 QUOTE OF THE DAY  |
| "Great investors need to have the right combination of intuition, business sense and investment talent." - Andrew Lo |
Happy Wednesday! Bitcoin just hit two-month lows but if you have been reading Blockchain Brew you know that significant progress has been made in regards to institutional interest, adoption, and regulation. HODL strong folks, we are making significant progress in more ways than just price.
Cheers,
Blockchain Brew Team
| COIN | PRICE | 24H |
|
| BTC | $6,523.09 | -4.17% |
|
| ETH | $482.077 | -8.91% |
|
| XRP | $0.542166 | -7.19% |
|
| BCH | $853.275 | -8.25% |
|
| EOS | $9.91368 | -9.24% |
|
*Information as of 9:30 AM EST
Financial Services Industry Spends $1.7 Billion Exploring Blockchain, Report Finds
GREENWICH ASSOCIATES
- Greenwich Associates, a financial consultant firm based in Connecticut, released a report highlighting blockchain in the financial services industry
- After conducting over 200 interviews with market participants, Greenwich Associates gathered a report based on blockchain budgets, team sizes, use case exploration, key challenges, and other issues
FINDINGS IN A NUTSHELL
Following completion of the interviews, here are the findings that Greenwich Associates found in a nutshell:
- Blockchain budgets have increased over 67% in 2018
- 1 in 10 banks are now reporting distributed ledger technology (DLT) budgets in excess of $10,000,000
- Top-tier banks have an average of 18 full-time blockchain-focused employees
- 14% of study participants responded that they have achieved a successfully deployed production blockchain solution
- Cost reduction is the biggest driver of blockchain development and investment
NOT READY YET
Though optimistic of the power of blockchain, it seems businesses are having trouble implementing the technology:
"More than half of the executives we interviewed told us that implementing DLT was harder than they expected. Nevertheless, more than three-quarters of projects currently under development are expected to be live within two years."
California Resident Charged for Running Illegal Bitcoin Exchange
BITCOIN MAVEN
- According to a report from NBC Los Angeles, a California resident Theresa Tetley (aka Bitcoin Maven) has been charged by prosecutors for running an unregistered money transmission business
- Authorities believe Tetley earned $300,000 annually from her operations and exchanged between $6 and $9.5 million worth of Bitcoin on localbitcoins.com between 2014 and 2017
- Tetley pleaded guilty to the charges she is facing and the government is pursuing a 30-month sentence, the sentencing date has not yet been scheduled
- This case is the first of its kind in California, Tetley’s actions are described as "fuel[ing] a black-market financial system [...] that purposely and deliberately existed outside of the regulated bank industry"
- Prosecutors have demanded forfeiture of 40 Bitcoin, almost $300,000 in cash, and 25 assorted gold bars from Tetley
FINCEN
- Under the current regulatory structure, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has the jurisdiction over cryptocurrency to fiat exchanges
- FinCEN, requires that exchanges register as a money service business and follow anti-money laundering guidelines
FINCEN
- Local Bitcoins is a website that facilitates over-the-counter Bitcoin trading
- The site provides an escrow service to protect both parties in the exchange
- Local Bitcoins is often used by people who are trying to buy or sell Bitcoins with the hope of remaining anonymous and untraced by governments
Former FDIC Chair Says U.S. Should Issue Central Bank Cryptocurrency
SHEILA BAIR
- Sheila Bair served as Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from 2006-2011, serving during the 2008 financial crisis and the birth of Bitcoin
- Bair recently took to Yahoo Finance to voice her opinion on why the U.S. Federal Reserve should “get serious” about a central digital currency
- She also said that a digital currency would reduce the risk of a financial crisis and improve monetary policy
CENTRALIZE CRYPTO?
- Bair claims that central bankers and economists are becoming more curious about blockchain technologies
- She argues that a central cryptocurrency would prevent a “bank run” that could cause a financial crisis
- Blockchain could also increase the efficiency and improve bank processes, which would trickle down to benefit the end consumer
- It would also give the Fed more control over monetary policy, allowing them to raise or lower interest rates more dynamically
Proposed U.S. Congress Bill Would Initiate Study of Crypto in Sex Trafficking
FIND ACT
- Dated June 11th, a new proposed bill would initiate a study focusing on cryptocurrency usage in sex trafficking and illicit drug trade
- The bill, written by the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, would require the Comptroller General of the U.S. to carry out the study
- This bill would be called the Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking Act (FIND Act) and will be introduced by representative Juan Vargas
HOT DEBATE
- Congress members have had ongoing debates over whether cryptocurrencies are beneficial or whether they encourage crime
Many representatives share similar sentiment as Representative Sherman of California who once stated:
"[Cryptocurrencies] help terrorists and criminals move money around the world... They help startup companies commit fraud, take the money, and one percent of the time they actually create a useful business."
Meanwhile, other congressmen such as Tom Emmer are welcoming to blockchain technology:
"[The United States] should be the home to this innovation and should embrace these new technologies."
In addition, Senator Mark Warner who is now known as a blockchain-bull, believes in the potential of blockchain technology:
"Blockchain has the potential to be just as transformational as cell phones."
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano Founadtion will hold a meetup in Zurich.
Today in Crypto is powered by coinmarketcal.com
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| Emercoin (EMC) |
| Now meet Emercoin. Based on Bitcoin’s original code, it inherits the same security and reliability, but adds flexibility through a number of innovative additions. |
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