US FASB to consider developing digital currency accounting standards

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), an organization that establishes financial accounting and reporting standards for publicly traded US firms, will undertake an early stage research on developing accounting standards for digital currencies such as bitcoin, Reuters reported. The FASB plans to discuss the issue at a public meeting and consider adding it to its agenda, a FASB spokesperson told Reuters.

Bank of England to build renewed RTGS service with blockchain compatibility

The Bank of England (BoE) recently released its blueprint for its new Real-Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS), which will aim to meet the challenges posed by the rapidly changing landscape. In particular, the new system will be designed to build capacity to interface with new payment technologies, such as blockchain, as adoption increases.

Switzerland to swiftly develop bitcoin regulations

Swiss Federal Council last week adopted an amendment of the Banking Ordinance (BankO), which aims to reduce the barriers to entry for fintech firms and boost the competitiveness of the Swiss financial center. It also said that it will continue to watch latest developments in the fintech sector, adding that the work on legal qualification of digital currencies, such as bitcoin, has been taken over.

Swiss city of Zug to offer blockchain-based digital identity to residents

The city of Zug in Switzerland announced that it is the first community to offer all citizens of the city the opportunity to get a blockchain-based digital identity. The digital ID is based on an app that utilizes blockchain technology to secure personal information and associate it with a crypto address, the release said. With the digital ID, the residents can register their identity independently on the app and the identity is verified by the ID control of the town of Zug.

PBoC advisor calls for information disclosure requirements and moderate regulation for ICOs

An advisor to the People’s Bank of China has urged investors to maintain high caution when considering ICO investments. In an interview with Yicai Global, Sheng Songcheng, said, “Only time and market dynamics will tell how popular blockchain technologies and ICOs will become in the future. Moderate regulation should be applied, but it should not stifle innovation.”

Austrian Postal Service rolls out digital currency purchase option

Austrian Post Office branches earlier this week rolled out the option to purchase bitcoin and other digital currencies to its customers. Bitpanda, a Vienna-based cryptocurrency exchange, made the announcement in a blog post. The offline purchase of digital currencies has been facilitated through the cooperation with Österreichische Post, Austria’s postal services provider.

India considers taxing digital currency purchases – Report

Earlier this month, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented in India and reports now suggest that the government is now considering bringing digital currencies under its scope. According to a latest report from The Hindu, the Indian government is considering a regulatory framework for digital currencies, which would include levying of GST on their sale. In addition, this might also bring digital currency-related trading activities under the purview of the country’s stock market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Research studies

Frost & Sullivan lists Blockchain among top 10 technologies disrupting ICT industry

Criminal organisations rarely use digital currencies – European Commission

Funding/Investments:

UK fintech startup Revolut raises $66M in Series B funding, adds bitcoin services

Blockchain identity startup Sphre raises over $5M in XID token sale

UK blockchain startup Provenance secures $800k in seed funding

Japan’s largest utility TEPCO invests in blockchain energy startup Conjoule

Consortium News, Partnerships and More:

Enterprise Ethereum Alliance announces technical steering committee

The Institutes announces blockchain consortium for risk and insurance industry ‘RiskBlock’

Blockchain project Hyperledger Fabric 1.0 goes production-ready

R3, Intel partner to strengthen data privacy and security for blockchain platform Corda

TigerRisk becomes first insurance advisor to join R3’s Centre of Excellence for DLT

Ripple’s Japanese banks consortium adds Sumitomo Mitsui, MUFG

Changelly partners with multi-platform cryptocurrency wallet Jaxx

Digital Currency and Blockchain Initiatives:

Goldman Sachs receives patent for cryptocurrency for securities settlement ‘SETLcoin’

New York trading network investFeed swaps U.S. equities with high-performing digital currencies

eMotorWerks, Share&Charge partner to offer blockchain payments-based P2P EV charging network

UK-based Start Network to test Blockchain potential in Humanitarian Aid

Swiss private bank Falcon Group announces bitcoin asset management service

Financial institutions launch blockchain-based venture to ease SME post-trade operations

Korean brokerage companies to offer blockchain-based joint authentication service

ConsenSys announces Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition initiative

ANZ, Westpac, IBM complete blockchain trial to digitize bank guarantee process

Thomson Reuters launches incubator program, seeks cryptocurrency and blockchain startups

Mizuho completes blockchain-based trade transaction between Australia and Japan

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