Digital Currency and Blockchain Weekly Round-Up – November 16th, 2018

Bitcoin is an extremely clever idea, but not every clever idea is a good idea, says ECB’s Benoît Cœuré
Bitcoin is the evil spawn of the financial crisis, a member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) executive board said recently. Speaking at the Economics of Payments IX conference on November 15, Benoît Cœuré, clearly expressed his wariness on cryptocurrencies – calling bitcoin an “extremely clever idea”, but adding “not every clever idea is a good idea.”

Thai SEC likely to certify first ICO portal this month
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expects to certify the first initial coin offering (ICO) portal this month, the Bangkok Post reported. “At least one ICO portal will be certified in November, then we can approve each ICO offering, which might start in December,” SEC secretary-general Rapee Sucharitakul said.

MAS, Bank of Canada begin work to link respective blockchain platforms
The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank of Canada have started work on linking their respective blockchain platforms to explore the possibility of instant, 24/7 settlement of cross-border payments transactions, MAS Director Ravi Menon said recently. Speaking at Singapore FinTech Festival 2018 on November 12, Menon discussed a number of fintech initiatives currently underway at the central bank among other things.

MAS, SGX successfully trial blockchain technology for settlement of tokenized assets
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) have announced that they have successfully developed Delivery versus Payment (DvP) capabilities to settle tokenised assets across different blockchain platforms.

Thailand’s Democrat Party taps Zcoin’s blockchain for e-voting system in primary election
The Thai Democrat Party has used blockchain technology to elect its new party leader in a recently held primary election. The election, which ran from 1st to 9th of November, leveraged Zcoin’s blockchain. The stakeholders decided to use Zcoin’s public blockchain as it had no administrator.

Chinese city of Loudi rolls out blockchain platform for real estate data
The Chinese city of Loudi, located in central Hunan province, has rolled out a blockchain-based platform for recording real estate data, CoinTelegraph reported referring to a report from People’s Daily. The platform is backed by the city’s land, tax and real estate departments.

Malaysian education ministry and universities team up to fight fake degrees using blockchain
Malaysia’s Ministry of Education (MoE) last week announced the setting up of a blockchain-focused university consortium and the launch of an “e-Scroll” system – a university degree issuance and verification system based on blockchain technology.

Research Studies

• 75 pct Irish people unwilling to consider career in blockchain technology: Study
• Canadian, Singaporean and UK central banks explore W-CBDCs and DLT for cross-border payments and settlements

Funding/Investments/Acquisitions

• Singaporean crypto startup KuCoin secures $20M in Series A round
• HSBC joins blockchain startup Axoni's Series B funding round

Consortiums/Partnerships

• Smithfield Foods joins Subway, Tyson Foods and others in Food Industry Blockchain Consortium
• Kakao’s blockchain platform Klaytn teams up with stablecoin project Terra
• Shell and BP-backed VAKT to launch blockchain platform to digitize commodities trading industry by end of 2018
• Nine leading shipping companies team up for new blockchain consortium
• New coalition seeks to foster blockchain innovation in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau
• Malaysian banking group CIMB joins Ripple’s blockchain network

Digital Currency and Blockchain Initiatives

• Gibraltar Stock Exchange forms joint venture with fintech firms to develop blockchain technologies
• Canada-based VersaBank to rollout digital safety deposit box for crypto exchanges and investment funds
• American restaurant chain Sweetgreen plans blockchain push following $200M funding
• Telecom giant Telefónica seeks to streamline core business processes using IBM Blockchain
• CSIRO’s Data61, CBA successfully complete trial of blockchain-powered smart money
• Transoil International, Solaris Commodities conduct blockchain pilot for Black Sea wheat
• Tokio Marine & Nichido, NTT DATA trial blockchain for marine cargo insurance claims
• Accenture taps blockchain for software license management
• Gem launches crypto portfolio tracker with automatic sync with 25 crypto exchanges
• Microsoft releases serverless Azure Blockchain Development Kit
• Indian IT firm NIIT Technologies teams up with R3 to tap Corda blockchain platform
• KPMG partners with BiTA to develop blockchain standards for transportation industry