Litecoin Foundation and Tokenpay Acquire Stake in German Bank

Tokenpay Swiss AG has officially confirmed that it has acquired a 9.9 percent stake in WEG Bank AG in partnership with the Litecoin Foundation. The terms of the agreement will also include options to purchase approximately 90% overall of the bank, pending the customary regulatory approval. Also Read: Stiglitz Predicts Cryptocurrencies Will Be “Regulated Into Oblivion” … Read more

Regulatory Round-Up: U.K. Chief Blockchain Officer, DLT Cohort in FCA Sandbox, Central Bank Calls Crypto ”Fallacy”

In recent regulatory news, U.K. minister, Eddie Hughes has published a report that advocates for the creation of a “Chief Blockchain Officer,” the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has announced that a number of distributed ledger (DLT) companies have been accepted into cohort 4 of its regulatory sandbox, and Finland’s Central Bank has published a report … Read more

Wendy McElroy: Crypto and the Structure of Class Warfare

The Satoshi Revolution: A Revolution of Rising Expectations Section 4: State Versus Society Chapter 9, Part 2 Crypto, and the Structure of Class Warfare The wall separating state and society is crumbling. Or, rather, the state is taking a jackhammer to it in an aggressive attempt to control every aspect of productive and cooperative life…The … Read more

Retail Adoption of Crypto Would “Bring the Internet to a Halt” – BIS Report

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has leased a chapter from its forthcoming annual report that delivers a critical appraisal of bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The report attacks virtual currencies from several main standpoints: claiming that cryptocurrencies do not effectively perform monetary functions due to price volatility, that the retail adoption of blockchain-based payment mechanisms would … Read more

Regulations Round-Up: U.S. Executive Branch Employees to Disclose Crypto Holdings, French ICO Regulations Coming by 2019

In recent regulatory news, the United States Office of Government Ethics has issued a document advising employees of the U.S. executive branch to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings. In other news, Bank of Korea has rejected the notion of central bank-issued digital currencies, Crypto Finance AG has received licensing from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority … Read more

BIS GM Argues New Cryptos Are “the Alchemy of the Age of Innovation”

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS), a transnational institution owned by and comprised of central banks that seeks to “fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks,” recently published its quarterly review of “International banking and financial market developments” for June 2018. The report includes an op-ed written by … Read more

CBDC Could Have “Severely Negative Consequences” for “Bank-Dominated Payments System” – Former FDIC Chair

The former chair of the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Sheila Bair, recently published an article imploring the U.S. Federal Reserve to explore central bank-issued digital currencies (CBDCs). In the article, Mrs. Bair argues that the development of a state-issued cryptocurrency could “reduc[e] the risk of financial crises” and “improv[e] monetary policy tools.” Also … Read more

BitOasis Reinstates AED Deposits and Withdrawals After Undisclosed Bank Issue

A lot of positive things are taking place in the cryptocurrency world right now. While most countries are cracking down on cryptocurrency trading in one way or another, the UAE is preparing to embrace Bitcoin and other currencies once again. After a brief struggle, UAE exchange BitOasis has reinstated AED deposits and withdrawals. Another Development for … Read more

Coinbase Unveils Plans to Enter the Japanese Market

One of the largest US cryptocurrency companies, Coinbase, has unveiled its plans to enter the Japanese market in order “to accelerate the global adoption of cryptocurrency.” The company has been in talks with the country’s financial regulator to ensure compliance. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Coinbase Opens Office in Japan Coinbase … Read more

Central Bank-Issued Cryptocurrency Round Up: IMF, BoE, Hong Kong

In recent days, central banks from the around the world have been actively exploring the prospect of issuing digital currencies. The Bank of England (BOE) has continued to press forward with research into models for central bank-issued currencies, with BOE governor Mark Carney expressing his openness to the idea of issuing a digital currency in … Read more