Global

September 15, 2019 @ 8:00 pm By Therese Torris  |  

On September 12, the French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire did not mince words. Libra should not be allowed in Europe, he said. Later, on the same day, Bertrand Perez, the newly appointed managing director and COO of the Libra Association was… Read More

September 15, 2019 @ 5:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Social trading giant eToro has introduced a new programming language, Lira, which makes it easier for users to engage in derivatives trading. Chief blockchain scientist at eToro, Omri Ross, noted that Lira aims to reduce the risks associated with executing financial contracts while enabling the… Read More

September 15, 2019 @ 4:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week on September 11, the Australian Senate decided to establish a “Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology” or a committee to research and follow Fintech and Regtech. According to the Australian Parliament, the committee will inquire and report on the following matters:… Read More

September 15, 2019 @ 3:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The global blockchain devices market is projected to grow by 42.5% at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by 2024, according to a report by Indian consulting firm MarketsandMarkets. Released on September 12, 2019, the company’s report is titled, “Blockchain Devices Market by Type (Blockchain… Read More

September 15, 2019 @ 12:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Germany’s government has spoken against the authorization of the ongoing development of Facebook’s controversial stablecoin project Libra in Europe. Christian Democratic Union parliamentarian Thomas Heilmann, who’s responsible for creating CDU’s policies on blockchain technology, said the German government will not allow projects like Libra to… Read More

September 14, 2019 @ 7:34 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Some Cubans fed up with being frozen out of global commerce by decades-old US sanctions have started using cryptocurrencies to transact online, Reuters reports. Jason Sanchez, for instance, who runs a cellphone repair shop in Havana, has been using cryptocurrencies to purchase spare parts for… Read More

September 14, 2019 @ 6:25 pm By Xu Gao  |  

The National Internet Finance Association of China Requires Members to Disclose Annualized Lending Costs This week, the National Internet Finance Association of China (NIFA) issued a notice to member institutions about annualized lending costs disclosure and industry discipline. According to the notice, some online lending… Read More

September 14, 2019 @ 2:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Connecticut-based consulting services and research firm Gartner said that distributed ledger technology (DLT) will transform how most businesses operate within the next 10 years. Currently, however, blockchain-based systems are in their early stages of development and it could take several years before the technology has… Read More

September 14, 2019 @ 9:23 am By Cali Haan  |  

Police from London’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) have arrested a 19-year-old man they believe stole unreleased songs from the websites and cloud-storage accounts of “world-famous artists” and then sold the music for cryptocurrency. The release does not state where the music was sold nor… Read More

September 14, 2019 @ 9:18 am By Cali Haan  |  

Bertrand Perez, General Director of the Libra Association says Facebook has no plans to delay the launch of its global (crypto)currency network, despite outcry from global regulators. “We are firmly maintaining our launch schedule, between the end of the first half of next year and… Read More

September 13, 2019 @ 3:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation’s central bank, announced on Thursday the appointment of its chief fintech officer Sopnendu Mohanty as a digital and fintech advisor to India’s Odisha state, according to a report by the Times of India. In his new advisory… Read More

September 13, 2019 @ 12:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Marshall Islands, an island country and a US associated state, is planning to issue its own government-backed cryptocurrency, the Marshallese sovereign (SOV).  The SOV will be introduced through a token pre-sale, according to an announcement made at CoinDesk’s Invest: Asia event, held on September… Read More

September 13, 2019 @ 10:30 am By Cali Haan  |  

Coinbase UK has settled a lawsuit with the CEO of Alphabit regarding Coinbase’s alleged handling of Bitcoins worth almost $1 million USD that were allegedly stolen from Alphabit by hackers in July, Law 360 reports. Alphabit is UK-based “crypto-asset investment company” that claims to manage… Read More

September 13, 2019 @ 9:54 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong-based fundraising platform BnkToTheFuture is planning to facilitate security token offerings (STOs). The move will be facilitated by a strategic investment in Diacle. Founded in 2013, Diacle is an appointed representative of Met Facilities LLP, which is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial… Read More

September 13, 2019 @ 9:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Russia’s largest financial institution Sberbank has reportedly purchased around $15 million worth of accounts receivable from Trafigura, a Singaporean commodity trading firm that leverages blockchain technology. The pilot transaction was conducted on the Hyperledger Fabric platform, according to a representative from Sberbank. The blockchain-based purchase… Read More

September 13, 2019 @ 8:33 am By JD Alois  |  

Europe’s Newest Digital Bank Northmill, a Fintech based in Stockholm, Sweden, has just received a banking license from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA or Finansinspektionen). Northmill was founded in 2006 and is “building the bank of tomorrow.” According to a blog post, Northmill applied… Read More

September 13, 2019 @ 7:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Raisin, a Fintech platform that allows users to find the best savings interest rate regardless of location, has issued a statement on the European Central Bank’s (ECB) move to drive rates lower. Raisin, commenting on the EBCs recent rate cut, said that “tensions abroad and… Read More

September 12, 2019 @ 11:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd, Israel’s most active venture investor and leading global crowdfunding platform, has partnered with Finistere, Tnuva and Tempo to launch a NIS 1 billion (~ USD $ 283 million) Foodtech incubator in Israel.  “Fresh Start” was officially launched at an event this week. OurCrowd announced… Read More

September 12, 2019 @ 11:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital asset exchange Huobi appears to be pursuing a reverse initial public offering (IPO), according to a document shared with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). Hong Kong-listed electronics firm Pantronics Holdings Limited, which was acquired by Huobi in August 2018, will be changing its… Read More

September 12, 2019 @ 10:54 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Binance, believed to be one of the world’s largest crypto trading platforms, will begin registering users wanting to trade select “crypto assets” on the company’s “Binance.US” platform next Wednesday. “Binance.US will open account registration and begin accepting deposits of BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, and USDT… Read More