North America
Welcome to another weekly blockchain news roundup from around the world. Here we present to you all the latest Bitcoin news continent by continent and country by country.
The United States
Leaked Info Show Possible ETF Regularization: SEC commissioner Robert Jackson’s comments, reportedly leaked before the press shows some optimism for a Bitcoin ETF regularization process from the Commission. Jackson’s comments were due to be published on 11 February 2019 but were leaked several days before.
Jackson reportedly said:
“A fund based on Bitcoin will eventually pass muster at the Securities and Exchange Commission despite that agency’s actions to deny all previous efforts.”
This renewed development in the ETF-SEC saga was a positive development for many in the crypto industry.
Winklevoss Twins Ordered to Pay Compensation for Shrem Case: Bitcoin investing pioneers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have been ordered to pay $45,000 in legal fees to Charlie Shrem, the then BitInstant owner. While the sum is quite insignificant to the famous twins, who were compensated around $70 million from Facebook a while ago, this may affect their public image, even if ever so slightly.
The Winklevosses initiated an asset freeze and investigation into Shrem after it was found that he owed them investment money. The courts eventually ruled in favour of Shrem and have ordered the reopening of his account as well as forcing the Winklevosses to pay his legal fees.
Banker Predicts Increased Interest for Cryptocurrencies from Wall Street: JPMorgan’s Global Market Strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou has come out and said that Wall Street will have increased interest in cryptocurrencies in the near future.
But, at the same time, the banker insists that the market must grow before the eventual institutional investors dive into it.
He said:
“The stability that we are seeing right now in the cryptocurrency market is setting the stage for more participation by institutional investors in the future.”
But, the kind of bubble investment patterns institutional investors bring have risks of their own as well.
SEC Posts Ad for Blockchain-related Big Data: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted an ad on a government contracts website to acquire big data of some of the biggest public blockchain networks in the world including Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.
The reason given for the SEC is to “monitor risk and improve compliance”. The federal agency seems to have taken a liking to blockchain technology as far as academia is considered but has so far refrained from allowing many ICOs and other blockchain companies to grow in the country as part of a regulatory backlash.
In other news, the SEC is going to use Blockchain-based tools for analyzing user data. While some consider it ironic as far as the SEC is concerned, it is very much a need of the hour.
Canada
Blockchain Association Joins Hands with Chamber of Digital Commerce: The Chamber of Digital Commerce Canada has decided to join hands with the Blockchain Association of Canada according to a press release on its official website.
The new Association will be headed by Tanya Woods, executive director and policy strategist of the then BAC. She said in the press release that a strong blockchain ecosystem is being pursued by the Canadian government. She believes a strong merger of these two organizations will help the government in achieving that dream.
With Canada’s favourable regulations and progressive mindset, it is becoming one of the most innovative countries in the world when it comes to blockchain technology and its application.
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