Day: August 10, 2018

Europe

Welcome to our weekly roundup of all important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from around the world. Follow the latest developments in the cryptocurrency space continent by continent, country by country.

United Kingdom

Financial regulator remains committed on international regulatory network: The UK’s Financial regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is keen on setting an international standard for crypto regulation as it has just announced the establishment of a Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN).

The latest efforts evident in the form of GFIN are an effort to create a global sandbox for collaboration between different fintech entities. There are 11 collaborators working under the umbrella of GFIN right now. The sandbox effort was in response to a host of inquiries from blockchain projects for a collaboration-based regulatory effort.

Mining company listed on London Stock Exchange now active: Cryptocurrency mining company Argo Mining, the first to be listed on the London Stock Exchange is now active according to the market index.

The company, which specializes in accessible crypto mining via subscription, had previously raised over GBP 25 million (about USD 32.5 million) through a traditional Initial Public Offering (IPO) held at the London Stock Exchange.

Over 156 million shares priced at GBP 0.16 each will now be available for trading in the LSE for the mining company, thus bringing a new era in the operations of the stock exchange.

According to Executive chairman Jonathon Bixby:

“Argo’s admission to the London main market is a major step in the company’s development and will put us in a strong position to execute our long-term growth strategy. We are delighted with the strong response from investors which will enable us to grow our business in multiple jurisdictions.”

Other mining companies also look to become a part of the LSE in the near future.

Germany

Biggest blockchain meet to run directly on Dapps: Germany’s biggest Ethereum startup ETHBerlin announced that the entire event will be run with the help of decentralized apps or Dapps.

The event will be held in the Factory Berlin in two venues simultaneously starting from September this year. The move to use Dapps for all purposes is a big initiative for the crypto community as Dapps are struggling to maintain their momentum in the crypto circles right now.

The Dapps include Ethereum-based video streaming app, decentralized hotel and apartment booking platform that accepts Ether, raffles, ticketing and event management is also expected to be covered by Ethereum Dapps as well. The ETHBerlin team says:

“ETHBerlin stands strong, we think that Dapps are the future, so we’ll do whatever it takes to push adoption, and inspire you to build more of them. There is room for all… As a responsible, global community, in constant evolution, as is our ecosystem, we need to understand that it is not enough to absorb these teachings and foundations and just replicate.”

While Ethereum blockchain is facing scalability issues, its use in organizing big events is one of the reasons why it is part of a wider future success story.

Second-largest German stock exchange continuing towards crypto: Boerse Stuttgart, the second largest stock exchange in Germany, has taken yet another step forward to host coin offerings in the future. The move came following its recent announcement of a new app called Bison that was developed in partnership with fintech company Sowa Labs.

The primary aim of these efforts is to create a platform from which tokens can be issued in the future. The CEO of Boerse Stuttgart Alexander Hoptner said:

“At the trading venue tokens issued via our ICO platform can be traded on the secondary market. This is an important success factor for ICOs. At the same time, we are responding to demand from both retail and institutional investors for a regulated and reliable environment for trading cryptocurrencies.”

Russia

44% of Russians know about crypto: The Russian cryptocurrency revolution is showing remarkable growth as a recent survey of Russian citizens show 44% Russians admitting they know about Bitcoin while 13% went on to say they have a good understanding of them.

The survey done by a local Russian firm interestingly showed that 31% of the respondents who know about cryptocurrencies belonged to the middle class and lower middle-class households with incomes less than RUB 10,000 (USD 150) per family member. The higher group with RUB 25,000 mostly didn’t know about cryptocurrencies at all. Some 76% of the respondents said that they were in it to make profits.

Bitcoin remained the cryptocurrency of choice.

Ukraine

Ukraine conducts election trials on NEM blockchain: A Ukrainian election official has stated that the Election Commission is undertaking experiments on the NEM blockchain on a trial basis for the country’s future elections.

Oleksander Stelmakh, the head of the voter registry in the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, praised blockchains for their immutability and other benefits of decentralized data on social media. His communique also included news of the commission truing a series of trials to apply blockchain technology for electoral voting.

Netherlands

Half a million Dutch households hold crypto but central bank remains wary: The cryptocurrency revolution has a deep penetration in the Dutch market with over 500,000 Dutch households currently holding Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency despite skeptical behavior of the central bank.

A Dutch central bank spokesperson said that Bitcoin was still too volatile for savings and only the fiat value equivalent could be termed as real value and not the cryptocurrencies themselves. But despite these concerns, the central bank has no plans to impose a ban on Dutch cryptocurrency holders and traders.

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Logistics firm CEVA says shipping supply chains could see new market standard in IBM-Maersk blockchain offering

The Indian government is reportedly considering whether to allow crypto tokens — not cryptocurrencies — to be used in the country, based on proposals from an inter-ministerial committee

The growing cryptocurrency market is paving the way for many new businesses. Although buying cryptocurrency remains one of the biggest hurdles to overcome, it is a necessary step. Once completed, the world of crypto-to-crypto exchanges will open up. Below are some prominent exchanges active in the space, listed in alphabetical order.

4. Binance

Undoubtedly the largest crypto-to-crypto trading platform out there, Binance caters to users all over the world. The firm has made its mark on the industry fairly quickly, and it continues to add new trading markets on a regular basis. This has catapulted Binance to the forefront in terms of inter-crypto trading, and it will remain the market leader in this department for quite some time to come.

Binance is also expanding its presence all over the world. From Malta to Uganda, the company is attempting to bring cryptocurrency trading to the rest of the world. The company also generates a lot of volume for all of its supported currencies, although some of its recent additions may raise a lot of questions. That is to be expected during these times of cryptocurrency FOMO.

3. Bittrex

While Bittrex was once the leading crypto-to-crypto exchange, it lost that title quite some time ago. Even so, it remains one of the go-to solutions for most altcoin traders, primarily because of the company’s solid reputation. Bittrex enabled support for stablecoin trading in recent months, which was considered a relatively good decision.

2. KuCoin

This particular exchange made a big impact a while ago, primarily because it had no KYC or AML requirements until very recently. As such, it allowed users to trade fully anonymously, although the company has since begun performing verification. It is a necessary curse for all centralized exchanges, as they must adhere to governmental regulation at all times.

Despite that big change, KuCoin is still considered to be one of today’s top crypto-to-crypto exchanges. By adding a few new tokens, supporting airdropped tokens, and launching its own institutional investor program, KuCoin is certainly on track to maintain its market position.

1. Poloniex

Once the holy grail of crypto-to-crypto trading, Poloniex has quickly become one of the less popular exchanges due to various platform issues. Slowly but surely, the tide is changing in favor of Poloniex again, as it remains one of the exchanges with the most altcoin pairs for true crypto-to-crypto trading.

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Token trading platform Templum Markets has launched a sale of a token allowing accredited investors to buy shares in a popular Colorado resort. 

Australia has maintained a Blockchain-friendly position with its government-backed exploration of Blockchain technology for various applications. Now, it is getting ready to issue the world’s first Blockchain bond upon being mandated by the World Bank.

Australia to Create Distributed Ledger Bonds

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) will reportedly create, allocate, transfer and manage the bond using Blockchain technology. The $AUD Kangaroo bond, named “bond-i”, will be delivered on a private Ethereum blockchain being utilized by the World Bank and CBA in Washington and Sydney, respectively. The Blockchain platform has been designed and developed by the CBA Innovation Lab’s Blockchain Centre of Excellence and an independent review of its technical architecture, security and resilience has been conducted by Microsoft.

The initiative is a part of the World Bank’s mandate to reduce poverty and promote development, as a part of which, it issues bonds worth US$50-US$60 billion annually for encouraging sustainable development. The World Bank is focused on helping countries to leverage the technology for sustainable development, and it aims to explore disruptive technologies such as blockchain to expedite its progress towards the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goals.

A media release on CBA’s website states “This collaboration built on the longstanding partnership between the two organisations, with the World Bank’s 70-year track record of innovation in the capital markets and CBA’s globally recognised Blockchain Centre of Excellence combining to deliver the project successfully.”

In 2017, the CBA had issued a prototype cryptobond for Queensland Treasury Corporation utilizing its capital markets blockchain platform, and become the first government entity both in Australia and in the world to do so.

The Australian government has also been proactive in investigating the technology for its efficiency gains and implementing it across a range of sectors. The country has signed a five-year $740 million deal with IBM to use crypto and other new technologies to enhance data security. Australia’s Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is researching the technology, hoping to apply it in international trade and supply chain management for better security and transparency. Another area where the country is aiming to implement the technology is for tracking the provenance of sugar supplies to Australia, and ensuring better sustainability and traceability. The project, named Sustainable Sugar Project, has received a grant of A$2.25 million ($1.7 million) from the government. The Australian government also recently allocated nearly $521,000 to its Digital Transformation Agency to explore the possibilities of applying blockchain within various government services. The DTA aiming to use the technology for welfare payment distribution, and a prototype is expected to be released by mid-2019.

Australia is also focusing on increasing crypto awareness and education among its citizens. Melbourne’s RMIT University offers an eight-week short-course to help students develop a strategic understanding of crypto.

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Blockchain-based “alternative” to Wikipedia, Everipedia, launches while executives focus on remaining “challenges”

South Korea has announced plans to launch a blockchain-focused training initiative targeted at emerging talent from the country’s younger demographic.

The young participants will benefit from a six-month blockchain and technology training course covering a variety of emerging sectors, with the primary goal being stated at decreasing youth unemployment while matching individuals with job opportunities well suited to them.

The students will be trained in a total of 40 courses including blockchain development, as well as software, hardware, autonomous vehicle and drone modules. Each unit was carefully configured to match the employment personnel needed for the various industries local to South Korea.

A key objective of the plan involves building direct relationships between educational institutions and companies to coordinate an advantageous cooperation of building the skill sets that employers need from prospective employees.

In a press release on Thursday, the ministry called for a demand of future employees to participate from the beginning of the project so that the most effective outcome is reached.

Software policy officer at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Young-Kyung Won, noted that while unemployment of the younger generation is becoming a social problem, job mismatch is also becoming a serious issue in the country.

Through an innovative approach to fostering talent, Young-Kyung hopes that companies’ level of vision can be matched by the youths alongside developing better support networks to match them with and offer them job opportunities.

The government-led 2018 Innovative Growing Youth Talent Concentration Project has been organized collaboratively by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute for Information and Communications Technology Promotion. Recruitment and selection events were held by local governments between 11 June and 10 July.

Individual trainees will be chosen through the month of August via self-selection criteria at each educational facility. The course is scheduled to begin mid-September.

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Making Bitcoin more convenient to use is an ongoing struggle. Over the years, various companies and services have introduced new ways to send Bitcoin via text messages. It is a very unusual take on things, yet the following companies – listed in alphabetical order – are making their mark on this rather new industry.

4. Blockchain

The Blockchain wallet is very successful on both desktop and mobile devices. Formerly known as Blockchain.info, Blockchain offers users all of the functionality they need. This includes the ability to send Bitcoin via text message, a feature which was implemented many years ago. This feature can be accessed only from one’s desktop or the mobile web version of Blockchain.

There is a menu option known as “send message”, whereby users can enter a mobile phone number and determine the amount of Bitcoin they want to send. It is a very simple feature on paper, but one that can make it a lot easier to send Bitcoin to people all over the world without any of the added friction associated with other ways of transferring cryptocurrency.

3. Coinapult

Coinapult added the ability to send Bitcoin via SMS a while ago. Users will first have to add their phone number under their account settings. The web and SMS interfaces offered by the company can be used without any issues, as the firm has phone numbers in both the UK and Canada.

2. CoinText

CoinText presents perhaps the most interesting way of sending cryptocurrency via SMS. It doesn’t support Bitcoin itself, but it provides access to Bitcoin Cash. Users can set up a new BCH wallet by texting the CoinText access number, and then adding funds to their new wallet address. Once that is completed, Bitcoin Cash balances can be sent to any phone number in the world.

Recipients of funds can access their BCH balances without having to install any additional applications and whatnot. It is a very convenient and straightforward process, albeit one that could benefit from supporting Bitcoin as well. Even so, it highlights how relatively easy it is to set up a text service linked to cryptocurrency.

1. Samourai Wallet’s PonyDirect

This privacy-oriented Bitcoin wallet service has a fair few tricks up its sleeve. Even though most people wouldn’t expect it, this wallet has the option to send money with text messages. The feature was originally introduced earlier this year, and it can be found under the PonyDirect brand. The application was developed in-house, and it’s primarily designed to make an impact in places where mobile connectivity is still several generations behind the rest of the world.

An e-commerce platform that recently launched a token sale aimed to raise $50 million has become Singapore’s first public firm to hold an ICO.

For years, people throughout the world have dealt with issues caused by the natural monopoly associated with energy distributors. Fortunately, things are slowly changing for the better with the introduction of the SunContract platform.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

For those who do not know, the project allows individuals to purchase, sell and trade electricity with one another, through the SunContract blockchain-based, peer-to-peer network.

Unlike some of the competitors on the market, SunContract has already launched in April 2018, with an event that has been attended by members of the Slovenian government and the European Union. Following the launch, the team has actively worked on improving the platform, by adding several new features.

With this in mind, SunContract has integrated a fiat gateway onto the platform. This means that users can now access the network and purchase digital currency without having to use a crypto exchange – in other words, those who aren’t well-versed in the crypto market can simply use the platform’s token to make peer-to-peer energy transactions.

In an effort to facilitate quicker development, SunContract has partnered with Microsoft, and now uses its resources to continuously improve services, and allow for quicker and safer transactions. Additionally, the mobile apps for Android and iOS, which can be used to access the platform, have been developed.

Following these efforts, alongside the launch in Slovenia, more and more households are adopting the platform. The result is a reduction in energy costs that can be up to 40%, considering that individuals are free to choose their own prices.

Granted the company’s goal, they have been invited to attend a United Nations Conference in New York, on the 11th of July. There, SunContract has showcased the efficiency of blockchain technology in meeting sustainable energy goals.

At this moment in time, the project team is preparing to expand the service in other EU countries. It is estimated that this will happen within the next couple of months and years. Apart from cost savings, a worldwide implementation of decentralized energy will also help protect the environment, and limit the use of polluting materials like fossil fuels.

For more information about SunContract, feel free to access their website, and their Medium channel.