Régie de l’énergie, the energy regulator of the Canadian province of Quebec, has released new rules for cryptocurrency miners. The development was announced by major Canadian electricity provider Hydro-Quebec on April 29. Under the new regulations, the Régie de l’énergie has ordered power producer Hydro-Quebec to allocate 300 megawatts (MW) to the blockchain industry. “This 300 MW will be in addition to the 158 MW already granted to existing customers approved by Hydro-Quebec, and to the 210 MW granted to existing customers approved by municipal distributors,” the announcement further explains. In order to receive some of the specially allocated power, …

French hardware wallet producer Ledger is set to provide its secure crypto infrastructure solution to regulated Canadian crypto exchange National Digital Asset Exchange (NDAX), according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on April 29. NDAX — which offers crypto asset trading services for both retail and institutional clients — will use Ledger’s institution-grade wallet management solution, dubbed Ledger Vault. Ledger Vault provides a multi-authorization governance infrastructure for crypto assets, and has been designed with enterprise and institutional custodian and asset managers’ needs in mind, according to the press release. The solution’s governance framework reportedly enables users’ private keys to …

Canada-based global insurance broker Marsh will soon roll out its proof of insurance (POI) blockchain platform to American commercial clients, the firm announced in a press release on April 25. First launched as a Proof of concept (PoC) in April 2018, Marsh’s POI platform will purportedly provide more certainty of insurance coverage as well as speed up business processes. Marsh clients will soon be able to acquire certificates of insurance via a blockchain-powered digital application, as the firm announced in a tweet. The app will initially be available to a select group of Marsh clients, and will enable clients to …

94% of endowments have been allocating to crypto-related investments throughout 2018, a new survey published on April 12 reveals. The study was conducted in Q4 2018 by trade publications Global Custodian and The Trade Crypto, in partnership with blockchain security firm BitGo. Out of 150 surveyed endowments, 89% of the respondents were reportedly based in the United States, with the rest either in the United Kingdom or Canada. The survey indicated that despite widely-reported concerns around regulation, custody and liquidity, endowments will continue to allocate investments to the new asset class — with only 7% of respondents saying they anticipated …

Top Stories This Week NYT Reporter: Facebook Seeking $1 Billion in Venture Capital for Crypto Project According to a tweet by New York Times (NYT) tech reporter Nathaniel Popper, Facebook is reportedly looking to various venture capital firms to develop its digital token that has been previously reported on. Popper, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said that Facebook is seeking $1 billion to develop its cryptocurrency project, which itself has not been publicly confirmed by the company. The Times reporter also noted that the project involves a stablecoin that would be pegged to a basket of foreign currencies …

Canada's major cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX has been officially declared bankrupt, local media outlet CBC reported on April 8. Quadriga’s bankruptcy was reportedly approved today by Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael Wood, and follows the court monitor Ernst & Young’s (EY) recommendation that it should be declared bankrupt earlier this month. EY’s legal team then argued that the ongoing restructuring process for QuadrigaCX under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) should shift to an alternative process under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA). The ruling now grants EY enhanced investigative powers as a trustee under the BIA, which means the …

Top Stories This Week PayPal Invests in Digital Identity-Focused Blockchain Startup in Apparent First Global online payments firm PayPal has invested in startup Cambridge Blockchain, a firm that focuses on leveraging the tech in order to give users more control over their digital identities. The investment, whose amount is undisclosed, is part of an extension to a Series A funding round that had raised an initial $7 million in May 2018. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that Cambridge Blockchain raised a total of $3.5 million in new equity since May 2018. Cambridge Blockchain has notably …

Coinsquare, one of Canada’s top crypto exchanges, will be launching a stablecoin backed by the Canadian dollar dubbed eCAD, according to a press release on April 4. The new coin will purportedly be backed at a 1:1 ratio with Canadian dollars. Coinsquare states that the new coin will be a reliable and stable store of value that provides investors with an alternative to similar coins backed by the United States dollar. Cole Diamond, CEO of Coinsquare said: “The launch of eCAD will create the first transparent, affordable, and secure way of transferring value in Canada and beyond, without the risk …

Canadian Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Hut 8 has reportedly laid off employees at its facilities in the province of Alberta, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reports April 4. Hut 8’s crypto mining facilities in Drumheller and Medicine Hat are part of a joint venture with European crypto mining hardware firm Bitfury. A former employee at the Drumheller facility told the CBC that he was laid off along with two dozen colleagues in January. He reportedly stated that the company reduced its staff by around 25% globally at the time, while teams in Alberta have faced even bigger layoffs. The cuts …

A Toronto judge has ruled an online drug dealer must pay his entire $1.4 million Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to the state in what is reportedly Canada’s largest ever forfeiture, local daily news outlet The Star reported April 3. Matthew Phan, who dealt in illegal narcotics online, had tried to convince law enforcement he had amassed his 281.41 BTC (worth around $1.4 million at press time) through other activities. The court had sought to claim the stash in February, with Phan appealing against the demands, a process he has now appeared to lose. According to The Star, Superior Court Justice Jane …

The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) will soon carry out a limited pilot to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), according to a press release on Apr. 3. The JSE has signed a master agreement with Canadian fintech firm Blockstation to continue developing tools for the trading of digital assets and security tokens. Following a successful live-trading pilot in late January 2019, the JSE and Blockstation will continue building a safe and regulated ecosystem for trading digital assets and cryptocurrencies. According to the announcement, a limited pilot to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum through the JSE and participating broker-dealers will be launched …

Big Four audit firm Ernst & Young (EY) has argued that the now-shuttered Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX should be placed in bankruptcy instead of being restructured as part of ongoing creditor protection proceedings. EY proposed the course of action in its “Fourth Report of the Monitor” filed with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia on April 1. As previously reported, QuadrigaCX reported it had lost access to its cold wallet holdings following the death of its founder, Gerald Cotten, in December 2018 — Cotten having ostensibly been the sole person with access to the wallets’ corresponding keys. With the reportedly …