US Congressman to introduce three bills to support blockchain and crypto development
US Congressman Tom Emmer last week announced that he will introduce three bills to support blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. The bills are aimed at supporting this emerging industry and providing “clarity to entities that never take control of consumer funds, and establishes a safe harbor for taxpayers with “forked” digital assets.”
US Navy explores blockchain technology to enhance tracking system
The U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is looking into the use of blockchain technology in tracking aviation parts throughout the parts life-cycle. It is seeking to leverage blockchain technology to transform how it tracks the lineage of parts.
Australian securities regulator ASIC stops five misleading ICOs
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced that it has taken action to stop a number of proposed initial coin offerings (ICOs) targeting retail investors. Since April, the regulator has successfully stopped five ICOs that sought to raise capital without the appropriate investor protections.
Dubai Department of Finance, Smart Dubai launch blockchain-based Payment Reconciliation and Settlement System
The Smart Dubai Office (SDO), in collaboration with the Dubai Department of Finance, has launched a blockchain-based system to enable real-time processing of payments and expedite government transactions, according to a press release on Zawya. The rollout of the ‘Payment Reconciliation and Settlement’ System is being touted as a “Blockchain-powered upgrade” to the financial system.
UNICEF France starts accepting crypto donations
UNICEF France announced last week that it is targeting a new category of donors as it starts accepting donations in cryptocurrencies. The organization has announced support for nine cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Dash (DASH), Monero (XMR), EOS (EOS), and Stellar (XLM).
Austrian government to use Ethereum blockchain to notarize $1.3B bond auction
The government of Austria is going to notarize the auction of a government bond worth €1.15 billion (approximately $1.3 billion) using Ethereum blockchain, CoinDesk reported. The Finance Ministry on Tuesday announced that the Austrian Federal Financing Agency (OeBFA) has assigned Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) to carry out the auction on its behalf.
Google to allow regulated crypto exchanges to advertise from October
Search engine giant Google has announced that it will start allowing regulated cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise in the U.S. and Japan, starting next month. In a new update to Financial products and services policy, Google said, “The Google Ads policy on Financial products and services will be updated in October 2018 to allow regulated cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise in the United States and Japan.”
Research Studies
- Cryptocurrency mining malware grew by 86% in Q2 2018: McAfee Labs
Investment/Acquisition
- Goldman Sachs leads $25M Series B round in blockchain payment platform Veem
- Bitwala secures €4M in new funding to launch crypto-friendly banking service
- Porsche increases investment in cutting-edge technologies including blockchain
Partnerships/Consortiums
- FedEx, Honeywell International and others join Hyperledger blockchain consortium
- More than 70 banks join JPMorgan’s blockchain payments trial
- United Nations Development Programme partners with Blockchain Charity Foundation
Digital Currency and Blockchain Initiatives
- Coinbase partners with Caspian to bring new crypto trading tools to institutional traders
- Grab Philippines partners with blockchain startup LoyalCoin
- China-based Bank of Communications issues $1.3B in securities on proprietary blockchain
- Austrian National Tourism Office looks to blockchain to fight ad fraud
- Marsh expands IBM collaboration to bring blockchain proof of insurance to more clients via Salesforce platform
- Telecom giant AT&T launches suite of blockchain solutions for enterprise customers
- Circle launches dollar-backed stablecoin “USD Coin”
- Evernym and Sovrin Foundation launch new initiative to bring identity blockchain to non-profits
- SBI Ripple Asia gets payments license, moves closer to launch blockchain-based MoneyTap app
- Red Belly Blockchain achieves 30k txs/sec in global trial on AWS cloud
- Australian real estate firm Vicinity to trial blockchain for energy management
- Walmart taps IBM Blockchain to enable end-to-end food traceability
- Dairy Farmers of America partners with ripe.io to test blockchain in food and agriculture
- Japan’s SBI to trial crypto token “S coin” for retail payments via smartphones
- Italian football club Juventus taps blockchain to improve fan engagement, announces fan token
- Thai banking giant Kasikornbank to trial Visa’s blockchain-based B2B payments platform
- Brave brings blockchain startup Civic’s identity verification services to verified publishers
- Indian stock exchange NSE to trial blockchain for e-voting
- Blockchain startup Ripple officially announces social impact program
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