Digital Currency and Blockchain Weekly Round-Up – September 27th, 2019

US House of Representatives passes bill requiring FinCEN to study blockchain and AI

The United States House of Representatives has passed a new bill that requires the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to study emerging technologies including blockchain. On September 19, the House passed the bill, entitled “Advancing Innovation to Assist Law Enforcement Act,” which has now moved to the Senate for consideration, CoinDesk reported.

U.S. SEC begins proceedings on Wilshire Phoenix Bitcoin ETF proposal

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has started its proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove a proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Citing a public filing published this week, CoinDesk reported that the SEC has started assessing the proposed rule change to allow NYSE Arca to list and trade shares of Wilshire Phoenix’s Bitcoin and Treasury Investment Trust.

IFRS interpretations committee defines cryptocurrencies as “intangible asset”

In a decision made in June, the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) said that cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, are neither legal tender nor financial products as they are "not cash nor an equity instrument of another entity," adding that they do not "give rise to a contractual right for the holder and it is not a contract that will or may be settled in the holder's own equity instruments."

PBoC: China's digital currency will not launch in November

China has shut down rumors that it will launch its national digital currency in November. In a statement to Piyao, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) denied the speculations, saying the November date was “inaccurate” as well as the details of institutions that will reportedly participate in the project.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda urges global efforts in regulating Facebook's Libra

The governor of Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda has called for international efforts to regulate digital cryptocurrencies such as Facebook’s forthcoming Libra token. As per a Reuters report, Kuroda warned in a speech before business leaders in Osaka on Sept. 23 that “If Libra is introduced, it could have a huge impact on society.”

Australian government considers blockchain, big data, IoT for national health infrastructure

The Australian Digital Health Agency has issued a request for information (RFI) seeking inputs from the industry on the “next-generation technology” for its future digital health platform, ARN reported. According to the details, the RFI particularly deals with “the future of the National Infrastructure, including My Health Record.”

Russian Banking Association proposes taxing crypto mining as treasure

Russia could tax cryptocurrency mining activities, similar to how it taxes treasure findings or property, local news agency Izvestia report. The Association of Banks of Russia has reportedly proposed to legally recognize crypto mining as “an analogy of occupation of property or treasure.” This would essentially make cryptocurrencies taxable within the existing legal framework.

Venezuela's central bank exploring ways to add bitcoin, ether to its reserves

Venezuela’s central bank could soon hold bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) in its coffers, according to a report by Bloomberg citing people with knowledge about the matter. As per the report, the internal test came at the request of Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), the state-owned oil and natural gas firm.

Research Studies

• KPMG study identifies loyalty programs as “ideal platform” to introduce blockchain-enabled tokenization

• BTI Report: Majority of crypto exchanges fake 90% of trading volumes; Kraken, Poloniex, Coinbase, Upbit among the 'cleanest'

Company News

• Crypto derivatives data provider Skew bags $2M from Firstminute Capital, Kleiner Perkins

• Peter Thiel-backed investment fund 1Confirmation scores $45M

• Morgan Creek Digital leads $3.5M seed round in blockchain analytics startup Elementus

• Fold bitcoin rewards app secures $2.5M to bring Lightning Network to retailers

• Knøx secures $8.25M, debuts digital custody service with up to 100% insurance

• Digital securities platform Securitize secures $14M from Santander, MUFG, Nomura

• Flipside Crypto secures $7.1M in latest funding to offer better analytics to crypto and blockchain organizations

• Bloomberg Beta, Fidelity, Tencent and others pump $20M in blockchain startup Everledger

• Blockchain gaming studio Immutable rakes in $15M from Naspers, Galaxy

• Matter Labs secures $2M funding to develop zero-knowledge proofs for ethereum blockchain

• Blockchain identity firm Evernym raises $8M from Overstock's Medici Venture, Barclays Venture

• Blockchain data privacy startup StrongSalt secures $3M to develop encryption platform-as-a-service

• Facebook acquires chatbot startup Servicefriend for Calibra customer service

• Kik shutting down messaging app to focus on legal battle with SEC

• Bitfinex wins a motion against NYAG, can stop turning over documents in a new court order

• Binance receives ISO security accreditation, becomes first crypto exchange recognized by DNV, UKAS

Partnerships/Consortiums

• NEO becomes first blockchain organization member of .NET Foundation

• Blockchain-based decentralized content ecosystem Contentos joins PUBLISHalliance

Digital Currency Initiatives

• SoFi rolls out zero-fee crypto trading for bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin with SoFi Invest

• Bakkt’s bitcoin futures go live on ICE Futures U.S.

• CME Group to launch bitcoin options in Q1 2020

• Monex Group to reward shareholders with bitcoins, revamps leadership board with new appointees

• German stock exchange Boerse Stuttgart launches regulated digital assets exchange

• SIX Swiss Exchange rolls out digital assets exchange prototype

• Crypto exchange Binance officially rolls out Staking Platform

Blockchain Initiatives

• UK-based SETL launches blockchain test lab initiative

• Lloyds Bank partners with blockchain platform komgo for quicker commodities trade finance

• Insurance broker Marsh pilots blockchain-powered digital placement platform

• IBM unveils new version of its blockchain platform optimized for Red Hat OpenShift

• Binance Labs-backed decentralized content ecosystem Contentos launches mainnet blockchain

• Daimler, Dürr execute trade finance transaction using blockchain-based Marco Polo network

• R3, Infosys complete global blockchain trial for trade finance

• Vakt, essDocs partner to build blockchain solution for digitization of European barge market

• South Korean conglomerate CJ Group develops music copyright system with Amazon's blockchain

• Korea Blockchain Ratings begins operations to bring accurate information to investors

• Alipay's operator Ant Financial signs deal with Bayer to develop agricultural blockchain solution

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AfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchFrisianGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKoreanKurdishKyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianLuxembourgishMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianPashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSamoanScots GaelicSerbianSesothoShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu

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