Russian Health Ministry, Vnesheconombank to work on blockchain pilot projects

The Russian Ministry of Health, in cooperation with Vnesheconombank, will work on and deliver pilot projects using blockchain technology. Chairman of Vnesheconombank Sergey Gorkov and Russian Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova met recently to discuss the application of blockchain technology in the public healthcare system.

Illinois Blockchain Initiative, Hashed Health to test DLT for medical licensing process

The Illinois Blockchain Initiative has partnered with healthcare innovation company Hashed Health to leverage blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. According to the official release, the pilot program will initially focus on exploring how to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the medical credentialing process in the state.

Medical Society of Delaware to develop blockchain solution to automate pre-authorization decisions

The Medical Society of Delaware (MSD), in collaboration with healthcare services company Medscient, is going to develop a blockchain solution to address the challenges that prior authorization requirements pose to patients and healthcare providers. According to the official announcement, the solution will use Symbiont’s distributed ledger technology (DLT). Symbiont is the State of Delaware’s technology partner in the Delaware Blockchain Initiative.

Monetary Authority of Singapore issues consumer advisory on digital currencies and tokens

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) have cautioned consumers against the potential risks of digital token and virtual currency-related investment schemes. “Consumers should make it a point to understand the product. Where sellers of digital tokens fail to highlight the risks, consumers should make the effort to find out more information about the underlying project, business or assets,” it said.

Chinese government to implement blockchain for taxation and electronic invoices

The Chinese government plans on using blockchain technology for taxation and issuing electronic invoices, CoinFox reported. According to a recent update from Miaocai Network, a state-sanctioned electronic taxation and invoicing enterprise, the government has confirmed that “it will utilize blockchain technology for social taxation and electronic invoice issuance matters.”

Indian governmental panel urges to stop bitcoin use – Report

In its recommendation to the government, a special panel set up the Indian Finance Ministry to suggest measures to deal with digital currencies such as bitcoin, has urged to take immediate action to stop the use of digital currencies, the Financial Express reported. It has recommended prohibiting use of digital currencies in order to protect people from potential frauds and curd money laundering.

Investments/Acquisitions:

Cryptocurrency startup Coinbase raises $100M in Series D funding round

Leading Japanese VCs vow $9m investment in COMSA ICO

Cryptocurrency-based social investment network investFeed raises $4M in TGE

Consortium News, Partnerships and More:

Jaxx and Cofound.it team up to make new cryptocurrencies immediately liquid

Tech titan Cisco joins Chamber of Digital Commerce

Everex joins ConsenSys’ Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition initiative

Digital Currency and Blockchain Initiatives:

Lithuanian city embraces blockchain technology with NEM sports sponsorship deal

Fidelity launches test to include bitcoin in customers’ investment portfolio

SIX Swiss Exchange and Nasdaq officially announce blockchain project for SIX’s OTC structured products

Overstock.com starts accepting cryptocurrency payments with ShapeShift integration

Sony develops blockchain-based system to manage students' learning data

UNICEF Ventures to test Ethereum smart contracts for online asset transfer

Thailand’s Kasikornbank, IBM develop blockchain-based Letter of Guarantee network

Eleven banks tap R3’s Corda to develop blockchain-based trade finance app

Rivetz teams up with Parity Technologies to increase cyber security on blockchain

Everex launches blockchain initiative for women’s financial inclusion

Groupe Média TFO launches blockchain project to credit content creators

Cryptocurrency firm BitBay brings Ether, Dash, and Monero trading to India

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