BitDigest March 17 · Issue #616
Mar 17, 2020
- Crypto markets showing signs of a recovery gaining 14.3% in total marketcap over 24-hours
- The Bank of Zimbabwe is drafting a regulatory framework to enable the future use of digital currencies and other financial technologies
- Brave has filed a GDPR complaint against Google hoping to force a limitation on Google’s ability to automatically opt-in user data collection
The Headlines
Zimbabwe Developing Regulatory Framework
www.chronicle.co.zw
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has begun drafting a framework, a regulatory sandbox, to guide the use of financial technologies including digital currencies. The RBZ’s deputy director financial markets and national payment systems explained the proposed regulations would ensure that cryptocurrency companies would be vetted through the regulatory sandbox so as to meet regulatory requirements.
Russian Introduces Bill Restricting Use of Digital Assets
www.dailyhodl.com
The director of the Bank of Russia’s legal department says the bank has finalized a draft of the country’s bill on digital financial assets and will impose restrictions on cryptocurrencies due to inherent risks. Alexei Guznov says the problem with cryptocurrencies “is that it is not very clear how to ensure the enforcement of judicial decisions.”
Argentina's Blockchain-based Web Site Hacked
www.cointelegraph.com
The centralized Argentinian government’s official news site was hacked allowing for fake news to be posted on the spread of the corona virus. While the site was initially taken down, the government explained that the site was developed using blockchain technology and therefore is immutable with the posted information non-modifiable.
Treasury Appoints Crypto Proponent to Oversee Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
www.dailyhodl.com
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has appointed Brian Brooks to be the next Chief Operating Officer and First Deputy Comptroller of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Of note is that Brooks was most recently the chief legal officer at Coinbase and is an outspoken proponent of making the US a leader in digital currencies.
Brave Files GDPR Complaint Against Google
www.brave.com
The company developing the Brave browser has filed a European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) complaint against Google for infringing the GDPR “purpose limitation” principle. Brave also released a study that reveals that Google collects personal data from integrations with websites, apps, and operating systems, for hundreds ill-defined processing purposes causing an internal data free-for-all that infringes the GDPR’s purpose limitation principle. Brave is hoping to force a limitation on Google that would provide users with the power to control their personal data collection.
Bakkt Releases First Payment Integration with Starbucks
www.twitter.com
Eight months after first introducing Bakkt and highlighting a partnership with Starbucks, the company announced its first direct payment integration will be with the global coffee company. Users of the Starbucks app can see the Bakkt app option by choosing to add a new payment option to refill their card – I checked and it works. Bakkt also announced it had closed a Series B financing round of $300 million with participation from investors including Intercontinental Exchange, Microsoft, PayU, and Boston Consulting Group.
Atari Announces ICO Countdown
www.atarichain.com
Atari has announced that its token presale will begin on March 20th. Two years after first announcing plans to issue a native digital currency, the Atari token will be usable as an in-game asset. Note: the Atari token is not being issued by the Atari company but has been licensed to a separate company building a blockchain-based program.
Exchange, Custody and Product News
MetaMask Releases New Version of MetaMask Mobile Beta
www.twitter.com
MetaMask, the Ethereum-based crypto wallet browser extension, has released a new beta version of its mobile application. Users on the Android platform will have the application automatically updated but iOS users will have to manually update the extension. MetaMask tweeted that the signup for the iOS beta is already full but they are looking to increase the offering to more users.
Coinbase (UK) Adds Kyber Network
www.twitter.com
Coinbase has added the Kyber Network (KNC), an on-chain liquidity protocol, to its platform for UK residents. Customers will now have full trading abilities.
Thoughts on the Ecosystem
Bitcoin Will Prove Itself in QE Environment
www.cryptoglobe.com
Bitfinex chief technology officer (CTO) Paolo Ardoino believes “bitcoin is a battle tested asset which will in time will prove its underlying strength as a genuine store of value.” Not bothered by the recent sell off, Ardoino suggests that “while bitcoin has grown to fruition during a period of massive QE from central banks it will in time prove its metal as these [ongoing remedy] policies surely begin to fail.”
Reports you may have missed
No reports found.