Category: News

In recent news pertaining to initial coin offerings (ICO) regulations, an EU report has advocated the regulation of ICOs according to crowdfunding legislation, the governor of Korea’s Jeju Island wants his jurisdiction to become a special economic zone regarding cryptocurrencies and blockchain, and the U.S. SEC has warned consumers regarding the risks of self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts that offer exposure to ICOs and cryptocurrencies. Also Read: Markets Update: Bloody Crypto-Markets Suffer More Losses EU Report Advocates Incorporating ICOs into Fundraising Laws The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs has published a draft report proposing that initial coin offerings become regulated under crowdfunding legislation. The report states: “This Regulation gives the opportunity to ICOs that want to prove their legitimacy to comply with the requirements of this regulation. Whilst this regulation may not provide the solution for regulating the ICO market, it takes a much-needed step towards imposing standards and protections in place for what is an excellent funding stream for tech start-ups. […] Crowdfunding service providers that wish to offer an ICO through their platform, should comply with specific additional requirements under this Regulation. However, private placements, ICOs raising in excess of 8,000,000 [euros] or ICOs that do not use a counterparty do not fall within the scope of those requirements.” The report asserted that “at present initial coin offerings are operating in an unregulated space and consumers are at risk from fraudulent activity taking place in this market,” emphasizing that the regulation of ICOs would provide greater protection…
Source: ICO Regulations Round-Up: Fundraising Law, Jeju Island, Self-Directed IRAs

At press time, the father of cryptocurrency is trading for just over $6,000. This is about $200 less than where it stood during yesterday’s afternoon hours. The coin is continuing to fall deeper and deeper into red territory, though this price is an improvement over where it stood during the early morning, when it fell below $6,000. The currency is now just a few steps above its lowest point of the year, which it hit on June 18 with a price of just over $5,770. The cryptocurrency market cap has shed approximately $21 billion off its back in the last 24 hours, and it appears the crypto space is being targeted by massive sell-offs. In other words, bitcoin is not alone in its present state. The currency is struggling to maintain its position on the financial ladder, yet it’s still doing relatively well in comparison with entities like Ethereum, which has fallen below the $300 mark – the lowest it’s been all year. Also, Ripple – the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap – has also fallen by roughly 14 percent. Charles Hayter, CEO of CryptoCompare, is blaming the SEC’s decision to postpone any action towards the bitcoin ETF submitted by VanEck SolidX. “This has snowballed negative investor sentiment,” he explains. Some, however, are refusing to give in to all the hype and say that bitcoin still has the power to unite cryptocurrencies across the board. One Reddit user for example, recently posted his thoughts regarding the recent sell-off. “Am I…
Source: Bitcoin Price Watch: Currency Briefly Falls Below the ,000 Mark Before Recovering

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has been mandated by the World Bank to issue the world’s first bond created, allocated and managed on the blockchain. Once issued, the bond will be managed by the World Bank in Washington and CBA in Sydney over a private Ethereum-based blockchain, with CBA stating that it remains open to any other project that can offer a better alternative. CBA has been a firm believer in blockchain technology, recently announcing that it had conducted a successful blockchain-based shipment of almonds between Australia and Germany. Embracing Emerging Technology The new Kangaroo bond will be known as the Blockchain Offered New Debt Instrument (bond-i) and will be denominated in AUD. A Kangaroo bond is a foreign bond issued in Australia that’s denominated in the local Australian dollar. According to a press release from the bank, the project is a collaboration between the bank and a number of investors which include the Treasury Corporation of Victoria; Australia’s largest insurer, QBE Insurance; and Chicago-based financial services giant Northern Trust. The issuing of a blockchain-based bond was necessitated by strong investor interest, the World Bank noted. The bank, which issues up to $60 billion in bonds annually for sustainable development, is confident that blockchain technology can greatly improve the bond issuance process. Blockchain has the potential to streamline processes among numerous debt capital market intermediaries and agents. This can help simplify raising capital and trading securities, improve operational efficiencies, and enhance regulatory oversight. A blockchain-issued bond is just the…
Source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia Partners With World Bank to Issue First-Ever Blockchain Bond

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. Keynote Launches a new fund to support diversity and inclusion in the development and use of blockchain technology. Keynote​ is thrilled to launch a new $6 million Fund to support diversity and inclusion in the blockchain industry. The fund exists to ensure everyone has the opportunity to play an active role in the development and evolution of blockchain and opportunities to work and develop in blockchain are open to all regardless of age, disability, gender identity or gender expression, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or any other equality characteristic. This year, Keynote are particularly encouraging applications to speak, volunteer and attend the World Blockchain Forum London from young people, women and people and people with disabilities as these groups are currently under-represented in the blockchain industry. These opportunities are aimed at those who will benefit most from this opportunity and who might not otherwise have the opportunity to develop their careers and knowledge within the industry. Applications to speak, volunteer or attend will be accepted on a rolling basis and will close on Friday 17 August 2018. Keynote’s founder and CEO, Moe Levin, commented: Digital currencies and blockchain, are intended to be democratizing and equalising and it’s really important the industry is…
Source: PR: Keynote Launches Million Diversity and Inclusion Fund for the Global Blockchain Industry

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network receives over 1,500 suspicious activity reports (SARs) related to cryptocurrencies, the agency’s director has revealed. The majority of them come from money service businesses (MSBs), stakeholders in the digital currency industry and other financial institutions. The director also noted that the agency has been working with other government agencies such as the IRS and the SEC to ensure that the crypto industry adheres to the set regulations. Despite its best efforts, the agency has noticed that many crypto-related companies don’t comply with the regulations, and even when they do, it’s only after government agencies follow up. Bringing Order In his speech at the 2018 Chicago-Kent Block Legal Tech Conference, the director of FinCEN, Kenneth Blanco, discussed the agency’s efforts in bringing order to the crypto industry and its successes so far. According to Blanco, much of the success has been brought about by the industry’s cooperation, with the crypto industry continuously reporting suspicious activity to the agency. FinCEN receives over 1,500 SARs related to cryptos, he revealed. Most of them are reported by companies involved either fully or in part in the crypto industry. The SARs have been a critical contributor to the success of the agency in thwarting fraudulent and illegal practices, he said. Blanco cited BTC-e as an example of an instance in which SARs played a major role in drawing attention to suspicious activity. BTC-e was a controversial crypto exchange that was shut down after the US DOJ arrested some of…
Source: FinCEN Receives More Than 1,500 Crypto-Related Complaints Every Month

President Maduro’s Venezuela is preparing to effectively adopt next week two official units of account – the nation’s crypto, El Petro, and the new petro-pegged bolivar that will replace the inflated national fiat. New salary and pricing mechanisms will be implemented as well, the country’s leftist leader promised. Also read: Malta Tops Exchange-Based Crypto Trade, Russia Leads in OTC Volume Venezuela Introduces Crypto-Pegged Bolivar on Monday Starting from August 20, Venezuela will have two official units of account – the state-issued, oil-backed cryptocurrency, the petro, and the new petro-pegged, denominated bolivar, comments from President Nicolás Maduro confirmed. In a televised address, published also on Twitter, the Venezuelan head of state said: “As of next Monday, Venezuela will have a second unit of account based on the price, the value of the petro. […] it will begin to operate as the mandatory unit of account for our PDVSA oil company.” As previously revealed, Venezuelan authorities are issuing a new version of the national fiat currency. The “sovereign bolivar” will have five zeros less than the highly depreciated “strong bolivar”, whose inflation may exceed 1 million percent by the end of this year, according to the projections of the IMF. The banknotes of the denominated bolivar are expected to enter circulation within a week. Quoted by ABC Internacional, the president explains that Venezuela will have the “petro” and the “sovereign bolivar” as units of account from August 20, when the monetary conversion will take effect. On Monday, Maduro said that Banco…
Source: Venezuela to Have Two Units of Account – Petro and Petro-Pegged Bolivar