Norway Establishes New Rules for Crypto Service Providers
The Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) of Norway, Finanstilsynet is enforcing new money laundering regulations that apply to crypto exchange and storage providers in the country. The law will go into effect on Oct. 15 and will affect companies established in Norway including branches of overseas companies.
The regulator detailed that firms storing private keys on behalf of customers are considered to be involved in “the transfer, storage or purchase of virtual currency” and are therefore included in the new regulations. However, “Storage solutions that do not store private cryptographic keys (often referred to as non-custodial wallets) are not covered by the regulations.”
Norway is passing new crypto regulations, any legal developments where you live?
Brewdog Brand Welcomes Bitcoin Cash
One of Britain’s best known breweries is welcoming crypto spenders to its new bar. Scottish firm Brewdog, which boasts of making “beer for punks”, will be giving away £3,000 in BCH at the opening of its Canary Wharf bar on October 19th. In addition, the bar will be accepting BCH and BTC as payment and is considering accepting crypto in all 38 of its UK bars.
Merchant adoption is ramping up in London, where do you like to spend your crypto?
Venezuela Demands Citizens Pay for Passports With Petro
The introduction of El Petro, the oil-backed, state-issued token, has been at the core of Nicolas Maduro’s plans to improve the socioeconomic situation in Venezuela.
In order to increase the adoption of the state-issued cryptocurrency, Venezuelan authorities have declared that Venezuelans wishing to get a new passport will have to pay using the petro. These passports will cost two petros, the equivalent to 7,200 bolivars ($115 USD) or four minimum monthly wages. The state-issued token has not been issued to the public yet and is expected to go on sale on November 5th 2018.
Venezuela is issuing an oil-backed token. Is your country also experimenting with cryptocurrencies?
Seoul Mayor Announces $53.39 Million Fund for Blockchain Districts
Park Won-soon, mayor of the South Korean capital city, announced a $53.39 million fund to develop the blockchain ecosystem in Seoul. The government aims to develop two business complexes to settle 200 blockchain-related companies by 2021.
“There’s no doubt blockchain is the core technology of the fourth industrial revolution, which will shape the future IT industry. I will make efforts to help Seoul become the center of a blockchain industry ecosystem,” Park said during his 10-day diplomatic visit to Switzerland, Estonia, and Spain.
Seoul is hopping on the blockchain train, is your city also embracing blockchain technology?
Spanish Coastal City Valencia to Create a Smart Port With Blockchain Tech
The city of Valencia, Spain is planning a smart port based on blockchain technology according to an announcement made at the Dutch port of Rotterdam during the Smart Ports & Supply Chain Technologies conference.
Jose Garcia de la Guía, head of new technologies at the port of Valencia, described a smart port as a “port without papers”, citing the application of blockchain as a tool that can eliminate the need for paper documents in supply chain tracking, greatly increasing efficiency and reducing waste, development times and maintenance costs.
Valencia is launching a smart port using blockchain technology. Is your city also exploring blockchain technology?
Israel’s Securities Regulator Upgrades Cybersecurity with Blockchain
The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has integrated blockchain technology within its internal systems to securely deliver messages and information to regulated entities under its purview. The ISA is carrying out the implementation after already embedding a platform dubbed “Yael”, used by the government agency to communicate and relay information to supervised institutions.
Israel’s Securities Authority (ISA) is adopting blockchain technology to improve their internal systems. Is your government also looking into blockchain technology?