The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, will officiate the 2019 Africa Blockchain Conference, according to a report by Kabuubi Media Africa on June 24 According to the report, The 2019 Africa Blockchain Conference — not to be confused with The Blockchain Africa Conference 2019 which occurred in April — will be held from July 3 to July 4, and the theme is ’Africa 4.0: Preparing Africa for the 4th Industrial Revolution.’ The conference topics will reportedly include fintech, payment systems, and the future of education. President Museveni reportedly supported the use of blockchain technology in Uganda during his inaugural speech. …

Fintech firm Token has received a $16.5 million injection from investors including the venture arm of banking giant BNP Paribas, a news release announced on June 18. The self-described open banking platform says it will use the capital to further develop its TokenOSTM operating system — and “accelerate new ways of innovating payments with digital money and ID solutions.” According to the company, its ecosystem enables banks, customers and developers to complete transactions securely, instantly and with less friction. Token claims more than 4,000 banks have connected to its platform, with Mastercard recently coming on board as a partner. Steve …

Visa has launched a payment system for business-to-business (B2B) transactions partially based on blockchain technology. The United States payment behemoth says its platform, called Visa B2B Connect, offers seamless cross-border payment processing for institutional clients without going through the complex web of third-party intermediaries. In doing so, Visa becomes the latest entrant into the blockchain-based payment processing arena. This move brings the company into direct competition with cryptocurrency startups like Ripple and mainstream players, such as Barclays and BNY Mellon with their Utility Settlement Coin (USC) project under the aegis of the Fnality Consortium. Visa B2B Connect — three years …

Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the United States House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee is requesting that Facebook halt development on its cryptocurrency, the Libra, as reported by CNN Tech Reporter Brian Fung in a series of tweets June 18. In her statement, Rep. Waters explained: “Given the company’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a cryptocurrency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take action” In response, Rep. Patrick McHenry, also of the Financial Services Committee, said the following: “It is incumbent upon …

Major global banking group HSBC has implemented tokenization technology into its receivables infrastructure for corporate clients in India, according to an announcement on June 18. The British multinational financial services company has reportedly launched its Digital Accounts Receivable Tool (HSBC DART), based on tokenization technology developed by Australian blockchain-powered Fintech company Identitii Ltd., the firm said in the announcement. According to the statement, HSBC DART was developed for HSBC’s Global Liquidity and Cash Management (GLCM) business and deploys Identitii’s approach to tokenization within HSBC’s existing infrastructure of receivables to enhance involved processes. The instrument is designed to automate the accounts …

In recent weeks, major South Korean financial institutions have rolled out a number of services incorporating blockchain technology, especially in the areas of Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures and security. Fintech has become a buzzword for local banks trying to keep up with the change of the times. The banks, however, are not looking into an important part of blockchain, which is digital assets, says one influential Korean advocate of alternative currency. In order to assess the Korean blockchain space, it is important to understand how the trend affects existing players and the cryptocurrency market. Blockchain as a ledger Shinhan …

The vice president of Brazil's biggest bank, Bradesco, revealed that major local banks will introduce a unique blockchain platform on June 12, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on June 11. Bradesco VP Mauricio Minas has delivered a speech devoted to the role of blockchain in the global financial system, speaking at major Latin American banking and fintech event CIAB Febraban on June 11. The Bradesco VP unveiled the plans of local banking institutions to soon adopt an unnamed blockchain-powered solution, adding that a number of Brazilian banks have been developing applications using distributed ledger technology (DLT). Speaking at the event, Minas expressed …

On June 3, the Utility Settlement Coin (USC) project, one of the most ambitious crypto-based initiatives in mainstream finance, announced that it had taken the next step in its progression: the creation of a new company called Fnality International and the completion of a 50 million British pound ($63.2 million) Series A financing round. The momentum for USC has been growing since 2015, when the initiative was launched by financial giants UBS, BNY Mellon, NEX, Santander and Deutsche Bank, along with blockchain startup Clearmatics. It’s important to note that USC is not a digital currency that individuals can invest in …

Fintech startup SoFi — known for its online lending services — has seen three of its top executives depart from the company, the Wall Street Journal reports on June 4. As Cointelegraph reported at the time, SoFi partnered with major United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase in February to roll out crypto trading support. Per the WSJ report, head of risk, Kevin Moss, the lender’s top capital markets executive, Ashish Jain, and marketing chief, Joanne Bradford, recently told CEO Anthony Noto about their plans to abandon their positions. All three have reportedly been working at the company before Noto took place …

Tokenization software firm AlphaPoint rehauled its management, financial news outlet Finextra reports on June 3. Per the report, the current chief technology officer of the company, Joe Ventura, will become the chief information officer, while global head of trading Kapil Rathi will be the new chief operating officer. Both will be reporting to Igor Telyatnikov, the former president who has now been newly appointed as the CEO. Telyatnikov is reportedly an AlphaPoint founding member who held multiple senior leadership positions in the firm, including chief operating officer. Finextra notes that he was previously responsible for overseeing the company’s business strategy, …

Dublin City University has partnered with tech company network Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet to create the country’s first master’s program in blockchain technology. The new educational certification was announced by the Irish government’s Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation on May 29. The “Master’s in Blockchain: Distributed Ledger Technologies” degree is the culmination of ICT Skillnet’s efforts to identify the skills upcoming blockchain engineers need to learn, with the help of blockchain educational hub Blockchain Ireland. The course is reportedly conducted online as a two-year part-time course, which will begin with its first cohort of students in September 2019. The …

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has introduced an online program on financial technologies, including digital currencies, according to a press release published on May 30. The new online program dubbed “Fintech: Foundations and Applications of Financial Technologies” features lectures and case studies on topics such as payments, cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and crowdfunding, among others. Apart from the university lecturers, the course also features speakers from the leading industry companies, including payment processor Square, marketplace lender CommonBond, and investment advisory firm Vanguard. Anne Trumbore, senior director of Wharton Online, said that the program was launched as part of …