Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have caught the eye of EU security watchdog:The ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) has released a report which outlines five of their top areas of focus for 2018 when it comes to “supervisory convergence priorities.” To quote, “ESMA is undertaking material analysis on the emergence of such instruments as virtual currencies, such platforms as ICOs and such tools as the distributed ledger technology.” The takeaway here is that cryptocurrencies have been gaining enough clout and strength in the financial world that this technology is becoming increasingly undeniable by those in charge of monitoring continent-wide financial markets. https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-publishes-2018-supervisory-convergence-work-programmeMajor cryptocurrency exchange Binance has suspended trading pending system upgrades:Late last night, one of the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance, based out of Hong Kong, halted trading traffic. Originally, the word was that it would be back to full functionality by 2:00pm today, but that time was later updated to 4:00am tomorrow morning. Due to the vagueness of the announcements, the suddenness of the freeze, and the changing target time for the resumption, speculation has surmounted about a possible hack. Binance themselves have adamantly denied such rumors. From a recent tweet response: “Binance has not been hacked. Please do not spread false information.” It’s business as usual for networks as large as Binance to experience downtime for updates, but the surprise nature of this one has people worried, especially in the current climate of uncertainty in the crypto world.The city of Berkeley, California is considering launching their own ICO:Elected officials in Berkeley have reportedly been floating the idea of potentially starting an ICO for the city, as a way to raise funds in response to the tax cuts put into place by President Trump. If this plan is enacted it would make Berkeley the first city in the US to hold its own ICO. The tokens would be backed by government bonds making it unique and potentially more appealing and less risky to investors than your average ICO. Official plans will be announced this spring, according to Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/berkeley-is-exploring-cryptocurrency-2018-2Forbes creates a new index listing the richest people in the cryptocurrency world:The index lists 19 million and billionaires and includes people from a range of backgrounds and levels of public awareness. The Winklevoss brothers, for example, are listed, having bought into Bitcoin in 2012. But there are also much less well known names, some of whom have nonetheless remarkable stories, such as Dan Larimer. His path took him from being a cog in the military-industrial complex to an innovative crypto-exchange pioneer. He’s quoted by Forbes: “Philosophically, I wanted to move from working on weapons of destruction to creating systems that could help provide life, liberty and property for mankind.” https://www.forbes.com/richest-in-cryptocurrency/#4484fc511d49
Victor Wong
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