12/07/2018: Biggest Stories in the Cryptosphere

by BlockEx

1. Shanghai Stock Exchange Looks Into Blockchain For Securities Market

The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), one of the largest stock exchanges by market capitalisation, is considering the adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for the securities market. The news was announced with the publication of a research paper which discussed the potential advantages DLT could bring to the security transaction stages, including “pre-trading customer registration, securities issuance and trading, and post-trading settlement”. One of the key benefits found was the reduction of settlements timing, which currently takes one day. The SSE is a non-profit organisation managed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The main two areas to benefit from this are considered to be: the over-the-counter securities issuance and trading, along with the order book post-trading settlement.

2. Binance Working Towards First Decentralised Bank

Major crypto exchange Binance is working towards the creation of a bank owned by digital-coin investors. The decentralised bank, called Founders Bank, will be located in Malta. Binance has already invested a 5% stake at a 133 million-euro ($155 million) pre-money valuation. For the project to succeed, it is required to have a license from Maltese regulators and follow the country’s financial rules. Once the permits are obtained, the plan is to create the first decentralised bank, which would be community-owned. The equity-token sale will be conducted through a partnership with one of Europe’s biggest stock exchanges and follow German regulations. Maltese Junior Minister Silvio Schembri stated that the island is honoured to have been chosen as location.

3. India May Not Enforce a Crypto Ban After All

It was reported that the Indian Supreme Court decided to side with the central bank over the crypto ban. However, a senior government official anonymously revealed to Quartz that the government is not actually planning on issuing a blanket ban. The main concerns are regulating crypto trades and assessing the provenience of the funds involved. In order to tackle illicit activities such as money laundering, the government also wants to remove the aspect of anonymity. Classifying cryptocurrencies as a commodity would help to achieve so. Indeed, many Indian politicians welcome the idea. They believe that the categorisation would help to make a distinction between cryptocurrencies and (actual) currencies.

4. Cartier Owner Wants To Track Diamonds With Blockchain

Back in January, it was suggested by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Executive Board Director Sakhila Mirza that blockchain technology could help to track the source of origin of gold. Now, the Swiss luxury goods company Richemont, owner of Cartier, is looking into blockchain technology to track the origin of its diamonds. This is an attempt to increase transparency in the supply chain. Board Member Jin Keyu revealed during an event that blockchain will enable the conglomerate to control “parallel markets”. Along with diamonds, rocks and gold would also be tracked. The idea is to use this process to validate the authenticity of all the watches they sell.

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