DLT not ready to underpin wholesale interbank payment system: Bank of Canada

In its experiment with distributed ledger technology (DLT), the Bank of Canada has found that the technology is currently not ready to underpin the wholesale interbank payment system. Writing for Globe and Mail, Carolyn A. Wilkins, senior deputy governor of the BoC, and Gerry Gaetz, president of Payments Canada, said that while a lot of innovation and collaboration would be involved in modernizing Canada’s payments system in the short term, it would not involve distributed ledgers.

Leading bitcoin ecosystem participants reach consensus on scaling issue

Digital Currency Group (DCG) this week announced via a blog post on Medium that a proposal addressing bitcoin’s scaling issue has received support from 83.28% of the network’s miners. According to the blog post, the two parallel upgrades to the bitcoin protocol will be deployed simultaneously and based on the original Segwit2Mb proposal. These include – activating Segregated Witness at an 80% threshold, signaling at bit 4; and activating a 2 MB hard fork within six months.

EU project ‘DECODE’ to develop blockchain tools to transform online information sharing

‘DEcentralised Citizen Owned Data Ecosystem’ or DECODE, a three-year European Commission-funded project, launched last week and will focus on developing practical alternatives for individuals to manage their information on the internet. DECODE will essentially aim to create and test new blockchain-based tools to give individuals greater control over their data, helping them keep it private or share it for the public good as they see fit. Spanning three years from January 2017 to December 2019, the project will run four public pilots.

ISO begins work on future standardization for blockchain technology

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 163 national standards bodies, has revealed that it is working on international blockchain standards. A new ISO technical committee has defined the areas for future standardization work – Reference architecture, Taxonomy and ontology, Use cases, Security and privacy, and Identity and smart contracts.

Bitcoin exchanges themselves decided to stop withdrawal of funds, PBoC clarifies

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has clarified that it did not ask bitcoin companies to stop the withdrawal of funds, Forklog reported. In its reply to a bitcoin user, the PBoC stated: “We did not ask trading platforms to suspend w/d. It was a decision made by themselves. The inspection has not ended.”

Conferences/ Events:

SettleMint among twenty finalists to participate in Smart Dubai Office Blockchain Challenge

Digital Currency/Blockchain Research Studies:

EBA issues new information paper on Cryptotechnologies in international payments

One-third of surveyed C-Suite executives using or actively exploring blockchain: IBM

Funding/Investments:

R3 blockchain consortium raises $107M from over 40 institutions in latest funding round

Airalab receives $220K from Satoshi Fund in pre-seed investments

Blockchain startup Coins raises extra $5M in Series A funding

Consortium News, Partnerships and More:

Canaan acquires blockchain timestamping service Proof of Existence

Bitcoin lending platform BTCJam announces closure

Blockchain-based OTC Exchange Network joins FIX Trading Community

Purse announces multi-million dollar bitcoin protocol development agreement

Hyperledger blockchain projects adds 8 new members

86 new members join Enterprise Ethereum Alliance

Deloitte joins Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and Hyperledger Blockchain Project

Blockchain firm OpenLedger and ViewFin partner to drive business expansion

Zcash, J.P. Morgan partner to add zero-knowledge security to blockchain platform 'Quorum'

Jaxx announces partnerships and integrations with over 70 blockchain projects, exchanges, and platforms

Digital Currency and Blockchain Initiatives:

ITAMCO to develop blockchain messaging transaction platform for U.S. military

Popular chat platform Kik announces Ethereum-based cryptocurrency ‘Kin’

Bank of Papua New Guinea explores blockchain potential for improving financial inclusion

TMX Group, Nuco develop blockchain prototype to improve tracking of natural gas flows

ConsenSys launches academy to tackle global blockchain developer shortage

Wyre builds blockchain payment Bot for WeChat and Facebook

Digital Currency Group launches ‘DCG Connect’ to foster enterprise blockchain adoption

NSD successfully develops blockchain-based e-voting system – Report

Australian firm TBSx3 completes blockchain trial to curb trade of counterfeit cargo

Netki launches blockchain identity solution to address compliance challenges for banks

Toyota, MIT Media lab partner to explore blockchain for driverless cars

Nasdaq and Citi leverage Chain’s blockchain technology for new payment solution