BNB Integrated Into TravelByBit Platform

It has been reported early October that Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by transaction volume, has invested $2.5 million into TravelByBit, a tourism cryptocurrency-payment platform.

TravelByBit then after reveals plans of fully integrating Binance’s cryptocurrency (BNB) across its platform and its partner retailers.

The company partnered with Brisbane Airport, Australia early this year introducing cryptocurrency payments to the airport’s terminal shopping.

The platform already supports several cryptocurrencies which includes Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum and others with BNB soon to be added.

Having BNB included in the platform will significantly increase the use of BNB in Brisbane due to TravelByBit’s partnership with Bitsbane Airport as well as its network of hundreds of partner retailers across wider Brisbane.

According to Caleb Yeoh, CEO of TravelByBit the reason behind their initiative to focus on Airport retail stems from his personal experience about the shocking and horrible exchange rates in many international Airports.

Dealing with multiple currencies he explains, is a nightmare and having to exchange this currencies each time whenever you go to one jurisdiction to another lowers the travelers purchasing power.

With cryptocurrencies one can travel around the world with a truly global currency with no fees.

Google Expert Joins Ripple

Recent reports reveal that Ripple company, the U.S. tech company that backs XRP and the third top cryptocurrency in the world by market cap has recently hired an ex-Google senior developer as vice president of products.

Amir Sarhangi is leaving his position at Google to lead Ripple’s global payments network, RippleNet.

Mr Sahangi joined Google in 2015 when the tech giant acquired jibe mobile, a startup which he founded to develop technology for wireless carriers to implement rich communication system (RCS).

RCS is widely seen as the successor of text messages (SMS) as a better method to send media and commercial messages over cell networks.

The announcement comes after Ripple revealed strong financial performance of the company in the Q3 of 2018 claiming it has double revenues over the previous quarter.

Ripple has sold $163.33 million worth of XRP in token sales in Q3 compared to $73.53 sold previously.

This latest initiative is Ripple’s latest attempt to cement itself as one of the leading cryptocurrency-related company in the nascent industry.

Only time will tell how the company will leverage their latest talent acquisition and if they intend to utilize the know-how of Sarhangi in implementing RCS features into their network.

Whatever the case is Ripple continuous to grow as a company and as the digital asset.

MS Excel Plug-in Enables Bitcoin Lightning-Network Payments

An independent Bitcoin (BTC) advisor for institutional investors, Pierre Rochard has recently announced on Twitter that he has developed a Microsoft Excel plugin that enables users to make bitcoin payments from the Excel spreadsheet.

Pierre states that he had created a program called Neutrino, a software solution built on top of the Lightning Network (LN) protocol (a second layer payment solution aimed to make bitcoin and other crypto transaction faster and cheaper).

With this new software users can make payments using the LN while not requiring them to run a full-node claiming that users will be able to make and receive LN payments with a few “clicks” in Excel.

It must be noted that there are many implementation of Lightning Network Protocol and the Project Rochard is referring to is the Lightning Network Daemon (LND) which is still in beta.

According to the experienced senior accountant and software engineer, the program is not for everyone as the current iteration of the program is more suited to highly experience Excel users.

The program’s initial public release should be expected at the end of the month.

Adoption Difficult If Crypto Remains Illegal According To Economist

In an event that featured leading experts in various industries, a George Mason University economics professor, Tyler Cower has stated that if cryptocurrencies remains illegal it will be difficult for mass adoption.

One can only speculate how the economist led to this conclusion but the fact remains that like the notorious Nouriel Roubini, the professor is grossly misinformed.

The negative stance towards cryptocurrencies portrayed by the majority of leading economist has been expected by the cryptocurrency industry.

Decentralized financial networks, consensus currencies challenge the fundamental belief of economist that fiat currencies serve as the base monetary system of the global economy.

However many leaders of traditional financial companies consider the possibility of digital assets potentially competing against fiat currencies in the long-term due to the declining trust towards middlemen and financial institutions by millennials.

The former Goldman Sachs CEO and Chairman Lloyd Blankfein previously stated that it is arrogant for economists and bankers to think crypto has no future, there exist a chance that cryptocurrencies could arise and evolve into a major asset class in the years to come.

To make it clear cryptocurrencies in most countries is not illegal, even in China which has its Central Bank declare ban on crypto-related trading have no lawful basis as pointed out by a court ruling which also acknowledges that Bitcoin is a property which should also be protected by law locally.

Governments Around The World Approve Crypto

It has been a very positive week for cryptocurrencies at large with leading governments from America and Asia expressing their approval for the burgeoning industry.

On one recent report by Reuters, the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA), a collective of Japan’s foremost cryptocurrency platforms, has now bee legally permitted to regulate crypto industry players.

The association has been permitted by the Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) to police and punish local exchanges that are in violation with its regulations.

They will also be responsible for fending off money launders, regulatory compliance policing, and providing operational guidelines to Japanese platforms.

According to an unnamed FSA official it is better to allow the experts to make rules in a timely manner than bureaucrats.

On the other side of the globe Coinbase has recently been awarded custodial license by New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

The NYDFS press release indicates that the San Francisco-based startup can lawfully establish the Coinbase Custody Trust Company (CCTC).

The Coinbase subsidiary can now offer asset custodian solutions for New York-based clients.

The NYDFS also noted that CCTC will now be classified as a fiduciary under New York State’s banking laws further solidifying the status of the company in the nascent industry.

Meanwhile back in Asia a Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration has reportedly ruled in favor of cryptocurrencies categorizing them as property and its ability to procure and produce economic value.

It must be noted that the ruling was made in Shezhen one of China’s special economic zones which may have skewed the results of the case in favor of digital assets.

Also in asia it has been revealed that a Singapore Government-backed Vertex Ventures have invested in Binance.

According to Vertex it has specifically invested in the startup to catalyze the establishment of Binance Singapore.

Recent weeks also included several positive news in the crypto space.

These includes the review of Bitcoin ETF by a widely seen crypto friendly SEC commissioner in which the applicants submitted proof which they view have addressed concerns put forth by the commission.

The release of a new stablecoin that is co-developed by Coinbase and Circle called USDC which will be supported in most jurisdictions the two fintech-startup operates.

And finally The release of Bakkt’s Bitcoin Futures that will be settled using bitcons instead of cash.

Bakkt is a subsidiary of the world’s biggest exchange in the world, Intercontinental Exchange, which currently operates the New York Stock Exchange as well as 29 other exchanges worldwide.

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