Digital Currency and Blockchain Weekly Round-up – April 28th, 2017

EU to establish distributed ledger Observatory and Forum

European Commission has been mandated by the European Parliament to implement a pilot project in the context of the Horizontal Taskforce on fintech and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) in a move to build technical expertise and regulatory capacity. The pilot project will have a blockchain Observatory as well as a Forum to gather opinions and concerns around blockchain ecosystem. The project aims to become EU expertise hub that will be discussing progressive and futuristic topics on blockchain as well as develop and build use cases at EU level.

Nevada Senate gives a nod to blockchain bill

A Nevada Senate Bill that seeks to recognize and authorize the use of blockchain technology, and prohibit a local government from taxing or imposing restrictions upon the use of the technology, has received unanimous support of senators, public records show. Filed by Senator Ben Kieckhefer in March, Nevada Senate Bill 398 aims to create a legal basis for the use of blockchain technology and smart contracts under state law.

Malta’s national blockchain strategy gets approval from Cabinet

In a move to become a leading fintech hub in Europe, Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat recently revealed that the cabinet has approved the first draft of a national strategy to promote blockchain technology, as reported by Malta Today.

Government of Gibraltar proposes blockchain regulatory framework

Government of Gibraltar’s financial services regulator announced that it will release proposals for a regulatory framework for firms that are engaging in blockchain activities. GFSC is working with Gibraltar Finance and has created a further document containing ‘Proposals for Distributed Ledger Technology Framework’. It proposes a regulatory framework for blockchain firms and the document release for a full public consultation will take place on the 9th May 2017 during the Digital Currency Summit to be held at the University of Gibraltar.

BoE seeks to work with startups on blockchain privacy

The Bank of England is opening the fourth round of applications to the FinTech Accelerator, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, said recently. Speaking at the International FinTech Conference 2017, Old Billingsgate, on April 12th, Carney said that the central bank is seeking to work on new proofs of concept on maintaining privacy in a distributed ledger and applying a range of big data tools to support its analysis.

SEC to review decision on Winklevoss bitcoin ETF; starts considering Ethereum ETF proposal

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved a petition that requires it to review its decision to reject the bitcoin exchange traded fund proposed by Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, CoinDesk reported. While the SEC is to review its rejection of the bitcoin ETF, it has issued a new notice which says that it has started considering whether to approve an Ethereum ETF proposal.

Central bank digital currency could substantially impact traditional concept of banknotes, says BoJ Deputy Governor

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) could have a substantial impact on the traditional concept of banknotes, Hiroshi Nakaso, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, said recently. Speaking at the Forum Towards Making Effective Use of the BOJ-NET, Nakaso reflected on a number of areas including CBDCs, blockchain technology, and FinTech, among others. He noted that various central banks have started conducting research and analyses of CBDC.

Conferences/ Events:

Inaugural Token Summit to delve into blockchain-based tokenized economy on May 25

Digital Currency/Blockchain research studies:

Blockchain technology could intensify cyber threats for financial institutions: EU report

Cryptocurrencies unlikely to crowd out fiat currency entirely: Bank of Korea paper

Important deals, partnerships, and more:

Chamber of Digital Commerce welcomes IHS Markit

Bitcoin startup Ripio secures $400k investment from Medici Ventures

Blockchain startup Ripple adds 10 more financial institutions to network

IBM Japan, Mizuho Financial Group, Mizuho Bank create blockchain-based trade financial platform

Dash collaborates with Irish blockchain startup BitCart

NUS, ICBI team up to foster blockchain training in Singapore

Blockchain mobile app Humaniq partners with BOScoin; launches Innovation Centre in Cambridge; inks deal with Deloitte

eZforex, Star One CU, Ripple partner to provide international blockchain payments for US banking

Blockchain platform Coinfirm joins SEI’s new Regtech incubator ‘Codify’

Leading global banks join SWIFT to develop blockchain PoC

Airbitz integrates Bity as wallet plug-in, enables buy and sell bitcoin capabilities in Europe

Indian meal project Akshaya Patra teams up with Accenture to use blockchain to fight hunger

Tokio Marine, NTT DATA successfully test blockchain-based cargo insurance certificates

IC3RE, Outlier Ventures join forces to explore convergence of blockchain and deep tech