A Switzerland-based fintech start-up launched a pilot sale of physical Bitcoin “banknotes” in Singapore. Tangem, a start-up operating from Switzerland and Singapore, has launched a pilot sale of physical notes of Bitcoin (BTC), according to a press release published May 3. Tangem Notes, described in the press release as “smart banknotes” with a chip developed by Samsung Semiconductor, reportedly allow consumers to physically carry Bitcoin stored in denominations of 0.01 (about $96) and 0.05 BTC (about $482). The first pilot batch, consisting of 10,000 notes, will be […]

A U.S. law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against Ripple, calling XRP an unregistered security. Law firm Taylor-Copeland law has filed a class action suit against Ripple Labs for the sale of unregistered securities, according to the official complaint filed yesterday, May 3. The lawsuit targets Ripple, its subsidiary XRP II, and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, alleging that Ripple’s sale of XRP tokens is a violation of U.S. securities laws. According to the complaint, the plaintiff, an individual named Ryan Coffey, purchased 650 XRP on […]

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has announced the creation of a Petro-fuelled crypto bank to support initiatives from Venezuelan youth. Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro announced the launch of a Petro-funded crypto bank to support initiatives from youth and students, Latin American government-sponsored news outlet TeleSur reported yesterday, May 3. During а speech for the Chamba Juvenil Plan, a social program that promotes jobs for youth, Maduro also noted the necessity of universities maintaining their own crypto mining farms to support the national economy. According to the The digital […]

Guide to the blockchain regulation in France. France has been hard to classify on the crypto lovers/haters spectrum. During the 2018 G20 meetings, it claimed to aim at being a blockchain pioneer. At the same time, its ICO volumes are dwarfed by much smaller neighbors like Switzerland. On April 26, France dramatically cut the taxation of gains on cryptocurrency trading. Let’s see exactly what the French crypto context is, and how we could evaluate it after the recent regulatory changes. Crypto regulation State agencies all over the […]

A partner at Blockchain Capital told CNBC that other banks will follow Goldman Sachs’ example of a opening a crypto trading desk, so as not to fall behind. Spencer Bogart, a partner at Blockchain Capital, said that other banks will follow Goldman Sachs’ example in opening a crypto trading desk, according to CNBC’s Fast Money today, May 4. Goldman Sachs reported yesterday that they would soon open a trading desk for Bitcoin (BTC) contracts after being “inundated” with client requests. Although Bogart told CNBC that the news […]

JP Morgan Chase & Co has filed a patent for a P2P network that would use a blockchain to process payments between banks in real-time. JP Morgan Chase & Co. has outlined a peer-to-peer payments network in a patent application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) yesterday, May 3. The network would use distributed ledger technology (DLT), such as blockchain, for intra- and inter-bank settlements. The application describes the drawbacks of the conventional bank settlement system currently in place for cross-border payment processing: “A […]

News from Goldman Sachs was among the factors contributing to another week of gains for Bitcoin, prices coming close to $10k May 4. Bitcoin prices reached $9,786 Friday, May 4, as momentum continues to build for a challenge to resistance around $10,000. Data from Cointelegraph’s price index and market visualization tool Coin360 revealed two attempts to retake the significant boundary Friday, both of which almost touched $9,800 before correcting downwards. At press time, BTC/USD was hovering around $9,730, up around 5.6 percent in the past 24 hours, […]

The pro-BTC movement that threatened a lawsuit against Bitcoin.com for its alleged dis-information practices has now cancelled the initiative, citing lack of funds. The pro-Bitcoin community movement that galvanized last week against Bitcoin.com has reversed its plans to level a lawsuit against the site, community leader MoneyTrigz announced on the group’s Telegram channel yesterday, May 3. Members of the movement were outraged that major crypto wallet and media service Bitcoin.com — run by prominent Bitcoin Cash-proponent Roger Ver — appeared to be intentionally blurring the distinction between […]

sponsored Former Goldman Sachs Executive Priyanka Lilaramani has become a new CEO at Malta-based startup which enables short-term cash advances in fiat currencies, made available through a unique prepaid Mastercard or Visa card. Priyanka Lilaramani, former Goldman Sachs Executive Director, has recently joined HOLD, a Maltese crypto startup, as a new CEO, HOLD announced on its Medium blog on May 2. Priyanka Lilaramani was a Director at Goldman Sachs for more than 10 years. In 2017, she was  listed in the UK’s Innovate Finance FinTech Powerlist. “The […]

The CEO of Cardano has signed an agreement with the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Technology to promote the Cardano network in the agritech industry. The Ethiopian government has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with cryptocurrency startup Cardano (ADA), The Next Web reports May 3. The agreement will see Ethiopian developers apply blockchain technology to the country’s agritech industry. CEO and founder of Cardano Charles Hoskinson confirmed the move in a tweet. Hoskinson stated that the agreement with the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Technology […]