Baidu Launches Plug and Play Blockchain Engine (BBE) platform Dapps
Chinese search giant Baidu has launched a blockchain platform aimed to simplify commercial deployment of decentralized apps, or dapps.
Officially announced by Baidu Cloud on Thursday, the Baidu Blockchain Engine (BBE) platform is touted as a kind of operating system allowing developers to produce blockchain applications “just like mobile apps,” and get around the storage and computing “bottlenecks” that are holding up blockchain’s potential.
BBE is built on what the company calls the ABC (AI, Big Data, cloud computing) technology stack, allowing customers to explore and develop ways to commercialize blockchain tech.
Hosted on Baidu’s “intelligent” cloud platform, the system uses a modular blockchain framework to provide developers with a multi-chain system including smart contract templates, dapp templates and other...
JPMorgan to Launch JPM Coin Digital Currency
JP Morgan is rolling out the first US bank-backed cryptocurrency to speed up payments.
In a move commentators may see as unlikely, the multinational lender will use its newly developed asset, dubbed “JPM Coin,” to increase settlement efficiency, initially within three of its operations.
Speaking to CNBC, Umar Farooq, who leads JPM’s blockchain focus, appeared buoyant on blockchain technology’s perspectives at the bank.
“So anything that currently exists in the world, as that moves onto the blockchain, this would be the payment leg for that transaction,” he told the network:
“The applications are frankly quite endless; anything where you have a distributed ledger which involves corporations or institutions can use this.”
JPM Coin will initially focus on international settlements by major corporations, helping speed up transactions that currently take a day or longer using extant options such as SWIFT.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has officially become the first U.S. bank to launch its own digital token representing a fiat currency. Per a press release and interview issued on Valentine's Day, the bank has announced the creation of JPM Coin, a blockchain-based technology which will facilitate the transfer of payments between institutional clients. The coin has important differences from preexisting cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, primarily because it is redeemable at a 1:1 ratio for fiat currency held by JPMorgan.
JPM Coin is essentially a tool to help with the instantaneous transferring of payments between some of JPMorgan's clients. In order for an exchange of money between client parties to take place over a blockchain ledger, a digital currency must be used to facilitate the transaction. JPM Coin is the tool which helps to complete that process in a more efficient manner than traditional settlements.
JPM Coin itself is not money in the traditional sense. Rather, it is a digital token which represents U.S. dollars which are held by JPMorgan Chase. It maintains a value equal to one USD. Assuming that JPMorgan Chase deems the initial launch of JPM Coin to be successful, the bank has indicated its plans to use JPM Coin for additional currencies as well in the future.
The process by which clients will utilize JPM Coin is relatively straightforward. First, a client deposits a sum in a particular account and receives corresponding JPM Coins. Next, these coins can be used to facilitate transactions across a blockchain network and...
Pennsylvania Dept of Banking & Securities clarifies "Crypto Exchanges Are Not Money Transmitters"
Pennsylvania’s Department of Banking and Securities (DoBS) has clarified that crypto exchanges and service providers do not require a money transmission license to operate in the state.
The DoBS published the new guidance for the local crypto industry on Wednesday, following a number of enquiries from businesses, it said.
The department explained that as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not “money,” the Money Transmission Business Licensing Law or the Money Transmitter Act of Pennsylvania does not apply to crypto trading platforms.
According to the act, only fiat currency or the U.S. government-issued currency is considered money. “To date, no jurisdiction in the United States has designated virtual currency as legal tender,” the department said.
The act states that parties conducting the business of transmitting money need to be licensed if they transfer fiat currency...
Elections Canada says there has been “a growing interest” in cryptocurrency donations
Jessie Willms is a planet earth based former government and political researcher and communications officer helping to document the FinTech revolution and its impact on traditional institutions and governments. You can follow Jessie on Twitter at @WILLMS_.
According to Elections Canada, the agency that runs federal elections in Canada, there has been “a growing interest” in cryptocurrency donations. This trend has prompted some political parties to ask for a ruling on how best to manage bitcoin and other cryptocurrency political donations and how to navigate the various reporting systems required by both Elections Canada and the parties so that they comply with the Canada Elections Act.
Election season is just beginning in Canada. There are three federal by-elections called for February 25, 2019; these will fill vacant seats, including a seat for one of the party leaders. A full federal election will be called before October 21, 2019.
On the legality of accepting cryptocurrency donations, an Elections Canada (EC) official told Bitcoin Magazine that “the Canada Elections Act does not prohibit political entities from accepting cryptocurrency contributions. Political entities are therefore currently able to accept such contributions.”
Elections Canada is taking the initial position that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are non-monetary, in-kind contributions, i.e. property or a commodity, but not a currency, a similar position taken by the U.S. Federal Elections Commission (FEC) and the Canada Revenue Agency.
However, Elections Canada has left the question of whether to classify cryptocurrencies as monetary or non-monetary open for the parties to consider in the current consultation process.
Is Bitcoin Legal in Canada?
Chetan Phull, a Toronto lawyer, founder and principal of Smartblock Law Professional Corporation, has written about the seemingly murky area of the legality of using cryptocurrencies as money in Canada.
Phull told Bitcoin Magazine that the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as money (legal tender) is, strictly speaking, illegal under Canada’s Currency Act.
However, he acknowledges that “Canada may be opening up to treating crypto as a type of non-fiat money, despite the current statutory definition of money.”
He points out that, to date, “there has been no actual enforcement action against the use of crypto as ‘money’ in Canada — not even against the Calgary Digital Dollar, where enforcement would be supported by long-standing precedent of the Supreme Court of Canada. Nor has there been any significant government pursuit of taxes not charged on trades...
2020 Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard invests in cryptocurrency
US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is running for president of the United States in 2020. In December 2017, Gabbard bought Litecoin and Ether at the height of the crypto bull market, according to federal filings.
“I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week,” Gabbard tells CNN on Jan. 12 (see video below).
“There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people…that I want to help solve.”
Gabbard: US Must Stay out of Mideast Wars
Gabbard says her main concern is to make sure that the US does not continue to intervene in ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
Her other priorities include climate change, health care, and criminal justice reform.
There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace.
Gabbard, 37, is a fresh, energetic face on the American political scene. However, her chances of winning the Democrat Party’s nomination are slim, given the huge field of candidates.
For example, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is also running for president. Warren is a crypto critic who says the virtual currency market is full of scam artists.
Gabbard Bought Crypto at Height of Market
As CCN reported, Tulsi Gabbard bought $1,001 to $15,000 of Ether and Litecoin in December 2017. At the time, the bitcoin price soared to a record high of $19,500.
It’s unclear how much crypto Gabbard currently holds. However, it’s likely...
A New Kind of Crypto Exchange LIQNET.COM
LIQNET.COM is quite different to any exchange you have seen before. Using its own LEN mechanism, the Singapore-based project pools orders from other platforms into one single interface and allows users to trade at the best prices and minimum spread. Why is liquidity important for an exchange?
According to the Blockchain Transparency Institute (BTI), more than 80% of the volume exchanges show is faked. Besides raising concerns about the transparency and business practices of current trading platforms, this underlines a fundamental problem of insufficient liquidity in a bear market. During abrupt market movements, crypto is famous for, low liquidity basically means that you will not be able to buy or sell a significant amount of coins and miss out on profits or even lose money. If you aim to sell a large amount of coins, doing this without toppling the price can be problematic. LIQNET with its liquidity aggregation may be an answer to the problem that has been plaguing the market for some time now.
Сalling LIQNET an exchange would be inaccurate, rather, it is an exchange aggregator. LIQNET uses public APIs of other crypto exchanges to collect purchase and sale bids into a single order book. This allows users to get the benefit of trading on several exchanges, eliminating...
Bitcoin Cash payment API Gateway.cash launches new features
Last October, news.Bitcoin.com reported on a new Bitcoin Cash (BCH) payment processor called Gateway.cash. Since then the Gateway developers have added a variety of features to the BCH platform like instant web-sockets, custom audio, and client-side callbacks for real-time applications.
Also read: How to Spend and Give Bitcoin Cash Over the Holidays
After the BCH Split Organizations Like Gateway.cash Have Emphasized ‘We Will Compete’
After the Bitcoin Cash split, the Money Button and Yours.org creator Ryan X Charles told his Twitter followers his apps would be following the BSV network. Four days later on Twitter, Charles said: “I look forward to seeing the ABC competitors to Yours and Money Button — Best of luck to you all.” Not too long after the post, a new Bitcoin Cash blogging website was launched called Honest Cash and the payment processor Gateway responded to Charle’s tweet.
“Hi, Gateway.cash will be a Money Button competitor for Bitcoin Cash and is now released open-source — The project is led by Ty Everett and he is looking for contributors,” the Gateway organization stated responding to Charles on Nov. 19.
New API Enhancements
Since the Gateway bitcoin cash-powered payment button and the processing application launched, the developer has added a slew of new features to the application program interface (API). Added enhancements include callback URLs, native currencies, custom audio sounds, client-side callbacks for real-time applications, instant web-socket payments, direct deposit to an address, and more. The Gateway developers have also published specifications for the Gateway.cash API which gives...
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Commits His Digital Currency Fortune to Charity
Brian Armstrong Coinbase CEO | Twitter | LinkedIn
Having launched GiveCrypto.org earlier this year to make direct cryptocurrency transfers to people living in poverty, Brian Armstrong — CEO of US crypto exchange giant Coinbase — has now promised to give a huge chunk of his fortune away to charitable causes.
“This year, I started my first philanthropic effort, GiveCrypto.org, which makes direct cash transfers to people living in poverty. I’m excited about the potential for this organization to help people, but I’m still early on my journey of discovering how to have the most impact via philanthropy.”
Per a report on CNBC, Armstrong signed the Giving Pledge, becoming the first cryptocurrency entrepreneur to pledge to donate the majority of his wealth for the greater good.
The Giving Pledge is a campaign started in 2010 by billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, which seeks to encourage the world’s wealthiest to use their fortune to help make the world...
Coinbase Cryptocurrency Exchange Adds Cash Withdrawals to PayPal
Big news for the digital currency economy with Paypal payments integrating with CoinBase. Growing the bridge between cryptocurrency and digital payments for consumers.
Major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has introduced free of charge cash withdrawals to online payment system PayPal, according to an announcement published Dec. 14.
From now on, Coinbase’s United States-based customers are able to withdraw their cash balances to Paypal. The service for other countries will reportedly be rolled out some time in 2019.
Coinbase and PayPal previously integrated in 2016, when Coinbase added support for the payment platform in addition to major credit cards. At the time, Coinbase users were able to sell Bitcoin (BTC) and have their fiat funds deposited to a PayPal wallet. The integration was subsequently terminated due to technical difficulties.
With this move, Coinbase has enhanced its range of services,...
SWIFT pilots a payment tech system to take on fintechs and blockchain tech
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) has announced its decision to launch a pilot Global Payment Initiative (GPI) service which aims to compete with the growing threat of competing blockchain and fintech solutions provided by institutions like Ripple, JP Morgan and Transferwise.
Still in its initial stages, the ambitious pilot aims to “build the foundation of a new integrated and interactive service that will significantly improve efficiencies in the payments process and which will ultimately be made available to all 10,000 banks across the SWIFT network.”
A recent GPI test, was successfully conducted in October, carrying out instant cross-border payments with banks in China, Singapore, Thailand and Australia. Equipped to enable speedy identification and elimination of errors and omissions in payment data such as missing or incorrect beneficiary information or incomplete regulatory information, SWIFT hopes the GPI payments service will enable speedy and seamless transactions, thereby reducing delays and costs, as well as improving customer experience.
Taking on Blockchain’s Threat
With the move, SWIFT has turned its attention to containing the threat of blockchain-based fintech startups offering...