Darryn Pollock

Luxembourg lawmakers passed a new blockchain bill into law, giving transactions completed via distributed ledger the same legal status as those done via traditional means. Luxembourg is one of the more forward-thinking in terms of blockchain adoption. Now, the country has taken a significant step in providing financial market participants with more transparency and legal […]

Aragon, an autonomous Spanish region, has seen its government pledge over €12 million ($13 million) to develop what it has dubbed “4.0 industries,” including blockchain, AI, and a host of other emerging technologies. According to the local newspaper La Vanguardia, the amount being put forward is more than double what was initially stipulated. The initiative […]

Nasdaq, the second-largest stock market in the world, will bolster its crypto offering with new Bitcoin and Ethereum tracking indices on Feb. 25th. The Indices will offer real-time price updates, in thirty-second intervals, on the two cryptocurrencies for clients using Nasdaq’s Global Index Data Service. The two indices are the Bitcoin Liquid Index (BLX) and […]

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the customs organization of the United Kingdom, has said it will be postponing its work on a blockchain pilot program— instituted September of last year—until after the United Kingdom severs ties with the European Union. In the Q&A section on Parliament’s website, MP Eddie Hughes asked if the government […]

The University of Kansas has become one of the 29 research institutions to receive funding from Ripple. The University is receiving $2 million—over five years—to support research related to cryptocurrency, blockchain, and digital payments. Ripple—known for its push for cross-banking digital payments, as well as its XRP token—instituted the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) in June […]

A new form of cryptocurrency-stealing malware has been identified in the Google Play store. Dubbed ‘clipper’ malware, it was discovered inside an app impersonating MetaMask—a full browser extension which allows Ethereum-based apps to run on a browser without running a full Ethereum node. Clipper malware works by taking advantage of the copy-paste feature. Crypto apps […]

Dash CEO, Ryan Taylor, says a few factors saw them enter the Venezuelan market three years ago, but the political situation has made their cryptocurrency a critical survival tool for many in the beleaguered country. Dash, a portmanteau of Digital Cash, has in many instances for the public in Venezuela become a way in which […]

Co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, spoke at the Blockchain Connect Conference in January about Casper CBC and Ethereum 2.0, but also criticized blockchains that boast their speed, calling them “centralized piles of trash” at the Blockchain Connect Conference in San Francisco. The audience asked Vitalik whether CBC Casper was being designed with any transaction throughput […]

Opera has partnered with regulated crypto brokerage Safello to offer Ethereum buys directly from its browser-based wallet for those in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Opera is currently only offering Ethereum (ETH) for purchase, but it allows payments with credit and debit cards, along with some payment networks. This includes Swedish mobile payment system Swish. Safello […]

The Philippines has become the latest nation to issue a cryptocurrency regulatory framework through the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), with the Asia Blockchain and Crypto Association (ABACA) becoming the self-regulatory organization to enforce the new regulations. The principal aim for this framework is investor protection, as well as general cryptocurrency regulation with the rules […]

Following the sudden death of the 30-year-old founder Gerald Cotten, one of Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges was granted an order for creditor protection in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court while the company looks to recover $190 million in investor funds. On Jan. 28, Quadringa, through a statement from Jennifer Robertson, wife and partner of Cotten, announced […]

The United Arab Emirates and its neighbor Saudi Arabia launched a government-backed cryptocurrency to facilitate cross-border payments. The launch was part of a seven-point co-operation plan that was unveiled on Jan. 20th. Apart from cryptocurrency development, the rest of the plan includes a sort of customs union, which allows Saudi and Emirati small and medium-sized enterprises […]

The IOTA community was able to help gather enough evidence to allow authorities to catch an alleged hacker who stole over $11 million MIOTA tokens in early 2018. The suspect was apprehended by German Police and Europol at the end of January. IOTA said in a blog post that it was “proud to see collaboration between […]

CBOE, on Jan. 31, has resubmitted their Van Eck SolidX Bitcoin ETF application, with a proposed rule change, to the SEC after withdrawing it on Jan. 22. SEC deputy secretary Eduardo Aleman confirmed over a week ago that the CBOE BZX Exchange had pulled its proposed rule change, which would have allowed it to list […]

Cheddar, a popular live-streaming financial news network, announced a partnership with Brave Software—the privacy browser behind Basic Attention Token. The move leverages Cheddar’s viewers who are “obsessed with crypto.” The partnership will provide free subscriptions to premium Cheddar content for Brave browser users, allowing hundreds of thousands of users to take advantage of Cheddar’s premium subscription. […]

Jan Van Eck, CEO of Van Eck Associates, told CNBC’s ETF Edge that he believes many investors who sold gold for bitcoin during its climb to $20,000 are now returning to precious metals. His reasoning: the CBOE’s withdrawal of the Van Eck SolidX Bitcoin ETF on Jan. 23rd. Interest in cryptocurrencies has slumped in line […]

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a ‘consultation paper’ on Jan. 23rd as part of its next step on working with crypto assets. It sets out details on where different types of crypto assets might fall in the regulatory perimeter. This consultation paper allows the public to give feedback on the proposed measures […]

Icelandic Bitcoin mining equipment thief, Sindri Þór Stefánsson, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on Jan. 17th. He was re-apprehended in the Netherlands after he fled custody and boarded a flight to Stockholm from Reykjavik in April 2018. Stefánsson made headlines in February last year when he stole Bitcoin mining equipment […]