U.S. Congress Hearing - Positive Tone On Cryptocurrencies

The congressional hearing on cryptocurrencies this time around takes a more positive and technical tone given the amount of academics, engineers and entrepreneurs in the cryptocurrency attending the hearing.

The topic of the alleged hacking incident that tried to influence the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election came up but the committee members were informed that bitcoin’s public ledger allowed investigators to pinpoint the movement of funds more easily than cash.

One of the committee members, Amber Baldets, Co-founder and CEO of Clovyr, suggests that the committee can take a more proactive approach to regulations to foster growth in the industry.

Daniel Gorfine director and Chief Innovation Officer CFTC, stresses the importance of educating investors as a main way to avoid fraud and scam in crypto sphere.

Gary Gensler, Senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management suggests speeding up the regulatory clarity to keep innovation in the United States.

United Nations Seeking Opportunity To Leverage Blockchain Technology

Anotonio Guterres, The United Nations Secretary-General, said to have consulted over 120 members states and other pertinent societies to discuss the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies.

As a result of these consultations a panel of 20 experts was arranged to explore the ways by which UN could possibly leverage blockchain and help on this development.

The panel is said to consist of man and women that are in the frontiers of technology, public policy, science and academia.

The panel which will be devoted for fintech trends is expected to be arranged in New York on September as part of the United Nations General Assembly.

First Crypto Vault In Australia

A blockchain assets and investment company, Decentralised Capital in partnership with the provider of vault and safety deposit boxes Custodian Vaults, will provide Australia’s first insured offline vault for storing cryptocurrencies.

Stephen Moss, the founder and director of Decentralised Capital reveals that the new crypto vault was a response to the growing market for storage solutions in the digital currency market.

The Vault will be secured by a number of security measures such as CCTV monitoring, biometrics ID, Personal Identity Number, alarms and fire safety devices.

The firm believes that using such vaults is the best and most secure way of storing one's valuable digital assets.

This initiative is not the first in the world but is the first one in Australia.

Billionaire Predicts $40,000 Price For Bitcoin

Marc Lasry, the Avenue Capital Group co-founder predicts that the price of Bitcoin would reach a new all-time-high at $40,000 while speaking in CNBC on July 18, 2018.

He cites the increasing ease of trading bitcoins as a major motivator for Bitcoin to rise.

He also predicts that investors in Bitcoin today may make 5-10 times their money in 3 to 5 years.

His prediction comes at a time when Bitcoin is experiencing a sudden increase of price, 12%, on news that some traditional investment firms are considering to enter cryptocurrencies.

His $40,000 price prediction is considered conservative compared to Bitcoin maximalist Tim Draper and John Mcafee who has predicted the price of Bitcoin to increase to $250,000 and $1,000,000 respectively in the future.

Binance Raised $410,000 For Japan Flood Victims

Binance is said to transfer about $1.41 million to non-profit organizations of two Japanese prefectures.

This was in response to relief efforts assistance from one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange to help the victims of the typhoons that ravaged the area.

The bulk of donation came from Binance itself where it pledge $1M on Juy 9, 2018 and the other are donations from CEO Changpeng Zhao's call for donations from traders, investors and startup owners.

This ultimately raised more than $410,000.

The company have already organized with non-profit organization working in the area for the proper distribution of the raised funds.

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