Digital Currency and Blockchain Weekly Round-Up – March 1st, 2019

South Korea’s FSC seeks to open banks’ financial payment network to fintech firms
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has proposed a plan to establish an open banking system which would grant fintech firms access to banks’ payment network. In an announcement dated February 25, the FSC said that it is seeking to encourage the development of new payment services and greater competition in the financial sector.

South Korea’s Jeju province and ICON hold briefing session for establishing ‘Jeju Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox’
South Korean blockchain project ICON has announced that it sponsored a briefing session for establishing the Jeju Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox with private companies in attendance in Seoul. The session aimed to create a bridge between governments and companies pushing the growth of the domestic blockchain industry.

Australian financial regulator Austrac explores blockchain potential to automate funds transfer instructions
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) is testing blockchain use in automating funds transfer instructions, ZDNet reported. For the project, Austrac has collaborated with Swinburne University of Technology.

South Australian government taps blockchain technology for elections
The government of South Australia has contracted blockchain startup Horizon State to conduct a public election using blockchain technology for the inaugural Minister’s Recreational Fishing Advisory Council, Smart Company reported.

India’s securities regulator SEBI seeks to boost blockchain and AI innovation through sandbox approach: Report
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is considering setting up a regulatory sandbox to facilitate regulated use of innovative technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence in the securities market, The Economic Times reported.

Company News

Fidelity Investments, Castle Island Ventures back blockchain analytics startup Coin Metrics
Switzerland-based Pangea Blockchain Fund launches with $22M seed round
Japanese firm Recruit backs Beam’s $5M funding round via blockchain fund
Blockchain startup Nivaura raises $20M in seed funding led by London Stock Exchange
Crypto wallet startup Curv secures $6.5M in seed funding
Blockchain-based home equity loan platform Figure Technologies secures $65M in Series B funding
Arrington XRP Capital, Pantera, Huobi Capital invest in blockchain startup ThunderCore
South Korean crypto exchange Coinbin bankrupt, cites $26M embezzlement by employee

Partnerships/Consortiums

Chevron, Repsol, ExxonMobil and others establish oil and gas blockchain consortium in U.S.
Crypto exchange Gemini joins BT Radianz Cloud community
Litecoin Foundation announces partnership with premier kickboxing league Glory
SIRIN Labs enables fiat-to-crypto conversion on FINNEY via Simplex partnership
SoftBank, TBCASoft launch blockchain identification working group under CBSG

Digital Currency and Blockchain Initiatives

Swiss private bank Julius Baer partners with crypto startup SEBA for digital asset services
Saudi Arabia’s Alhamrani Universal partners with ShoCard to develop blockchain-powered biometric ATM
Fujitsu, Sony Global Education begin blockchain field trial for course records management
Turkish digital operator Turkcell unveils blockchain-based ID Management solution
MonetaGo to switch Fraud Mitigation Network to R3's Corda Enterprise from Hyperledger
Templum partners with Symbiont to switch to private blockchains
HPE, Continental to launch blockchain-based data monetization platform in 2019
Kyocera, LO3 Energy partner to trial blockchain-managed virtual power plant
Accenture seeks to leverage blockchain, digital identity and payments technologies to improve global supply chains
Mercedes-Benz Cars develops blockchain prototype to enhance transparency of supply chains
International currency exchange Mercury FX successfully trials Ripple’s xRapid solution
South Korean telecom giant KT to roll out blockchain-as-a-service platform in March: Report
Mizuho Bank to launch digital currency platform ‘J-Coin Pay’ in March
Facebook working on own crypto ‘Facebook Coin’: Report
Online shopping platform Reebonz partners with blockchain startup VeChain
Investec, BankservAfrica demonstrate blockchain-based identity platform
South Africa’s Standard Bank to launch permissioned blockchain payment system
Dagang Net collaborates with LuxTag to develop blockchain-based e-Services
PwC trials blockchain-based Smart Credentials platform with ICAS