A new protocol says it is powering blockchain-backed digital democracy — creating voting platforms that are completely devoid of any external private or public influence. Civicpower has bold ambitions to become the world’s biggest blockchain-backed voting app, and a one-stop-shop where the public can have their say. Governments and organizations can use this platform to canvass opinion, and the infrastructure is also well-suited to performing referendums where the public are given two choices. Crucially, this protocol is open to all — and that means any citizen can create their very own ballot. High-profile influencers can also engage their community in …
Regulations are not going anywhere. On the contrary, financial service providers face more regulatory challenges and higher costs than ever before. During the early days of cryptocurrencies, a “Wild West” culture emerged when regulators, uncertain on how to tackle this thing called blockchain, paid little attention to the thefts, scams and hacks plaguing the virtual-asset market. Today, this is no longer the case. No matter their roots, every virtual asset project from Telegram to Shapeshift to Libra is ramping up compliance while regulators continue to issue guidance, enforce regulations and pay closer attention to digital securities platforms, crypto exchanges and …
Ethereum software company ConsenSys has formed a technical partnership with Kakao’s Klaytn blockchain, with a goal to develop a private platform for the issuance of a South Korean central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Klaytn is a public blockchain developed by Ground X, a blockchain affiliate of the South Korean internet company Kakao. Best known for its Kakao Talk mobile messaging app, Kakao has since branched out into the shopping and travel industries, among others. In 2019, the company commenced work on the Klaytn blockchain, which by the time of publication has the 25th-largest market capitalization in the cryptocurrency space. …
In his monthly crypto tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira covers emerging technologies within the crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain space, as well as their roles in shaping the economy of the 21st century. The crypto market, just as any other market, runs in cycles. Even though digital assets are known, if not infamous, for being more volatile than many other asset types, their price action still follows a familiar pattern of ups and downs. Some of this, such as Bitcoin’s (BTC) four-year cycle, largely comes down to the algorithm’s intrinsic rules — more specifically, the halving of …
Taurus, a digital asset infrastructure provider for financial institutions in Europe, has raised $65 million in a Series B capital raise led by Credit Suisse. The funding round also saw participation from several other institutional investors, including Deutsche Bank, Pictet Group, Cedar Mundi Ventures, Arab Bank Switzerland, and Investis. According to the announcement, the funds raised will be used by Taurus to bolster its growth strategy in three primary areas, which include; recruiting top engineering talent to continue developing its platform, expanding its sales and customer success organization to enhance its infrastructure solutions with new offices in Europe, the UAE, …