Day: November 13, 2018

Japan’s Banking Giant MUFG Signs MoU to Develop Ripple-Based Remittances to Brazil

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Japanese bank holding and financial services company Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) said it will use Ripple (XRP) to create a new cross-border payments service to Brazil in a press release Nov. 9. MUFG, which has demonstrated an increasing interest in cryptocurrency products, will partner with Brazil’s Banco Bradesco to create the platform through its local subsidiary Banco MUFG Brasil. Confirming the two parties had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), MUFG reiterated its faith in Ripple’s technology, after joining its global payments steering group in March last year.…

IMF Vows to Continue ‘Devoting Attention’ to Blockchain, Cryptocurrency in Fintech Drive

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it plans to use its ongoing research and experimentation with blockchain as an “anchor” for its future policy on the technology in comments Nov. 12. Speaking on a panel with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse during the Singapore Fintech Festival 2018, IMF Deputy General Counsel Ross Leckow highlighted three areas the organization has been “active” in regarding blockchain, cryptocurrency and more. “The IMF is devoting a lot of attention to fintech and in particular to blockchain,” he told the audience, continuing: “But we think that…

Major US Museum Becomes Country’s Third to Accept Bitcoin as Payment

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Great Lakes Science Center, a major museum and educational center in Cleveland, Ohio, is accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as payment as of today, Nov. 13. Local business news source Crain’s Cleveland Business (CCB) reported on the development Nov. 9. According to SpendBitcoins USA – a directory of retail merchants that accept Bitcoin as payment – at least two other U.S. museums already accept the cryptocurrency from visitors – the Museum of the Coastal Bend in Texas and St. Petersburg Museum of History in Florida. The Ohio museum’s acceptance of Bitcoin comes…

Australia’s Biggest Bank Trials Blockchain-Based ‘Smart Money’ for Disability Insurance

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The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and government-run digital innovation center Data61 have released the results of their trial for a blockchain-powered “smart money” system for Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The development was reported by local financial and business news platform Business Insider Australia today, Nov. 13. Data61 is a digital innovation hub that forms part of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) — an Australian government corporate entity that undertakes scientific research to advance diverse local industries. The $93.5 billion market cap CBA is the…

Opposing Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV Factions’ Debates Grow Heated as the Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork Draws Closer

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Born out of the original Bitcoin blockchain on August 1, 2017, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has split the cryptocurrency community into warring factions with their own arguments, verbal skirmishes, leaders, convictions and occasional get-togethers. On November 15, BCH developers are preparing to undergo its next hard fork, a split of the blockchain, which can give birth to new tokens named Bitcoin SV (Satoshi’s Vision), Bitcoin Unlimited and Bitcoin ABC. How Bitcoin Cash appeared The Bitcoin evolution has been constantly debated within the developers community, who had opposing views on what technology…

‘Future of Real Estate’ Gets Regulatory Approval

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A blockchain-based startup which bills itself as “the future of real estate” has announced that its project has been legalized by Japanese regulatory bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. Ruden Holdings says inaccurate information, poor record management and inefficient processes are currently blighting the property sector – costing businesses time, money and even credibility. Data cannot be shared easily between organizations – and some cases have seen property owners struggle to prove their ownership of a building. The company has a goal of creating digital identities for real…

Ripple Lawyers Try to Move Securities Lawsuit to Federal Court in ‘Slick’ Move

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Lawyers representing payment startup Ripple in its ongoing securities lawsuit are trying to move the case to a U.S. federal court in a show of what one legal commentator described as “tactical brilliance” Nov. 9. Court records confirm the application to move the case from state to federal level, which would allow Ripple to prove definitively that its XRP token is not a security under U.S. law, should it win. In the removal filing, litigation partner Peter Morrison said the case “meets each of (the) requirements” needed to allow the…

Crypto Exchange Coincheck Resumes NEM Trading Almost 10 Months After Major Hack

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Recently re-opened Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck has announced it has resumed NEM (XEM) crypto token trading after a restructuring of its platform by external “security experts,” South Korean news outlet FNNews reports Nov. 13. In January of this year, Coincheck suffered an industry record-breaking hack when $534 million worth of NEM was stolen from its wallets. This latest development from Coincheck reveals the exchange has “joined the Japan Security Association and is “ready to renovate its image.” Alongside NEM trades, the platform has also opened support for Ethereum (ETH) and…

Bitmain Co-Founder Jihan Wu Loses Executive Power in Board Reshuffle, Says Chinese Media

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Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu is reportedly no longer able to influence corporate decisions at the mining firm, Chinese industry media outlet Sanyan Blockchain reported Nov. 13.  Citing an unnamed “financial news” source, Sanyan quotes a lawyer for Bitmain, Tian Yangang, saying that as a result of the redistribution of positions at the company’s executive board, Wu had been demoted from being a “director” to a “supervisor.” “After changing to a supervisor, there are no voting rights, so [Wu’s] power is smaller and [he] cannot participate in the business decision-making of the enterprise,” a rough…

New Linux-Targeting Crypto-Mining Malware Combines Hiding and Upgrading Capabilities

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Japanese multinational cybersecurity firm Trend Micro has detected a new strain of crypto-mining malware that targets PCs running Linux, according to a report published Nov. 8. The new strain is reportedly able to hide the malicious process of unauthorized cryptocurrency-mining through users’ CPU by implementing a rootkit component. The malware itself, detected by Trend Micro as Coinminer.Linux.KORKERDS.AB, is also reportedly capable of updating itself. According to the report, the combination of hiding and self-upgrading capabilities gives the malware a great advantage. While the rootkit fails to hide the increased CPU…