DLT Voting Would Likely Benefit Democrats: UNSW Professor

Professor Richard Holden thinks exploring distributed ledger technology for voting in US elections could put voter fraud lawsuits to bed. Richard Holden, an economics professor at the University of New South Wales Business School, says using distributed ledger technology could allay Republican concerns over mail-in voter fraud — but would likely benefit the Democratic Party.  Holden spoke at the Unitize conference on July 9 on The Law and Economics of Blockchain.

Institutions Will Drive Mass Adoption of Blockchain in Finance, Says Expert

Blockchain experts discuss how institutions will play a major role in the mass adoption of blockchain-based financial infrastructure. Benjamin Soh, founder of blockchain development firm STACS, said that institutional players, not business-to-consumer companies, will drive the mass adoption of financial infrastructure built on blockchain technology.  During the Unitize virtual conference, Soh said that if they could bring bank institutions to use the blockchain, millions of bank customers will automatically be a part of the blockchain finance infrastructure without them even knowing. Providing bank customers with a blockchain-based wallet while still using the traditional payment gateways will be the necessary first step towards bringing the efficiencies of distributed ledger technology to the financial system, Soh added. Asia is leading in blockchain finance Speaking about the development of blockchain-based finance in Singapore, Soh noted that except for Switzerland, there are hardly any other European countries that are as supportive of blockchain finance as Singapore.  According to Soh, Singapore is the closest to fully replacing the current financial infrastructure with one based on distributed ledger technology. He also highlighted that the governments of other Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, China, Japan, and South Korea were taking strong initiatives to bring distributed ledger technology into finance.  Reflecting on a similar point, Vinay Mohan, one of the early members of ConsenSys Singapore, said that the more SMEs and retail users gain access to democratized finance, the more mature Asia’s financial infrastructure will become.  Mohan stated that due to the complex nature of current banking infrastructure, 70% of South-East Asian SMEs struggle with proper digital financial services and the advent of blockchain and central bank digital currencies may pave the way to deliver banking services to those Asian businesses and

Gibraltar Watchdog Grants License to Belarusian Crypto Platform

Currency.com obtained a distributed ledger technology license from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, or GFSC, issued a new distributed ledger technology license to the Belarus-based cryptocurrency platform, Currency.com, on July 6. According to the announcement, the platform will be allowed to use DLT to store or transmit value belonging to others in connection with the provision of dealer and custody services thanks to the license granted by the GFSC. Jonathan Squires, CEO of Currency.com, gave some insight into the company’s intentions for the license: “Our operations in Gibraltar are part of our commitment to expanding across the globe, offering a blockchain-backed, highly regulated and secure service designed to give customers the flexibility they’ve been looking for.

This Is What EU Wants From Blockchain and DLT

European Union recently rewarded six blockchain / distributed ledger technology (DLT) projects, showing its interest in teams that aim to solve sustainability challenges. The European Innovation Council (EIC), has awarded EUR 5 million (USD 5.7 million) to six winners of its call to propose ideas for "scalable, deployable and high-impact blockchain solutions for

Manga Book Promises to Teach Readers about Basics of Blockchain

The link between blockchain, crypto and manga continues to deepen in Japan – where a software company has published a new book explaining all the intricacies of blockchain, cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology using the power of manga. Entitled “Blockchain through Manga” (rough translation), the book is the brainchild of software and computer network systems

ASX Under Pressure to Further Delay Rollout of DLT Settlement System

The blockchain-based clearing and settlement system from Australia's biggest stock exchange faces further delays if unhappy firms get their way.

Switzerland Won’t Amend Tax Law in Regard to Blockchain in Near Future

Switzerland does not need to amend its current tax legislation to cover blockchain-based arrangements, the Federal Council believes. Switzerland’s existing tax law is applicable to developments in the blockchain industry, the Swiss Federal Council said. According to the federal authority, Switzerland does not need to amend its existing tax legislation in regard to blockchain and distributed ledger technology, or DLT. No legislative action is necessary regarding blockchain industry In a June 19 meeting, the Federal Council has addressed a report on the need to amend Switzerland’s tax law in response to DLT and blockchain developments.

Microsoft, EU-Based Universities Say Blockchain Could Help Meet Paris Agreement Carbon Goals

A new paper from Microsoft and universities in Germany and Denmark sets out how blockchain technology could overcome issues with providing an international carbon credit market.