Banking and financial services giant HSBC has completed the first yuan-denominated letter of credit transaction on a blockchain using the Voltron trade finance platform. As Reuters reported on Sept. 2, HSBC conducted the first blockchain-based yuan-denominated letter of credit transaction deploying R3’s Corda-powered Voltron platform. In the cross-border transaction, Hong Kong-based electronics manufacturer MTC Electronics exported a shipment of LCD products to its parent firm Shenzhen MTC. 24 hours instead of ten days The blockchain platform ostensibly enabled the parties to exchange electronic documents in 24 hours instead of the regular five to 10 days required for traditional document exchanges. …

Energy-focused blockchain startup Power Ledger has extended its peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading trial into its next phase in the Australian city of Fremantle. In a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Aug. 21, Power Ledger revealed the continuation of its P2P solar power trading trial aimed at tracking rooftop solar energy traded between households in Fremantle. The households participating in the project can set their own energy prices in the market. ‘50,000 transactions per month’ The testing — which is a collaborative effort between Power Ledger, Curtin University, energy generating company Synergy, electricity network operator Western Power and energy services …

Stablecoin-based settlement platform Everex has obtained a full Money Transmitter License from a New Jersey regulator, allowing the company to test services in the United States. In a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Aug. 19, Everex revealed that the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance issued the company a full Money Transmitter License as of Aug. 13. Big plans on U.S. expansion The license reportedly authorizes Everex to conduct activities such as peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency to fiat exchange, including with U.S.-based exchanges. Everex will also be able to perform blockchain-enabled payments and P2P cryptocurrency-fiat-stablecoin transfers both domestically and …

Whale Alert, a service dedicated to tracking major cryptocurrency transactions, has announced a second version of its platform is in development. Updated tracking capabilities Whale Alert’s Twitter account announced on Aug. 20 that the service is currently working on the second version of its platform, which includes additional services. The announcement reads: “We are excited to announce Whale Alert v2: the world's largest independent blockchain tracker, which will go live Q4 2019. More blockchains, better analytics and more features!” A section of the project’s website provides more details about the upcoming features in the next version of the platform, adding: …

Blockchain project NEO is considering integrating Celer Network’s (CELR) layer-two scaling protocol to improve scalability. Faster transactions, more possibilities As industry-focused news outlet Crypto Briefing reported on Aug. 17, John Wang, NEO’s director of Eco Growth, said that integration with Celer is under discussion. Celer’s platform is a solution that enables faster off-chain transactions both for payments and generalized off-chain smart contracts. To transfer value across the network, Celer uses its native CELR tokes. According to the report, community members say that Celer is fifteen times faster than Bitcoin’s (BTC) Lightning Network. Commenting on the development, Wang said: “A public …

Ethereum-based layer-two blockchain scaling platform nahmii has onboarded the Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX) as the first member of its governing association, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Aug. 16. Created by Hubii, nahmii is designed to solve the transaction speed issue on the Ethereum network, which can reportedly manage only 15 transactions per second. This, the release notes, makes Ethereum unsuitable for large-scale commercial deployment. Explaining the principle behind its solution, nahmii said: “Nahmii fixes that by moving transactions away from the main chain to a second network that sits on top of the main Ethereum chain. …

Kenneth A. Blanco, the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), has urged casinos to follow the agency’s guidelines in regards to suspicious convertible virtual currency (CVC) activity. During his speech at the 12th Annual Las Vegas Anti-Money Laundering Conference on Aug. 13, Blanco addressed casinos’ compliance with the FinCEN’s guidance released in May. In their guidance, the FinCEN considered certain business models involving CVC financial institutions to help them comply with their existing obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The guidance, however, did not establish any new regulatory expectations or requirements. A gap in reporting Blanco specified …

In a world where the global crypto community continues to face a growing number of regulatory hurdles with each passing day, the term “virgin Bitcoin” is starting to become more common among digital currency enthusiasts. However, it is of utmost importance to clarify what this term actually means and the significance it carries. According to Dave Jevans, the CEO of CipherTrace, virgin Bitcoins are essentially BTC tokens that do not have a transaction (TX) record associated with them. As a result of this, coins lack a defined attribution history, making them extremely useful for money launderers as well as other …

Global banking giant HSBC has tested out its blockchain-based trade finance platform Voltron and reduced transaction time by 40%, the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply reported on July 10. To arrange a shipment between Hong Kong and Dubai, HSBC partnered with major retail organization Landmark Group which provided its blockchain platform ReChainMe. The companies linked up their respective platforms, which reportedly resulted in the reduction of transaction time by 12 days, or 40%. Sunil Veetil, regional head of trade at HSBC MENA and Turkey, said that blockchain-based platforms will provide businesses a competitive advantage by increasing trade speeds. HSBC …

European crypto exchange Bitstamp has set up its own Lightning Network (LN) node to boost the network’s capabilities, the company tweeted on July 8. As a second layer over the blockchain of the biggest cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), the LN is designed to enable fast and zero-fee transactions by creating payment channels between users. Specifically, the network aims to address bitcoin’s scalability problem by keeping the majority of transactions off-chain. By launching its own LN node, Bitstamp aims to promote the growth of the network, as well as encourage the crypto industry to adopt the technology, the firm wrote in an …

After struggling to receive recognition of legitimacy within the mainstream zeitgeist during its sophomoric years, distributed ledger technology (DLT) now comprises the driving force behind a new wave of technological creative destruction. Today, we are going to take a look at some of the industries and processes that are most dramatically undergoing a transformation in response to the advent of blockchain technology. Food The opaque nature of global supply chains poses a significant challenge to efforts to ensure that the commodities, labor and inputs required to produce goods are from a safe and ethical origin. In order to tackle these …

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) will allow distributed ledger technology (DLT) firms to use its global payments innovation (GPI) platform, according to a recently published report. In the report, SWIFT revealed that it will soon allow GPI payments on DLT-base platforms. The product will purportedly increase savings in reconciliations and boost the movement of collateral. The announcement follows a proof-of-concept (PoC) of a new gateway to interlink trade and e-commerce platforms with GPI, which the organization launched in collaboration with enterprise blockchain platform R3 in January. The product is designed to connect various trade platforms to GPI …