Weekly Updates: Latest Crypto News (March 26 — April 1)
Blockchain-based vehicle cooperation, tough cryptocurrency regulation, new amendments to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Read TEOZ Weekly Updates for more.
Stay tuned!
1. Coinbase adding ERC-20 tokens to its services
Coinbase is a convenient platform for buying and selling cryptocurrency. The service has a friendly interface and is quite popular among the mass consumer. Also, Coinbase includes the GDAX crypto exchange, which is part of the TOP-10 crypto-exchanges in the world. And this is despite the fact that there are only 4 cryptocurrencies at the stock exchange: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. The management of the company sees an excitement around the ICO. The capitalization of some Ethereum projects already totals hundreds or even billions of USD. This is an excellent market for a company that has every opportunity to conquer a new niche. For company products this means the following:
- Toshi wallet supports ERC-20 tokens;
- Custodian Coinbase will be able to support the ERC-20 standard for institutional market participants;
- The GDAX exchange will be able to add trades to ERC-20 tokens;
- The Coinbase platform will start listing tokens, but only after the appearance of trading on the GDAX exchange with sufficient volumes;
- Tokens will be part of the Coinbase Index Fund, now the index investors will also have Ethereum tokens.
This is great news for the industry. This year we will see a good influx of new money from institutional players and mass consumers into ERC-20 projects.
Source: https://blog.coinbase.com/adding-erc20-support-to-coinbase-fe9cba6782b
2. The Exchange asks the SEC to allow ETF-products on bitcoin
CBOE president Chris Concannon urged the SEC to allow ETFs on bitcoin. In his letter, he points out that bitcoin is not fundamentally different from other goods or property. For more than three months, futures for bitcoin have been trading. Chris says that the current liquidity will be enough to launch the ETF. The introduction of ETF will further increase liquidity, reduce volatility and the risks of manipulation. We remind that the ETF market has been growing for several years in terms of the amount invested. People appreciate all the advantages of index investing. Only the TOP-100 ETF funds amount over $2.5 trillion. Approval of the SEC ETF on bitcoin will gradually bring huge liquidity to the crypto-exchange industry. Now it remains to wait for the SEC to answer.
Source: http://www.etf.com/sections/features-and-news/cboe-responds-sec-bitcoin-etf-concerns?nopaging=1
3. Ford to teach vehicles to communicate on the basis of blockchain technology
On March 27, Ford filed a patent application for the use of blockchain technology called “Vehicle-to-vehicle cooperation to marshal traffic”. The main goal is to reduce congestion in the streets of megacities through mutual coordination of vehicles. If all vehicles are connected to a single digital system, this will allow to better coordinate the actions of all participants. Also, the document describes an interesting idea about “paid travel”: a driver of a consumer vehicle which is running late for an appointment may request to buy the right to drive faster, and the system will send a driver on the shortest route with the demand of other merchant vehicles to cede a driver. It is important that the conceded cars will receive a small reward for this. All actions in the system will be performed using internal tokens under the current name CMMP. The patent application from the automobile giant gives hope that in the near future we will see the practical application of blockchain technology in the transport industry.
News on cryptocurrency regulation
- Liechtenstein wants to become one of the first countries to widely regulate the blockchain industry
The Prime Minister of Liechtenstein Adrian Hasler at the financial forum claimed: “The planned regulations will make us one of the first nations worldwide to regulate this topic this broadly, laying the groundwork for extensive economic applications.”
The regulation of the industry is already being worked out. An extensive bill will be submitted in the summer of 2018. At the same time, Liechtenstein speaks of a general tokenization of digital and real assets: real estate, cars, copyrights, securities. Tokenization will increase the transparency of economic transactions, accelerate and simplify the process of transfer of ownership. Let’s remind, that Liechtenstein is the large financial center in Europe. Also, the country has a strong position in the fintech industry. Not surprisingly, now Liechtenstein takes the vector of development in the direction of the cryptocurrency. We hope to see a new strong player with the adequate regulation of the industry.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/liechtenstein-to-support-blockchain-with-new-regulations
2. Tough regulation instead of ban: Thailand approves new bill
For a long time, the country’s authorities could not decide on the legal status of the cryptocurrency. For some time cryptocurrencies were prohibited. In early March, there is news that Thailand is softening its policy with respect to cryptocurrency and is developing a new bill. Experts believe that Thailand went on a tough regulatory path. The document indicates a 7% VAT tax when working with cryptocurrencies and a 15% income tax. Also, cryptocurrency projects must receive licenses from the SEC or dealers of foreign currencies. Information on sources of assets and the volume of transactions should be reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Office. The bill already has opponents. They argue that in this case, it will be easier for cryptocurrency companies to register in Singapore or other jurisdictions where the legislation is more lenient. One thing is for sure: strict regulation is better than a total ban. Perhaps, under market pressure, lawmakers will go on to further mitigation.
3. New amendments to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation
On March 26, a bill was submitted to the State Duma of the Russian Federation proposing new amendments to the Civil Code: “On Amending Part One, Second and Fourth of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.” The bill proposes to legally fix the basic concepts of the crypto-currency industry. Also, judicial protection is offered for subjects of cryptoeconomics. Separately, attention is paid to the problem of the legalization of proceeds from crime and financing of terrorism. The following paragraph seemed the most interesting:
“The project introduces the concept of “digital money” (in everyday use — “cryptocurrency”) and fixes the main rule — they are not a legitimate means of payment. But in cases and on terms established by law (that is, in the long term), digital money can be used by individuals and legal entities as a means of payment (item 2 of new Article 141 of the Civil Code) in controlled quantities and in an additional regulated order.”
This gives some hope that in some cases cryptocurrency can be used as digital money. After reading the bill, there are more questions, than answers. We will monitor the development of the situation.
The TOP-10 cryptocurrencies this week
The composition of the participants did not change this week. Only Cardano and Stellar switched places. In general, the market is still bearish.
The Teoz fund’s Token decreased from $ 2.01 to $1.54 (- 23,38%).
Russian version: https://goo.gl/ywxMnf
TEOZ fund is an index fund created by financial market professionals with an in-depth understanding of the crypto industry and an underlying blockchain technology.
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