Day: October 2, 2018

Venezuela’s Controversial Petro Sale Starting November, Maduro Claims

boss

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has appeared on national television to announce the official launch of the national cryptocurrency Petro, according to a brief summary of his speech posted on Venezuela’s government website Monday, October 1. Maduro stated that the official website for the Petro has already been launched, and the official Petro wallet is also available in Google Play. However, the public sale will only start November 5. Maduro also stressed that Petro will be available on six major crypto exchanges starting Monday, October 1. The Venezuelan president did not…

Blockchain-Based Ad Startup to Refund Contributors if Development Milestones Aren’t Met

boss

A digital advertising startup with the goal of “building a better internet” for web users, publishers and advertisers is embarking on the second round of its token offering – but with a twist. Varanida says its blockchain has been built for three reasons: improving transparency for brands, increasing revenue for publishers, and giving the public a better experience when they are browsing the internet. The company plans to achieve these goals by “improving online digital content and creating incentives for less intrusive ads that people actually want to see.” Founded…

Venture Capital Investment in Blockchain and Crypto Up 280% in 2018, Report Shows

boss

“Traditional” venture capital (VC) investment in blockchain and crypto firms has almost tripled in the first three quarters of 2018, according to a new Diar report published September 30. Diar cites data from Pitchbook that indicates that blockchain and crypto-related firms have raised almost $3.9 billion in VC capital in so far this year — a 280 percent rise as compared with last year. The rise comes not just in terms of an increasing number of deals, but also in the burgeoning median value of each, which has grown by…

Italian Banking Association Completes First Test of Blockchain-Based Interbank System

boss

The Italian Banking Association (ABI) has revealed they successfully passed the initial phase of testing their blockchain-powered interbank system, Italian financial media outlet Ansa reported September 29. By applying distributed ledger technology (DLT), the group of 14 Italian banks is planning to improve interbanking processes. Specifically, the association intends to boost the processing time of operations, increase the transparency of banking information, and enable the verification and exchange of information directly within the application. According to local Italian source Corriere Nazionale, the application of blockchain technology will also assist in…

Cryptocurrency is ‘Here to Stay’: CFTC Chairman Giancarlo

boss

Bitcoin may never replace the greenback, but the flagship cryptocurrency could achieve significant adoption in the two-thirds of countries without stable currencies. That statement might sound like a thesis put forward by an early bitcoin adopter, or perhaps a forward-thinking hedge fund manager. In actuality, though, that bullish forecast was issued by J. Christopher Giancarlo, the top derivatives regulator in the United States. #Bitcoin is a commodity, but how do you characterize the rest? @giancarloCFTC, the man in charge of #crypto regulation, goes on the record. pic.twitter.com/hn2B1UOnGH — CNBC’s Fast…

Coinbase Adds Charles Schwab Advisor to Board of Directors

boss

Coinbase’s leadership expansion continued Tuesday as it added Charles Schwab advisor Chris Dodds to its board of directors and tapped former Instinet CEO Jonathan Kellner to be its new managing director of the Institutional Coverage Group. In one blog post, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong introduced Dodds, who sits on the board of directors at Charles Schwab, one of the largest brokerage firms and banks in the U.S. Dodds is also a senior equity advisor for the firm, and has spent more than three decades in the financial industry to date.…

Ukrainian Legislator Urges Parliament to Cut Crypto Taxes Until 2030

boss

A Ukrainian legislator has urged parliament during a speech on Monday, October 1 to review his alternative bill on cryptocurrencies that offers to freeze taxes for crypto traders up to 2030. MP Yuriy Derevyanko, a member of the anti-corruption Movement of New Forces founded back in 2017 by former Georgian politician Mikheil Saakashvili, introduced his version of the bill at the conciliation board of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the country’s unicameral parliament. “The bill provides tax exemptions for all the participants of crypto market up to 31 December, 2029,”…

Will Bitcoin Drop in Price? or is ETF Hype Rising Again

boss

The premium on Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), a publicly tradable Bitcoin instrument operated by Grayscale Investment, a $2 billion cryptocurrency fund and subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), has dropped by 10 percent in the past week. Tyler Jenks, the president of Lucid Investment, who operated as an analyst in the traditional finance sector for over 4 decades, stated that the decline in the premium on GBTC is attributable to two major factors: a potential drop in the price of Bitcoin or a shift in interest from GBTC to exchange-traded…

South Korea’s Policy Chief Calls for Legalization of ICOs

boss

The chairman of Korea’s National Policy Committee has called for the legalization of initial coin offerings (ICOs), provided that a regulatory framework is put in place. According to a report from CoinDesk Korea on Tuesday, Min Byung-Doo, who is a member of the country’s governing Democratic party, said that, with token sales becoming a global trend, “I do not want the ICO door closed completely … The state should not ignore [the issue].” The policy chief spoke earlier Tuesday during 8th plenary session of the National Assembly, at which lawmakers posed…

South Korea’s Policy Chief Calls for Legalization of ICOs

boss

The chairman of Korea’s National Policy Committee has called for the legalization of initial coin offerings (ICOs), providing that a regulatory framework is put in place. According to a report from CoinDesk Korea on Tuesday, Min Byung-Doo, who is a member of the country’s governing Democratic party, said that, with token sales becoming a global trend, “I do not want the ICO door closed completely … The state should not ignore [the issue].” The policy chief spoke earlier Tuesday during 8th plenary session of the National Assembly, at which lawmakers posed…