Can Bitcoin Win the Digital Payments ‘Gauge War’?

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❏ Bitcoin could learn a lesson from the railways, says Simon Johnson: For the customer, it’s just about getting from A to B fastest and cheapest. ❏ CoinDesk

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Regulatory Clarity Should Lead to More Capital Investment in Crypto: Panel

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The Distributed Markets conference took place in Chicago on April 23, 2018, and featured an array of blockchain and financial experts working to shed light on opportunities and changes happening in the cryptocurrency space. Among the main goals of the conference was to educate attendees on how they could integrate blockchain technology into their businesses, thereby increasing cost-effectiveness and overall efficiency. A Blockchain Academy workshop and a hackathon were also available to give developers and entrepreneurs a chance to study blockchain macro cases and showcase their skills. In a panel moderated by Joseph Bradley, entitled “Crypto Regulation: Striking a Balance Between Compliance and Growth,” speakers Colleen Sullivan of CMT Digital; Illinois state regulator Sean T. O’Kelly; Haimera Workie, senior director of FINRA’s Office of Emerging Regulatory Issues; and Tennessee blockchain lawyer J. Gray Sasser of Frost Brown Todd addressed the topic of regulation. Perhaps the b...
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Bermuda ‘sandbox’ welcomes blockchain and cryptocurrencies next

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Bermuda is establishing itself as a blockchain-friendly territory. Blockchain companies can now add Bermuda to their top choices for setting up shop. Last month, the self-governing British overseas territory released a paper on their insurance regulatory sandbox and innovation hub, where insurance entities can test out their products and services in a controlled environment for a limited amount of time. And now, this sandbox is extending to blockchain companies. David Burt, the Premier of Bermuda has issued some very enticing statements for interested start-ups. “What I would l would like to look at is Bermuda—we have innovation hubs around the world. I look at my entire country as an innovation hub,” Burt said. “We are the ideal place for companies that are looking to test out new age products and services—to have them in a constrained environment to see how they can work and then they can scale them up to service the rest of the world. That’s where we’re positioning Bermuda,” he...
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Feds link crypto price fall to creation of Bitcoin futures

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The considerable price decline of cryptocurrencies like BTC in late December 2017 to early 2018 may have something to do with Bitcoin futures after all. In an economic letter from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the authors concluded that the fast increase and equally rapid decline in the price of BTC was definitely not a coincidence. This pattern was deemed to be consistent with typical trading behaviour which accompanied the introduction of futures markets for an asset. There was a similar occurrence when bonds were securitized in the early 2000s, according to the Federal Reserve. “The subsequent bust was driven by the creation of instruments that allowed pessimistic investors to bet against the housing market,” the Federal Reserve wrote. “Similarly, the advent of blockchain introduced a new financial instrument, Bitcoin, which optimistic investors bid up, until the launch of Bitcoin futures allowed pessimists to enter the market, which contributed to the reversal of th...
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