Digital Currency and Blockchain Weekly Round-up – August 3rd, 2018

US Treasury department proposes regulatory sandbox to foster fintech innovation

The U.S. Department of the Treasury released a report earlier this week which highlights the improvements needed in the regulatory landscape to better support nonbank financial institutions, embrace financial technology, and foster innovation.

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service recommends integrated blockchain system for stock trading

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is encouraging domestic companies and regulatory authorities to collaborate on developing an integrated blockchain platform for stock trading, Korea Joongang Daily reported. The FSS on Thursday released its study on the current status and implications of blockchain technology in stock transactions.

Cyprus SEC establishes fintech and regtech-focused innovation hub

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has established an Innovation Hub in order to address and explore fintech and regtech developments. Expected to become operational in September, the Innovation Hub will provide a platform where the entities engaged in innovative technologies will have ongoing access to CySEC to best understand and implement their regulatory requirements.

Dubai heads towards blockchain-powered judicial future

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts, in partnership with Smart Dubai, has announced its plans to create the world’s first Court of the Blockchain. The project, aimed at creating a blockchain-powered judicial future, will build upon the existing dispute resolution services. Initial focus would be on exploring how to aid verification of court judgments for cross-border enforcement.

Argentina to launch blockchain platform for public and private sector

A number of Argentinean organizations are teaming up to develop a multi-service blockchain platform. According to a press release, NIC Argentina, the Argentine Internet Chamber of Commerce (CABASE) and the Universities Association for Interconnection Networks (ARIU) are collaborating to develop the Federal Blockchain of Argentina (BFA).

Overstock.com subsidiary to build blockchain land titling program for Zambian government

Medici Land Governance (MLG), a blockchain-based property rights subsidiary of e-commerce giant Overstock.com, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government of Zambia to develop a program for systematic land governance within the country.

Queensland government invests in crypto-based travel and tourism startup TravelbyBit

The government of Australian state of Queensland has announced a grant to a cryptocurrency startup TravelbyBit. TravelbyBit, a digital currency payments platform for the travel and tourism industry, is one of 70 companies that will receive the grant as part of over $8.3 million in Palaszczuk Government innovation funding.

City of Vienna collaborates with EY to use blockchain to enhance security of government data

EY has revealed the details of its collaboration with the City of Vienna that seeks to leverage blockchain technology to simplify and automate administrative processes. The company said that it has been working with the City of Vienna on public blockchains to validate and secure the city's Open Government Data (OGD), an initiative aimed at bringing greater transparency and cooperation with the population.

Chamber of Digital Commerce Proposes Guidelines for Digital Token Alliance & ICOs

The Chamber of Digital Commerce, a blockchain and cryptocurrency advocacy institution, founded back in 2014, has now set in a few sets of guidelines to address challenges arising out of utility tokens.

Research Studies:

Bitcoin to replace fiat? UBS says bitcoin price needs to hit $213k

IHS Markit estimates global blockchain business value to surge to $2 trillion by 2030

Arizona State University, Dash explore blockchain scalability issues in new research

Events/Conferences:

Ripple announces Bill Clinton as Swell keynote speaker; collaborates with Madonna’s Raising Malawi initiative

Investments/Acquisitions/ Fund-raising:

Digital Currency Group, ZhenFund and others back Logos Network’s $3M seed round

Japan’s SBI Holdings to launch cryptocurrency derivatives platform, invests in Clear Markets

NFL Players Association buys minority stake in blockchain startup SportsCastr

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance acquires Trust Wallet

Partnerships/Consortiums:

Swiss blockchain startup Streamr joins MOBI

UniCredit completes first blockchain-based international transaction via we.trade

Digital Currency and Blockchain Initiatives

Neufund, BitBay collaborate to enable security token trading with fiat currencies

German stock exchange Boerse Stuttgart goes big on crypto – announces BISON, ICO platform, custody service and more

Northern Trust’s private equity and hedge fund units to tap blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Shwe Bank to enable blockchain-based remittances in Myanmar-Thailand corridor via Everex partnership

CryptoCompare to integrate data of 50 cryptocurrencies into Thomson Reuters Eikon

DCEX to launch blockchain-based crypto-to-crypto marketplace with XRP as base currency

Agricultural Bank of China completes loan issuance using blockchain technology

CLS, IBM team up for single shared DLT platform for financial institutions

Future FinTech sets up subsidiary in Beijing to drive blockchain incubation business

CBA trials Ethereum blockchain for almond supply chain management