Blockchain is transforming the financial industry right before our eyes, with many market onlookers anticipating a complete replacement of existing payment, trading and banking infrastructures. Blockchain and finance seem like the perfect match, but there are other sectors, for which the technology may play a game-changing role. For one particular industry, the latter adjective isn’t figurative at all, because blockchain can do just that – change the gaming market. This is a unique chance for investors, and it seems like they don’t want to miss it. During the last few years, the gaming industry has been pampered with several innovations …

Blockchain startup LifeLabs announced that it is developing a digital currency dubbed BVI~LIFE in partnership with the British Virgin Islands (BVI). According to a press release on Dec. 3, the currency is part of a broader initiative to grow the local fintech sector and will be presented during the BVI Digital Economy symposium. The coin will be a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar — which the BVI have used since 1959 — and its use is expected to reduce transactional fees, increase transaction speed and be accessible to outsiders such as tourists. LifeLabs is also developing Rapid Cash …

Commerzbank, Credit Suisse and UBS carried out the first transactions on Deutsche Boerse and HQLAX’s distributed ledger technology-enabled (DLT) security lending platform. According to a Deutsche Boerse press release on Dec. 3, the company jointly developed the platform with fintech firm HQLAX, which was launched by R3 and uses Corda DLT technology to provide liquidity and collateral management products. The platform was able to swap ownership of a basket of German government bonds and a basket of corporate bonds between UBS and Commerzbank while employing Clearstream Banking as a custodian. It also conducted a cross-custodian swap between UBS and Credit …

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for an official visit yesterday to discuss joint policy measures, including a digital currency plan. On Nov. 27, private English-language daily UAE newspaper The National reported that Prince Mohammed was welcomed by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. Financial and political cooperation The two leaders are reported to have officially agreed on four new policy partnerships and to have reviewed seven strategic initiatives. On the agenda was a policy to …

The United Kingdom Jurisdiction Taskforce of the Lawtech Delivery Panel published a statement concerning the status of cryptocurrencies, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contracts under English and Welsh private law. U.K. entrepreneur network Tech Nation announced the paper’s publication on Nov. 18. The document attempts to address the legal uncertainties of cryptocurrency and recognizes crypto assets as tradeable property and smart contracts as enforceable agreements under local law. The importance of regulating blockchain Lawtech Delivery Panel director Jenifer Swallow noted that the worldwide smart contract market is expected to reach $300 million by 2023 while the World Economic Forum …

Chinese regulator State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) expanded its blockchain cross-border financing pilot program. Local news outlet GlobalTimes reported on Nov. 11 that the system now covers 19 provinces and cities, up from nine. The development is unsurprising given that at the end of October SAFE deputy head Lu Lei said that there are plans to use blockchain and AI in cross border financing with particular attention devoted to risk management applications. “No space for human mediation” Per the report, unnamed experts hope that the blockchain implementation will allow for more efficient and safer cross-border financial services. The project, …

The value of Business-to-Business (B2B) cross-border payments carried out on a blockchain will exceed $4.4 trillion by 2024, after reaching $171 billion this year. According to a press release published by Juniper Research on Nov. 5, the firm’s new report revealed that financial institutions will save $7 billion by 2024 thanks to the advantages of blockchain-based systems. More precisely, the report cites the lower cost, higher transparency, real-time settlement of blockchain transactions and automated Know Your Client checks based on self-sovereign identity. The author of the research, Morgane Kimmich, said: “The implementation of blockchain is part of a wider strategy …

German securities marketplace Deutsche Boerse and Commerzbank have completed a joint pilot transaction settlement of post-trade securities using digital tokens and distributed ledger technology (DLT). Tokens generated from both commercial bank money and securities While the transaction also involved major German asset manager MEAG, which operates under Munich Re-owned ERGO Group, one of the largest German insurance companies, Deutsche Boerse officially announced on Oct. 23. Meanwhile, the underlying technology and the legal concept were jointly developed by Deutsche Boerse and Commerzbank, the firm noted. The prototype settlement performed a delivery-versus-payment transaction and the transfer of tokenized cash. According to the …

Lithuania’s central bank, Bank of Lithuania, has selected technology behemoth IBM and IT services firm Tieto as the finalists contending to develop its blockchain platform. Financial technology news outlet FintechFutures reported on the contest’s developments on Oct. 23. Per the report, both firms will test their platform and the winner will be selected later in 2019 as part of the project dubbed LBChain. The project's manager at the Bank of Lithuania Andrius Adamonis commented: “The final testing session will show which solution is most suitable for market needs. [...] We believe that the greatest advantage of LBChain is its versatility. …

A master’s degree in blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is now attainable at the University of Malta. Fintech-focused news outlet CrowdfundInsider reported on the creation of the new master’s degree on Oct. 21, also noting that about 35 students are enrolled for the course. Joshua Ellul, director of the master’s program and chairman of Malta Digital Innovation Authority, said during Malta’s DELTA Summit on Oct. 3 that 15 companies have already contacted the students of the course. He also explained the reasoning that brought the program to existence: “We noticed a huge problem between techies and lawyers and business …

Blockchain technology has proven to be a catalyst of change across a wide variety of industries in the years since Bitcoin’s (BTC) inception in 2009. The subsequent creation of various blockchain projects and alternate cryptocurrencies has shown that blockchain technology can provide innovative changes across a broad spectrum. The worlds of finance, logistics and even law has directly benefited from the various applications of blockchain technology. Another sector that is beginning to embrace its potential benefits is education. Educational institutions are a vital cog in the development of new technology and the industry certainly hasn’t lagged behind in terms of …

The Italian Banking Association (ABI) successfully processed the reconciliation data of an entire year of local banking activity on a blockchain platform. The association announced the successful test of the Spunta Project’s system in a press release published on Oct. 12. The successful test of the framework has been first announced by Italian media at the end of September though with little details. Platform viability has been demonstrated Now ABI reveals that the test has seen 200 million data entries being processed by the blockchain banking reconciliation system, effectively simulating one year of Italian banking activity. The successful test allegedly …