Fraud, inefficient and expensive systems, a lack of transparency and slow transactions at busy times are a reality for many business networks around the world – inconveniencing merchants, their customers, and even the middlemen tasked with processing their transactions. Volume limitations have also frustrated retailers who may have considered turning to crypto, while a lack of security has deterred the public. Optherium, a global fintech company, believes that its ecosystem could be the silver bullet to eliminate the main issues facing the crypto world – as well as the old-fashioned economy. According to its white paper, the platform wants to …

The Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) deputy governor Masayoshi Amamiya has recently reiterated his negative stance towards central bank-issued digital currencies (CBDC), the New York Times reports Oct. 20. Speaking on Saturday at a meeting in Nagoya, central Japan, Amamiya expressed doubts about the use of CBDCs, claiming that such digital currencies are unlikely to improve the existing monetary systems. Amamiya also stated that the BOJ does not plan to issue digital currencies. The article reports that some financial experts consider a CBDC as a tool for central banks to control the economy once interest rates fall to zero. According to …

Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing by leaps and bounds, with exciting new applications launching every day. But a blockchain-based startup believes the transition from an “information economy” to an “intelligence economy” will prove a bumpy ride for many people. Large corporations have built most of the common AI systems that many people use today. CEN says this centralization has the danger of monopolizing AI – leaving most of us out of the loop. According to CEN, this is not the only problem. Right now, AI systems make basic errors that human common sense can avoid. These systems need intensive training …

In its new policy brief, the Austrian Research Center International Economics (FIW) has examined the possible effects of digitization, including blockchain technology, on the export economy, Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reports today, September 28. The report was prepared by Bernhard Dachs from the Austrian Institute of Technology on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and draws a positive image of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI). Dachs states that blockchain technology could make transactions in exports safer and thereby reduce uncertainty. In addition, decentralized technology could help to "substantially reduce the cost of processing export guarantees". …

If recent reports come to fruition, blockchain technology has the potential to have a massive financial impact on the global trade industry. The World Economic Forum (WEF) released an optimistic outlook for the global economy, which would be driven by the impact and adoption of blockchain technology in the next 10 years. According to the organization, blockchain could bolster global trade to the tune of $1 trillion by 2028. The report, “Trade Tech – A New Age for Trade and Supply Chain Finance,” looked at the effect distributed ledger technology (DLT) could have on global trade finance. Much of the …

A branch of the Dutch government has recently released an economic risk report, claiming that cryptocurrencies present a low risk to financial stability in the country, according to a report published on May 29. The CPB states in the report that at the current time, cryptocurrencies pose a low risk to the financial system due to the low level of capitalization, as well as the limited involvement of traditional financial institutions and systems. The CPB separately noted the problems associated with crypto’s use in crime financing, fraud, high crypto market volatility, and the energy consumption of crypto mining. The report …

The growing adoption of Blockchain technology has been disrupting a number of industries, including financial services, data management, healthcare, agriculture, supply chain, gambling, gaming, public services, music, airline ticketing and many more. Several companies are already piloting the technology to facilitate and improve the transparency of their transactions. One of these companies is the American retail giant Walmart, which recently launched a project to test the technology for supply chain management. The initiative aims to leverage distributed ledger technology to monitor and trace pork sourced from China and sold in the US. The use of Blockchain in the remittance industry …

How legal and useful is Bitcoin in Zimbabwe, the country which has been faced with a difficult economic situation for decades? The South African country has some issues with its currency that has almost brought it to its knees. It has found it extremely difficult to move ahead with the plan to revive the economy. Bitcoin is not illegal According to Simbarashe Machiridza, who is the compliance officer at Bitfinance, a Bitcoin exchange that serves users across Africa, Bitcoin use is legal in Zimbabwe but it is not a legal tender, that is “... Although it’s not against the law …

On October 26, 2015, The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an organization “created as an economic counterpart to NATO,” held a hearing on disruptive innovation in the financial sector. An unclassified document published as an “Issues Paper” entitled “Refining Regulation To Enable Major Innovations In Financial Market” was prepared by Dr. Sean Ennis, a Senior Economist in the OECD's Competition Division on behalf of the Secretariat (for the 60th meeting of Working Party No. 2) was obtained by Cointelegraph. The topics discussed were peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding of equity, virtual currencies and innovative payment/currency exchange solutions. The report notes …

The never ending tragedy known as the Eurozone is flirting with disaster and the unknown consequences of what would happen if Greece is ejected by brute force or leaves by sheer will from the EU. Interestingly enough, the first Bitcoin ATM has arrived in Athens just in time. 4 options The clear lesson being learned is the recipe of political and social integration before economic integration makes a terrible meal. A lot of noise and overcomplicated explanations have been put forth as to what will happen. In reality, there are four options left as to how this can play out: …

The bond markets are rattled and global yields are rising, signaling a possible reversal of an aging 33 year bull market in bonds that could have a major impact on all other global financial markets resulting in a reprice in asset classes across the board. The price of bonds has been falling in dramatic fashion and the reason for this has varied. Some speculate the bond markets smells economic growth picking up in the second half of 2015, while others believe inflation expectations are picking up. Bond market liquidity (or the lack thereof) has been identified by many market experts …

It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future. Throw a dynamic and interconnected social-technical distributed currency network into the mix, and even the famously epigrammatic Yogi Berra would be at a loss to package the issue in an appropriately pithy witticism. The core developers of the Bitcoin protocol face a difficult technical decision. How they decide to respond to an impending 1MB limit on the maximum block size allowed in the blockchain will fundamentally impact how and even whether the technology can be used for everyday purchases or institutional transfers, by average people or professional investors alike. There are …