Major United Kingdom public transport provider Go-Ahead Group Plc. is partnering with blockchain startup DOVU to introduce a tokenized rewards system for rail customers, TechCrunch reported Feb. 1. Listed on the FTSE 250 — an index of the 101st to 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange — Go-Ahead provides over one billion rail and bus journeys in the U.K. every year. As well as being the largest bus service operator in London, the Group’s services reportedly account for around 30 percent of all U.K. train passenger journeys. DOVU is now set to roll out its blockchain-based rewards …

Europe’s largest digital publisher Axel Springer SE has partnered with blockchain startup SatoshiPay to enable direct payments using blockchain, investment news agency London South East reports on Jan. 31. Blockchain micro payment firm SatoshiPay has reportedly started a collaboration with Axel Springer yesterday, Jan. 31, in order to develop a platform enabling readers to pay for content using SatoshiPay Wallet. According to the article, the new blockchain solution will enable direct payments eliminating third party involvement, and will be integrated into Axel Springer products in order to get experience in user acceptance. The press release was provided by tech-focused investment …

A top member of the Germany-based Iota (IOTA) Foundation has said the majority of the ~$11 million alleged to have been stolen in a major Iota token heist last year has been found, Reuters reported Jan. 30. As reported, the suspected perpetrator of the heist was arrested earlier this month in Oxford, U.K., following a multilateral investigation by Europol, British and German police authorities. The investigation first launched early 2018, after multiple citizens had reported stolen funds to local German police. Over 85 victims of the theft have since been identified, with the total IOTA stolen estimated to be worth …

Iran is reportedly negotiating with eight countries to carry out financial transactions in cryptocurrency, local daily newspaper Tehran Times reports on Monday, Jan. 28. According to the article, Iran has already entered negotiations with Switzerland, South Africa, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, Germany and Bosnia, and the countries have reportedly visited Iran to discuss the matter. It was not immediately clear whether the news concerns the national cryptocurrency that Iran is allegedly set to launch vin the near future. However, the article notes that the talks on crypto transactions were held order to circumvent the ongoing United States sanctions …

On Jan. 23, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA), the domestic financial regulator, released a 50-page-long consultation paper dubbed “Guidance on Cryptoassets.” As the U.K. seems to be moving closer toward rolling out a definitive regulatory framework, it is time to reassess how other crypto markets, specifically the major ones, are dealing with cryptocurrencies on the juridical level. “Guidance on Cryptoassets,” reviewed: How the U.K. is going to deal with virtual currencies Given the tone of the new FCA paper, the U.K. government seems to be leaning toward a rather neutral approach for cryptocurrencies. The primary goal of the …

Following international police collaboration, a 36-year-old individual suspected of the theft of over $11 million in IOTA, as well as fraud and money laundering, has been arrested on Jan. 24. Europol published a statement detailing the investigation on the day of the arrest. The suspect was reportedly arrested by United Kingdom’s South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, together with the Hessen State Police in Germany, the UK’s National Crime Agency and Europol, following a search warrant carried out in Oxford, U.K. The operation that lead to the man’s arrest — and the seizure of several of his electronic devices — …

The United Kingdom’s national standards body, the British Standards Institution (BSI), has partnered with blockchain company OriginTrail to increase supply chain transparency. The partnership was reported in a Jan. 24 press release. BSI, which has operated since 1901 and had a reported revenue in 2017 of 473 million GBP (about $616 million), says it wants to use the company’s blockchain-based protocol to enhance the options businesses have to prove their supply chains are compliant with various regulations. The partnership is one of several that OriginTrail has cemented over the past year since completing its initial coin offering (ICO) last January. …

The Singapore unit of London-headquartered multinational banking and financial services firm Standard Chartered has completed its first blockchain-powered trade finance deal. The news was reported by Singapore’s English-language financial daily The Business Times on Jan. 24. The bank reported that the blockchain solution — developed by blockchain startup Distributed Ledger Technologies — had enabled an agri-business supply chain deal to be completed within just one day, instead of the typical five to seven days. As of 2017, trade finance transactions were worth over $9 trillion, and the industry remains heavily reliant on legacy systems and cumbersome paper-based systems. According to …

The United Kingdom’s financial regulator has published a consultation paper titled “Guidance on Cryptoassets” today, Jan. 23. The stated goal of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) paper on cryptocurrency is to provide more regulatory clarity on the subject for market participants. The consultation period on crypto, which the paper initiates, is scheduled to end on April 5, 2019, after which a policy statement with final guidance is set to be released. In its introduction to the paper, the FCA declares that the final version is meant to “help market participants to understand whether the cryptoassets they use are within the …

A number of online crowdfunding sites and wallet providers have been embroiled in controversy after a series of high-profile account cancellations associated with alt- and far-right views. Although the move to “deplatform” those seen to be allegedly promoting hate speech has received popular support, several high-profile political commentators and libertarian media personalities consider this to constitute and unacceptable assault on free speech. As a result, some of the online crowdfunding platform Patreon’s top content creators decided to leave the platform in favor of Bitcoin funding, each taking with them tens of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue. As the furore …

LSEG Technology, the technology solutions provider for the London Stock Exchange Group, has announced that its matching engine will be used to power a new Hong Kong-based digital assets exchange. The news was announced in an LSEG Technology press release Jan. 22. The forthcoming digital assets exchange — dubbed AAX — comes from blockchain and crypto-focused fintech firm ATOM Group. The platform will reportedly become the first digital assets exchange to use LSEG Technology’s so-dubbed “Millennium Exchange,” which is a low latency and scalable matching engine already reportedly in use at traditional exchanges such as LSE, Borsa Italiana, the Oslo …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance is expanding to European markets with the launch of a new platform for fiat-to-cryptocurrency trading, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Jan. 16. According to the release, Binance is launching a new trading platform, dubbed Binance Jersey, designed for fiat-to-crypto trading of the euro (EUR) and British pound (GBP) with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) within Europe and the United Kingdom. Trading on Binance Jersey — including such pairs as BTC/GBP, ETH/GBP, BTC/EUR and ETH/EUR — will become available for the exchange’s users after account verification in accordance with the Know Your Customer …