digital

Fund Flows to Crypto Companies Decline In 2019

New funds in crypto companies have declined significantly in recent years, but the impact was much larger in 2019. Last year, crypto companies were busy buying each other but overall funding deals and mergers & acquisitions declined.PwC report reveals trendsAccording to a new report by PwC, the mergers & acquisitions in the sector were dominated by crypto companies themselves. Last year, 56% of the acquirers in the industry were crypto-natives themselves and rest came from outside. In 2018, these crypto natives buying each other constituted for only 42% of the

38% of Enterprises Plan to Adopt Blockchain Solutions in 2020

With blockchain solutions growing in popularity, the number of enterprises planning to adopt the technology in 2020 is set to increase. Data gathered by InsideBitcoins.com indicates that 38% of entities will integrate blockchain solutions into their operations this year.From the data, 15% of the enterprise will heavily adopt blockchain solutions while 23% will have moderate adoption to manage different operations. Organizations are also planning to adopt technologies like the Public cloud. About 79% of enterprises are planning to have heavy or moderate adoption of technology.Elsewhere, Artificial intelligence (AI)/and machine learning

Bank of Korea Launches Experimental Trial for National Cryptocurrency

The central bank of South Korea has announced the launch of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot project to determine the requirements of issuing a government-backed cryptocurrency in the future.  According to a report by Yonhap today, the trial which commenced last month is a 22-month program focused on the technological and legal provisions needed to launch a CBDC. The Bank of Korea (BoK) believes the possibility of issuing a CBDC in the future is slim because of the increased demand for fiat currencies, the competitive nature of the global

Revised Crypto Laws in Japan to be Enforced Starting May 1

New laws for regulating cryptocurrencies in Japan will start to be enforced next month.The Payment Services Act (PSA) and Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), two of the pieces of legislation passed by the Japanese House of Representatives last year to regulate crypto, were scheduled to come into effect starting in April. However, with unexpected delays, no enforcement date had officially been set until last week.In the April 3 edition of an official government newsletter, it was announced that the revised versions of the PSA and FIEA would be enforced

Blockchain App Used to Track COVID-19 Cases in Latin America

A Canada-based company is turning to blockchain technology in their efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America.Emerge, a blockchain startup based in Toronto, is launching a public safety system app called Civitas to assist local authorities in many nations. According to a company blog post, the app was designed “to improve safety and cut store wait times by reducing gatherings in tight spaces, reducing the probability of contagion.” The software program could associate locals’ government ID numbers with unique blockchain records, allowing authorities to determine if they qualify for

Darknet Market to Permanently Ban Vendors Preying on COVID-19 Fears

Dark web marketplace, Monopoly Market, has taken a stand against scammers claiming to sell cures and treatments for COVID-19 on its platform.On other darknet platforms, listings are rife with coronavirus keywords — with vendors selling everything from narcotic cocktails marketed as ‘coronavirus vaccines,’ to coronavirus-infected blood and saliva.Monopoly Market to ban vendors using coronavirus as ‘marketing tool’On April 2, dark web journalist, Eileen Ormsby, tweeted a screenshot posted by Monopoly Market’s operator that threatened permanent bans against vendors “caught flogging goods as a ‘cure’ to Coronavirus.”“We have class here,” the

In Legal Battle With US SEC, Telegram Sees New Support From Trade Association

The Blockchain Association, a major United States-based trade association in the crypto sphere, has filed a new brief in support of Telegram amid the firm’s continuing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC).The amicus brief and the SEC’s lack of clarityThe April 3 brief takes the SEC to task for backtracking on its own guidance for legally distributing digital assets. Referring to the inconsistency that issuers of digital assets must cope with when dealing with the SEC, the brief says that “No settled precedent or agency rulemaking addressed whether

People’s Bank of China Continues CBDC Development Talks

The People’s Bank of China held a teleconference on April 3 in Beijing, China. One of the main points confirmed during the call involved the institution’s continued research and development of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.CBDC development is one of the bank’s top priorities The meeting summarized the central bank’s achievements with fiat currency, gold, silver, and securities since the end of 2019. Executives analyzed the bank’s present challenges in depth, while acknowledging that their top priority for 2020 is the continued research and development of a CBDC, saying: “The

Bitcoin’s Correlations With Global Financial Assets Soar Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Many investors hold Bitcoin (BTC) as a hedge against the global financial system. However, as the numbers show, Bitcoin has not been spared from the recent COVID-19 financial crisis.This article will analyze the movement of global financial markets and its correlation with Bitcoin during the COVID-19 crisis. We’ll consider the following sources as price measures for the following.The recent crash has really challenged Bitcoin’s claim as “digital gold” and puts its assertion as a financial “safe haven” to the test.Related: Is Bitcoin a Store of Value? Experts on BTC as

Africa Using Blockchain to Drive Change, Part Two: Southern Solutions

With pundits like Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey predicting that Africa “will define” the future of Bitcoin (BTC), cryptocurrency and blockchain technology continue to attract interest from both public and private establishments across the continent. Many of these adoption cases have been moving beyond finance, developing solutions targeted at issues like unemployment, identity management, health care and supply chain, among others.Amid the growing enthusiasm for crypto and blockchain technology in Africa, industry stakeholders interviewed by Cointelegraph identify a lack of education as one of the major hurdles standing in the way of more