In January 2017, Indonesias anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist finance (AML/CTF) agency provided the first specific, public allegations from a government of terrorists using cryptocurrencies.

According to Indonesian government sources, Bahrun Naim, a member of Daesh (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS), sent Bitcoin to fellow members across Indonesia to avoid transferring money through the formal financial system.

Is this a sign of a coming wave of terrorist financing using new technology? Is Bitcoin a menace that should be banned, as US Senator Joe Manchin advised in 2014?

The prospect of terrorists relying on cryptocurrencies a subset of privately developed, tradable stores of digital value referred to as virtual currencies has prompted action from a number of jurisdictions.

The EU Parliament is expected to pass measures soon requiring the UK and other member states to bring certain virtual currency service providers within their AML/CTF regulation. These measures do not seek to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies, but will require virtual currency service providers to implement customer due diligence measures, just as banks do now.

Certain features of cryptocurrencies, which are not backed by any government, have no status as legal tender and rely on network protocols and cryptographic techniques to enable counterparties to transact, present illicit financing risks.

Cryptocurrencies enable rapid and borderless transaction settlement on a peer-to-peer basis. This means that network participants can transact directly without relying on a financial institution to process or settle the transaction.

In addition, cryptocurrencies contain various levels of pseudonymity or anonymity. In the Bitcoin network, users are identified not by their name, but by an alphanumeric public key.

Technologies that allow users to make rapid funds transfers outside the formal banking system and using concealed identities might seem to have enormous appeal to Daesh and other global terrorists.

In truth, however, the threat landscape presents a more muted picture; terrorist financing via cryptocurrencies is a risk that could grow with time, but one that warrants a measured response.

Available information on terrorists use of cryptocurrencies is limited and anecdotal. In June 2015, the US charged a Daesh supporter for posting on Twitter about how others might use Bitcoin to fund the terror group. However, in that instance, there is no indication that actual transfers took place.

In August 2016, a former CIA analyst published findings identifying a Palestinian media organisation, the Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center, a Gaza-based online jihadist news agency labelled by the US as having terrorist connections as receiving small-value Bitcoin donations. Otherwise, and with the exception of Indonesias announcement, the public record is unspecific and speculative.

Still, security agencies have focused on the possibility that cryptocurrencies use in terrorism could grow. Terrorists are rapidly becoming more technologically adept. The head of Europol, Rob Wainwright, recently described terrorists as winning the online arms race, relying increasingly on social media and online platforms to generate support faster than law enforcement can keep pace.

As terrorists expand their online presence, security agencies worry their use of cryptocurrencies will expand. Governments are anxious about terrorists use of the dark web or encrypted portions of the web where users interact anonymously and where cryptocurrencies often feature.

Of particular concern to law enforcement agencies is the use of mixers or tumblers. These privacy-enhancing tools obscure the trail of cryptocurrency transactions and can stifle attempts to decipher financial activity.

Still, perspective is necessary. It is not yet clear whether cryptocurrencies will become a major terrorist funding tool, at least in the near-term, and the longer-term picture remains uncertain. Indeed, terrorists already have a number of reliable financing streams, which show little sign of drying up.

As Tom Keatinge and Florence Keen illustrate in a recent RUSI report, lone actor and small cell terrorists fund their activity on a micro scale, using easily accessible financial services. This includes student and payday loans, public benefits, and cash.

These funding methods are often impossible for the financial sector or intelligence agencies to spot ahead of their use in terrorist operations. With such simple funding available, terrorists may not need to rush into cryptocurrencies.

Treating cryptocurrencies as an exceptional threat creates the misleading impression that more conventional financial products are not already equally, or more, vulnerable to terrorist exploitation.

Cryptocurrencies are also not necessarily impenetrable fortresses of secrecy; indeed, as the Indonesian case demonstrates, law enforcement agencies can identify their use. With Bitcoin, which is by far the most widely used cryptocurrency and relies on a public ledger the blockchain to record transactions, law enforcement agencies have a number of methods for uncovering illicit activity.

Whats more, banning Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies could stifle important innovations that could enhance financial services. While it is still far from clear how significant an impact cryptocurrencies will have, a number governments, including the UKs, are keen to enable innovation in the sector.

Cryptocurrencies have particularly vocal champions among some proponents of financial inclusion, or expanding financial services to the worlds poor. Cryptocurrencies peer-to-peer nature enables transfers to occur at reduced cost compared to credit card transactions and other established payment methods that rely on numerous intermediaries.

Proponents argue cryptocurrencies could play a role in helping the unbanked to access cost-effective financial services.

Virtual currencies therefore offer governments a test case in harnessing the promise of technological innovation while also managing financial crime risks that are still only taking shape.

Countries should pursue a sensible approach. They should ensure their law enforcement agencies have the necessary resources and skills to uncover related illicit activity; and they can work to improve information sharing with their foreign counterparts on joint investigations.

Limited efforts at regulating certain cryptocurrency service providers, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, mark a reasonable initial attempt at oversight.

Countries should take time to monitor and assess the effectiveness of new regulation before rushing into further action.

As with any new technology, awareness of risks is critical. But overreaction and panic in this early stage in cryptocurrencies history would be misguided.

David Carlisle is an independent consultant specialising in devising strategies for combating financial crime.

Banner image: If Bitcoins were real currency, this is perhaps what they would look like.Courtesy of Isokivi/Wikimedia.

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Cryptocurrencies and Terrorist Financing: A Risk, But Hold the Panic - RUSI Analysis

Everyone in the world of bitcoin and cryptocurrency is taking notice of what is happening to the Dash price right now. Contrary to what most people would have expected, the value of Dash is shooting up like a rocket. Whereas some people assumed this would be a brief pump-and-dump at first, things are starting to look more like a legitimate bull run right now.

Looking over the list of altcoins in existence right now, it is clear Dash is enjoying a lot of positive attention. Albeit it is a bit unclear as to why the value is skyrocketing over the past few days, Dash is one of the few altcoins that has been around for multiple years without seeing significant value changes. In fact, some people would argue Dash has been extremely undervalued up until now.

Unlike bitcoin, the Dash developer team has been working on privacy and anonymity traits. Although those features are not important to all cryptocurrency users per se, there are those who wouldnt say no to more privacy and anonymity while using cryptocurrency. Dash seems to check a lot of the right boxes for a lot of people in this regard, which may be attributing to the current price surge. After all, there is no reason to believe bitcoin will be the only cryptocurrency that matters to enthusiasts and investors alike.

It is equally important to take notice of some other factors. Unlike most other altcoins, Dash is not subject to that many people selling their stash while the price is going up. A lot of people run their own master nodes, which are an integral part of the dash ecosystem. To run such a master node, users need to own 1,0000 DASH and keep it locked in the wallet address associated with their master node at all times. Removing these funds will take the node out of the network and remove any rewards users receive from owning a master node in the first place.

Even though Dash has a maximum supply that is similar to bitcoins -= 22 million coins versus 21 million there are only 7.135 million coins in circulation right now. A large amount of blocks is kept in wallets belonging to master node owners, which makes the available supply closer to half of the total supply in circulation. With very few coins to be sold on the market, it is not difficult to see why the Dash price is appreciating so much as of late. The low block reward currently 3.9 coins per block keeps inflation of new coins very low as well.

The charts seem to reflect the demand for a privacy-centric cryptocurrency as well. Dashs price has been on a bullish run since mid-February, yet it has seemingly exploded in the past few days. With 31.7% gains in the past 24 hours alone, it is evident people are taking notice of what Dash brings to the table. Although this price increase has proven to be rather steep, it is possible the rise will carry over for a few more days. The bigger question is whether or not Dash will see a retrace as time progresses, which is always a possibility in the world of cryptocurrency.

Right now, one Dash is worth US$51.94, which is quite a high value. The only altcoin to reach a similar value was Litecoin, which saw a significant pump a few years ago. Once Litecoin hit the US$55 mark, however, the prices started tumbling down again. It is unsure if something similar will happen to Dash moving forward, although the momentum seems very strong right now. Then again, a strong price gain in a brief period of time will always attract some people looking to sell their current supply and buy back in cheaper.

If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and technology news.

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Dash Price Surges Past US$50, Gains 34% Value in just One Day - The Merkle

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Blockchain may have more potential to disrupt corporate finance than actual bitcoin does, but that doesnt mean cryptocurrencies are entirely ignored by the enterprise space.PYMNTS takes a look at how the corporate world interacts with cryptocurrencies and were not just talking about bitcoin from how businesses pay cyber ransoms to the role bitcoin plays in promoting T&E innovation.

$7.5 million will be spent by Indonesias SBXbank on a cryptocurrency marketplace, the bank revealed last week. Also known as Smart Banking Exchange, the FI will launch Coinxmart and use SBXbanks own cryptocurrency,SBXCoin, in hopes of promoting the use of cryptocurrency in areas like lending and payments. The bank is reportedly working with the nations Financial Services Authorities to receive clearance for the initiative, a tricky move, reports said, as cryptocurrencies remain unregulated in the country.

12,000 anonymous data scientists competing for bitcoinprovide artificial intelligence-based market prediction models used by San Franciscobased hedge fund Numeraito strengthen its investing strategy. Reports in Forbes last week said this company is now developing its own digital currency, Numeraire, making it one of the first digital currencies released by an entire company. According to the funds founder Richard Craib, the digital currency could act as an incentive for data scientists to develop more sophisticated market prediction models which has massive implications for the hedge fund space altogether, introducing a way investors use cryptocurrencies to boost their own performance.

A 4,000 percent spike in ransom payments last year means companies are willingto cough up the cash to get their files back when hit by a cyberattack. That statistic, provided by Recorded Future, sets the stage for a world in which businesses are stockpiling bitcoin to pay ransoms, according to reports. For corporate ransomware attacks, the average cost of a ransom is between $10,000 and $75,000, analysts say.Robert Gibbons, CTO at Datto, which provides digital disaster recovery services, told reporters last week that a quarter of companies that actually pay the ransom, however, never actually see their files restored. He emphasized that businesses buying up bitcoin for this purpose may be doing so in vain, as paying a ransom simply invites the next attack.

20 of 710 cryptocurrencies have a market currency of at least $10 million, according to travel technology expert Johnny Thorsen at the Business Travel Show event last week. While Thorsen said concepts like blockchain smart contracts are more likely to disrupt the corporate travel billing space more so than cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, he did say he expects more travel service providers to accept bitcoin as payment, with three air carriers already doing so. But bitcoins volatility, the expert noted, may be stunting innovation in the development of blockchain-based corporate travel solutions.

10 days in a row, bitcoin maintained its $1,000-plus valuation this month, according to the PYMNTS.com Bitcoin Tracker. Analysts are beginning to wonder whether its new price floor will stay at a grand, but others argue its too early to tell. Its good news for individual investors bitcoin ATM company Coinsource says it now has 80 ATMs in operation across the U.S. but could bitcoins newfound value (hitting as high as $1,149 last week) mean corporate investors will get in on the action?

A 9-point blockchain industry self-regulatory initiative was launched in Chinain the wake of a surprise crackdown by the Peoples Bank of China on bitcoin exchanges. Now, the China Blockchain Application Research Center is reportedly helpingguide the cryptocurrency industry in the nation towards self-regulation and recently organized an event to collaborate with regulatory bodies on the matter. Those nine points include the establishment of compliance departments, compliance to anti-money laundering and anti-corruption rules, and the self-regulation by corporates. The move follows regulatory efforts announced by the Philippines central bank earlier this month to regulate the bitcoin industry and combat money laundering.

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Corporate Explore Use Of Cryptocurrencies | PYMNTS.com - PYMNTS.com

Thanks to the amount of technical savviness one needs to posses to use them,many cryptocurrencies are rather inaccessible for average users. PascalCoin a new cryptocurrency is ready to change this with deletable blockchains.

The project has made considerable headway since releasing its first beta version in July last year.According to The Merkle, there is a lot of trading activity and buzz aroundthe new altcoin but as of yet there are no merchants or platforms accepting it as a payment option.

PascalCoin is therefore not going to oust bitcoin any time soon, but it does employ interesting new strategies to create a cryptocurrency. Instead of relying on transaction history in blockchains, like most other cryptocurrencies, PascalCoin uses safebox with a safebox hash.

The safebox feature makes it unnecessary for the end user to download a blockchain of historical operations, making PascalCoin the first cryptocurrency to do that. The balance is included in each block of the blockchain so the chain can be deleted without affecting the ability of making transactions.

By saving the balance of the account on each block, thenew altcoin hopes to simplify cryptocurrencies and become moreappealing to the general public. Instead of long hacker-esque series of random numbers and letters, PascalCoin features up to 10-digit account numbers that include the balance and make the experience more similar to regular bank accounts.

The safebox is also meant to avoid the issues that have been detected with bitcoin. One of those issues beingdouble spending, when people attempt to do two transactions with the same funds, which is aknown problem with bitcoins.

When discussing cryptocurrency, the issue of traceability often arises. Many worry that cryptocurrency can aid criminals in their illegal dealing, although that might be changing. Pascal Coin will not be any more untraceable than bitcoin, even though it allows you to delete the blockchain. Deleting the blockchain can make the transaction history more obscure but anybody that possesses the full block chain will be able see it.

Its way too early to tell whether PascalCoins take on cryptocurrency will change anything about the future of cryptocurrency. However, new additions to the world of digital currencies are always interesting, especially if they bring it closer the public.

PascalCoin Is A Cryptocurrency With a Deletable Blockchain on The Merkle

Read next: First Uber, now Tesla: Employee sues over sexism, inappropriate conduct

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Deletable blockchain might make cryptocurrency more user-friendly - TNW

Kraken, one of the largest cryptocurrency trading venues in the world, has acquired the charting and trading platform Cryptowatch.Used by thousands totrade up to 22 digital assets, Cryptowatch has seen rapid growth in the past two years increasing its active user-base by 700%.

The financial details of the acquisition have not been made, but it is revealed thatCryptowatch founder,Artur Sapek is joining Kraken to lead the development ofits interface as part of the deal while continuing to develop Cryptowatch.Kraken has also already leveraged Cryptowatch to release an upgraded trading interface based on the platform.

In just 2 years Cryptowatch grew into one of the pillars of the digital asset trading community, Sapek said. Teaming up with an exchange was the natural next step, and Kraken was my first choice. The Kraken team has built a very mature and reliable exchange, and I look forward to working with them to deliver the best trading software in the industry.

Im thrilled to welcome the Cryptowatch trading platform and its founder into the Kraken family, said Kraken CEO Jesse Powell. As the industrys leading charting tool for traders, we plan to devote more resources and talent to further enhance its offering. And weve purposed the technology to provide a great new charting and trading platform to Kraken clients as the first step in improving our own interface. Its a great start to 2017 and I cant wait to share what else weve got in the pipeline.

In 2016 Kraken acquired threemajor bitcoin exchanges(Coinsetter, Cavirtex and CleverCoin) as well as the bitcoin wallet funding service Glidera soon to be rebranded as Kraken Direct.

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Kraken Acquires Yet Another Cryptocurrency Firm, Cryptowatch - Finance Magnates

You Are Here: Home 2017 March 1 Botnets mining cryptocurrency

Security vendor Forcepoint has identified a new mining botnet targeting the Monero cryptocurrency. Using bots to mine cryptocurrencies is nothing new and there have been several claims that botnets are targeting Monero over the last 15 months. This blog by Luke Somerville and Abel Toro goes further. It provides the evidence for an active botnet exploiting SMEs and local government systems in the Haut-Rhin region of France.

Using a botnet to mine for cryptocurrencies today makes sense. The complexity of the problems to be solved require an ever increasing amount of compute power. This has created a number of cooperatives where members join a mining consortium to share compute power and make money. What is happening here is that cybercriminals are looking for a more profitable route than being part of a mining consortium.

Somerville and Toro reference a Malwarebytes report from January. In that report, researchers looked at the use of the Sundown exploit kit to deploy a cryptocurrency miner. That mining tool was focused on Monero and was being actively updated. It appears from the Somerville and Toro blog that other campaigns to infect machines have been successful. Surprisingly both blogs call out the lack of obfuscation of the code used in the attacks. This has made it easy for the researchers to identify and examine the attacks.

The command and control servers are mainly hosted on legitimate websites. Interestingly the majority of those websites are hosted on OVH. This might be the attackers using sites based in France to get around security controls on the machines. The theory being that security software would expect users to access sites based in France rather than in Vietnam, Russia or China.

It is a surprise that we havent seen more campaigns aimed at botnet mining of cryptocurrency over the last few years. The increasing price of most cryptocurrencies is enough to make it attractive. Given the size of some botnets and their cost, it is certain cost effective. What is interesting is that this is targeted at cryptocurrency that is relatively unknown outside the DarkNet.

Ian has been a journalist, editor and analyst for over 30 years. While technology remains the core focus of Ian's writings he also covers science fiction, children toys, field hockey and progressive rock. As an analyst, Ian is the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Practice Leader for Creative Intellect Consulting Ltd. A keen hockey goalkeeper, Ian coaches and plays for a number of clubs including Guildford Hockey Club, Alton Hockey Club, Royal Navy, Combined Services, UK Armed Forces and several touring sides. His ambition is to one day represent England. Ian has also been selected to be the goalkeeping coach for Hockey for Heroes, a UK charity supporting the UK Armed Forces.

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Botnets mining cryptocurrency - Enterprise Times

China is forging ahead to be the first country to offer its own digital cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology, following successful trials.

Despite instances of enormous fluctuation in price, cryptocurrencies such asbitcoin remain incredibly popular, thanks to its detachment from any nation states bank and its ability for users to trade anonymously.

For this reason, traditional banks and governments have been sceptical about its potential for undermining existing currencies.

Yet now, one of the worlds largest economies is throwing caution to the wind by potentially launching the worlds first national cryptocurrency under the Peoples Bank of China.

According to Bloomberg, the Chinese government has been exploring the possibilities of cryptocurrencies for nearly three years, having set up a research team in consultation with digital firms such as Deloitte.

For the end user in China, services such as WeChat or Alipay would remain largely the same but transaction costs would be lower, as a state-run cryptocurrency would mean payments coming directly from the buyer.

This possible launch of a digital currency comes at a time when the number of Chinese people making online payments is continually increasing, from 200m in 2014, to an estimated 630m by 2020.

The core of the digital currency will be based around blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that has made bitcoin what it is today and could possibly revolutionisemodern and future business.

By using blockchain, China will be able to collect vast quantities of data on every transaction in the hope of better predicting monetary forecasts.

Larry Cao, director of content at the CFA Institute in Hong Kong, has described the move as revolutionary.

Cutting costs is an obvious benefit, but the impact of shifting to blockchain-based digital money from the current payment structure goes beyond that, he said.

Theres a potential you can pay anybody in the system, any bank and any merchant directly. Blockchain will change the whole infrastructure.

With plans to launch thiscryptocurrency soon, China will replace a significant amount of its paper tender, with analysts predicting that banks and payment companies will need to radically rethink their business models in the years to come.

Peoples Bank of China tower in Hong Kong. Image: chingyunsong/Shutterstock

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China preparing to launch blockchain-based cryptocurrency - Siliconrepublic.com

Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), a fintech company specializing in blockchain technology, has signed two partnership deals with the University of Edinburgh and the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) to further advance blockchain research.

Last week, IOHK and the University of Edinburgh launched the Blockchain Technology Laboratory. Located within the universitys School of Informatics, the lab aims to bring together academics and students to collaborate on blockchain research and development with a focus on industry inspired problems.

The lab is led by Prof. Aggelos Kiayias, chair in Cyber Security and Privacy at the University of Edinburgh and chief scientist at IOHK. Prof. Kiayias will organize collaborations with fellow academics at the university and oversee researchers and students from undergraduate to PhD level in a broad range of topics related to blockchain systems. Research collaborations will be interdisciplinary and will include beyond cryptography and computer science, economics, game theory, regulation and compliance, business, and law.

Prof. Kiavias said that blockchain and distributed ledgers are upcoming disruptive technologies that have the potential to scale information services to a global level. The academic and industry connection forged by this collaboration puts the Blockchain Technology Lab at Edinburgh at the forefront of innovation in blockchain systems, he added.

Sir Timothy OShea, the principal of the University of Edinburgh, said:

We are delighted to be at the forefront of UK institutions in the field of distributed ledgers and proud to have a dedicated research laboratory for industry inspired research in this important emerging area.

The lab will provide a direct connection between developers and researchers, helping to get projects live faster. It will also seek to pursue outreach projects with entrepreneurs in Edinburghs vibrant local technology community.

Recruiting and outreach will begin immediately, and the full facility will be operational from summer 2017.

The new research lab at the University of Edinburgh will serve as the headquarters for IOHKs growing network of global university partnerships. The company plans to establish further research laboratories in the US and Greece later this year and more in 2018.

Earlier this month, the Tokyo Institute of Technology launched a similar center with IOHK.

The Input Output Cryptocurrency Collaborative Research Chair, within the Tokyo Tech School of Computing, focuses on promoting joint research in cryptocurrencies and blockchain related technologies among teams of researchers and professors of the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and IOHK.

In particular, researchers from IOHK will join Tokyo Tech, while professors and graduate students will tackle industry challenges in this rapidly developing area of research.

Similarly to the Blockchain Technology Laboratory, the Cryptocurrency Collaborative Research Chair aims to nurture talent and develop high-level expertise in cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

Commenting on the launch, Yoshinao Mishima, president of Tokyo Tech, said:

This agreement is important because Tokyo Tech is seeking to enhance the collaboration with industries and universities in Japan and abroad by producing groundbreaking results in research and engineering which will be published in internationally renowned scientific journals and conferences.

The two organizations have committed to produce knowledge via joint activities such as seminars as well as the production of academic papers. Another activity is to open courses related to blockchain technologies like lectures about cryptographic protocols and cryptocurrencies offered to Tokyo Tech students.

Like the Blockchain Technology Laboratory, all research and developments undertaken in the laboratory will be open source and patent-free.

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IOHK Signs Partnerships with Universities in Scotland and Japan to ... - CoinJournal (blog)

Privacy focused cryptocurrency Dashs recent rally is still going strong and it is now carrying the project to never-before-seen heights. Dash is now the fourth biggestcryptocurrency in circulation by valuation with a totalmarket capitalization of $200 million.

Since we last reported on the rally ten days ago, Dashs price continued to climb from around $19 to over $28 right now. And over the last week alone, theexchange ratehas jumped by about 28%. The move is supported by strong trading volumes as well, as about $4.5 million worth of buying and selling of Dashs cryptocurrency has taken place just over the lastday much higher than its previously typical daily volumes.

Dashs recent price and volume growth is largely attributed to its recent software launch of Sentinel, which sets the foundation for its decentralized payments system Evolution. In addition the company has made several key integrations with new partners recently.

On ThursdayDashsigned a business partnership with digital payments platform BlockPay that allows people to pay for goods with the cryptocurrency.

Headquartered in Munich, BlockPay is popular particularly in Europe and Latin America for enablingPoint of Sale (PoS) transactions at no cost to the merchant and low fees for the consumer. It boasts a team of over 50 representatives in 36 countries, each working on securing the platform implementation in hundreds of convenience stores, grocery marts, gas stations, supermarkets, hotels, and ecommerce outlets.

Daniel Diaz, Dash VP of Business Development, said: Dash is a project that has been focused a lot on usability as digital cash, and we want people to have a similar experience doing both online and Point of Sale transactions. BlockPay has taken solid steps in this direction, developing software to make it easier for brick and mortar shops to accept digital currency seamlessly.

Dash joins several other leading cryptocurrencies available for use on the BlockPay POS platform, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Steem, Litecoin and Dogecoin. Cryptocurrency users can pay at BlockPay terminals by scanning a QR-Code or tapping their phone on the NFC-Terminal. The payment and settlement process takes just a few seconds.

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Dash Is Now the Fourth Biggest Cryptocurrency with $200m Market Cap - Finance Magnates

Monday, February 27, 2017 5:28 AM UTC

SBXbank, a fintech company headquartered in London, is going to launch Coinxmart a unique marketplace where transactions are carried out using cryptocurrencies, Jakarta Globe reported.

Speaking with Jakarta Globe, SBXbank's Asean vice president of marketing Abdul Rahman said that company intends to sink up to Rp 100 billion ($7.5 million) into developing fintech services that offer e-commerce, peer-to-peer investment and lending, all of which will use a cryptocurrency.

Rahman further said that Coinxmart will be launched in Indonesia, alongside its iOS and Android apps, in May. SBXbank's proprietary cryptocurrency SBXCoin will be used in the marketplace.

He noted that the prospects of cryptocurrency is positive in Indonesia as it can also be used in many traditional banking services, including lending, deposit, payment and transfer.

"Soon fintech products will be used widely in all aspects of the financial industry's value-chain," Rahman added.

SBXbank is currently negotiating with Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (known as the OJK) to convince them that fintech services, including its cryptocurrency, are safe for the customers. Rahman is hopeful to convince OJK that the cryptocurrency is safe and cannot be easily used for money laundering activities particularly as SBXbank strictly follows know-your-customer (KYC) policies.

"We have to build public awareness of crypto currency. We have to let the public know the advantages of using crypto currency," he said.

In order to give time to the customers to familiarize with SBXCoin and promote its use, SBXbank intends to allow up to 30 debit cards to be used in the marketplace.

"There's no physical money in the internet, everything will be done using SBXCoin eventually," he said.

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