Day: March 26, 2019

E-Commerce Giant Rakuten Wins License for New Crypto Exchange

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Japan’s top financial watchdog has granted a license to a cryptocurrency exchange being relaunched by e-commerce giant Rakuten. The country’s Financial Service Agency (FSA) announced the news Monday, stating that the new exchange, Rakuten Wallet, is now registered with the Kanto Local Financial Bureau as a virtual currency exchange service provider under the country’s Payment Service Act. Rakuten also confirmed the news in a separate statement. Rakuten Wallet is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rakuten and replaces an exchange called Everybody’s Bitcoin Inc. that it acquired for $2.4 million last August. The…

Platform Takes on YouTube and Spotify to Protect Copyright and Help Artists Make a Living

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A blockchain platform is enabling creators to share their music, videos and webtoons with the masses, all while ensuring that their copyright is protected. ContentsDeal says it aims to simplify the “complicated distribution structure” that is seen across the media world today, a structure which often means it can be difficult for talented artists to make a profit from their works. The company claims that an extensive range of Korean and global artists have gotten involved with its platform so far, delivering exclusive, limited-edition content to fans. Changing tune According…

Singapore Crypto Exchange DragonEx Hacked: Can Funds Be Recovered?

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DragonEx, a crypto exchange based in Singapore, said on Tuesday that its platform has been hacked and an undisclosed amount of user funds was lost. In its official Telegram account, the DragonEx team said that the exchange was hacked on March 24 and it alerted the authorities in Estonia, Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The team said: Several Judicial administrations were informed about this cyber crime case including Estonia, Thailand, Singapore, HongKong etc. and we’re assisting policemen to do investigation. All platform services will be closed and the accurate assets…

Disgraced Ex-Enron CEO Plans Blockchain Comeback after 14-Yr Jail Term

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A little over a month after being released from prison for his involvement in one of the grandest corporate scandals in history, Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executive of collapsed U.S. energy giant Enron is reportedly eyeing the blockchain sector, according to the Wall Street Journal report. The report adds that Skilling has met with ex-Enron executives as well as software developers and blockchain and cryptocurrency specialists. Per sources, the early-stage project is basically a digital platform which will connect investors to energy projects. One of the former Enron executives…

South Korean Messaging Giant Kakao, Irish Startup Partner for Blockchain Payment Methods

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Kakao Corp, a major Internet conglomerate and service provider for popular South Korean messaging app KakaoTalk, and an Ireland-based ticketing startup have signed a partnership agreement to develop a blockchain-based payment system. Irish business news outlet Fora reported on the partnership on March 23. The new partnership agreement will focus on applying the former’s blockchain platform technology Klaytn, the brainchild of Kakao subsidiary Ground X, to both a blockchain-based payment system and on analytics applications with Irish startup Festy. In mid-March, Ground X’s Klatyn announced that they had plans to…

This Bitcoin Bear Market Is The Best Yet

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As much as some like to sugarcoat it, the crypto market has lost 85% of its value since the jaw-dropping early-2018 peak. This collapse, which pushed Bitcoin from $20,000 to $4,000, has effectively stopped the cryptocurrency gravy train dead in its tracks. Gone are the days that “blockchain” was a popular word at the dinner table, as mainstream media outlets, the CNBC Fast Money segment, in particular, have slowed their coverage to a near-halt. More likely than not, retail investors, who know think Bitcoin is nothing but a distant memory,…

Yahoo! Japan Enters Crypto Despite Bear Market with its Bitcoin Exchange

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Taotao, a crypto exchange based in Japan, is planning to launch in May with the approval of Japanese authorities. According to a CNBC report in April 2018, Yahoo! Japan said that it will acquire a 40 percent stake in BitARG Exchange Tokyo, which has since reportedly been rebranded to Taotao. “Yahoo Japan Corp said on Friday it would buy a minority stake in a Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange, becoming the latest major Japanese financial services provider to shrug off security concerns and join the digital money industry,” the report read. Prior…

I’m Privately Bearish on Blockchain

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A senior executive at Bank of America (BoA) is not bullish on blockchain despite the bank holding more patents than any other finance firm, CNBC reported on March 26. Speaking to the publication in an interview, chief technology officer Catherine Bessant said that even though the bank’s official stance on the technology was palpably buoyant, her personal views were quite different. “What I am is open-minded,” she said. “In my private scoreboard, in the closet, I am bearish.” BoA currently holds more than 80 blockchain patents, beating out the likes…

Taiwanese Development Council to Form Blockchain Alliance in Three Months

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The National Development Council (NDC) of Taiwan announced today that it will launch a blockchain alliance in three months, English-language local media Taiwan News reported on March 26. The NDC is the policy-related agency of Taiwan’s executive branch of government, known as the Executive Yuan. Per the report, Minister Chen Mei-ling told the Smart City Summit & Expo in Taipei that the NDC has already consulted other government departments, experts and academics in order to determine the purpose of the alliance. Mei-ling reportedly expressed the hope that Taiwan may become…

An overview of the Auditing Framework for Artificial Intelligence and its core components

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Reuben Binns, our Research Fellow in AI, and Valeria Gallo, ICO Technology Policy Advisor, outline the proposed structure, core components and areas of focus of the ICO’s new auditing framework for artificial intelligence (AI). Last week Simon McDougall invited comment from organisations on the development of our auditing framework for AI. The framework will support the work of our investigation and assurance teams when assessing the compliance of data controllers using AI and help guide organisations on the management of data protection risks arising from AI applications.As promised, we will be posting…