Blockchain Daily
via Florin Oprea
Latest Developments & Agreements
As Bitcoin Prices Soar, Messaging App Kik Launches Cryptocurrency Payment Service
Anita Balakrishnan -CNBC
Cryptocurrency will be the primary transaction currency on Kik.
Kik’s implementation of cryptocurrency is relatively unusual because most apps use local currencies for payments.
Chat App Kik Takes On Facebook With Developer Ecosystem Built On The Blockchain
Jon Russell – TechCrunch
Kik isn’t just the most used service to venture into ICOs, it is also the highest financially backed company. It has raised over $120 million to date, and its most recent fundraising round in late 2015 valued its business at $1 billion.
ISO Promises to Take Blockchain Technology to the Next Level
Avi Mizrahi – Finance Magnates
The International Organization for Standardization thinks that blockchain promises to revolutionize financial transactions.
FAO: I especially included this story here: beneath the “future”, above “the past”…
Bank of Canada Says Won’t Use Blockchain For Interbank Payment System
Solarina Ho – Reuters
The Bank of Canada said on Thursday that its experiment with blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, showed it is currently not compatible with operating the country’s centralized interbank payment systems.
The Bank’s conclusion, published in a column in The Globe and Mail newspaper, comes after a year-long experiment in partnership with Payments Canada, which is responsible for the country’s clearing and settlement infrastructure, and Canada’s largest banks.
Is The Latest Bitcoin Bubble About To Burst?
Alistair Charlton – IBT
As bitcoin surges towards the $3000 barrier, cryptocurrency experts warn of another crash on the horizon.
In what may sound like news lifted from 2013, the bitcoin cryptocurrency is on a charge, breaking its own record every day as the value of each coin approaches $3,000 (£2,300), far higher than the price of gold.
For a sense of perspective, bitcoin was worth less than 10 cents in 2010, before rising to fame, fortune and notoriety, breaking the $1,000 barrier in late 2013, before crashing to $300 by the end of the following year. The end of 2016 saw bitcoin recover to $600, but 2017 has been on an entirely different scale; the year began at $1,000, before surging to over $2,700 in just six weeks between late March and late May.
In simpler terms, a (very brave) $1,000 investment in 2010 would be worth $40m today.
As always with bitcoin, the cause of the rapid gain is open for debate. Coin Telegraph cites economic and political uncertainty in the US as a driving factor; the country is the largest bitcoin market globally, with a 34% share of daily trading volume. But an increase in global adoption is also to thank for the currency's 177% year-to-date growth.
Coin Telegraph adds: "The demand toward bitcoin is rising exponentially in major markets outside of the US, including China, South Korea and Japan. China, in particular, has made a strong comeback over the past few weeks, replacing South Korean, Japanese and European exchange markets to become the second largest bitcoin exchange market in the world."
But as with any bitcoin rally, the gains are immediately followed by talk of a bubble and a looming crash, just as there was in 2013 and 2014, and the bubble is expected to pop.
Cryptocurrencies
Digital Currency Market Cap Crosses $90 Billion(!)
Samburaj Das – Crypto Coins News
Cryptocurrency Mania Goes Beyond Bitcoin
Lily Katz – Bloomberg
Market value of digital currencies jumps 50% in a week. Ethereum, litecoin, zcash join bitcoin in dramatic rise.
Exchanges & Trading Venues
Cash Is King for Euronext and R3, But for Very Different Reasons
John Brazier – Waters Technology
Euronext makes its play for FX through hefty M&A investment, while R3 announces a sizable intake from its own investors.
Among the R3 investors: SBI Group, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Intel and Temasek. We announced the tranche this week – here.
TMX Group Develops Blockchain Prototype for Energy Business
Canada NewsWire via COMTEX
TMX Group To Test Natural Gas Transmission With Blockchain-Based Prototype
Dan Cummings – ETHNews
On May 24, 2017, TMX Group announced the development of a blockchain-based prototype that enables the transfer of natural gas. The project was the result of a partnership between Natural Gas Exchange (NGX), TMX’s wholly-owned subsidiary and a leading North American energy exchange, and Nuco Inc., a digital infrastructure provider.
TMX joins Nasdaq in experimenting on blockchain.
Vendors
John McAfee Says Bitcoin Boom to Put MGT in the Black
Lily Katz & Esha Dey
Guess who’s jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon?
Bitcoin $3,000? Ex-fugitive Cybersecurity Legend Sees ‘Enormous Momentum’
Barbara Kollmeyer – MarketWatch
BitPeople
Consensus 2017: Even Academics Can’t Keep Pace With Blockchain Change
Amy Castor – CoinDesk
As blockchain startups take off, where will they find their workforce?
Leading Global Blockchain Firm ConsenSys Launches its Academy with a Developer Challenge
PRNewswire
Global blockchain specialist firm ConsenSys, the largest blockchain venture studio on the planet, is announcing the launch of its ConsenSys Academy with the 2017 Challenge, a highly selective and immersive experience.
Blockchain: Protector Of Cryptocurrencies … And Eggplant
Nikkei Asian Review
The ledgers are safeguarding the tracking of veggies, drivers, home keys.
Osaka-based venture Sivira has established a system in which multiple computers can share and record information regarding vegetables produced in Aya, in the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki. The records are blockchained together against modification, thereby ensuring that consumers get accurate data on the produce they buy.
Other news
People Are Making A Fortune Buying Government-Seized Bitcoins
Joe Ciolli – Business Insider
The old saying goes that one man’s loss is another man’s gain. That has proved true in the bitcoin market.
Read more by Soren K.Group
