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TESTING BLOCKCHAIN: South Korean electronics giant Samsung is developing its own blockchain network based on ethereum, according to CoinDesk Korea. Citing an individual familiar with the matter, the report said that the company’s blockchain task force is building a blockchain mainnet, although it’s still at the “internal experimental” stage. When that work is completed, Samsung may also move to launch its own token too. “We expect Samsung Coin to come out in the market, but the direction has not yet been decided,” the source said. Full Story
DOMAIN DISRUPTION: An effort to build a domain name system on top of the ethereum blockchain network is gearing up for a major upgrade early next month. At the heart of the upgrade is the replacement of the Ethereum Name Service’s registrar, with the goal of vastly speeding up the process of registering .eth, .xyz, and .lux domain names. What’s more, names registered on the ENS will be treated as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), allowing them to be bought and exchanged like similar kinds of tokens on the ethereum network. Full Story
NEW YORK FIRST: A case involving millions of dollars in bitcoin and Western Union payments has resulted in New York State’s first conviction for cryptocurrency money laundering. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said that Callaway Crain and Mark Sanchez laundered $2.8 million earned through internet sales of steroids and other controlled drugs – much of which was paid in bitcoin. The two have now pleaded guilty and face a jail term of 2.5–7.5 years, with sentencing expected to take place on July 12. Full Story
TOKENIZED BONDS: French financial services giant Societe Generale Group has issued about $112 million in bonds via a security token on the public ethereum blockchain. The firm’s subsidiary, Societe Generale SFH, used a token called OFH to represent the covered bonds, a type of security that is backed by specific assets but remains on the issuer’s balance sheet. “This live transaction explores a more efficient process for bond issuances,” Societe Generale said. Full Story |
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| LITECOIN LEADING? Bitcoin's rally from $4,950 to five-month highs above $5,600 seen over the last 10 days could be short-lived, as litecoin, which seemingly led markets higher in the first quarter, has dropped 13 percent in the same period. The case for pullback looks stronger if we consider the recent bullish-to-bearish shift in market sentiment, as represented by bitcoin's long/short ratio. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST
FINANCIAL SPHERES: Decentralized finance (DeFi) is one still-emerging use case for blockchain tools, with companies like BlockFi and groups like the MakerDAO Foundation finding ways of applying the nascent technology to the world of finance. Wall Street Blockchain Alliance COO Steven Ehrlich writes in Forbes that “DeFi offers a number of tantalizing use cases,” but may have limits in long-term potential. He spoke with BlockFi and MakerDAO to better outline what some of these limitations may be.
THE REST
TORONTO TECHNOLOGY: Blockchain’s non-crypto use cases have “the potential to transform not only how we move, store and manage financial assets, but also [allow] us to finally rethink many of our institutions and address global problems,” writes author and blockchain advocate Alex Tapscott in the Vancouver Sun. In the piece, which comes during Toronto’s “blockchain week,” Tapscott outlines different uses for the technology, highlighting how it can benefit startups and individuals specifically, as compared to major corporations.
RECORD RAISED: Financial institutions may be avoiding investing in crypto directly, but they have been investing in startups using the underlying blockchain technology – to the tune of more than $850 million this year alone. Business Insider reports that this amount of funding means 2019 may see a new record for the total amount invested, after startups raised some $2.4 billion in 2018 (which itself was a five-fold increase from 2017). Interestingly, this year's $850 million came through 13 different deals, while last year's sum was raised across nearly 120 different deals.
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WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER  |
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