Initiative to Curtail Negative Interest Rates Gains Traction in Germany

Negative interest rates, a common occurrence in Europe these days, are unpleasant for both banks and clients. And financial institutions have been increasingly transferring the bulk of the burden on to their customers. Some political factions in Germany, however, aren’t happy with the trend and are pushing for adequate protection for the ordinary small saver, … Read more

In the Daily: Mt. Gox Claims, Crypto Derivatives, Facebook Vacancy, Swiss Regulations

Mt. Gox rehabilitation trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi has reviewed the claims filed by the exchange’s creditors and we’ve included his announcement in The Daily. Also, Caspian launches crypto derivatives trading in partnership with Deribit, Facebook is looking to hire a blockchain lawyer, and Swiss lawmakers have tasked the federal government with adapting existing regulations to cryptocurrencies. … Read more

Indian Government Invites Law Firm to Present Suggestions for Cryptocurrency Regulation

The Indian government has invited lawyers from Nishith Desai Associates to present their suggestions for the country’s crypto regulation. This is in response to the firm’s submission of a proposed regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The suggestions include avoiding prohibition, taking a balanced approach, options for licensing, and self-regulation for the industry. Also read: Indian Supreme Court … Read more

Bitcoin Cash Researchers Propose a New Transaction Ordering Rule

This week four Bitcoin Cash (BCH) researchers and developers proposed a different transaction sorting process for the BCH protocol called ‘canonical transaction ordering.’ The proposed method would sort transactions against their identifiers, rather than the current topological transaction ordering rule, making it easier to for the network to process very large blocks. Also read: Crypto … Read more

ETH Round-Up: Parity Unfreeze Shot Down, Casper Code Made Public, Vitalik Slams Greedy Market Sentiment

A number of significant events have occurred pertaining to the Ethereum ecosystem in recent days. Last week, the code for the proposed first step of Ethereum’s technical transition toward the adoption of proof-of-stake mining, Vitalik Buterin made disparaging comments regarding 2017’s explosion in the initial coin offering (ICO) industry in an interview with Financial Times, … Read more

Putin Wants to Use Cryptoruble to Evade Sanctions But Bank of Russia Skeptical

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has reportedly commissioned work to create a cryptocurrency as a tool to circumvent international sanctions. His economic adviser explained that “no mining is possible” for the cryptoruble. Meanwhile, the country’s central bank and finance ministry have expressed skepticism about this “cryptocurrency.” Also read: Russian Cryptocurrency Bill Is Ready – Regulators Share Details … Read more