Humans to Become Nearly Redundant in Crypto Trading

Call it counterintuitive, but blockchain could be considered less transparent now than the stock market. How so? Blockchains are apparently open, and anyone can see which token went where, after all. Well, yes and no. Blockchain is a forest, and a forest is the best place in the world to hide a leaf. We know (or suspect) that many tokens have their prices tweaked. Until now, the industry still lacks an instrument to give a bird’s-eye view of the blockchain. A startup called Coinscious is quietly building a remedy for…

Smart contracts and transaction costs, a research from Oxford University

Blockchain technology could reshape the economic institutions of capitalism, to borrow the title of a celebrated book by Oliver Williamson. In a recent paper, I deal with contractual agreements that exploit blockchain technology—namely, smart contracts—using the lens of transaction cost economics.  In a traditional contract, parties are supposed to abide by their agreement for the threat of an ex postintervention of a third-party enforcer (e.g., court, arbiter). However, according to incomplete contract theory, this external enforcement is costly and, therefore, there is a risk of ex postopportunistic renegotiation (the so-called ‘hold-up risk’), that…

Crypto Regulations for UK Could Take Two Years, Says Legal Expert

Jeff Kaufmann, Legal Director at British law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC), said that the introduction of cryptocurrency market regulations in the U.K. could take two years, according to an RPC press release published Oct. 11. RPC is a London-based corporate and insurance law firm with offices in Bristol, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and staff amounting to 720 people, including over 80 partners and 330 other lawyers. Since 2014 the firm has been named Law Firm of the Year three times. Kaufmann said that the implementation of crypto market regulations…

China’s Central Bank Seeks Digital Currency Specialists

The Chinese central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), has opened four positions for crypto-related professionals, according to a document published Wednesday, Oct. 10 on the bank’s website. Per the paper, PBoC is seeking two engineers at their Digital Money Institute with experience in blockchain and cryptography, security, and chip design. The bank wants the engineers to develop a secure big data platform and a chip processor that would allow crypto transactions. The engineers will be responsible for digital currency related software systems, encryption technology and security models, as…

Bitcoin Needs Blessing From SEC to Rally, Market Desperate

Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK, has stated that Bitcoin needs a blessing from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revitalize and experience a recovery in price. According to Aslam, the approval of the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which would allow accredited investors and individual traders in US markets to invest in cryptocurrencies, could be a major factor to revitalize the cryptocurrency market. “Bitcoin needs some sort of a blessing and only that can revitalize the rally for the currency. I think that the…

US SEC Halts Fraudulent ICO That Claimed to Possess Regulator’s Approval

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has halted a planned Initial Coin Offering (ICO) that falsely claimed have SEC approval, the agency reported in an official press release Thursday, Oct. 11. The SEC suspended the ICO project with an emergency court order, and also halted pre-ICO sales by the company Blockvest LLC, and its founder Reginald Buddy Ringgold III. The complaint by the SEC alleges that Blockvest falsely claimed that their ICO and affiliates had acquired approval from major financial regulators, including the SEC itself. Blockvest and Ringgold —…

U.S. SEC Halts Fraudulent ICO That Claimed to Possess Regulator’s Approval

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has halted a planned Initial Coin Offering (ICO) that falsely claimed have SEC approval, the agency reported in an official press release Thursday, Oct. 11. The SEC suspended the ICO project with an emergency court order, and also halted pre-ICO sales by the company Blockvest LLC, and its founder Reginald Buddy Ringgold III. The complaint by the SEC alleges that Blockvest falsely claimed that their ICO and affiliates had acquired approval from major financial regulators, including the SEC itself. Blockvest and Ringgold —…

Experts Warn of Cryptojacking Malware That Mimics Adobe Flash Updates

Researchers have identified cryptojacking malware that conceals itself behind a fake Adobe Flash update. The finding has been revealed in a cyber threat report published by Unit 42 research group on Oct. 11. Cryptojacking is the practice of using a computer’s processing power to mine for cryptocurrencies without the owner’s consent or knowledge. According to new research released by Unit 42, Palo Alto Networks’ threat intelligence team, the malware strain surreptitiously compels computers to mine Monero (XMR) by installing an “XMRig cryptocurrency miner.” The new malware is said to be…

Indian Gov’t Is ‘Evaluating’ the Launch of Its Own Cryptocurrency, Sources Say

Indian government is “evaluating” the possibility of issuing a state-backed cryptocurrency, sources have told local news outlet Quartz India on Wednesday, Oct. 10. An unnamed “senior official” has told Quartz that the government has set up a panel that will discuss questions regarding cryptocurrencies and blockchain. While, according to Quartz’s source, the government is looking to “encourage” blockchain studies, the launch of a state-backed cryptocurrency is only an option to be considered. The source has also said that the panel will discuss new amendments to the existing draft bill on…

Dubai Becomes World’s First City to Launch Blockchain-Based Digital Currency

Dubai has launched its own digital currency to allow citizens and residents make digital payments for school fees, bills and retail purchases. The blockchain-based digital currency called emcash will be used by citizens to make retail payments in-store, pay for government utilities, telecommunication, and school fees in government shop fronts, Emcredit, the Dubai’s official credit bureau, said in a statement. Emcredit, a state-backed subsidiary of the Dubai Department of Economic Development, launched the digital currency through a partnership with blockchain payment provider Pundi X and Ebooc Fintech & Loyalty Labs.…