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OmiseGO (OMG) Recovering as Ecosystem Update Posted, Plasma Audit Successful Few altcoins have survived the bear market of 2018 and OmiseGO has been no exception. Some have simply fallen away while others continue on with their projects regardless of token market prices. The Omise team has done just that, recently updating the community on latest developments in the ecosystem. Yesterday’s medium post serves as a reminder that the project is still sticking to its roadmap and new developments are still being made. The team has moved away from a milestone model stating; “It’s been our experience that the milestone model has led to a cycle of waiting, speculation, frustration, brief excitement upon release, and then recommencement of waiting, with not enough clarity in between.” Instead they are using a tracker to show progress on a smaller timescale which lists tasks to be completed for each milestone. The aim is to make periods between each milestone “less mysterious and interminable”. The OMG Network aims to serve as a decentralized exchange (DEX). The current ecosystem consists of a eWallet Suite and Application Interface, Plasma Blockchain Scalability Framework, Decentralized Exchange Layer, and Proof-of-Stake Consensus Mechanism. The concept is that once connected to Ethereum and plasma, users will be able to send, receive and store cryptocurrencies such as ERC-20, ERC-721, tokenized fiat, and so on using the eWallet software. “We will expand the capabilities of the OMG Network to support additional currencies, working toward a fully currency agnostic exchange,” the post added. Plasma is a big part of the ecosystem and this layer 2 scaling solution could bring a whole new realm of transaction speeds to current blockchain systems which are fundamentally limited. By using child chains Plasma takes the pressure off the root chain with additional security protocols. The team is gearing up for DevCon4, part of which includes the auditing of the network and Plasma integration by smart contract security firm, Quantstamp; Thank you @Quantstamp for all your hard work and valuable feedback so far! https://t.co/BXoq2jtl6z — OmiseGO (@omise_go) October 30, 2018   “Tesuji Plasma is the first iteration of OmiseGO plasma-based implementation. The design is based on Minimal Viable Plasma. Tesuji is currently on our internal testnet. Audits are in progress with Quantstamp and Synthetic Minds” At the time of writing OMG is one of the few altcoins recovering today. According to CMC it is up 3.5% to $3.21. Over the past few months however OMG has suffered the same fate as all of the other altcoins, a big attack of the bears. The post OmiseGO (OMG) Recovering as Ecosystem Update Posted, Plasma Audit Successful appeared first on Ethereum World News.

Litecoin Price Analysis: LTC/USD Recovery Facing Sellers Litecoin price corrected a few points from the $47.40 low against the US Dollar. LTC/USD could correct further higher, but upsides are likely to be capped near $50.00. Key Talking Points Litecoin price is slowly recovering from the $47.40 swing low (Data feed of Kraken) against the US Dollar. There is a short-term ascending channel in place with resistance at $49.40 on the hourly chart of the LTC/USD pair. LTC price may perhaps correct higher, but it is likely to face sellers near $50.00 and $50.50. Litecoin Price Forecast Yesterday, we saw a major downside move below the $50.00 support in litecoin price against the US dollar. The LTC/USD pair traded as low as $47.40 and later started a short-term upside correction. Looking at the chart, LTC price slowly recovered and moved above the $48.00 and $49.00 levels. Moreover, there was a break above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the $51.76 high to $47.40 swing low. However, gains were limited and the price even failed to test the $50.00 resistance area. At the outset, there is a short-term ascending channel in place with resistance at $49.40 on the hourly chart of the LTC/USD pair. If the pair moves above the channel resistance, it could test the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the $51.76 high to $47.40 swing low. The most important resistance on the upside is near the $50.00 level, which was a support earlier. Above $50.00, the next resistance is near the $50.50 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. As long as the price is trading below the $50.00 and $50.50 levels, it remains in a downtrend On the downside, the channel support is near the $48.50 level. Below the channel support, litecoin price is likely to revisit the recent low near $47.40. More importantly, if sellers push the price below the $47.40 swing low, there could be more losses. The next key support is near the $45.00 level. The market data is provided by TradingView. The post Litecoin Price Analysis: LTC/USD Recovery Facing Sellers appeared first on Ethereum World News.

Ripple Exec: “XRP Is Clearly Not A Security” Cory Johnson Discusses XRP, Ripple’s Native Crypto Asset Since Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s first blockchain-backed cryptocurrency, was deemed a non-security by U.S. regulators, discussion has raged regarding the legal status of other prominent crypto assets, such as Ripple’s XRP, Ethereum (ETH), or Monero (XMR). Speaking with Molly Jane Zuckerman in an exclusive CoinTelegraph interview, Cory Johnson, chief marketing strategist at San Francisco-based Ripple, sought to bring clarity to XRP’s non-security/security legal debate. Unsurprisingly (or surprisingly for some), Johnson noted that “it is really clear” to those at Ripple, a prominent financial technology (fintech) startup, that XRP shouldn’t be classified as a security, noting that the asset’s “relation to Ripple is proof of that.” What the industry leader seems to be alluding to is the fact that Ripple is only a company building on top of XRP’s ledger, and that the relationship between the two separate entities is often misconstrued. Discussing a more pertinent point, Johnson, who formerly worked at Bloomberg TV and Jim Cramer’s TheStreet.com, noted that consumers can “buy all the XRP you want,” but it doesn’t give token holders access to “a dime” of Ripple’s profits, earnings per share, dividends, interest, etc. The long-time entrepreneur elaborated, noting: God forbid, if this company were to go away, it would be a very sad day for the Johnson family (him), but it wouldn’t make a bit of a difference to XRP. The asset continues to exist separated from Ripple. And so for that reason, I think when the SEC takes a good hard look at this, and we know that they’re starting to do this work, they’re going to recognize that the crypto asset is so clearly not a security. Right Now, Its Faster To Send Money In A Suitcase Than Through Traditional Infrastructure — Why XRP and Ripple Are Important As revealed by Johnson later in the interview, fundamentally, contrary to popular belief, the fastest way to move fiat currency is to put it in suitcases and jump on an airplane. Noting that this is obviously “ridiculous,” the Ripple executive first noted that traditional money transfers from New York to London aren’t the most pertinent issue, adding that is an apparent issue when consumers and institutions want to issue exchanges for their Thai Baht to South African Rand, which may take days and is subject to the fallible nature of humans. Implying that money transfers should be as fast as online communication, the prominent entrepreneur added: We live in an era – I mean you and I send text messages to friends overseas in seconds, we send an email with an attachment, with an Excel spreadsheet, with all kinds of important data in seconds – but it takes days to move money. That’s crazy, isn’t it? It causes businesses to lose business, and it raises the cost for individuals moving money back to their family. The Ripple Team echoed this sentiment in a recent blog post, which was fittingly titled “Faster Cross-Border Payments Shouldn’t Require a Boarding Pass.” pointing out that its goal is to make global payments frictionless, and the free and instant (or near-instant) movement of money. Giving a bit of an update on RippleNet, which allows financial institutions to send and settle international payments “on-demand,” noting that the system is now active in over 40 countries across six continents, allowing users of RippleNet to “provide a faster, cheaper, and more transparent payments experience for their customers around the world.” Title Image Courtesy of Etienne Martin Via Unsplash The post Ripple Exec: “XRP Is Clearly Not A Security” appeared first on Ethereum World News.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis: Time to Buy on Dips Again? Bitcoin has formed higher highs and higher lows to trade inside an ascending channel on its 4-hour chart. Price is down to support and may be attempting to break lower. In that case, a reversal from the uptrend might be seen. The 100 SMA is above the longer-term 200 SMA, though, so the path of least resistance is to the upside. In other words, there’s a stronger chance for the uptrend to resume than to reverse. Then again, the moving averages might simply be oscillating to reflect range-bound conditions. Stochastic is indicating oversold conditions, though, which means that sellers are exhausted and might be willing to let buyers take over. In that case, bitcoin could bounce back to the channel top at $7,000 or at least until the middle of the channel at $6,700. The moving averages might also hold as dynamic resistance levels. RSI has just reached oversold territory itself and has yet to turn higher to signal a return in bullish momentum. Cryptocurrencies have had a rough time as the outage in Canada’s MapleChange revived fears of security risks in the industry. Recall that this was one of the concerns raised by the SEC in rejecting earlier bitcoin ETF applications, so the regulator might highlight the lack of measures in related markets as a reason to deny the pending ones from SolidX and VanEck. This could also discourage more institutional investors from placing bets in the industry, even as there is more availability of platforms to do so. Fidelity will be making its platform more widely available and is expecting higher volumes by the first half of 2019, possibly spurring the highly-anticipated rebound in bitcoin then. It didn’t help that remarks from former Fed head Yellen downplayed the use of bitcoin as a store of value and potential currency. She cited: “It has long been thought that for something to be a useful currency, it needs to be a stable source of value, and bitcoin is anything but. It’s not used for a lot of transactions, it’s not a stable source of value, and it’s not an efficient means of processing payments. It’s very slow in handling payments. It has difficulty because of its very decentralized nature.” The post Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis: Time to Buy on Dips Again? appeared first on Ethereum World News.

Basic Attention Token (BAT) Takes Over: Bull-Run of Recovery The attraction and crypto-verse interest around the 36th largest coin by market cap is rising steadily on a daily basis. Basic Attention Token or BAT is concluding the day [30 of Oct] on a very high note against the US Dollar despite the general market consolidation following Bitcoin’s speedy drop on the 29th of Oct. Basic Attention Token Increasing for 7.17% in the last 24-hours, the pair BAT/USD is changing hands at $0.2478 with a market capitalization of $247.8 mil – according to CoinMarketCap. Source: coinmarketcap With today’s performance, BAT broke above the weekly tanking trend which kept any buyers from feeling welcome to step in and buy. The declining trend-line after being cleared at $0.2420 is acting as a supportive ground which held after a hourly correction and might have opened gates for drastic increase in the upcoming days. The catalyst behind BAT’s most recent success has been CoinBase’s teasing twitter post which highlighted that the leading cryptocurrency exchanging platform is experimenting with five popular coins. [July News] Today we are announcing that we’re exploring the addition of the following assets to Coinbase: Cardano (ADA), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Zcash (ZEC) and 0x (ZRX). https://t.co/qoECyR0V1f — Coinbase (@coinbase) July 13, 2018 Three months later, 0x [ZRX] made it officially to Coinbase which in a similar manner was announced via the exchange’s twitter handle. ZRX is launching on Coinbase Pro! The ZRX/USD, ZRX/BTC, and ZRX/EUR order books have entered transfer-only mode. Traders can deposit ZRX, but cannot yet place or fill orders. Order books will remain in transfer-only mode for at least 12 hours. https://t.co/SomOUqoXhv — Coinbase Pro (@CoinbasePro) October 11, 2018 Many believe that ZRX made it first because Coinbase has it easier to list Ethereum based tokens knowing that it already supports ETC and ETH. The post Basic Attention Token (BAT) Takes Over: Bull-Run of Recovery appeared first on Ethereum World News.

South Korea Cracks Down on Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Funds South Korean financial regulators are cracking down on unauthorized cryptocurrency funds. In particular, one crypto fund launched by a local exchange is reportedly being investigated. The exchange claims no wrongdoing as its token activities were carried out overseas, but has promptly canceled its plan to launch a second fund. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Unauthorized Crypto Funds South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) have warned investors of unauthorized cryptocurrency funds. The warning followed the launch of a financial product where “cryptocurrencies collected from some investors are managed through initial coin offerings (ICO), and profits are distributed at their expiration dates,” Business Korea described. The regulators specifically referred to the fund launched last month by crypto exchange Zeniex called “ZXG Crypto Fund No. 1,” which is “the first virtual currency fund in Korea,” the publication detailed, noting: The virtual currency fund has never been registered with the Financial Supervisory Service … None of the management company, sales company and the trustee have been approved by the Financial Services Commission. Maeil business newspaper reported on Tuesday that “The financial authorities have handed over the circumstantial data for the investigation to the prosecution.” Zeniex explained that while funding was made through its platform, “the actual recruitment and token issuance were made by overseas management companies,” the news outlet conveyed. Noting that less than 1 billion won ($878,080) has been raised, the company believes that there was no reporting obligation. An official of the exchange was quoted asserting: An indirect investment in a virtual currency fund is an attractive tool to raise market soundness … It’s unfortunate that innovative attempts will not continue until the government’s guidelines are set. The South Korean government banned ICOs in September last year but has yet to introduce guidelines for them. A number of proposals have been submitted to the National Assembly and the government is expected to announce its ICO stance in November. Zeniex’s Funds and Capital Markets Law Business Korea explained that under the Korean Capital Markets Act, all investment funds must be registered with the FSS. In addition, “Public offering funds that collect funds from general investors must file securities reports,” and “an asset management company that manages a fund and the fund sales company that sells it have to obtain necessary financial approval,” the publication detailed. The company must also “honor regulations on business practices such as the maintenance of minimum capital for soundness and the prevention of conflicts of interest and [has] a duty to explain to investors.” As for Zeniex’s fund, an FSS official was quoted by Maeil saying, “It is the interpretation of the authorities that the fund must follow the investor protection system set out in the capital markets law as long as it is sold to domestic financial consumers.” However, the official admitted: There is no way to check whether the platform is operating as claimed by Zeniex, because the financial authorities have no regulatory authority at present. Zeniex had planned to launch its second fund this month. However, the company issued a statement on Monday stating that “The authorities are concerned that there is room for illegality,” adding that it “will completely cancel the launch of the second product because it could lead to misunderstandings of investors and regulators.” Local media then reported on Tuesday that Zeniex has canceled the launch of its second fund. What do you think of South Korean regulators cracking down on unauthorized crypto funds? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Zeniex. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post South Korea Cracks Down on Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Funds appeared first on Bitcoin News.

UK Government Moots Ban on Cryptocurrency Derivatives The U.K. government is considering a ban on cryptocurrency-linked derivative products. The Financial Conduct Authority said in a report on Oct. 29 that it will begin consultations on whether to ban the sale of derivatives based on digital coins like BTC as well as to restrict crypto-based contracts of difference to the public. Virtual currency futures and options will also be looked into, in discussions slated for the first quarter of 2019. Also Read: Coincheck Reports Deepening Losses of $5.3 Million in Third Quarter FCA Worried About Consumer Protection and Risk of Cryptocurrency-Related Illegal Activity “Given concerns identified around consumer protection and market integrity in these markets, the FCA will consult on a prohibition of the sale to retail consumers of all derivatives referencing exchange tokens such as BTC, including CFDs, futures, options and transferable securities,” the financial watchdog said. “The proposed prohibition would not cover derivatives referencing cryptoassets that qualify as securities,” it stated, in a report compiled by the Cryptoassets Taskforce, made up of the Bank of England, the FCA and the British Treasury. Contracts of differences on securities are to remain subject to the short-term restrictions of the European Security and Market Authority. Whereas futures allow investors to pay for commodities or financial instruments to be delivered sometime in the future at a certain price, CFDs are basically financial derivatives that pay an investor the difference between the opening and closing price, in this case of a digital asset.  Regulator Targets ‘Robust Response’ European regulators have complained that cryptocurrencies are risky, and repeatedly alleged that they help to fuel money laundering and terrorism while placing investor funds at the mercy of fraudsters. Their alarmist entreaties have ramped up pressure on governments to act, with many promulgating a series of regulations ostensibly to safeguard public funds and prevent the risk of financial instability. The FCA, which has oversight of cryptocurrency derivatives because they are classified as financial instruments, rehashed similar concerns in its latest report. “The U.K. will not tolerate the use of cryptoassets in illicit activity, and the authorities will take strong action to address these risks by bringing all relevant firms into anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) regulation,” it warned. The latest report comes hardly two months after some U.K. lawmakers, calling for regulation, likened the cryptocurrency market to the “Wild West.” According to the taskforce, British authorities are developing a robust regulatory response that will address identified risks. It indicated that regulators will go significantly beyond the requirements set out in the EU Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5MLD), in the hope of delivering what it claimed to be “the most comprehensive responses globally to the use of cryptoassets for illicit activity.” “The government will consult on its proposed actions in the new year, and will legislate during 2019 to give effect to this response,” the FCA detailed, adding that fiat-to-crypto exchange firms and custodian wallet providers will be brought within the scope of anti-money laundering regulation. The Cryptoasset Taskforce was set up in April following concerns that the generally unregulated digital currency market is susceptible to fraud and manipulation, and can be used by criminals to expedite money laundering. This is despite clear evidence showing the legacy financial markets, led by central banks and credit card cartels, to be significantly more complicit in abetting such behavior. What do you think about the potential ban on cryptocurrency derivatives in the U.K? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi’s Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com. The post UK Government Moots Ban on Cryptocurrency Derivatives appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Coinbase Raises $300 Million, Reaching $8 Billion Valuation The San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange and brokerage service Coinbase announced on Tuesday that it had raised $300 million in series E equity funding. This latest round confirms Coinbase’s status as the largest cryptocurrency organization of its kind, bringing its market valuation up to $8 billion. Also read: Bitstamp Confirms Acquisition by South Korean Company Coinbase Raises More Funds in Order to Expand Global Efforts Coinbase has raised more money this month after raising $100 million in August in a series D funding round. The company announced on Oct. 30 that the corporation has secured another $300 million from various venture capital investors. The companies who participated in the series E round include Polychain Capital, Y Combinator Continuity, Wellington Management, and Andreessen Horowitz. According to the company’s blog post, Tiger Global Management led the latest Coinbase investment round. “We’re pleased to announce that Coinbase will add an additional $300 million of investment at a post-money valuation of over $8 billion to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrencies and digital assets,” explained the San Francisco company’s blog. The exchange details that the new funding will be dedicated to expanding services across the globe and that Coinbase plans to “lay the groundwork” to support “thousands” of cryptocurrencies in the future. The cryptocurrency service also detailed that it plans on enticing more institutional interest towards the digital asset economy by bolstering the company’s custody offering. Coinbase just received a trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services on Oct. 23 which will help them build a standalone entity called the Coinbase Custody Trust Company. Coinbase Envisions ‘Tremendous Promise’ The cryptocurrency exchange also discussed how it recently added the USDC stablecoin and plans to add more “utility applications for crypto” in the future. Coinbase further emphasized that with the new series E funding they will remain “a crypto-first company.” Coinbase has performed well within the cryptocurrency economy since its inception in 2012, gathering roughly 44 investors and seven large funding rounds. There are a few other online digital currency platforms that will compete with Coinbase in the U.S. One such competitor could be the new startup Voyager backed by Uber co-founder Oscar Salazar. There’s also Circle Financial, another unicorn cryptocurrency business that’s raised $246 million to date. After the recent funding round, Coinbase has now raised a total of $525.3 million and the company has reassured the crypto community that the money will be well spent towards spreading cryptocurrency adoption worldwide. “We see tremendous promise in crypto to build the next great phase of the internet (often referred to as Web 3), which has the power to put control back in the hands of consumers, unleash a new era of innovation, and offer greater access to economic opportunities to more people around the world,” Coinbase concluded. What do you think about Coinbase raising $300 million in a series E funding round? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. Images via Shutterstock, Coinbase, and Pixabay.  Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.  The post Coinbase Raises $300 Million, Reaching $8 Billion Valuation appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Russia’s Financial Watchdog to Oversee the Cryptocurrency Industry Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service has revealed that it will regulate cryptocurrency-related transactions in the country, with a senior official saying that the agency will also oversee the broader cryptocurrency industry, in accordance with recommendations issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Also read: Ukraine Plans to Fully Legalize Cryptocurrencies Within Three Years Rosfinmonitoring to License Exchanges and ICO Platforms Rosfinmonitoring, as the regulator is known in Russia, plans to register, license and monitor cryptocurrency exchanges, crowdfunding platforms and providers of wallet services for digital assets, Russian media outlets have reported. Pavel Livadny, the agency’s deputy director, said that all states participating in the FATF are expected to amend their legislation to introduce registration and licensing regimes for companies that trade cryptocurrencies and launch initial coin offerings (ICOs). The intergovernmental organization, originally tasked with developing measures to prevent money laundering, recently updated its recommendations and glossary to include “virtual assets.” The FATF uses the term to refer to “digital representations of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and can be used for payment or investment purposes, including digital representations of value that function as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value.” It emphasized that virtual assets are distinct from fiat currencies and said that it will continue to review them to determine if further updates to its standards are necessary. The financial watchdog will regulate the exchange of cryptocurrencies and fiat money, as well as transactions between digital assets. It will also monitor the transfer, custody and issuance of digital coins, the Izvestia newspaper reported. The minimum value of cryptocurrency transactions that will trigger regulatory action has yet to be determined, but the agency has said that it will track deals involving the transfer of 600,000 rubles (~$9,000) or more. It has been reported, however, that transactions below 15,000 rubles, or around $230, may remain anonymous. Industry Organizations Criticize Government-Sponsored Legislation The Russian cryptocurrency industry is still largely operating in an atmosphere of legal uncertainty. This past spring, lawmakers in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, supported on first reading three bills aimed at regulating the sector, but then postponed their final adoption for the fall session. The main draft law, “On Digital Financial Assets,” has since been revamped, with legislators removing key terms such as “cryptocurrency” and “mining.” The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) recently sent regulatory proposals to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the Speaker of the Duma Vyacheslav Volodin and Andrei Belousov, an aide to President Vladimir Putin. In the documents, RSPP President Alexander Shokhin criticized the current draft legislation, arguing that it sets unreasonably high standards and introduces complicated regulatory procedures. He has called for the adoption of a consolidated position, to be approved by all market participants and state regulators. An alternative bill, drafted by the RSPP, not only mentions cryptocurrencies but also grants them “special status.” According to the Kommersant newspaper, the RSPP’s proposals will soon be discussed by three different ministries. Meanwhile, Yuri Pripachkin, the president of the Russian Association of Cryptoindustry and Blockchain, warned that implementing the regulatory framework without taking the industry’s views into account would lead to an exodus of investment capital and young talent. “There is no point in adopting the legislation in its current form,” he said, as quoted by the Vedomosti business daily. Pripachkin added that the bills in the Duma do not even deal with the areas that determine the development of the new industry — including cryptocurrency, mining, smart contracts — but merely focus on the vague term “digital assets.” Adopting a law that addresses only tokens circulating within companies could put an end to the cryptocurrency economy, he said. Do you think Russia’s financial watchdog should also be responsible for regulating the crypto industry? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock. Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we. The post Russia’s Financial Watchdog to Oversee the Cryptocurrency Industry appeared first on Bitcoin News.

China Seeks Public Feedback on Draft DLT Regulations The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has announced that it will accept public feedback through Nov. 2 on draft rules it recently published to regulate blockchain projects, but the proposed legislation has already drawn a mixed response from distributed ledger technology (DLT) analysts. Also Read: Bitstamp Confirms Acquisition by South Korean Company Strict Rules for DLT Users The CAC said it has designed the proposed rules to uphold national security and protect the interests of companies and the general public, while facilitating the development of the blockchain industry. The guidelines require real-name registration for all DLT users and obligate all blockchain companies in China to store user data for government inspection for periods of up to six months. “Blockchain-based service providers should work with the authorities to carry out supervision and inspection, and provide the necessary data and technical assistance,” the CAC said in the document. The regulator also wants blockchain-based service providers to register within 10 days of starting their businesses. Such companies will be expected to record the names and server addresses of their customers, and will face the possibility of suspension if they provide incorrect information to the authorities. Those that fail to rectify issues related to incorrect customer information within specified time frames may also have their licenses revoked. In addition to the strict monitoring and reporting requirements it is proposing, the CAC said that it expects the DLT industry to develop its own standards and best practices. It has called for the “blockchain industry to strengthen self-regulation and set up industry standards, educate service providers, and promote the industry credit rating system.” Mixed Reactions to Proposed Guidelines The proposed regulations have received mixed reactions from analysts and representatives of China’s DLT sector. Yang Dong, vice president of Renmin University of China Law School, warned that the legislation could stifle innovation. “This will only bring undesirable obstacles and difficulties to entities’ innovation activities,” he said. “Blockchain technology should be neutral. The necessity of the draft policy should be doubted.” Tamar Menteshashvili, a doctorate student and founder of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Blockchain Hub, said that the proposed regulations are at odds with the government’s support for the blockchain industry. She also warned that the proposed rules could place additional financial burdens on blockchain startups, due to new procedures they might need to introduce to meet legal requirements. “While the Chinese government has been very supportive of blockchain technology … the whole industry is under the strong supervision of the authorities and (is) as closely controlled as possible,” Menteshashvili said. But Billy Chan, the chief executive officer of Dropchain, said the proposed guidelines should not be solely seen in a negative light. “It’s not fair to say the government is stifling blockchain,” Chan said. “Instead, they’re trying to hold people accountable.” Do you think that the increasing regulation of cryptocurrencies and DLT is stifling innovation, or is it an inevitable consequence of mainstream adoption? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Images courtesy of Shutterstock At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more. The post China Seeks Public Feedback on Draft DLT Regulations appeared first on Bitcoin News.

South Korea Cracks Down on Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Funds South Korean financial regulators are cracking down on unauthorized cryptocurrency funds. In particular, one crypto fund launched by a local exchange is reportedly being investigated. The exchange claims no wrongdoing as its token activities were carried out overseas, but has promptly canceled its plan to launch a second fund. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Unauthorized Crypto Funds South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) have warned investors of unauthorized cryptocurrency funds. The warning followed the launch of a financial product where “cryptocurrencies collected from some investors are managed through initial coin offerings (ICO), and profits are distributed at their expiration dates,” Business Korea described. The regulators specifically referred to the fund launched last month by crypto exchange Zeniex called “ZXG Crypto Fund No. 1,” which is “the first virtual currency fund in Korea,” the publication detailed, noting: The virtual currency fund has never been registered with the Financial Supervisory Service … None of the management company, sales company and the trustee have been approved by the Financial Services Commission. Maeil business newspaper reported on Tuesday that “The financial authorities have handed over the circumstantial data for the investigation to the prosecution.” Zeniex explained that while funding was made through its platform, “the actual recruitment and token issuance were made by overseas management companies,” the news outlet conveyed. Noting that less than 1 billion won ($878,080) has been raised, the company believes that there was no reporting obligation. An official of the exchange was quoted asserting: An indirect investment in a virtual currency fund is an attractive tool to raise market soundness … It’s unfortunate that innovative attempts will not continue until the government’s guidelines are set. The South Korean government banned ICOs in September last year but has yet to introduce guidelines for them. A number of proposals have been submitted to the National Assembly and the government is expected to announce its ICO stance in November. Zeniex’s Funds and Capital Markets Law Business Korea explained that under the Korean Capital Markets Act, all investment funds must be registered with the FSS. In addition, “Public offering funds that collect funds from general investors must file securities reports,” and “an asset management company that manages a fund and the fund sales company that sells it have to obtain necessary financial approval,” the publication detailed. The company must also “honor regulations on business practices such as the maintenance of minimum capital for soundness and the prevention of conflicts of interest and [has] a duty to explain to investors.” As for Zeniex’s fund, an FSS official was quoted by Maeil saying, “It is the interpretation of the authorities that the fund must follow the investor protection system set out in the capital markets law as long as it is sold to domestic financial consumers.” However, the official admitted: There is no way to check whether the platform is operating as claimed by Zeniex, because the financial authorities have no regulatory authority at present. Zeniex had planned to launch its second fund this month. However, the company issued a statement on Monday stating that “The authorities are concerned that there is room for illegality,” adding that it “will completely cancel the launch of the second product because it could lead to misunderstandings of investors and regulators.” Local media then reported on Tuesday that Zeniex has canceled the launch of its second fund. What do you think of South Korean regulators cracking down on unauthorized crypto funds? Let us know in the comments section below. Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Zeniex. Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. The post South Korea Cracks Down on Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Funds appeared first on Bitcoin News.