A group of international banks in partnership with enterprise blockchain software firm R3 have completed a live commercial paper transaction based on blockchain platform Corda, Finextra reported Dec. 6. The transaction was implemented on the Corda-based Euro Debt Solution application developed by R3, with German banking and financial services company Commerzbank, French corporate and investment bank Natixis, and Dutch financial services firm Rabobank as the participant. In the course of transaction, Natixis reportedly issued 100,000 euro ($113,722) notional, while Rabobank acted as the incestor and ING as both dealer and escrow agent. Commerzbank developed the pilot framework, software and distributed …

Japan’s government is seeking ways to prevent tax evasion on significant profits from cryptocurrency transactions, daily Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reports Tuesday, Dec. 4. According to sources familiar with the matter, the new system prepared by the government will allow the National Tax Agency (NTA) to get data from transaction intermediaries, such as crypto exchanges. The NTA will be able to solicit information on customers who are suspected of tax evasion, including names, addresses, and 12-digit individual identification numbers. The sources told the Mainichi Shimbun that the ruling coalition will start elaborating the new taxation system later in 2019, aiming …

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking information about investigating and analyzing blockchains, including those used for privacy coins, according to a pre-solicitation notice published Nov. 30. DHS has released a proposal, which invites interested parties to comment and design applications for blockchain forensic analytics in respect to emerging cryptocurrencies. The proposal also calls for solutions that would enable investigators to conduct relevant analysis on blockchain transactions. Notably, DHS states that, while previous analysis has been conducted on Bitcoin (BTC) analytics, this only covers a “limited scope in the realm of cryptocurrencies.” The DHS proposal seeks applications of …

Major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched support for Zcash (ZEC) on its Coinbase Pro platform, according to a company blog post published Nov. 29. Zcash is a cryptocurrency based on a decentralized blockchain, designed with the goal of making transactions more private than they are in the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. Zcash’s “view key” option is used to allow some individuals to see private information about users’ transactions. View keys may be used for an audit or sharing information without disclosing it publically. Today’s announcement notes that the Coinbase Pro platform will start accepting inbound transfers of Zcash, while deposits …

E-commerce giant Amazon announced the debut of two new services, Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB) and Amazon Managed Blockchain, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph Nov. 28. QLDB is a ledger database designed to provide transparent, immutable, and cryptographically verifiable log of transactions, which is overseen by a central trusted authority. All changes are purportedly recorded on chain, while the new product is also able to automatically scale and execute two to three times more transactions than already existing products. Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), reportedly said that the product “will be really scalable, …

Bitcoin (BTC) use for commercial payments has reduced significantly this year, according to a study by Chainalysis cited by Reuters Nov. 20. To prepare the study, Chainalysis reportedly surveyed 17 Bitcoin payment processors. The amount of BTC handled by major payment processors reportedly dropped by almost 80 percent from the beginning of the year to September. The analysis of individual payment processors’ figures reportedly shows a downward trend. At Canadian firm Coinpayments, the value of transactions has fallen by more than half between January and October 2018, Reuters reports, citing data from blockchain analysis site OXT. Lex Sokolin, global director …

A blockchain network is preparing for the imminent hard fork to the second version of its core system on 28 Nov – with users set to benefit from flexible transaction fees and the ability to develop their own plugins with ease. ARK has been preparing Core V2 of its platform for some time, and has stressed that its community will not be affected by the hard fork as long as they update their desktop or mobile wallets to the latest version. Upon launch, exchanges and node operators will be required to update to the new core codebase. Forking out for …

A blockchain/DAG hybrid platform has unveiled bold plans to entice businesses to use its technology – and says its “unprecedented speed, scalability and security” has the potential to benefit enterprises that handle a high frequency of transactions. BEXAM initially intended to serve the cryptocurrency market as a hybrid exchange which used a unique algorithm to deliver the best features of centralized and decentralized platforms alike. However, the startup has decided to refocus its proposition after receiving glowing feedback about its technology – moving away from the congested exchanges sector to capitalize on its infrastructure, which delivers block times of 0.2 …

Recently, Blockchain protocol EOS became subject of a new scandal: its governance model was exposed, as evidence suggesting that some confirmed transactions were reversed surfaced on Reddit. Crypto community was alarmed by the company’s attitude toward decentralization, which, however, is not the EOS’ top priority. According to co-founder Daniel Larimer, EOS team prefers to focus on “anti-censorship and robustness against being shut down.” What is EOS and how it works? EOS.io is a blockchain-powered smart contracts protocol for the development, hosting, and execution of decentralized applications (dApps). It was launched in June 2018 as open-source software, while first test nets …

Swiss-based Transoil International and Solaris Commodities have conducted a blockchain pilot transaction of Black Sea wheat, S&P Global reports Nov. 12. Both companies are involved in the trading of international agricultural commodities like milling wheat, vegetable oil and flour. The two firms completed the pilot using the blockchain-based agri-commodities trading and financing platform of Swiss startup Cerealia. Transoil and Solaris completed a sale for a 25,000 metric ton shipment of 11.5 percent protein Black Sea wheat on a FOB-loading port basis from the Russian port city of Novorossiysk. This is reportedly the first blockchain-based trade deal of Black Sea wheat, …

Dutch rights management company Fintage House has signed a deal with blockchain-based social entertainment platform TaTaTu to start accepting cryptocurrency for rights transactions, entertainment industry news outlet Variety reported Nov. 12. Established in 1986, Fintage House specializes in the collection and management of TV, film and music publishing rights and licensing, as well as offering revenue collection and reporting for rights owners services. The partnership with TaTaTu enables Fintage House to accept the platform’s native token TTU for film and TV rights transactions. TTU tokens were originally designed to let users pay for video content — so the platform can …

Blockchain protocol EOS found itself at the center of fresh controversy Nov. 9 after evidence emerged on social media appearing to show a moderator reversing transactions which had already been confirmed. According to Reddit user u/auti9003, a dispute allegedly involving a phished EOS account was referred to one of the platform’s so-called “arbitrators” who decided to reverse transactions that occurred without the owner’s permission. This, the Reddit user notes, involved undoing transactions which had already received network confirmations. Summarizing, the arbitrator, Ben Gates, referred to the EOS constitution as a basis for the decision. He wrote: “Under the powers afforded …