Crypto News
- A new upgrade, expected to be activated on the Zcash (ZEC) blockchain on October 29th, 2018, adds significant usability to Zcash’s protocol by reducing the size of private transactions. The upgrade, called Sapling, is a hardfork that has been in development since Zcash launched in 2016. Speaking about Sapling, Nathan Wilcox, CTO of the Zcash Company, said, “The Sapling protocol will allow shielded transfers to be completed with about 100 times less memory and probably six or more times faster.” Currently, shielded transactions on Zcash are only possible for users that run a full node -- the Sapling upgrade should enable shielded transactions for anyone using Zcash.
- A research report conducted by Recorded Future, a US-based security firm, finds that the North Korean government has sponsored at least two scam cryptocurrencies so far in 2018. Titled, "Shifting Patterns in Internet Use Reveal Adaptable and Innovative North Korean Ruling Elite,” the report details that the first scam coin backed by the North Korean government is Interstellar Coin, founded by Insikt Group in 2018 -- since being established, the coin has gone by a number of names, including HOLD, HUZU, and Stellar. The second scam coin backed by North Korea is called Marine Chain coin and it was originally identified on multiple Bitcoin forums in August 2018 -- the scam coin claim to enable the tokenization of maritime vessels for multiple users and owners.
- Bloomberg reports that Bitfury, a large European cryptocurrency miner manufacturer, is considering an initial public offering (IPO) as one of a few different options to raise funding -- Bitfury is also considering raising debt or selling a minority stake in the company, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s sources detail that Bitfury could IPO with a valuation between USD$3 billion and USD$5 billion, however, the report specifies that these valuations are, “early estimates and could change depending on markets and the industry.” The firm is reportedly considering listing its IPO on exchanges in Amsterdam, London, or Hong Kong.
- Mastercard, the US multinational financial services corporation, believes that cryptocurrencies could benefit from applying some principles of fractional reserve banking, according to a new patent application made public on Thursday. The patent application, submitted through the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), outlines plans to allow merchants to interact with “blockchain currencies” through a new method of simultaneous cryptocurrency and fiat-currency storage. The patent details, “The use of traditional payment networks and payment systems technologies in combination with blockchain currencies may provide consumers and merchants the benefits of the decentralized blockchain while maintaining security of account information and provide a strong defense against fraud and theft.”
- The Shenzen Court of International Arbitration published a case analysis on Thursday that contains a ruling involving a recent dispute related to the possession and transfer of cryptocurrency assets. Despite China’s ban on cryptocurrency trading, the arbitration body found that Bitcoin should still be legally protected as property with economic values. The case with the ruling involved a plaintiff who signed an agreement for the defendant to manage a pool of cryptocurrencies on behalf of the plaintiff until a certain period in time -- upon reaching that period in time, the defendant refused to return the cryptocurrency assets. The cryptocurrencies in question were 20 Bitcoin (BTC), 50 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and 13 Bitcoin Diamond (BCD), worth a combined USD$493,158.
- The Supreme Court of India has formally requested that the Indian government provide an opinion on cryptocurrencies after the country’s central bank banned domestic banks from providing services to cryptocurrency firms. The Supreme Court of India made this request on Thursday after the court heard multiple petitions submitted by local cryptocurrency exchanges and the Internet & Mobile Association of India concerning the Reserve Bank of India’s ban. Nakul Dewan, the legal representative for nine different cryptocurrency exchanges involved in the hearing, was quoted saying, “The government must give some finality to the issue. We have got employees. There are jobs.” The Supreme Court of India will revisit the matters on November 20th, 2018.
- While speaking at the India Mobile Congress 2018 event, Ajjt Pai, chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said that the US should not “disadvantage” emerging technologies such as blockchain due to “antiquated” regulations -- Pai went on to call for a conversation between tech giants like Facebook and Google regarding data privacy and blockchain’s potential applications. Pai went on to comment, “We don’t have jurisdiction over these firms but that’s one of the things we are trying to learn about. What are the emerging technologies that will have an effect on this space and how should our thinking about regulation evolve?”
Sources:
r/https://www.coindesk.com/zcashs-next-upgrade-to-make-private-transactions-100x-lighter-and-6x-faster/
r/https://cointelegraph.com/news/north-korea-allegedly-backed-two-cryptocurrency-scams-this-year
r/https://www.recordedfuture.com/north-korea-internet-usage/
r/https://www.coindesk.com/report-bitfury-weighs-initial-public-offering/
r/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-25/bitfury-is-said-to-consider-europe-s-first-major-crypto-ipo
r/https://www.ccn.com/bitfury-could-launch-europes-first-major-crypto-ipo-with-potential-3-billion-valuation/
r/https://cointelegraph.com/news/bloomberg-european-crypto-mining-firm-bitfury-considers-going-public
r/https://cointelegraph.com/news/mastercard-patent-claims-cryptocurrency-can-benefit-from-fractional-reserve-banking
r/https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinese-arbitrator-reaffirms-that-bitcoin-can-be-held-privately-transferred-as-property
r/https://www.coindesk.com/chinese-arbitration-court-says-bitcoin-should-be-legally-protected-as-property/
r/https://www.coindesk.com/india-supreme-court-seeks-government-opinion-on-crypto-within-2-weeks/
r/https://cointelegraph.com/news/dont-disadvantage-emerging-tech-like-blockchain-says-us-telecoms-authority-chairman
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