The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has unveiled the 29 successful companies to apply to the fourth cohort of the regulator’s sandbox, whereof 40 percent are using distributed ledger technologies (DLT), according to an announcement published July 3. The regulatory sandbox is an initiative designed to help organizations test various products and services in a live market environment with appropriate consumer protection but without restrictive regulation. The sandbox is a part of the “Innovate” initiative launched in 2014 intended to promote competition. To date, Innovate has reportedly received more than 1,200 applications and supported over 500 firms. The FCA received …

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched an international taskforce together with tax enforcement authorities from four other countries to take on cryptocurrency-enabled crimes, according to a press release published Monday, July 2. The new coalition, dubbed ‘The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement,’ or ‘J5,’ comprises tax enforcement agencies from five countries in total –– Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, alongside the U.S. As part of J5, the agencies will cooperate on intelligence and criminal investigations “to reduce the growing threat to tax administrations posed by cryptocurrencies and cybercrime,” as well as to target transnational …

UK food regulator the Food Standard Agency (FSA) has successfully accomplished a pilot using blockchain technology according to an announcement published July 2. This was reportedly the first time blockchain has been used as a regulatory tool to ensure compliance in the food sector. The pilot was implemented in a cattle slaughterhouse, where both the FSA and the slaughterhouse were authorized to access data in order to improve transparency in the food supply chain. In July, the agency is looking to launch another pilot, which will allow farmers to access data about animals from their farm. Sian Thomas, Head of …

Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi confirmed the opening of its London office June 28, with over-the-counter (OTC) trading tests set to begin in Q3 this year. In a press release shared with Cointelegraph, Huobi, which claims to have a global user base of “more that five million,” continued its recent narrative that expansion into Europe was a priority, with London a deliberate choice for basing its new operations. “London was selected as the first office in Europe, due to its preeminence as a global financial center and the largest cryptocurrency trading centre in the region with an active blockchain community and …

Given the apparent sensitivity of cryptocurrency markets to regulatory and political developments, it stands to reason that the world's leaders — and what they think about crypto — will be vitally important in determining the direction the cryptocurrency market will travel in the future. Many leaders have been willing to sit back over the past few months and let crypto develop — more or less — organically, yet it's becoming apparent that the time for official action is drawing increasingly near, at which point Bitcoin, et al. will either bear the brunt of government 'crackdowns' or will benefit from favorable …

The Bank of England is planning to rebuild its Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system so that it can interface with private business and platforms using distributed ledger technology (DLT), the bank’s Governor Mark Carney announced in a speech June 21. Speaking at Mansion House in London, Carney said that the bank will conduct an “ambitious rebuild” of its RTGS system, which is, according to him, the backbone of every payment in the U.K. RTGS is a system generally used to transfer large volumes of funds between banks. The bank is looking to reorganize the existing RTGS so that private …

UK-based crypto futures exchange Crypto Facilities is launching Litecoin (LTC) derivatives contracts this Friday, according to an email shared with Cointelegraph Wednesday, June 20. The new US dollar-denominated contracts will offer both long and short trading terms, with weekly, monthly and quarterly maturities. Notably, the contracts will have Litecoin as their underlying collateral, unlike the already existing Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts on such exchanges as CME and CBOE. Crypto Facilities CEO Timo Schlaefer told Cointelegraph that the trading platform made its decision in response to "significant client demand for a futures product referencing Litecoin,” given that it is “one of …

A UK cycling merchant confirmed it would deliver the world’s first e-bike which generates cryptocurrency, local media reported June 12. 50cycles, based in London, will begin offering its TOBA range of vehicles in August via a partnership with “customer loyalty-oriented” token LoyalCoin. “This is not only the first electric bike of its kind, but it will also be the first product ever to be tokenized and which issues reward for use,” 50cycles CEO Scott Snaith told industry publication Cycling Industry News. By using the e-bike, riders will generate LoyalCoins equivalent in value to £20 ($26.50) per thousand miles (1609 kilometers). …

Cryptocurrency mining outfit Argo Blockchain will likely become the first blockchain company to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Business Insider reported June 11. After launching its subscription service for mining contracts the same day, the company says it plans to hold an IPO, following a $2.5 mln funding round it completed in January of this year. The LSE has generally remained a more traditional environment when it comes to blockchain offerings. While Coinsilium launched the UK’s first cryptocurrency-related IPO on London's junior stock market AIM in 2015, the U.S. has stolen the spotlight more recently. Last month, New …

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued guidance for banks on how to handle the risks associated with “crypto assets”, according to a letter posted on the FCA’s website June 11. Per the statement issued by Executive Directors of Supervision Jonathan Davidson and Megan Butler, banks should apply a highly individual approach to clients dealing with crypto assets since “the risk associated with different business relationships in a single broad category can vary.” The statement continues: “Following a risk-based approach does not mean banks should approach all clients operating in these activities in the same way. Instead, we expect …

The EOS blockchain is set to launch today, June 9, according to the results of a live-streamed vote that took place yesterday, June 8. Candidates to become the EOS blockchain’s so-called “Block Producers” – the equivalent of miners on the Bitcoin blockchain – voted “Go” in their latest voting session to make the EOS mainnet go live at 1:00pm UTC today. The community has yet to confirm that a successful launch has taken place as of press time. EOS LAUNCH IS A GO! The blockchain will launch at 1300 UTC Saturday. GO EOS!! #eosio #blockchain #cryptocurrency — EOS Go (@go_eos) …

The ARCHANGEL project is considering using blockchain tech to create immutable entries for digital records in the National Archives of the UK, according to a blog post from the National Archives published June 6. The project – made up of the National Archives, the University of Surrey, and the UK Open Data Institute and funded by the The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) – is creating a blockchain prototype that will show the audit trail of how a document has been edited. Their goal, according to National Archives Digital Preservation Services Manager Alex Green, is that the blockchain …