Deals, Investments & M&As
Luno Raises $9M To Bring Its Bitcoin Wallet, Exchange And Services To Europe
Jon Russell - TechCrunch
Luno, a bitcoin wallet and exchange based out of Singapore, is riding the crypto wave into Europe after it closed a $9 million Series B round for market expansion.
FAO: Luno (formerly BitX) managed to raise a total equity funding of $13.8m in 4 rounds.
The current round was led by Balderton Capital.
Cryptocurrencies
Ethereum Will Match Visa In Scale In A ‘Couple Of Years’ Says Founder
John Biggs - TechCrunch
Ethereum's Next Hard Fork Is Now Officially Being Tested
Rachel Rose O'Leary - CoinDesk
Byzantium, the first part of ethereum's long-awaited Metropolis upgrade, has officially launched on testnet. The simulated hard fork was executed on Ropsten, the ethereum testing environment, and is expected to run for a few weeks of troubleshooting before the fork occurs on the main ethereum blockchain, currently the world's second-largest by market capitalization.
FAO: Behold! A giant in the making...
Swiss Shut Down 'Fake' E-Coin In Latest Cryptocurrency Crackdown
Joshua Franklin - Reuters
Switzerland’s financial watchdog has closed down what it said was the provider of a fake cryptocurrency and is investigating around a dozen other possible fraud cases, in the latest clamp-down on the risks involving virtual money.
FAO: FINMA closed the QUID PRO QUO Association. The E-coins turned out not so QUID PRO QUO...hmmm
*More content in this section on our Blockchain Daily News website.
Exchanges & Trading Venues
Bitcoin Trading Platforms Rush To Contain Damage
Sarah Dai, Amanda Lee - SCMP
China’s sweeping ban on cryptocurrency trading is wreaking havoc on the country’s once thriving sector, forcing many firms into drastic strategic adjustments, if not complete overhauls.
FAO: Don’t even want to start thinking what it’s like to be in these people’s place right now...
Japan Exchange Report: Cloud Edging Out DLT for Capital Markets Needs
Nikhilesh De - CoinDesk
The Japan Exchange Group (JPX) has released a new working paper on the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in capital markets, one that seeks to build on its past reports and proofs-of-concept.
Vendors
Inside the Blockchain Factory: How IBM's Distributed Ledger Work Went Global
Michael del Castillo - CoinDesk
IBM Far Outranks Microsoft As Blockchain Industry Leader, Research Says
Ryan Browne - CNBC
Blockchain technology is on the radar of a number of tech corporations – and IBM is leading the way, according to a study. Big Blue has been making considerable steps forward with research and development projects aimed at broadening the scope of distributed ledger technology to include industries other than the financial services.
FAO: We had an article in July where IBM Director Nitin Gaur provided a mini-roadmap to global governments that are exploring Blockchain. Question: is IBM already discussing with these governments, among other points of its own blockchain agenda?
BitPeople
Vitalik Buterin Explains Ethereum In His Own Words At Disrupt SF
Matt Burns - TechCrunch
DNT: In a talk with AngelList founder Naval Ravikant at Disrupt SF 2017, Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum said:
“You basically need to have some system that keeps track of how much money you have at any given time, how much money you have the right to spend” ...“You can very easily do it with centralized servers, but if you want to do it in a decentralized manner, it’s actually a very hard problem”.
You can watch the video here.
Regulation
Bitcoin 'Double Taxation' Relief Bill Introduced In Australia
Stan Higgins - CoinDesk
Australia's government has introduced a bill that delivers on a long-standing promise to solve a "double taxation" problem for cryptocurrencies.
FAO: Australia is building its future leading position in the “cryptoverse”. Go Aussies! You’re doing fine!
Startups, Accelerators & Hubs
Circle Pushes OTC Crypto Trading, Launches In France And Italy And Adds Group Payments
Ian Allison - International Business Times
Circle, which uses blockchain technology to do zero-cost instant payments, is launching in France and Italy, and also announcing a group payments application. In addition, the company is pushing to the fore its over-the-counter service, Circle Trading, which up until now has been "the best kept secret" in the crypto space.
Analysis
Coinbase Vulnerability Is A Good Reminder That SMS-Based 2FA Can Wreak Havoc
Taylor Hatmaker - TechCrunch
The problem with 2FA is that often a distinction isn’t made between SMS-based 2FA, which sends a code to the user via text, and 2FA that requires a user to respond to a push verification sent to a specific physical device.
FAO: Pretty techy but worth reading...
FAO: Florin Adrian Oprea, Editor-in-chief Blockchain Daily News
DNT: Decebal Nicolaie Todarita, Editor Blockchain Daily News
Read more by MarketSlant Editor
