A social commerce technology platform has launched a new wallet that enables consumers to buy real-life products from more than 30,000 points of sale globally. Jet8 says its new wallet is a “connect and transact hub,” giving its community a safe way to store their tokens, earn rewards and send funds to their friends. According to the fintech company, one of the wallet’s most distinctive features gives users the ability to purchase mobile data in any country worldwide — giving them instant access to mobile network connectivity wherever they are. A large network of retailers already accepts the Jet8 Wallet, …

Dutch bank Rabobank has reportedly canceled its plans to develop a cryptocurrency wallet, technology news outlet The Next Web states on May 23. As Cointelegraph reported, the bank had announced a cryptocurrency wallet service dubbed “Rabobit” as a part of the Rabobank Moonshot fintech innovation program in February last year. Still, a spokesperson of the bank reportedly told the outlet that: “After careful consideration with our customers in mind we recently decided that now is not the time to develop the idea further and bring it to the next phase of innovation.” The Rabobank representative also reportedly stated that the …

Polish-British fintech firm Billon has reportedly sealed an almost €2 million (~$2.1 million) grant from European Commission’s Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) Instrument program to develop a blockchain document management system. The news was reported by Billion in a press release on May 14. The Commission’s SME Instrument program provides funding for innovation projects which are close-to-market, and has reportedly awarded Billon a grant under Phase 2 of the program — which provides enterprises with up to 70% of the costs of their proposed project. Billon’s system, dubbed B4TDM (Blockchain for Trusted Document Management), is reportedly a proprietary blockchain-powered solution …

The United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee has passed a resolution to form the Task Force on Financial Technology, according to a press release by the committee on May 9. The new task force purports to “examine the current legal framework for fintech, how fintech is used in lending and how consumers engage with fintech.” Congressman Stephen Lynch (D), the newly appointed chair of the Task Force on Financial Technology, commented in a press release on the need for the committee to reevaluate how to best protect consumers using new fintech: “The lives of consumers are changing with …

This interview has been edited and condensed. The co-director of the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts (known as IC3), Emin Gün Sirer, is an associate professor at Cornell University, whose research focuses on peer-to-peer systems, operating systems, distributed systems and computer networking. He is one of the most influential scientists within the crypto and blockchain ecosystem, and his voice represents an academic view on the development of the technologies. We met with professor Emi̇n Gün Si̇rer at Deconomy in Seoul, South Korea, and talked about the future of cryptocurrencies, the potential danger of their full implementation and the reasons …

The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) has authorized nine fintech companies to operate in the country as part of a regulatory sandbox, English-language local media The Korea Times reported on May 2. Per the report, the regulator has named the aforementioned nine startups and companies to provide innovative services using blockchain, fifth-generation telecommunications and other new technologies. The development is reportedly part of a broader financial regulatory sandbox initiative launched last January. The sandbox will reportedly include new financial services being offered for a trial period of up to four years without regulatory limits. A service provided by the …

The Ministry of Finance in Austria is considering establishing a regulatory sandbox for the fintech industry, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reports on April 26. The country’s Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger said that the FinTech Advisory Council — which was formed by the Ministry of Finance last year — will aid in the development of relevant rules to steer the “young financial market around digitized financial services,” including initial coin offerings (ICOs) and digital currencies to facilitate their growth. State Secretary Hubert Fuchs said: “For some companies in the fintech industry, it is particularly difficult to keep track of all regulatory requirements …

The Minister of Finance of the Chilean government Felipe Larraín announced the introduction of a bill regulating cryptocurrencies and fintech to Congress, Cointelegraph Spain reported on April 15. During his recent stay in the United States, Larraín reportedly noted that the requirements introduced by the new regulation will be proportional to businesses. He explained that the rules will take into account that various companies have different business models, and deliver different services that imply different risks for the users and the financial market. Local media outlet Ahora Noticias reported that flexibility is among the most important aspects of the bill, …

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the terms of its regulatory sandbox in report on April 18. Per the terms of the sandbox, various applications of blockchain technology can be tested, while cryptocurrency-related projects are clearly excluded. Sandboxes are used by regulators around the world, including the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K., so fintech companies can put their innovations to the test with a small number of consumers over a set time period. Almost three years after the RBI began reviewing its framework to respond to the dynamics of the “rapidly evolving” fintech market, India’s central bank …

An executive at electronics giant HTC is leading a new $50 million blockchain-focused venture capital fund, Proof of Capital, that includes a partnership with the firm, TechCrunch reports on April 17. The new blockchain fund is reportedly held in fiat currency and focused on “regular VC deals, as opposed to token-based investments.” The fund will reportedly mainly target early stage blockchain firms in fintech, as well as the consumer sphere of blockchain ecosystem. According to the firm’s LinkedIn profile, the San Francisco-based fund will have a particular focus on Asian markets and emerging economies. Proof of Capital fund is led …

The development team behind encrypted messaging service Telegram’s forthcoming blockchain ecosystem Telegram Open Network (TON) has partnered with German financial services provider Wirecard. The latter revealed the news in a press release on April 17. TON Labs, which also functions as a knowledge base for decentralized project development, will work with Wirecard to develop new digital financial products, the press release reports. The partnership comes a week after sources hinted that TON had moved to private beta testing mode, a watershed moment for the project since its massive private initial coin offering (ICO) last year. “The addition of TON Blockchain …

Disclaimer. This article has been updated to reflect that Magic Leap is an augmented reality startup, rather than a virtual reality startup. Augmented reality (AR) startup Magic Leap is seeking blockchain engineers according to recent listings on employment website Greenhouse. The firm is looking for a senior blockchain architect and blockchain engineers. Among the duties listed for the senior blockchain architect position, the individual will be “planning and execution of a portfolio of blockchain, smart contract, and Ricardian contract technologies in support of the implementation of our Lifestream business function.” In a recent interview with virtual reality (VR) industry publication …