The Financial Action Task Force Urges its 35 Member Countries to Regulate Crypto Exchanges the Same Way they Regulate Commercial Banks

BBFTA News Editor | April 04, 2019 | PERMALINK

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was set up in 1989 to cover challenges like how to promote and recommend standards to maintain confidence in the global financial system including procedures to fight money laundering, and terrorist financing.

While these intentions are laudable the reality is why would someone carrying out nefarious activities using a Cryptocurrency that leaves a digital footprint, as opposed to cash that is widely accepted and not traceable. Is it fear of the unknow driving FATF?

Interestingly, according to the IMF there are 15 countries currently looking at launching their own Digital Currencies. A number of these countries say a reason to do this is to help governments curb their domestic “black economies” as a Digital currency offers greater transparency and traceability of money flows.

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Cryptocurrency

Regulators

https://news.bitcoin.com/countries-regulate-cry...ial-banks/

UK Parliament Looks at Ten Examples of How Blockchain Technology Can Help the Economy

BBFTA News Editor | April 03, 2019 | PERMALINK

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain (APPG Blockchain) that has been running workshops since January 2018 and has helped increase the awareness with MPs, about the challenges and opportunities that Blockchain technology offers.

The APPG Blockchain events, coordinated by the Big Innovation Centre, has this week organised a showcase in Parliament for ten companies to illustrate how Blockchain technology could impact, and in some cases how it is already changing the way that business is carried out.

The companies explained how they were using Blockchain technology to help improve transparency and traceability, reducing transaction costs of transferring money in the UK or overseas.

The UK is the only Western country to meet the United Nations foreign aid target donating $13.9billion i.e. 0.7% of the UK GPD. It has been calculated that it costs...

The APPG Blockchain events, coordinated by the Big Innovation Centre, has this week organised a showcase in Parliament for ten companies to illustrate how Blockchain technology could impact, and in some cases how it is already changing the way that business is carried out.

The companies explained how they were using Blockchain technology to help improve transparency and traceability, reducing transaction costs of transferring money in the UK or overseas.

The UK is the only Western country to meet the United Nations foreign aid target donating $13.9billion i.e. 0.7% of the UK GPD. It has been calculated that it costs the UK government £13million in foreign exchange and banking costs to send this aid overseas. This cost could be cut significantly using Blockchain. Likewise, the technology can be used to help in the insurance, healthcare, energy, education and finance sectors.

Blockchain technology and Digital Assets are not only able to help in the commercial world, but can have a positive influence on society. In a recent article, Breakermag looked at how 73 Blockchain initiatives are having a positive impact for social good.

The report stated “… in the food and agriculture sector small farmers get left out of the market, food waste abounds, and sometimes we get poisoned by lettuce. The Blockchain solution is -  Supply chain tracking and according to the Stanford Graduate School of Business report, there are many organisations in Europe, Australia, and U.S. aiming to help people in places like sub-Saharan Africa.”

It is encouraging that UK government is gaining exposure to businesses that are engaged and using Blockchain technology as it cannot afford to let the UK get left behind. In a recent survey, the UK was second only to the US in terms of job opportunities, of the 5,700 jobs being globally advertised currently that include the word Blockchain in the job description - the UK had 1,015 nearly 20% positions available.

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Blockchain

https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/appg-blockchai...lications/

Jonny Fry

7 Years Ago |

VKontaktea social media network service and Russia’s most popular website looks to launch it’s own token –Vkontakte was established in 2006 and with over 500 Million accountsit is the ninth most visited website in the world according to SimilarWeb, and is now looking to create it’s own a Digital Asset according to an RNS article. It is thought that users of the Russian social media site will be given tokens based on the amount of time they spend on the platform. According to RNS, the tokens earned this way could be transferred between users, to purchase goods and potentially be...

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Louis Vuitton providing Blockchain platform to track luxury goods

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

LVHM, the owner of Louis Vuitton and over 60 luxury other brands, is France’s largest publicly quoted company, worth over $180 Billion.

It has been working on a Blockchain based platform to track its luxury goods from the components it uses to the final items being sold in shops.

The global online counterfeiting economy was estimated to be valued at over $323 billion in 2017. According to the Global Brand Counterfeiting Report 2018, luxury brands incurred losses of $30.3 billion through internet sales. So it’s no surprise the LVMH is looking at ways to tackle this loss of income. However, it is offering a solution for itself and its competitors.

LVMH is working with Microsoft and ConsenSys to develop a Blockchain built on Quorum, JP Morgan’s...

It has been working on a Blockchain based platform to track its luxury goods from the components it uses to the final items being sold in shops.

The global online counterfeiting economy was estimated to be valued at over $323 billion in 2017. According to the Global Brand Counterfeiting Report 2018, luxury brands incurred losses of $30.3 billion through internet sales. So it’s no surprise the LVMH is looking at ways to tackle this loss of income. However, it is offering a solution for itself and its competitors.

LVMH is working with Microsoft and ConsenSys to develop a Blockchain built on Quorum, JP Morgan’s version of Ethereum which, according to reports, is due to be released in May or June 2019.

The platform is designed to offer proof of authenticity of goods and able to trace their origins from raw materials to merchants. Included the second hand markets. This platform aims to offer protection of creative intellectual property, exclusive offers and events for each brands’ customers, as well as anti-ad fraud.

LVMH intends to offer the platform in white-label form to other luxury brand competitors by vesting its intellectual property in a separate entity in which other firms can have equity ownership so allowing global brands such as Burberry or Gucci to use the platform so challenging the international fake market of their luxury brands.

Interesting to seeBlockchain technology being used to solve an industry-wide problem, which could mean a more robust solution and better outcome.

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Blockchain

Intelectual Property

https://www.coindesk.com/louis-vuitton-owner-lv...xury-goods

Governments & World Bank actively exploring ways to utilise Blockchain technology

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

The World Bank has backed a pilot venture in Haiti to help empower farmers, to tag fresh produce ensuring transparency and traceability - making it possible to track food from farm to table.

There are numerous examples of governments exploring Blockchain technology use. Examples include India looking to offer Blockchain-based payment services for overseas workers, allowing them to send money home faster and more cheaply.

In Singapore BMW, Intel and Neilson are helping the government by offering Blockchain training, technical and mentoring. It is thought that once more people understand the benefits of Blockchain technology it will encourage more mainstream use.

In New Zealand, the innovation agency has demonstrated that it is supportive of Blockchain technology as it recognise the potential benefits for companies looking to stay one step ahead.
As with all new technology...

There are numerous examples of governments exploring Blockchain technology use. Examples include India looking to offer Blockchain-based payment services for overseas workers, allowing them to send money home faster and more cheaply.

In Singapore BMW, Intel and Neilson are helping the government by offering Blockchain training, technical and mentoring. It is thought that once more people understand the benefits of Blockchain technology it will encourage more mainstream use.

In New Zealand, the innovation agency has demonstrated that it is supportive of Blockchain technology as it recognise the potential benefits for companies looking to stay one step ahead.
As with all new technology there are going to be challenges, and no government has all the answers, but it is encouraging that many governments are at least being supportive and exploring how Blockchain technology can be used.

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Blockchain

Government Relations

https://www.coindesk.com/bmw-intel-join-singapo...ccelerator

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) discussing Digital Assets regulation

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

America’s CFTC has been looking at regulation and the adoption of Digital Assets.

Significant as the International Settlement Derivatives Association (ISDA) has just published its Common Directive in an attempt to try and initiate an industry standard conventions on how derivatives are traded and processed.

The current system is manual intensive and the industry faces increasing regulatory costs. ISDA is looking for ways to introduce greater automation in the industry.

The derivatives market is said to be worth as much as ten times the world GDP, being valued at over $1.2 Quadrillion and was considered to be responsible for the onset of the 2008 financial crisis. If ISDA is successful with its Common Directive,...

Significant as the International Settlement Derivatives Association (ISDA) has just published its Common Directive in an attempt to try and initiate an industry standard conventions on how derivatives are traded and processed.

The current system is manual intensive and the industry faces increasing regulatory costs. ISDA is looking for ways to introduce greater automation in the industry.

The derivatives market is said to be worth as much as ten times the world GDP, being valued at over $1.2 Quadrillion and was considered to be responsible for the onset of the 2008 financial crisis. If ISDA is successful with its Common Directive, it could make Smart Contracts much easier implement leading to much greater use of Blockchain technology in the derivatives market.

Regulators should welcome the greater transparency and traceability that this could bring. Paradoxically there are concerns that public Blockchains could enable “bad actors” to manipulate or falsify transactions when this is feasible only in DLP / permissioned chains.

CFTC in the USA, like a number of other regulators elsewhere , is trading a fine line as it offers guidance as to how to embrace Blockchain technology and Digital assets. If they are too draconian countries more receptive to the use of Blockchain technology will have a competitive advantage resulting in a loss of financial services revenue to laggards.

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Blockchain

Digital Assets

https://cointelegraph.com/news/cftc-technology-...t-adoption

Debit cards offering ability to spend in fiat or Crypto offer mass adoption for Crypto BUT…

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

There are currently eight debit cards that allow soending of Digital Assets using a “flexible friend”:  Bitpay, Shift, Wirex, Cryptopay, Fuzex, Crypto.com, Aximetria and Revolut.

However, there are some issues facing debit cards that offer cypto payment option, due to differences in legal requirements in jurisdictions around the world.

Wirex CEO, Pavel Matveev, highlighted one of the challenges being the need for a “BIN sponsor”. Bank Identification Number (BIN) sponsorship which refers to the company that possesses membership of a card payment network, such as Visa or Mastercard.

He revealed: “Several BIN sponsors were hesitant to work with Wirex at first when they learned that part of our model encompasses cryptocurrencies.” Since then, however, Matveev says that “BIN sponsors have become more receptive to crypto”.

Some...

However, there are some issues facing debit cards that offer cypto payment option, due to differences in legal requirements in jurisdictions around the world.

Wirex CEO, Pavel Matveev, highlighted one of the challenges being the need for a “BIN sponsor”. Bank Identification Number (BIN) sponsorship which refers to the company that possesses membership of a card payment network, such as Visa or Mastercard.

He revealed: “Several BIN sponsors were hesitant to work with Wirex at first when they learned that part of our model encompasses cryptocurrencies.” Since then, however, Matveev says that “BIN sponsors have become more receptive to crypto”.

Some countries have banned the use of Digital Assets to pay for goods such as China, Columbia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Vietnam, while others like USA, Canada and Australia are more supportive. There have been reports that Russia has banned the use of Digital Assets, but recently Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev was quoted as saying, ‘Using cryptocurrency debit cards to pay for goods and services does not contradict Russian law’.

Despite the challenges and confusion it appears not to have stopped Baanx from looking to launch a new Fiat and Crypto enabled debit card with Near Field Communication (NFC).

NFC technology enables point of sale payment with any supported cryptocurrency, instantly converting into fiat currency to pay for goods and services.

The ability to use Digital Assets with a Debit card could significantly increase the number of people involved in Digital Assets, as more and more people turn away from using cash and rely on debit and credit cards.

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Crypto

Digital Assets

https://coinnewstelegraph.com/crypto-debit-card...d-species/

Western Union Using Blockchain for payments

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

Western Union, with 500,000 branches globally and revenues of over $5.5 Billion, is a significant player in the international remittance market - charging 5% to 9.5% to process transactions.

The Global remittance market was valued by the World bank at over $613 Billion in 2018, an increase of  7% since 2017.

This means the very poorest workers i.e. cleaners, nurses, security guards, etc. in more developed countries who are sending money back to loved ones are paying up to $60 Billion in banking and foreign exchange costs p.a.
It is hoped that  Blockchain technology will enable the same money transfers at a much lower cost.

Western Union has just announced a venture with TransferTo, which itself saw tremendous growth of over 900% in 2018, processing over $2 Billion of transactions....

The Global remittance market was valued by the World bank at over $613 Billion in 2018, an increase of  7% since 2017.

This means the very poorest workers i.e. cleaners, nurses, security guards, etc. in more developed countries who are sending money back to loved ones are paying up to $60 Billion in banking and foreign exchange costs p.a.
It is hoped that  Blockchain technology will enable the same money transfers at a much lower cost.

Western Union has just announced a venture with TransferTo, which itself saw tremendous growth of over 900% in 2018, processing over $2 Billion of transactions. TransferTo has been using the Stellar Blockchain (as used by IBM). This venture allows Western Union to start digitising its remittance business,  which ought to allow it to compete with many of the FinTech firms we are seeing being established, using Blockchain technology, offering similar services.

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Financial Services

https://bitnewstoday.com/news/western-union-par...lockchain/

LSE researcher claims central Banks could initiate a Bitcoin rally

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

London School of Economics (LSE) research associate Dr Garrick Hilemanbelieves that central banks stockpiling Bitcoin could result in the coin rising in value.

Given the low of volatility in Bitcoin prices currently, as seen below, and the fact that Bitcoin finally seems to be consolidating above $4,000, are we about to see the much-heralded next leg up in Bitcoin prices?

Source :https://bitvol.info

There has been much talk of the next global recession being imminent. Which may explain why the  Russians, amongst others, are stockpiling gold thus resulting inJanuary 2019 seeing the net biggest monthly accumulation of gold for central banks since January 2002.

Further evidence of a potential recession has been the yield curve in theUS inverting i.e. short term interest rates are now higher than...

Given the low of volatility in Bitcoin prices currently, as seen below, and the fact that Bitcoin finally seems to be consolidating above $4,000, are we about to see the much-heralded next leg up in Bitcoin prices?


Source :https://bitvol.info

There has been much talk of the next global recession being imminent. Which may explain why the  Russians, amongst others, are stockpiling gold thus resulting inJanuary 2019 seeing the net biggest monthly accumulation of gold for central banks since January 2002.

Further evidence of a potential recession has been the yield curve in theUS inverting i.e. short term interest rates are now higher than long term rates - historically a predictor of recessions.  Another indicator followed by many is the Shiller ratio, which seems to be showing that S&P 500 stocks are not cheap:

So where do central banks invest? Could Crypto Currencies like Bitcoin be seen as a hedge - an alternative asset for them to hold ahead of the next economic downturn?

Interestingly over the last four years, Bitcoin continues to have a better Sharpe ratio (adjusted return) than many other assets. A fact that will not have been lost on many!

As a sign that Bitcoin’s fortunes are beginning to improve, OKeX, a Maltese Digital Asset exchange, recently reported that it had turned over$2.4 Billion in a day and over 56% of its traders are now long of Bitcoin!

If Central banks start accumulating Bitcoin and we see a rise in its price this will significantly help many of the 5,200+ Digital Assets which have been issued, as many of them were funded by investors using Bitcoin.

Therefore, a rise in the value of Bitcoin ought to inflate the price of many other Digital Assets and help improve their balance sheets...

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Banking

Bitcoin

Digital Assets

https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/201...03ad57380b

UPS to use Blockchain technology for its new B2B e-commerce platform

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

United parcel Services (UPS), a global courier company established in 1907, which had revenues of over $64 Billion in 2017, has been looking at Blockchain technology for a while.

In Q3 2018 it joined The Blockchain in Trucking Alliance as it looked to improve transparency and efficiency among consumers, merchants and other parties that use its services.

UPS had filed for a patent in August 2018, which involved storing information dispatch to destination, creating a shipment plan, including payments, using Blockchain technology.

UPS’s Airline subsidiary, said at the end of December 2018, they were still looking for a “Killer App”, so not looking to implement Blockchain technology in the near future. However, UPS has now announced that it has entered a partnership with Inxeption to create Inxeption Zippy. A...

In Q3 2018 it joined The Blockchain in Trucking Alliance as it looked to improve transparency and efficiency among consumers, merchants and other parties that use its services.

UPS had filed for a patent in August 2018, which involved storing information dispatch to destination, creating a shipment plan, including payments, using Blockchain technology.

UPS’s Airline subsidiary, said at the end of December 2018, they were still looking for a “Killer App”, so not looking to implement Blockchain technology in the near future. However, UPS has now announced that it has entered a partnership with Inxeption to create Inxeption Zippy. A Blockchain-based e-commerce platform which helps merchants set up, sell, and ship products online. 

The B2B e-commerce market is set to reach $1.8 trillion by 2023, according to Forrester research. This new platform will offer manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers the ability to create their own branded e-commerce website .

The platform enables the listing, marketing, and selling of products. According to an official press release the Blockchain component of this platform is designed to safeguard sensitive information such as individual pricing and negotiated rates.

A good example where Blockchain will be implemented without consumers realising the technology is being harnessed, yet they will be able to enjoy the benefits of greater efficiency and data security.

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e-commerce

https://www.coindesk.com/ups-targets-business-s...blockchain

Ratuken to roll out a Digital Asset Exchange in April 2019 - Amazon next?

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

Ratuken, the Japanese online trading giant with over 14,000 employees valued at over $15 Billion, has announced that it will be launching a new crypto exchange platform.

Rakuten is also launching its mobile application platform, Rakuten Pay. This will have an integrated cryptocurrency payment option, along with fiat, meaning its customers can pay in fiat or use Digital Assets.

Meanwhile, Amazon has registered domain names AmazonEthereum.com, AmazonCryptocurrency.com and AmazonCryptocurrencies.com. How long will it be before they start accepting Digital Assets, or indeed launch “AmzCoin”?

Amazon has just entered a new partnership with World Pay, which in turn were recently acquired by a US Fintech firm who have a close relationship with Ripple.

Like Facebook has the critical scale and global reach to successfully create its own Digital currency, and...

Rakuten is also launching its mobile application platform, Rakuten Pay. This will have an integrated cryptocurrency payment option, along with fiat, meaning its customers can pay in fiat or use Digital Assets.

Meanwhile, Amazon has registered domain names AmazonEthereum.com, AmazonCryptocurrency.com and AmazonCryptocurrencies.com. How long will it be before they start accepting Digital Assets, or indeed launch “AmzCoin”?

Amazon has just entered a new partnership with World Pay, which in turn were recently acquired by a US Fintech firm who have a close relationship with Ripple.

Like Facebook has the critical scale and global reach to successfully create its own Digital currency, and bypass much of the banking system.

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Cryptocurrency

Digital Assets

https://www.coindesk.com/e-commerce-giant-rakut...o-exchange

Borse-Stuttgart exchange with Axel Springer launches a Digital Asset Exchange

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

Germany’s second-largest stock exchange, Borse-Stuttgart, will the biggest shareholder in an exchange it has launched with Axel Springer and its subsidiary Finanzen.net.

Axel Springer, based in Germany, is Europe’s largest digital publisher with a turnover of over of 3 Billion Euros will bring its digital marketing expertise to the venture and potentially gaining access to Finanzen’s 3.45 Million client base.

The new crypto platform will focus on combining investment information and a blockchain-based trading platform and help Borse-Stuttgart to fulfill its stated objective to build an end-to-end infrastructure for Digital assets.

As well as comprehensive information and the ability to trade Digital Assets it is expected that this new platform will also offer custody services, also available for retail and institutional clients.

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Digital Marketing

Digital Exchange

https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/borse-stuttgar...-platform/

Smart Cities: Ikea tests solar power & blockchain on a miniature wooden village

BBFTA News Editor | April 01, 2019 | PERMALINK

In an effort to help homes become both greener and energy producers Ikea are testing solar panels on the roofs of a miniature wooden village, built to 1:50 scale and incorporating Blockchain technology.

The concept is designed to track and improve the traceability of electrical power that a building is able to produce, for ‘microgrid” tokens.

The mock up energy self-sustaining model village is powered by solar panels enabling, households to sell any excess electricity or indeed able to buy some from their neighbours, if required, through a Blockchain.  All of the buildings are hardwired together to create a microgrid for energy sharing and trading in what Ikea claims is a fully scalable model.

According to a report by Mckinsey, “By 2020 the number of smart cities will reach 600 worldwide, and 5 years later...

The concept is designed to track and improve the traceability of electrical power that a building is able to produce, for ‘microgrid” tokens.

The mock up energy self-sustaining model village is powered by solar panels enabling, households to sell any excess electricity or indeed able to buy some from their neighbours, if required, through a Blockchain.  All of the buildings are hardwired together to create a microgrid for energy sharing and trading in what Ikea claims is a fully scalable model.

According to a report by Mckinsey, “By 2020 the number of smart cities will reach 600 worldwide, and 5 years later almost 60 percent of the world’s GDP will be produced in them. Digital technologies could become the engine of economic progress, and blockchain, without a doubt, could be one of them”.
A number of countries are already exploring similar ideas. China has already set plans in motion to create hundreds of smart cities by 2025, to support its growing population.

Estonia has started integrating Blockchain technology into many of its government services, including its legislative processes, healthcare and ID and energy data management.
Meanwhile, Dubai has created it’s ‘Smart City Initiative’ which aims to transform the city into the world’s first Blockchain powered city by 2020.

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Blockchain

Digital Technology

https://businessblockchainhq.com/energy-blockch...olarville/