U.S. Holds Governmental Crypto Hearings
Regulators still can not find a middle ground regarding the role of cryptocurrencies in U.S finance. Senators made a number of critical statements against bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in their speeches in Congress on Wednesday, July 18.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
1. U.S is one of the most important countries for the crypto industry and recently became the first by the number of ICO it’s launching. All cryptocurrency exchange transactions in the U.S. are taxed, and the country is placing strict requirements for foreign crypto exchanges.
2. America is actively fighting against money laundering, and against drug trafficking industries that use crypto for their exchanges. Earlier in June, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services proposed a bill carrying out a study on how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are used in sex and drugs trafficking. Recently the President of the U.S., Donald Trump has signed a decree on the creation of a task force that will investigate crimes including cryptocurrencies.
3. Despite the ongoing fight against crypto crimes, regulators still can not find a middle ground regarding the role of cryptocurrencies in U.S finance.
"Big Four" Auditors Testing Blockchain Platform
The world's largest auditing firms, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, known as the "Big Four", will join Taiwanese banks and use blockchain to check interim financial statements of the companies.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
1. Developer of the blockchain-platform, Financial Information Service Co. (FISC) believes that the new technology will shorten the time of data confirmation from 15 days to 1 day.
2. In case of successful testing, audit through blockchain system will be available to 1,400 companies from Taiwan. The creation of the new platform aims to update financial technologies on the island.
Peter Gabriel Invested in Blockchain Startup
The famous singer and former frontman of the British rock band “Genesis”, Peter Gabriel invested in a blockchain startup Provenance. The project plans to use the attracted investments to improve consumer confidence in the food sector via a new blockchain-based solution.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
1. This is not the first celebrity who decided to join the world of blockchain. Recently, a former Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho has unveiled his own cryptocurrency project. Ronaldinho Soccer Coin (RSC) will be based on the NEO platform.
2. Earlier still a former footballer Michael Owen has launched his own personal cryptocurrency. However, they are far from being the first celebrity to support blockchain technology. For example, award-winning rapper Mims has co-founded RecordGram, a project which aims to help artists and producers create music and uses a blockchain to facilitate royalty payments and control artists’ digital rights. In addition, argentine star Lionel Messi said that he had been "digging deeper into blockchain and decentralized systems".
Vietnam Moves to Miner’s Ban
The Vietnamese authorities prepare to introduce a ban on imports of mining equipment. The Central Bank of the country is discussing the initiative with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance. The departments insist on banning imports, since the country has already prohibited all operations with digital money. Imposing compliance will be much easier if the miners lose ways to buy new equipment, officials say.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
1. The representative of the Ministry of Finance recalled the biggest fraudulent IСO in the country's history in support of the ban. In April, the startup Modern Tech appropriated $660 million, invested by 32,000 investors.
2. From the very beginning the ICO of Modern Tech looked like a financial pyramid. Investors were offered a profitability of 570% per annum and 8% of the invested amount for attracting new participants in the primary placement. Now the founders of the project are on the wanted list.
Ex Trump's Advisor to Launch His Own Crypto
Steve Bannon, a former advisor to the U.S. President Donald Trump, said he owns bitcoin and is also working to create his own cryptocurrency.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
1. Bannon has repeatedly made statements regarding cryptocurrency. In March, he expressed the opinion that blockchain technology and digital coins will bring people "true freedom."
2. In June, during meetings with hedge funds and private investors, he mentioned the possibility of holding an ICO for his project Bannon & Company. At the same time, the former US presidential aide warned investors from the ICO. In his opinion, most of them are just a disaster in which you can lose all your money.
At 20:20 (GMT+1) total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $287,82 billion
Stellar (+3,63%) showed the best growth in the top-10
Kin (+11,60%) showed the best growth in the top-100
Market Dynamics
The trading volume of cryptocurrencies for 24 hours reached $17,51 billion (-2,04 billion per day)
Mining Profitability
- BTC $3,6 for 10 TH/s
- ETH $0,34 for 10 MH/s
- BCH $0,31 for 1 TH/s
- LTC $4,38 for 1 GH/s
- DASH $0,15 for 1 GH/s
Ongoing ICOs:
Expected ICOs:
- 20 July Humanscape
- 20 July Pool of Stake
- 21 July OSA DC (OSA)
- 23 July Casper API