Monthly Archives: February 2017

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 ... - Finance Magnates

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

Original post:
China preparing to launch blockchain-based cryptocurrency - Siliconrepublic.com

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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SBXbank to launch cryptocurrency-powered marketplace 'Coinxmart' - EconoTimes

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)

SPONSORED POST

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Global Resource Coin: Invest in natural resources with cryptocurrency - ThisisReno