ICO statement in response to an announcement made by the Metropolitan Police Service on the use of live facial recognition

In October 2019 we concluded our investigation into how police use live facial recognition technology (LFR) in public places. Our investigation found there was public support for police use of LFR but also that there needed to be improvements in how police authorised and deployed the technology if it was to retain public confidence and address privacy concerns. We set out our views in a formal Opinion for police forces. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has incorporated the advice from our Opinion into its planning and preparation for future LFR…

Japanese Officials Are Working on a Digital Currency

Ruling party lawmakers in Japan are reportedly working on a proposal to issue a national digital currency, Reuters reports on Jan. 24. This appears to be a response to fears of a Chinese digital yuan. The planned digital yen would be jointly developed by the government and private companies, and would follow many similar initiatives around the globe. The proposal is worked on by a parliamentary group comprised of 70 Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers. The group plans to submit the proposal to the government some time in February. Deploying the…

Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse Hints Firm May Seek IPO Within 12 Months

DAVOS, Switzerland – Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said an initial public offering (IPO) is seen as the “natural evolution for the company,” perhaps even this year. “I think over the next 12 months you’re definitely going to see IPOs in the crypto, blockchain space. I’m not sure we want to be first but we certainly don’t want to be last either, so I expect we’ll be on the leading side of that, not the lagging side,” Garlinghouse said. He also said his cross-border payments company has been in communication with the…

Bitcoin May Explode Into $100,000 Parabolic Rally

Since Bitcoin investors got a taste of parabolic price action in early-2019, during which BTC surged from the low-$3,000s to $14,000 in a few weeks’ time, they have been craving more. According to a Google Trends analysis, another parabolic rally is about to form again in the cryptocurrency market again. Considering historical rallies, this next bull market could bring BTC above $100,000, some analysts have suggested. Google Trends Suggests Bitcoin to Soon Explode Cryptocurrency analyst Cryptokea recently noted that the worldwide Google Trends, well, trends for the search term “Buy…

Italian Winery Adopts Interactive Screw-Caps With Blockchain Verification

Piedmont winery, Vigneti Massa, is launching the 2018 vintage of its wines with near-field communication (NFC) and blockchain-enabled caps. As reported by The Drinks Business on Jan. 22, Vigneti Massa is the first winery in Europe, and the second globally, to adopt Guala Closures Nestgate technology. Guala developed the technology with Luxembourg-based software company, Compellio. By tapping an NFC-equipped smartphone against the bottle’s screw-cap, consumers can get information about the wine-growing region, the vineyard, and the vine that the wine came from. The platform also provides tasting notes and expert…

Japanese Lawmakers Will Propose Digital Yen to Counter Libra, China: Report

Politicians from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party plan to propose the nation issues its own digital currency. According to a Reuters report on Friday, about 70 lawmakers from the party feel a digital yen is needed to counter the approaching launches of Libra and China’s digital currency. The effort – aimed to keep Japan at the forefront of fintech innovation – would be a joint project between the government and the private sector, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Norihiro Nakayama told the news agency. “China is moving toward issuing…

US Deficit Will Be at Least 6 Times Bitcoin Market Cap — Every Year

The average budget deficit of the United States will “never” be less than $1 trillion per year in the future — or 4.5% of GDP, worrying data on the fiat economy shows.  Compiled by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and shared by crypto hedge fund manager Travis Kling on Jan. 21, statistics reveal that the annual deficit is set to hit $12.2 trillion for the entire 2020s. Deficit as GDP share up 55% in 50 years “Such deficits would be significantly larger than the 2.9 percent of GDP that…

Ripple CEO Hints at IPO, Says More Crypto Firms Will Go Public in 2020

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicts that initial public offerings (IPOs) will become more prevalent in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space in 2020. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday, Jan. 23, Garlinghouse reportedly hinted that Ripple would itself be one of those firms to seek a public flotation: “In the next 12 months, you’ll see IPOs in the crypto/blockchain space. We’re not going to be the first and we’re not going to be the last, but I expect us to be on the leading side… it’s a natural…

Cypherpunk Harry Halpin Takes on Davos

In this video from the WEF 2020, Nym Technologies CEO Harry Halpin speaks to CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen in Davos, Switzerland, about the World Economic Forum, privacy and the future of blockchain. Halpin pulled no punches when it came to describing the scene at Davos. “I do think there are lots of well-meaning people here that want to save the world with charity or deal with unemployment, but the fact of the matter is the people here aren’t actually in charge in any meaningful sense,” he said. “It’s just kind of…

Ripple’s XRP Sales Saw a Historic Low in Fourth Quarter of 2019

Ripple’s XRP sales continued to drop in the second half of 2019, with sales of the token reaching a historic low in Q4. According to a Jan. 22 blog post by Ripple — the firm behind the third largest crypto asset by market cap — total XRP sales in Q4 2019 accounted for $13.08 million, down more than 80% from the $66.24 million reported in Q3 2019. Ripple got rid of programmatic sales  The massive decline in XRP sales in 2019 does not appear to be unexpected though. Specifically, quarterly…