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Billionaire Vladimir Potanin has received approval from the Russian central bank to launch his own blockchain-based platform and token to be used by consumers, Bloomberg reports. Oligarch Brings Blockchain to the Masses Vladimir Potanin, who recently became the richest man in Russia as per Forbes, wants to expand his blockchain platform by launching his own crypto token. The digital units will allow clients to buy metals, air tickets, and transfer ski passes from his businesses. Ironically, the news comes days Read more …

What should be written in a partnership agreement, and how should a general partnership be run? How can an agreement be concluded remotely using the blockchain? Four business models to manage cryptocurrency and cash flows are outlined below. Relations between partners To draft a partnership agreement, partners should identify themselves, their shares and membership interests. They need to define the project and its goals as well as key tasks. Furthermore, attaching the business plan, presentations, and technical requirements or specifications Read more …

New Zealand’s tax authority is considering changes to its treatment of cryptocurrencies that would drop the current and controversial application of goods and services tax (GST). The current regime sees bitcoin and other digital currencies as property, with normal rules applying. That means crypto is liable for 15 percent GST when changing hands within the country as part of a business’s operations and potentially throws up a “double taxation” problem when income tax is later applied. Calling the situation “unfavorable,” Read more …

Russia’s richest man, Vladimir Potanin, is making steady headway with his blockchain-based trading platform for industrial assets and commodities. The billionaire’s venture, dubbed Atomyze, launched today, Feb. 25, in test mode. Potanin’s mining and smelting firm Nornickel will be the first to issue tokens on the platform, which is designed to speed up transactions, enable surplus supply trading and cut back on the red tape needed for interactions between customers and businesses.  Atomyze is based on IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric blockchain Read more …

Two crypto exchanges serving international crypto markets announced the addition of XRP. Valr.com, a South African exchange, and Luno, a Singapore-based exchange that also serves 40 nations with over 3 million users.  Can emerging economies give XRP the price push it needs? XRP will now be available to millions of new investors thanks to recent announcements from VALR.com and Luno.com, two exchanges that serve investors in emerging markets, that recently added the Ripple native asset. VALR is a S. African Read more …

An Irish drug dealer makes $60 million selling weed. He uses the money to buy bitcoin and spreads the holding across 12 digital wallets. He then hides the codes to these accounts inside an aluminum box containing fishing rods. Years later, local authorities nab the dealer and put him in prison for five years. Meanwhile, his landlord decides to trash all his belonging, including the aluminum box. It only takes a moment for the weed seller to lose all his Read more …

Blockchain services firm Diginex is closer to listing on Nasdaq after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved its bid to merge with publicly traded 8i Enterprises Acquisition Corp. on Friday. The $276 million deal will now be put before 8i’s shareholders for approval at a March 20 special meeting, according to a press release. If accepted, the merger will allow Diginex, a private company based in Hong Kong, to bypass many of the usual regulatory barriers associated with launching Read more …

The French cybersecurity company Nigma Conseil and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) have revealed to have collaborated on developing a new blockchain forensics tool. The agreement was signed on Feb. 25 to work on e-Nigma, a proposed compliance tool. E-Nigma provides its users with a way of conducting due diligence investigations in response to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulation. Like other similar tools, it monitors and organizes blockchain transactions. The platform provides several advanced features Read more …

Bitcoin is down but not out, with prices holding above key support near $9,400. However, if that level is breached, more chart-driven selling may be on the cards.  The top cryptocurrency by market value is currently trading around $9,560, representing a nearly 2 percent drop on the day, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index.  Prices fell from $10,000 to $9,500 on Monday, engulfing the preceding day’s price gain. The drop came as stocks collapsed and classic safe-haven assets rallied on Read more …

Yesterday’s stock market plunge was one of the largest single day losses in history resulting in the fortunes of the world’s billionaires shrinking a little. Can bitcoin be the answer to this epic wealth gap? Global stock markets were pounded on Monday with some shedding as much as 4% in a single day. While this is a relatively small percentage in comparison to crypto markets, it is a big deal for stocks. The Dow plunged a thousand points yesterday marking Read more …

In the country’s first legal dispute involving cryptocurrency, the Singapore Court of Appeals has ruled that virtual currency exchange Quoine must pay damages to electronic market maker B2C2. The damages are for seven transactions that were wrongfully reversed on the platform during April 2017. According to The Straits Times on Feb. 24, the court dismissed Quoine’s appeal, in which the exchange argued that it was entitled to unilaterally cancel the orders due to such comprising a mistake.  The exchange argued Read more …

United Kingdom-based digital bank Revolut has raised $500 million in a fresh funding round and tripled its valuation to hit $5.5 billion. This, as the Financial Times reported on Feb. 25, makes the crypto-supporting app one of Europe’s most valuable fintech firms. Since late 2017, Revolut’s app has enabled its users to complete transactions in cryptocurrencies that include Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ether (ETH) and XRP.  In Dec. 2018, the firm received a banking license in Lithuania, paving the way Read more …