A national cryptocurrency for the Marshall Islands is still being actively developed, despite previous disagreements among government officials on the subject, a blog post from the team behind the coin revealed Jan. 10. In the recent post, the team behind the coin — dubbed Sovereign (SOV) — revealed that it had made “significant progress in finding partners, investors, and developers” to realize the project. As the post states, the team is aiming to launch SOV in 2019. The team behind the state-backed crypto includes former Secretary General of the Bank for International Settlements, Dr. Peter Dittus, as the project’s Chief …

On Jan. 7, activists of the French grassroots political movement the Gilets Jaunes — Yellow Vests — announced a bank run via social media, essentially hoping to meet their goals by destabilizing the local financial system. Dubbed the “Collectors’ Referendum,” the movement’s latest demonstration calls on supporters to withdraw their savings from financial institutions on Saturday, Jan. 12. While the political action does not mention cryptocurrencies, it seems that such a run on the banks could hypothetically affect the crypto market — and vice versa. What’s a bank run? A bank run entails a lot of people withdrawing their money …

American libertarian political commentator Dave Rubin has announced he is turning to Bitcoin (BTC) in lieu of the crowdfunding platform Patreon, in protest against the latter’s alleged censorship practices. Rubin made his announcement on Twitter Jan. 6. In an interview with the Washington Examiner last week, Rubin explained his decision to leave Patreon — which reportedly accounts for “between 60-70 percent” of his funding — as taking “a stand against the ever-moving encroachment on free speech, on free expression” on mainstream platforms. Rubin, who has a background in stand-up comedy, is the creator and host of The Rubin Report — …

The National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) of Thailand has developed blockchain technology for e-voting, the Bangkok Post reports on Jan. 2. NECTEC is a statutory government organization that operates under the purview of the National Science and Technology Development Agency and the Ministry of Science and Technology. The organization chiefly promotes the development of computing, electronics, IT and telecommunications. The technology reportedly can be deployed in tandem with traditional voting as Thais become more technologically literate. According to NECTEC, once 5G is eventually adopted, all votes will be connected with the new technology. Chalee Vorakulpipat, the head of …

A Georgia state senator has reported to jail over allegedly lying about the theft of cryptocurrency mining equipment worth $300,000, The Guardian reported Dec. 27. Republican Michael Williams, who originally reported the alleged theft in May, made a false police report and gave a false statement, court documents claim. Williams had said servers with a value of $300,000, which had been used to mine unnamed cryptocurrencies, had disappeared from his office premises, local daily news outlet Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Dec. 20. Prosecutors are considering the possibility that the theft never took place, and last month Williams was indicted by grand …

United States President Donald Trump has appointed vocal Bitcoin supporter Mick Mulvaney as the new White House chief of staff. The 51-year-old politician, who is currently serving Trump’s administration as the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will become the acting chief of staff closer to the end of the year. The length of his tenure remains unknown at the time. Here’s what you should know about the new White House representative, and what it might mean for the crypto community. From ‘horrible human being’ to golf partner: Mulvaney’s relationship with Trump In 2010, Mulvaney was elected …

Timothy C. May, co-founder of the cypherpunk activist movement and author of “The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto” has passed away at the age of 67. That information was first shared on Dec. 15 by alleged cypherpunk member Lucky Green via Facebook. According to Green, May had most likely died of natural causes earlier last week at his home in Corralitos, California, although autopsy results are still pending. May is known as the author of “The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto” — published in 1988 — in which he predicted some elements of currently existing decentralized cryptocurrencies. However, the cypherpunk ideologist was not happy …

The presidential candidate of Nigeria’s leading opposition party has promised to support blockchain and cryptocurrency, local news outlet the DailyPost article reported Nov. 24. The Nigerian news outlet reportedly analyzed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar’s “Get Nigeria Working Again” policy that he reportedly promised to enact if he is elected president February 16, 2019. DailyPost reports that in the document, the politician declared that “he aims to speed up the economy positively through blockchain and cryptocurrency.” According to DailyPost, Abubaka stated that to unlock “the potentials of the new economy” PDP “shall promote the production of a …

The Secretary of State of the U.S. state of West Virginia Mac Warner reported a successful first instance of remote blockchain voting in an official announcement Nov. 15. Warner stated that in the 2018 midterm elections, 144 military personnel stationed overseas from 24 counties were able to cast their ballots on a mobile, blockchain-based platform called Voatz, adding: “This is a first-in-the-nation project that allowed uniformed services members and overseas citizens to use a mobile application to cast a ballot secured by blockchain technology.” Voting for the general elections on the platform started in September, when absentee balloting opened in …

A Malaysian Member of Parliament has urged the government to implement proper cryptocurrency regulations before undertaking the Harapan Coin (HRP) cryptocurrency project, local English-language news daily the Star reported Nov. 14. Launched by “a group of patriotic and concerned Malaysian citizens, within and outside of Malaysia,” Harapan Coin claims to be the world’s first political fundraising platform deploying cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The project’s mission is to raise money for the opposition party of Malaysia. The coin’s creators suggest that HRP has the “potential to become an official currency.” Fahmi Fadzil, director of the People's Justice Party (PKR) of Malaysia …

The President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Hilda Heine has narrowly survived a no confidence vote that was partly prompted by her plans to introduce a national digital currency, Asia-focused English-language publication Nikkei Asian Review reports Nov. 12. The Marshallese parliament was reportedly split 16-16, just one vote short of the number needed to prompt Heine to resign the office of president. The country’s parliament had initially backed the creation of a national digital currency, called the Sovereign (SOV), in February of this year, to be distributed and used along with the U.S. dollar, the country’s mainstream currency. …

The President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Hilda Heine faces a vote of no confidence due to her administration’s plans to introduce a national digital currency, Radio New Zealand News (RDZ) reported Nov. 5. The Marshallese parliament initially endorsed the creation of the national digital currency, which would be called the Sovereign (SOV), in February of this year. Set to be issued before the end of 2018, the SOV would be used along with the U.S. dollar, which the country uses as its official currency. Heine said then that the introduction of the SOV is “another step of …