Image of The Day, 24 of October: Reuters, Quartz, Forbes and Others
We're presenting "the image of the day". Bitnewstoday.com has chosen the most important news about the digital economy and virtual currencies. Only the most valuable stories from only the trusted sources. Each and every event from this list will change the world of the digital economy either way. The most important stories of this day in the most indicative quotes are below!
1. NOBODY EXPECTS THEM (The Next Web)
Spanish authorities want citizens to disclose all their hodlings
A Spanish cryptocurrency inquisition is on the cards as authorities ask all hodlers to make themselves known. Who would have expected that?
A draft-law that effectively forces cryptocurrency hodlers to make themselves known, put forward by Spain’s Ministry of Finance, was approved recently.Spanish cryptocurrencies can’t be forced to reveal themselves, but they’ll be breaking the law if they don’t. The new law is mainly aimed at tax avoidance and will force Spanish hodlers to tell the government who they are, and how much cryptocurrency they posses.
2. CHARITABLE SUN (Blokt)
Tron gives $3,000,000 to charity as Justin Sun prepares to speak at UNCTAD event
The Tron Foundation is working to create a decentralized platform that can cater to the needs of millions of people. It is also involved with charitable causes. Recently, Tron donated $3 million to Binance’s Blockchain Charity Foundation (BCF).
The donation could be used to partner with and contribute to programs at the United National Development Program (UNDP) as the BCF partnered with the UN agency last month. The partnership will help to increase the use of blockchain-based applications to bring social and economic good.
3. COMING OUT OF AGE (Reuters)
Japan grants cryptocurrency industry self-regulatory status
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) on Wednesday gave the cryptocurrency industry self-regulatory status, permitting the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association to police and sanction exchanges for any violations.
The government has been reviewing its approach toward an industry that has been hit twice by large-scale thefts. The FSA approval gives the industry association rights to set rules to safeguard customer assets, prevent money laundering, and give operational guidelines. The association will also have to police compliance.
4. SHARK’S CHANGE (CNBC)
Blockchain app got a spot at Shark’s Tank
Dmitri Love walked into the Tank Sunday seeking $100,000 in exchange for a 10 percent stake in his company, Bundil, a platform that lets people turn their spare change into crypto. Love's story started nearly three years ago when he was studying biochemistry at the University of Arkansas. After a serious knee injury (he was an avid soccer player) sidelined him for a long recovery, Love taught himself to code and became a software engineer.
Most of the sharks had concerns and dropped out: Lori Greiner wasn't sold on the idea of cryptocurrency in general; Mark Cuban was already invested in a comparable company; Daymond John didn't like the volatility of the digital currency space; guest judge and CEO of RSE Ventures, Matt Higgins, also opted out. Kevin O'Leary, though, was interested. While he was unsure about the app's viability, noting that the lifespan of many apps is not very long, he still offered Love $100,000 in exchange for 50 percent of the company.
5. A CHALLENGER APPEARS! (Daily Hodl)
Johnny Depp has signed a development deal with TaTaTu.
Depp will work with Italian film producer Andrea Iervolino, who also runs TaTaTu, to create digital content and films. Iervolino says Depp will be a key collaborator, identifying and developing projects. TaTaTu runs on its native cryptocurrency, TTU tokens which users earn when they watch content or make posts on the platform. The tokens can then be used to vote on upcoming content.
The company plans on using Ethereum smart contracts to manage digital rights. They also plan on using the token economy to incentivize advertisers to pay viewers and content creators. According to the development team, blockchain technology allows TaTaTu to create in an open, transparent and decentralized environment.
6. MEMENTO MORI (Quartz)
What happens to your cryptocurrency after you die?
No one knows how long cryptocurrencies will last, but it’s a decent bet they might outlast you. Passing your digital holdings on to loved ones after your death isn’t as simple as bequeathing cash or other property, though, particularly since wills aren’t designed for confidential information.
With conventional assets, there’s an established procedure for claiming them through probate court, but with cryptocurrencies the process is less certain. Complicating matters is that many cryptocurrency exchanges don’t let their customers name beneficiaries. Coinbase, the largest trading platform, puts the burden on the heirs to claim any assets left by the deceased (so, hopefully your family knows which exchange you use). Another major bourse, Gemini, declined to comment for this story.
7. A BEACON OF KNOWLEDGE (Forbes)
Universities show a surprising leading light in cryptocurrency adoption
Blockchain, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency adoption are seeping into all facets of global society, and this is despite the bearish market for the actual digital tokens. A Medium article titled: ‘Why Bitcoin and Crypto have no future’ goes on to list around 40 evidences that suggest counter to the title’s claim.
Universities and colleges have been quietly growing in their understanding, appreciation, and involvement in blockchain technology as well as cryptocurrencies. It is not only that these traditionally rigid and conservative institutions believe there is worth in teaching this new technology to the next wave of leaders and champions of industry, they are even trusting and invested enough to see the value in them in the long run as an investment.
8. BLOCKCHAIN AS A FUTURE OF MONEY (Blokt)
Ripple CTO David Schwartz presents strong arguments supporting blockchain in payments at Money20/20 USA
The CTO of Ripple, David Schwartz, attended the Money20/20 USA conference and participated in a debate with Esther Pigg, senior vice president of product strategy at FIS Payments. The debate, moderated by Tony Hayes, revolved around the traditional payment system and how blockchain technology could replace it.
In his answer to the question, Schwartz began by explaining the problem with the global payment system. He said that the system was created before the advent of the Internet — for the “postal and batch era.” Hence, it cannot address the demands of the current market. He said that the band-aid solutions don’t fulfill the underlying issues with the infrastructure that supports the global payment system.
9. LOOKING FOR THE UPGRADE (Daily Hodl)
Revealed: Ripple says banks using xCurrent are looking to upgrade to XRP-powered xRapid
Banks using Ripple’s xCurrent technology are now looking to upgrade to the company’s XRP-powered xRapid, according to Ripple’s senior vice president of product management Asheesh Birla. Birla says a number of banks are seriously considering taking the plunge into crypto and using xRapid to process cross-border payments.
“xRapid is seeing greater traction among payment providers, including Currencies Direct, Mercury FX and Viamericas, whereas the banks are not quite ready to take the plunge into the nascent cryptocurrency space. However, Mr Birla reports that some banks using xCurrent are now looking to use xRapid for the second phase of their projects”.
10. STABILITY IN VOLATILITY (The Next Web)
Cryptocurrency traders are shifting from stablecoins to Bitcoin
The second half of 2018 has seen Dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies (stablecoins) flood the market, but recent data suggests that Bitcoin might become the one true stablecoin
The October graph below shows the overall trading volume of Tether markets is getting smaller, but the activity of Bitcoin markets has increased between 8 and 10 percent on cryptocurrency exchange OKEx, one of the largest in the world.