Weekly Crypto #9
Stay ahead of the game with weekly industry updates, aimed to capture all important crypto and blockchain news of the week.
A busy week in the cryptoverse. On the financial and regulatory plane, Morgan Stanley plans Bitcoin swap trading, Winklevoss brothers launch Ethereum Token backed by U.S. Dollars, Blockchain Association lobbying group has been launched by tech veterans, crypto investors & companies; and Citygroup invented new crypto investment option with reduced risk. Australia is putting drivers licences on blockchain and their PM sees massive opportunities in blockchain technology. A breakthrough in Ethereum sharding seems to create an excitement in the developer community and a new Jaxx Liberty cryptocurrency wallet has been released after beta period.
Regulations & Finance
Morgan Stanley Plans to Offer Bitcoin Swap Trading for Clients: Morgan Stanley is joining Wall Street firms in creating ways for clients to play the digital currency market. News comes from an unrevealed source inside the bank, which, as said, is already technically prepared to offer the Bitcoin swap trading, and will launch once there is proven institutional client demand and after the completion of an internal approval process. Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are also preparing new products tied to Bitcoin. Morgan Stanley does not plan to trade Bitcoin directly and its swaps are tied to Bitcoin futures contracts.
Winklevoss Brothers Firm Launches Ethereum Token Backed By U.S. Dollars: The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has approved Gemini Trust Company’s request to issue its first cryptocurrency. Gemini Dollar, as it is called, uses ethereum blockchain and every token issued will be backed by U.S. dollar, “in order to give it the stability of the fiat currency and the speed and borderless nature of a cryptocurrency”. The distinction of the token to lately popular “stablecoins” is in a “network of trust”, says Tyler Winklevoss.
Get ready for Big Bitcoin: Cryptocurrency industry opens a D.C. lobbying arm: Cryptocurrency companies Coinbase, Circle, tech veterans and investors, such as Digital Currency Group and Polychain Capital, are among the founding members of the Blockchain Association, the first fully fledged lobbying group in Washington, representing entrepreneurs and investors who are building off the technology behind bitcoin. Their aim is to become the cryptocurrency industry’s top lobbying organization in Washington on policy issues, representing the voice for companies that want to work within the political system.
Citigroup has Invented a New Crypto Investment Option with Reduced Risk: Citigroup has come up with a new, less risky way of investing in cryptocurrencies without actually owning them. New investment instrument is called Digital Asset Receipt (DAR) and would place cryptocurrencies within existing regulatory frames. Digital Asset Receipt works in a similar way to the American Depository Receipt (ADR) which allows investors in the United States to own foreign stocks that are not traded on domestic exchanges.
Ontario Securities Commission Approves Bitcoin Mutual Fund: While the US SEC is still rejecting and evaluating Bitcoin ETF proposals, Canada took the initiative and stepped into the cryptocurrency market regulation. Their regulators have approved a regulated Bitcoin trust fund which allows investors to invest in Bitcoin through retirement and savings accounts, reports Financial Post. “With this accomplishment, we continue to push Canada forward as a world leader in regulated blockchain and cryptocurrency investment vehicles,” said Marc van der Chijs, Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of First Block.
Industry & Technology
Ethereum’s Vlad Zamfir Claims Breakthrough In Blockchain Sharding: Long-time blockchain researcher Vlad Zamfir claims to have coded up a successful proof-of-concept for the challenge that is pressing Ethereum network for quite some time now. Although proof-of-concept is “not even close” to production-ready, Zamfir and his colleagues Tim Beiko and John Marling believe it contains code that will be fundamental to its deployment on ethereum.
Australian State Pilot Puts Driver’s Licenses on a Blockchain: Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) government is turning to blockchain for a state-wide test of its driver license digitization program with the blockchain network TrustGrid and will conduct the pilot for 140,000 licence holders prior to a formal roll-out in 2019. The initiative follows a bill passed in May and an effort of country’s overall goal of adopting blockchain and distributed ledger technology as part of its Digital Economy initiative.
“Massive Opportunities” in Blockchain Technology, Australian Prime Minister Says: Scott John Morrison, Australia’s newly appointed prime minister, recently revealed that he has done a lot of research on cryptocurrencies and noted the potential benefits of blockchain technology in improving Australias’s Consumer Data Rights domain. He added: “What is being done with DLT and blockchain will open open massive opportunities” by “delivering much tougher competition for the big banks.”
Ethereum Co-Founder Anthony Di lorio Launches All-in-One Jaxx Liberty Wallet: Jaxx Liberty has introduced a comprehensive, multi-platform cryptocurrency wallet that integrates multiple features on a single interface. The cryptocurrency wallet closed its beta and has officially launched on Android and desktop, according to their blog post. The new update aims to integrate over 100 corporate partnerships into Jaxx Liberty and transform the single interface into a multi-platform hub for digital asset price news, information and exchange.
IBM, Hacera Create Distributed ‘Yellow Pages’ for Blockchain Networks: With the goal to have an information hub for companies who are looking to adopt blockchain and help them discover and participate in blockchain projects, IMB teamed up with enterprise blockchain firm Hacera and created Unbounded Registry. The registry provides a brief explanation of projects, event list and, after a sign-up process, the ability for interested parties to directly contact the teams. Jerry Cuomo, vice president at IBM Blockchain, explained the reasons for the directory: “We realized from the start that you cannot do blockchain on your own; you need a vibrant community and ecosystem of like-minded innovators who share the vision of helping to transform the way companies conduct business in the global economy.” Other members of the registry include Intel, Chinese tech giant Huawei, Batavia, Hitachi, and the Australian Blockchain Association.
Vitalik Buterin Clarifies ‘1000x’ Market Growth Comment: Speaking to Bloomberg, Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, commented on crypto market growth, saying that “the days of 1000x growth as seen in 2017 in the cryptocurrency sector are gone”. His view was met with a significant amount of community backlash, prompting him to respond and clarify his statement on Twitter:
To be clear, I never said that there is “no room for growth” in the crypto ecosystem. I said there is no room for 1000x price increases. A 1000x price increase from today means $200T in crypto, or ~an entire 70% of today’s global wealth being in crypto.
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