Earlier this week, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the founders of Gemini, took to Reddit to answer questions in an official “Ask Me Anything” (AMA). Not to be outdone, competing cryptocurrency exchange Circle ran their own AMA on Thursday, opening up Circle’s co-founder and president, Sean Neville, and CEO Jeremy Allaire to questions from the community. Thanks reddit and r/cryptocurrency for all of the great questions! We had […]
SludgeFeed
South Indian Government’s ‘Innovation Society’ to Promote Blockchain Development
It seems not every government official in India has an eye toward draconian or restrictive blockchain regulation, as we’ve seen this year from some in the country’s government. In the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, where they have the APIS – Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society, blockchain is being actively promoted at various levels of government.
The post South Indian Government’s ‘Innovation Society’ to Promote Blockchain Development appeared first on CCN
SEC launches strategic hub for innovation, fintech

The post SEC launches strategic hub for innovation, fintech appeared first on CoinReport.
With the CBAC, East Meets West in Search of Adoption and Innovation
The noise that surrounds economic relations between the United States and China is amping up exponentially. You can thank the latest trade wars for that, as fresh tensions boil over between the two nations who are currently trading new tariffs on imports, with no shortage of ill will underpinning the moves.
But the Chinese government’s ire is not just outward-facing. As a country where ICOs are currently not allowed, exchanges have had their bank accounts frozen, and internet and mobile access to cryptocurrency trading information has been banned, China is taking an equally hard line on a wide range of crypto-centric activities within its own borders. All this despite a stark dichotomy, wherein over 50 percent of the worldwide mining population resided within its borders in 2017, and cryptocurrency adoption is outpacing most other countries.
Survey: Crypto Investors Lean Towards Innovation and Novel Thinking

A recent survey of over 1,000 Americans hoped to glean more about attitudes toward crypto. According to Clovr, the vast majority of virtual currency investors are young, male, and relatively wealthy.
Clovr, a company focused on fostering mainstream adoption of blockchain, recently carried out a survey of 1,004 Americans vi the Amazon Mechanical Turk Platform. The survey focused on people’s thoughts about crypto and investing.
The company said more than 75% of respondents indicated they had an understanding of what cryptocurrency is. Clovr noted how the results seemed to suggest that:
IOTA Introduces bIOTAsphere, Future Proofing Innovation
The IOTA Foundation continue to future-proof not only their own ecosystem, but the entirely of the blockchain too. In their most recent announcement, IOTA have revealed their latest project by the name of bIOTAsphere, an environment built upon the IOTA protocol in order to facilitate brainstorming, discussion and the development of new applications for the IOTA network, Tangle.
IOTA believe that through bIOTAsphere, the true benefits and advantages of the tangle will come to the fore, bolstering IOTA’s position as a true blockchain pioneer for the future.
Continue reading IOTA Introduces bIOTAsphere, Future Proofing Innovation at Crypto Daily™.
Innovation Hungry Oregon Leaders Look to Upcoming Blockchain Venture

Many leaders in Oregon are bullish on blockchain. They are hoping Oregon can become a prime location for digital innovation and entrepreneurship.
A number of influential Oregonians across the educational, business, and technological fields are eager to see their state play a leading role in the blockchain world.
This month a partnership between a number of entities is set to launch the Oregon Blockchain Venture Studio in Portland. Set in the Pearl district, the studio intends to nurture and guide 20-30 different companies within the next three years.
Cyprus Securities Watchdog Launches Blockchain Innovation Hub

Cyprus’s Security and Exchange Commission is exploring options to take advantage of financial innovation while maintaining regulatory oversight over a dynamic, and ever-changing, blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.
Due to its strategic location, Cyprus has long been a unique financial hub for Europe. Over the past few years, the Mediterranean nation has rapidly become a hotspot for cutting-edge technologies.
This has led a number of blockchain startups keen to set up shop on the island.
Now, both the University of Nicosia and the Cyprus International Institute of Management host world-class seminars and lectures on topics related to digital currency and blockchain technology.
Can China Pursue Blockchain Innovation Amid Cryptocurrency Ban?
Over the past two weeks, the government of China has effectively banned everything related to crypto trading and investment including news sites, social media accounts, events, and exchanges. Subsequent to putting an end to virtually all communication and investment channels related to the cryptocurrency market, China has said that it will continue to accelerate blockchain
The post Can China Pursue Blockchain Innovation Amid Cryptocurrency Ban? appeared first on CCN
Bitcoin’s Return to Innovation: Changing the World Through Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash
Developer Gabriel Cardona was personally recruited to fast track development of Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Open source, full featured development kit, Bitbox, his creation, has taken the community by storm, and it is now part of the Bitcoin.com developer universe. Money, Mr. Cardona likes to say, is critical to the human condition. And BCH and its blockchain are enabling financial sovereignty in a way which, he believes, is unique in history.
Also read: Report: 15,000 Twitter Crypto Scam Giveaway Bots
Blockchain Patents Will Shape Innovation – and That’s a Little Bit Scary
There were 1,240 blockchain patents filed last year. That’s not normal. The number of blockchain patent applications, in fact, has grown over 600 percent since 2016. This year, retailing giant Wal-Mart secured blockchain patents for crypto household energy payments, wearable medical records, and a security system. They also filed patents for drone delivery and “autonomous ground vehicle” delivery systems.
Facebook has thrown its hat in the blockchain ring now too, with patents to handle payment authentication and processing. And they’re not the only ones. Visa and Mastercard are busy gathering blockchain patents, as well as IBM, who now holds 42, and Bank of America, leading the pack with 45 live patents.
A “Good Start”: U.S. Introduces Office of Innovation and Sandbox for Fintech
Fintech businesses struggling to stay inbounds of government rules may soon receive a dose of much-needed guidance via the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Through its newly-created Office of Innovation, agency leadership intends to develop a regulatory framework designed to open the spigot in terms of the development of new products and services for those companies involved in cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies and microlending, and also loans by individuals. Paul Watkins, the architect of Arizona’s fintech regulatory sandbox that launches in August, was named to spearhead the federal effort.
Bitcoin Magazine’s Week in Review: As Markets Rise, so Does Innovation
Cryptocurrency prices were on the rise this past week and we’ve done some analysis to help you make sense of the movement. Amidst this volatility, we saw Stronghold announce a partnership with IBM to launch a new stablecoin on Stellar’s network that is FDIC insured, a first in the space.
As the market matures, blockchain research and development is picking up steam in major universities, driving innovation for the future health of the industry. Speaking of education, congress got serious about understanding this week, holding two full hearings to discuss the technology and how best to understand and make use of it.
Bitcoin Cash Sees More Infrastructure, Applications, and Protocol Innovation
Over the past few weeks, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has seen a lot of new infrastructure support, applications, and protocol innovation. While everyone has been watching the bearish markets across the digital currency economy, in general, there’s a lot of action happening within the BCH ecosystem that supersedes its current price speculation.
Also read: Crypto Business Is Now Legal in Belarus
How Lithuania Became a Hub of Cryptocurrency Innovation
On the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea lies Lithuania, a country of some 2.8 million. Most most people would struggle to place it on a map, and there are 77 European cities larger than its capital Vilnius, which number just 578,000. Despite this, Lithuania has outperformed nations 20 times its size in the token economy, making it Europe’s fifth largest country for crowdfunding. The small nation boasts a burgeoning cryptocurrency scene, aided by fast internet and a favorable regulatory climate.
Also read: Niall Ferguson Tells Bank of England Bitcoin Is Financial System of the Future
Bitcoin Cash Community Sees OP_Code Innovation After Upgrade
It’s been well over a day since the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network upgraded its protocol, and the consensus rules now come with a 32MB block size. Although the block size increase is quite a feat, BCH developers have also expanded the network’s default data-carrier-size to 220 Bytes and re-enabled some old Satoshi OP_Codes that were previously removed from earlier codebases. Now over the past 24-hours, lots of people have been playing around with the new BCH features.
Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Upgrade Milestone Complete: 32MB and New Features
Bitcoin is ‘The Real Innovation’ – Jimmy Song Dispels Blockchain Hype at Consensus
Bitcoin educator, developer and entrepreneur Jimmy Song has bet an unlimited amount of money on cryptocurrency proving more innovative than Blockchain by 2023.
Bitcoin ‘The Real Innovation’
Speaking during a panel at Consensus 2018, which has since become infamous as a frank discussion of Bitcoin vs. Blockchain, Song made the bet with Ethereum cofounder Joseph Lubin.
“I don’t really see much of this stuff gaining much traction,” he said referencing blockchain solutions for global enterprise arguing Bitcoin is “the real innovation here.”
China Takes Another Step Forward in Promoting Blockchain Innovation
The China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in Beijing announced its first monthly Global Public Chain Assessment Index at a recent conference. The platform is designed to offer detailed reviews of global blockchain projects by renowned experts in academia, industry and government bodies.
Previously, the CCID had established the Blockchain Research Institute and the China Ecological Blockchain Alliance, which are assigned to strengthen industry, policy research and blockchain technology. The organizations also provide software research and testing to China’s government.
Newly Formed Institute for Blockchain Innovation Backs ICO Alternative
A new open-source think tank oriented around blockchain technology has been formed and has announced its first initiative, JOBS Crypto Offering, which aims to solve the regulatory issues surrounding initial Coin Offerings (ICO).
The newly announced Institute for Blockchain Innovation (IBI) has nearly 60 members, including global leaders in banking and technology. Companies include Finova, Indiegogo, 500 Startups, Ausum Ventures, Salesforce, Raiffeisen Bank International and BPC Banking Technologies. According to the press release, “The new think tank brings together the world’s innovators in both the traditional and the blockchain/crypto financial systems, along with leaders from corporate, academic, regulatory, entrepreneurial, venture capital, and governmental backgrounds.”
Memo Innovation Invigorates Bitcoin Cash Proponents
Just recently we reported about the on-chain social media network called Memo, an application that allows people to publish censorship resistant ‘memos’ on the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) blockchain. So far users have sent thousands of on-chain memos, and the platform’s developers have added new features like ‘replies’ which unleashed over 3,000 Memo transactions in 24 hours after adding the reply component.
Also read: Markets Update: Cryptocurrencies Erase Two-Day Losses