strategy Program that offers business leaders and innovators insights to blockchain technology and how it works, how blockchain will affect the future of business organizations and how to make better strategic business decisions. This course is priced at 2,350 GBP.

February 26, 2019 by Linda Willemse

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About STARBIT

Starbit aims at spreading theoretical - practical knowledge among ordinary people, without being an expert or willing to become an expert. Starbit is aware of the impact that blockchain and crypto currencies will have on people's lives: for this reason it promotes a mass literacy.
Starbit selects everything needed for a person to be informed and about blockchain technologies and various applications, making it easier, in a progressive manner, accessible to all, thus saving time and resources to anyone interested in this area. The goal is to offer various degrees of knowledge (first level is free as Club Member and the others included in the products purchasable by customers) to those who are interested in playing an acting rule. Starbit also offers an opportunity to those who want to transform all this in a work from home opportunity.
DISCLAIMER
Registration to the Club is totally free and gives access to the basic information on Blockchain and its applications on the market, the most important of which is constituted by the so-called crypto currencies. At the Club members who are interested in having a more complete knowledge and information is also offered the possibility (it is an option, not an obligation) to buy upgradable services or applications (the acquisition of knowledge is a fact known to be progressive over time).
Any coins  (when free attributed by third parties) that may result gradually, will of course be the exclusive property of the customer and should not be considered in any relationship the servicies or applications purchased.
For maximum clarity applies the following example: if a person acquires an organic farming course that includes in addition to the theory, also a practical detection of cultivation of an organic garden (like was done by Michelle Obama at the White House), any products (carrots, tomatoes, peas, etc.) that will enrich his table, will obviously be of full ownership of those who have grown the organic garden and will not of course no relation to the person who sold the course, even if he has supplied the equipment for the practical test, such as seeds, tools, pots, fertilizers, various preparations, etc.
Subscribers to the Club have the power to start the business, if authorized and in acceptance of all the terms and conditions for the Promoter, explained in the Promoter Agreement and in the Policies and Procedures. They should not incur any fees and never any obligation to buy anything. If as a result of the promotion done, some new Club member, decide to buy a package Information, the Promoter will receive a commercial fee as provided by the terms and conditions above mentioned. It is not authorized anyone to provide news other than those listed here and on the official website, to promise false gains and / or try to push the purchase of the products, which must instead be the result of personal conviction. In particular, it must never be made no reference to any kind of investment if not purely cultural nature. This Club is fully committed to compliance with the laws of the countries in which it operates. It's also open to collaboration with those who help him to improve.For each queries or suggestions please contact via the official website. For questions please contact support@starbit.com