The Crypto Currier 27th September

This week's biggest news in blockchain and crypto in the Crypto Currier:

Optional reversible Ethereum transactions could be part of the future in mitigating crypto theft. The sanctioning of crypto mixer Tornado Cash has 'left a void' which junior mixers are vying to fill and its code is back on GitHub. China is dominating with 84% of blockchain patents. And Apple will start allowing NFT apps in its app store, but at a 30% transaction fee. And the Museum of Modern Art might trade art for NFTs?

Danish regulator starts EU DLT pilot process for green bonds

A group of organisations in Denmark is starting to use a distributed ledger technology (DLT) based trading and settlement platform to issue tokenised green bonds. The platform will be issued within the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority sandbox, FT Lab, with the authority being one of the first EU regulators to start work on the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime. The sandbox, led by Deon Digital, will use its existing bond issuance solution for the green bonds. Using DLT can potentially reduce the cost of issuance, making smaller bond issuances more financially viable as well as lowering the minimum trade amount, which makes investments more accessible to a broader group of people. (Ledger Insights)?Read More

European Central Bank to partner with Amazon to make digital euro prototypes

The?European Central Bank?is working with 5 organisations to develop prototypes for the?digital euro?central bank digital currency (CBDC). It will partner with Amazon, CaixaBank, the European Payments Initiative (EPI), Nexi and Worldline with work to start this month until the end of the year. CaixaBank will develop a mobile application simulating the transfer of digital euros to a user’s bank account and person-to-person transfers to other individuals. Amazon is considered a surprise- and perhaps controversial inclusion - because of its American base but is aimed at reducing dependancy on traditional payment firms. A key objective of a CBDC is said to be to reduce the reliance on international payment firms such as Visa and Mastercard.?(Ledger Insights) Read More

China accounts for 84% of all?blockchain?patent applications

Despite China steering clear of the crypto market, it accounts for 84% of all?blockchain patent applications filed worldwide, according to the latest data shared by a government official. Chinese companies had filed 4,435?blockchain?patents within one year of President Xi Jinping’s 2019 endorsement of blockchain technology.?According to another study, China had accounted for roughly 60% of the world's?blockchain?patent applications from 2015 to June 2021. (Cointelegraph) Read More

Reversible transactions could mitigate?crypto?theft — Researchers

Stanford University researchers have come up with a prototype for “reversible transactions” on Ethereum, in a bid to reduce the?impact of?crypto?theft. It is not yet a finished concept but currently more of a “proposal to provoke discussion and even better solutions from the?blockchain?community” with one of the researchers noting:?“The major hacks we've seen are undeniably thefts with strong evidence. If there was a way to reverse those thefts under such circumstances, our ecosystem would be much safer. Our proposal allows reversals only if approved by a decentralized quorum of judges.”?The aim for the prototype is not to replace ERC-20 tokens or make Ethereum reversible, but rather to serve as an opt-in standard that "simply allows a short time window post-transaction for thefts to be contested and possibly restored." (Cointelegraph) Read More

Pentagon Taps Inca Digital To Examine?Crypto?Risks To National Security

The Pentagon is leading a new program to look at the risks posed by cryptocurrencies and find out what kind of risks they could pose to national security and law enforcement. The research and development arm of the?US Department of Defense, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, will examine distribu ted ledger financial applications. One of the key factors that will be investigated is the effects of digital currencies on the U.S.?dollar’s standing as a reserve currency. (Bitcoinist) Read More

Tornado Cash saga left a void, says Chainalysis chief scientist: Finance Redefined

A chief scientist at Chainalysis has said that the sanctioning of cryptocurrency Mixer Tornado Cash has left a vacuum for illicit fund mixing services. In its place, lesser used “junior mixers” are now vying for the top mixer positioning. There is still limited usage of Tornado Cash since it was sanctioned, and it'll take time before we’ll know the full impact. (Cointelegraph) Read More

Crypto-Mixing Service Tornado Cash Code Is Back on GitHub

Since the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets (OFAC) last month banned Americans from using decentralised privacy service and crypto mixer Tornado Cash, GitHub and other platforms removed Tornado Cash from their sites in order to comply with the new U.S. regulation. However, since then, Ethereum developers, believing that computer code is protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, called for platforms that host the Tornado Cash code to reverse their bans.?This Thursday, code repositories for the Ethereum-based mixer Tornado Cash were relisted on GitHub. (Coindesk) Read More

From crypto lawyer Charlie Kerrigan, CMS: This is a sign of things to come.?Neither side wants to back down and the US “regulation by enforcement” is an invitation for defendants to raise these type of defences.?It requires some bravery though as these cases lead to long term litigation.?There is a clash of cultures sitting behind the claims and counterclaims: SEC, DOJ etc view:?crypto offers investments and offering investments means following the rules; crypto crowd view: new tech and new economies need new thinking about the rules that should apply...?The SEC can only enforce the rules that it’s given and the legislation just proposed by US politicians doesn’t break the mould of financial regulation on consumer protection.??The history of this is worth bearing in mind – the SEC was set up after the depression because it was thought that stocks were being made too available to retail investors. In other news, the UK government has set off at a fast pace on deregulation, innovation and crypto.?Will they be prepared to start looking at the rules from scratch???

UK Introduced The ‘Seize, Freeze and Recover’?Crypto?Bill

The UK government has introduced a “Seize, Freeze, and Recover”?crypto?asset bill into Parliament, which provides law enforcement agencies with more power to seize, freeze, and recover?crypto?assets. The bill, called the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency bill, specifically targets those who are engaged in criminal activities such as money laundering, drugs, and cybercrime, along with?crypto, which acts as a key enabler. (Bitcoinist) Read More

Singapore’s DBS Bank Expands Its Crypto Trading Service For 100K Customers

Singapore based bank DBS has expanded its crypto trading service to more its 100,000 of its high net worth clients. The DBS clients will trade virtual currencies through its member-only decentralized exchange, DDEx, which was previously limited to corporate and institutional investors, family offices and clients of DBS Private Bank and DBS Treasures Private Client only. The service initially allows customers to trade four top cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), BitcoinCash (BCH), and Ripple (XRP). (Finextra)?Read More

Co-Founder of Failed Crypto Exchange QuadrigaCX Starts DeFi Protocol UwU Lend

A new DeFi platform has been released by the co-founder of failed crypto exchange QuadrigaCX, Michael Patryn. The new protocol UwU Lend went live on 21st September and has already secured $57.5 million in total value locked. Users on the platform can borrow against an algorithmic stablecoin named magic internet money (MIM). QuadrigaCX is widely believed to have been a fraud from the start. This new platform has attracted its share of controversy, to say the least. (Coindesk) Read More

Bitcoin mining firm Compute North files for bankruptcy

One of the largest Bitcoin mining pools and data centre providers in the US, Compute North, has filed for?chapter 11 bankruptcy, amid growing pressure on the firm due to the effects of?crypto?winter and rising energy costs. Under this filing, the firm is still able to keep its operations going as it works out a plan to repay its roughly 200 creditors, to which it owes around $500 million. Its assets are said to be worth between $100 million and $500 million. Compute North offers large scale?crypto?mining hosting services and facilities, hardware and a BTC mining pool. (Cointelegraph)?Read More

Bitcoin?was almost named Netcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto, hints domain data

It's possible that Satoshi Nakamoto had first thought to call Bitcoin Netcoin. The domain Bitcoin .org was created on Aug. 18, 2008, under AnonymousSpeech, a service in Japan that allowed users to buy domain names anonymously.?The day before, Netcoin .org on Aug. 17, 2008 was registered on the same site. (Cointelegraph)?Read More

California Crypto Industry Escapes Burdensome Regulations

Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected a California bill that had passed the state legislature and would have effectively killed the state’s crypto industry, saying it was premature to impose licensing requirements. The law would have required virtually all crypto companies to obtain costly and lengthy local government approval, and would have cut off California residents from accessing even the most established exchanges. (Zed Tarar) Read More at Coindesk?

Apple Will Allow NFT Sales In Apps, But Will Apply 30% Commission Fees

Apple?is to start accepting NFT-based apps on the Apple App Store but will charge a standard 30% transaction fee. Many NFT firms are arguing that this isn't feasible for their existence in the store. This has reportedly forced young projects and platforms to limit functionality in-app in an effort to dodge the high fees. Tech patent blogger FOSS Patents has noted that?actual costs to developers can actually oftentimes exceed?the 30% commission, adding that certain geographic areas are subject to fees that can be as high as roughly 35%, and be forced to pay for search ads. (Bitcoinist) Read More

Post offices adopting?NFTs?leads to a philately renaissance

Two European postal services are looking to promote philately (stamp collecting) and capitalise on the popularity of NFTs by launching NFTs of stamps. Netherlands’ PostNL and the Austrian Post Office (PostAG) are behind the?NFT-powered renaissance of post stamp collecting. PostAG first explored the use of?NFT?post stamps in 2019 with real-world stamps issued with a digital twin?NFT?originally minted on the Ethereum?blockchain. Since then, Austria’s post office continued the project with near-field communication (NFC) chip functionality introduced in 2021 to further the functionality, verifiability and security of post stamps. Austrian Post Office (PostAG) Philately head Patricia Liebermann?said?“In 2019, we invented the idea of having a physical stamp combined with an?NFT, it was mind-blowing, and we were overwhelmed with all that feedback. And that's why we said, okay, there is a target group out there who is interested in this new way of collecting.” The partnership between the two post offices has culminated in a joint launch of a new edition of?Crypto?Stamps which is being labeled as a first-ever joint?crypto?stamp issuance. (Cointelegraph) Read More

Would you trade a Picasso for NFTs? The Museum of Modern Art might

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has received an endowment from the William S. Paley Foundation to fund digital media activities and acquisitions of digital art. Museum visitor numbers have dropped significantly, from 3 million annually to 1.65 million last year, whereas it has seen success on social media with digital content posted on its website and social media platforms attracting over 35 million people. Venturing into NFTs and digital art applications is seen as one way to reach a wider audience to ensure the museum's longevity. (Ledger Insights) Read More

Crypto mobile banking platform hi launches debit cards customisable with own NFTs

Crypto?exchange and mobile banking platform hi is offering its NFT-owning Gold members and above the chance to personalise the face of their debit cards with an?NFT?avatar they verifiably own. The design will have to comply to Mastercard design standards. The card can be used to spend fiat, stablecoins and other?crypto?at any Mastercard merchant worldwide, offering between one and ten per cent cashback. (Finextra) Read More

Consumers Getting Sick of the Metaverse- literally?

Cybersickness - in the literal sense- is real. Brands and marketers are finding their users are getting sick with nausea and disorientation from using VR headsets. The metaverse ecosystem is running into a growing problem with cybersickness, a digital version of seasickness that appears common with VR headsets. “Despite the technological advancements in Virtual Reality (VR), users are constantly combating feelings of nausea and disorientation, the so-called cybersickness,” a clinical study summed up. “Cybersickness symptoms cause severe discomfort and hinder the immersive VR experience.” I'm amazed it's taken this long for this to be a known thing. An hour in a VR headset has left me with a headache and feeling sick every time. Hence skepticism. (Pymnts) Read More

Events

We're teaming up with our friends at Sifted, to offer CCC readers an exclusive 10% discount for their up and coming?Sifted Summit?on 5-6 October in London. There'll be over 100 speakers including some big names we all know, an expo to discover?the latest tech and gadgets?from some of Europe’s hottest startups and tech platforms, meet-ups, roundtables and fantastic street food.?Grab your ticket here?using code?CRYPTOCURRYCLUB10?- we look forward to seeing you there.?

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Edited by Erica Stanford, Founder, Crypto Curry Club. Contact [email protected]?

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