The former chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has some new remarks regarding his Digital Dollar initiative, speaking in Davos. On Jan. 22, Ex-CFTC chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo confirmed that the Digital Dollar project will consider the advantages of a United States’ central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to written remarks for a Davos event hosted by industry media outlet The Block. At the event, Giancarlo is scheduled to deliver his first public speech devoted to the blockchain-based Digital Dollar project, first announced last week. Digital Dollar project will develop a framework practical steps to establish …

J. Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), plans to promote the blockchain-based United States dollar with a new think tank. Giancarlo, who earned the “Crypto Dad” moniker for advocating a “do no harm” approach to blockchain regulation, is now setting up a think tank called the Digital Dollar Foundation to promote the idea of digitizing the U.S. dollar. Giancarlo’s digital dollar is based on technology behind Bitcoin According to a Jan. 16 report by The Wall Street Journal, the ex-CFTC chairman is establishing the non-profit foundation to study prospects for converting the dollar into a …

Gemini, the top global cryptocurrency exchange per CryptoCompare’s latest Exchange Benchmark, hired a former senior executive from United Kingdom-based Starling Bank. Julian Sawyer, a former CEO and co-founder at Starling, will now lead Gemini Europe — the European affiliate of Gemini Trust Company — as the managing director of the U.K. and Europe, the firm announced Dec. 4. Over 20 years in high-growth financial services organizations According to an announcement by Gemini president Cameron Winklevoss, Sawyer joins the major United States-based crypto exchange with a total of 20 years experience at growing financial services organizations. Prior to Starling, Sawyer founded …

Blockchain technology is reshaping the face of our global financial system, and it goes far beyond cryptocurrencies alone. Since Bitcoin’s arrival, the conventional finance world has been intrigued by blockchain, Bitcoin’s underlying disruptive technology. Now we are seeing that intrigue being transformed into a full-fledged and active public interest, and the potential onset of popular mass adoption. But why is the white-collar financial world interested in adopting the very technology that holds profound implications for permanently altering “business as usual?” We headed to London in attendance of a conference called Sibos 2019 to find out. Sibos is the premiere financial …

The World Economic Forum (WEF) announced that it released a guide for the evaluation of the benefits of blockchain applications in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on July 16. The document delves into how to apply blockchain technology, providing six recommendations for companies. The first is to take time to understand the technology, set realistic expectations (identifying incentives and accounting for risks), and align to strategic priorities. The report also recommends evaluating whether blockchain or other technologies are the best solution specifying that “blockchain is not a substitute for digitization and should not be treated as such.” Lastly, organizations …

MetLife subsidiary LumenLab is using blockchain technology to automate life insurance claims, according to a news release published on June 17. Known as “Lifechain,” the collaboration with Singapore Press Holdings and NTUC Income will enable bereaved families who place obituaries in a local newspaper to instantly trigger searches to see whether their loved one had a life insurance policy. This month, 1,000 Income policyholders will be randomly selected to take part in a pilot scheme. The technology works by submitting the deceased’s National Registration Identity Card to Lifechain as hashed data once consent from the family has been obtained. Families …

This article has been updated to clarify that David Treat will support the digital identity deal, rather than sign it. Global accounting giant Accenture will sign a formal deal with Canada, the Netherlands and other parties to use blockchain in identifying travelers. The company’s managing director of capital markets, David Treat, confirmed the move at the Synchronize Europe conference in London on June 18, attended by a Cointelegraph correspondent. Part of its expanding activities in the blockchain sector, Accenture will team up with the Canadian and Dutch governments, as well as Air France-KLM, Air Canada and several airports under a …

The central banks of Singapore and Canada have successfully used their blockchain networks to send each other digital currency, a joint press release confirmed on May 2. As part of the distributed ledger technology (DLT) projects being pursued by both banks, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (BAS) sent funds to the Bank of Canada (BoC) without a third party. The process was made possible by linking up two DLT networks: MAS’ nascent Project Ubin platform and BoC’s Project Jasper. JPMorgan and accounting giant Accenture, which assisted in the development of the platforms, also partnered with the banks to make the …

Ireland-based global consulting firm Accenture and Italy-based insurance giant Generali Group’s employee benefits unit have debuted a blockchain solution for employee benefits. The partnership was announced in a press release from the firms on April 16. Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) is an employee benefit solutions provider and global business line of Italy’s largest insurance firm — and 8th largest globally. The press release states that GEB operates the largest employee benefits solutions network worldwide. The blockchain solution will reportedly facilitate data sharing for parties involved in the reinsurance process for captive and pooling services. It will also reportedly improve procedures’ …

Global consulting company Accenture has patented two solutions focused on blockchain interoperability, according to the data published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on April 2. The first patent, filed August 2018, patents a method for cryptologic blockchain interoperability. As described in the technical section of the patent, participants can share the token data stored on a distributed ledger (DLT) network by using a digital signature within the solution. The document also mentions the ability to send a multi-signature certification message to a recipient who solicits information. According to the patent, the receiver can then verify the …

The European Union announced the launch of the International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA) on its official website on April 3. According to a Cointelegraph representative who attended today’s ceremony at the European Commission in Brussels, the more than 100 members who have signed the charter include IBM, Accenture and Deutsche Telekom. Among the blockchain-related members number Iota, Ripple, ConsenSys, and the Sovrin Foundation. Per the announcement, INATBA aims to bring together industry startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), regulators and standard setting bodies to bring blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) into the mainstream. During the Brussels ceremony, …

Big four auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is the top recruiter for blockchain-related jobs on recruitment platform Indeed, search results showed at press time on March 30. At press time, PwC is responsible for 40 blockchain-related job offers on the platform. Other big four auditing firms are apparently recruiting professionals in this niche on the platform: more precisely, Ernst & Young posted 17 such announcements, while Deloitte posted 10. This leaves KPMG as the only big four auditing firm not recruiting blockchain professionals on the platform. Tech giants IBM and Oracle posted ten job offers related to blockchain as well, while …