Cryptocurrency entities licensed under the New York’s Financial Services Law (FSL) should pay the costs of regulatory oversight, Governor Andrew Cuomo believes. The Democratic Governor purportedly wants the state authorities to amend the FSL in order to require virtual currency-related entities within the FSL jurisdiction to foot the bill for examination and oversight conducted by New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The NYDFS is one of primary regulatory agencies for crypto-related businesses in New York state as the regulator issues a major business license for cryptocurrencies, the BitLicense. As the home of the financial capital of the United …

DappReview published its 2019 insights on the decentralized app (DApp) space in a Jan. 8 report. Just three blockchains accounted for 98.65 percent of total transaction volume, though EOS began to struggle in Q4 2019. Decentralized app aggregator DappReview summarized the main events within the DApp ecosystem in 2019. The value of on-chain transactions amounted to $23 billion, with 1,955 DApps added during the year — bringing the total number to over 4,000. However, the firm notes that in terms of the number of users, the entire space continues to lag significantly behind any single widely used centralized app. The …

Bitcoin (BTC) scam ads featuring the likeness of Martin Lewis have continued to appear on social media despite Lewis’ previous efforts to prevent such illegal practices. After the British financial expert settled a defamation lawsuit against Facebook for showing unendorsed fake Lewis crypto ads in 2019, new scam adverts have now been spotted on Facebook-owned Instagram. Reported by Twitter user @peterfinn5252 on Jan. 7, the scam Instagram ad shows Lewis’ face to promote a fake article pretending to be published by major British national daily tabloid The Mirror. The fake article is titled “Martin Lewis Lends a Hand to British …

The right to privacy is a fundamental prerequisite for peace of mind and security. The idea that only criminals have something to hide is strange. Contrarily, privacy is sought by almost everyone. Yet, it still gets stigmatized as suspicious — reserved solely for criminals or deviants. Similarly sharing this unjust scrutiny are cryptocurrencies, which are — rather ironically — branded as a tool for felons, based largely on their anonymous hallmarks. However, no cryptocurrency is as disparaged for this discreet quality more than the privacy coin. But just what are privacy coins used for? How has crypto criminality changed in …

The Marco Polo Network, a trade finance network co-developed by major enterprise blockchain firm R3, has completed its largest finance trial. Built on R3’s open-source blockchain platform Corda, Marco Polo has hosted the largest global trade finance trial that involved over 70 organizations from 25 countries including financial giants like Japanese SBI Holdings, according to an official announcement on Dec. 12. 100% of respondents in the trial believe that blockchain has the potential to improve their industries As the trial has involved more than 340 participants from multiple industries ranging from financial services to automotive, the joint initiative purportedly intends …

China Construction Bank (CCB), the world’s second-biggest bank by operated assets, has officially launched its blockchain-based refactoring platform. Targeting commercial factoring business, CCB aims to bolster operations and reduce major risks in its refactoring business while providing shared data access by multiple participants, Chinese news outlet Sina Tech reports Dec. 6. As reported, factoring firms represent third parties that buy businesses’ invoices at a discount in order to help those businesses raise funds. CCB’s blockchain trading platform reached $50 billion in cumulative volume in October The news comes after CCB officially released the second version of its blockchain trading platform …

California-based fintech company Figure Technologies has completed its $103 million funding round led by cryptocurrency asset manager Morgan Creek Digital. In conjunction with closing the Series C round, the blockchain-focused firm announced that Morgan Creek co-founder Anthony Pompliano had joined Figure’s board, according to a press release on Dec. 5. The news comes three days after Figure secured $58 million of the planned $103 million, according to its filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the new announcement, Figure Technologies’ total funding now exceeds $225 million, while its valuation amounts to $1.2 billion. MUFG’s VC arm …

It’s the clichéd rhetoric of choice for anyone seeking to discredit crypto. An ace in the hole for any argument against its proliferation. The go-to thesis for those who know very little about cryptocurrency but wish to appear otherwise. The idea that cryptocurrencies are solely utilized within illicit activities has become both a tool for mass media to disparage the industry and, for many, a reason to steer well clear. But besides being a tired stereotype, it may also be true. That’s one of the prevailing problems with stereotypes: While many derive from truth, they often represent an oversimplified — …

The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) has joined blockchain software firm R3’s trade finance network, the Marco Polo Network. The American banking and financial services firm — which has over $1.9 trillion in assets under management — will conduct an evaluation program using the technology, Marco Polo announced Nov. 25. By joining Marco Polo, BNY Mellon intends to expand its technical expertise and explore how blockchain technology could be applied to its trade finance activities. The move is purportedly in line with BNY Mellon’s efforts to eliminate paper-based processes and digitize its business. Marco Polo is a consortium …

A peculiar phenomenon is occurring within the economic sector. In fact, it’s been transpiring over the past few decades. After the rise of the internet and the development of effective communications, the financial industry underwent a technical reconstruction. Those formerly disbarred due to a lack of capital found refuge in this revolution. Internet brokers and e-commerce start-ups with little more than a “.com” suffix proliferated. Some even threatened to subvert entrenched financial institutions. Among those attempting a banking coup was Confinity — now Paypal — one of the first online payment processors. Unbeknownst to most, financial disruption was the firm’s …

German securities marketplace Deutsche Boerse and Swiss state-run telecom Swisscom have settled securities transactions using different blockchain protocols. In a joint proof-of-concept (PoC) involving a number of banks, the participants exchanged money in the form of cash tokens against tokenized shares, Deutsche Börse officially announced on Nov. 19. Based on blockchain technology, the joint PoC intends to show the potential of new technologies in the financial services sector and maintain Germany and Switzerland’s expertise in the digital asset ecosystem. Three major Swiss banks participated in the PoC The PoC involved major Swiss banks, including the fourth-largest Swiss bank Zuercher Kantonalbank, …

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 …