08/05/2018: Biggest Stories in the Cryptosphere

by BlockEx

1. New South Korea FSS Governor Softens Stance On Crypto Trading

The new Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heun has announced the possibility of cryptocurrency regulations being softened by South Korea’s top financial regulator. The governor noted that cryptocurrencies have some positive qualities, and this should be taken into account. FSS will work in collaboration with its parent agency Financial Services Commission (FSC). Suk-heun avoided giving details about the approach which will be adopted towards crypto exchanges operating in the country. However, he acknowledged the presence of issues which need to be addressed, and said that the process would be gradual. He went on to say that better regulations would benefit the financial system in the long run. Therefore, the focus should be on a regulatory framework which doesn’t harm the market.

2. ICE, NYSE Owner, Is Developing a Bitcoin Trading Platform

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is currently working on a platform which allows large investors to trade Bitcoin. The involved parties would be able to buy and hold the cryptocurrency; unlike entities such as CBOE and CME which only offer Bitcoin futures trading. In this case, actual Bitcoin would be involved. Furthermore, ICE is also considering the establishment of an operation where banks can buy a contract (swap) which the next day will belong to the customer owning the Bitcoin. In this case, the derivative contract would fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission jurisdiction and it would, therefore, be regulated. At the moment, Paul Chou’s exchange LedgerX is the only one offering this type of service.

3. Oracle To Launch Blockchain Products

Oracle, the second largest software company in the world, is set to launch its blockchain software, starting from this month. President of Product Development Thomas Kurian stated that the product consists of a platform-as-a-service blockchain product. A decentralised ledger-based application will be released the month after. Kurian also added that the blockchain technology helps tackle the issue of storing significant amounts of data using a centralised system. The giant is currently working with the Banco de Chile, to develop hyperledger banking transactions, and the government of Nigeria, for the employment of blockchain to record customs and import duties. Pharmaceutical companies are also being targeted as potential clients.

4. Binance CEO Labels ICOs “Necessary”

Crypto exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao labelled ICOs “necessary”, and stated that they are considerably easier than the traditional venture capital (VC) method. He also added that despite a current higher risk of failure, ICOs still outperforms VCs. Zhao stated that his personal experience led him to these conclusions. In his blog post “ICOs — Not Just ‘Good-to-Have,’ But Necessary.” it was discussed how ICOs will lead to a higher number of startups being launched. He went on to say that not all VC investors are experts, or have strong startup experience. Furthermore, VCs also deal with the risk of startups failing. Therefore, investors are already aware of the risk regardless of the fundraising method. However, it has to be noted that the ICO market is still relatively young, and needs time to mature before stabilising itself.

This news roundup was brought to you by BlockEx.

To receive our daily news roundup in your mailbox, sign up here: http://bit.ly/BlockExNewsRoundup-Updates