Exclusive: Telegram to Release Blockchain Platform, Native Cryptocurrency

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The popular encrypted messaging app Telegram[1] will launch its own Blockchain platform and cryptocurrency, according to sources familiar with the matter. The new platform will be dubbed either “The Open Network” or “Telegram Open Network” (TON) and is supposed to be based on an improved version of Blockchain technology.

Initial reports of the new platform surfaced today from Anton Rozenberg, a former employee of Telegram’s publishing division Telegraph. Rozenberg posted on Facebook what he claims is an advertorial video for the new platform (he did not disclose the source of the video). He also pointed out that TON would aid those under oppressive governments, since they would be able to transfer money natively through the messaging app. This could serve to break the state’s control over citizens’ money, added Rozenberg.


 

Cointelegraph learned that the currency of TON will be called “Gram” and the platform will be natively integrated with many of the most popular messaging apps (it’s not yet certain which ones). The platform will utilize light wallets, making it unnecessary for users to download a large and unwieldy Blockchain.

The TON platform also won’t have to go through a multi-year bootstrap period like most new platforms, since the Telegram app already boasts 180 mln users[2], according to Bloomberg.

Telegram is already immensely popular with the Blockchain community, as cofounder Pavel Durov proclaimed:

“Like right now, the entire Blockchain and cryptocurrency community just switched to Telegram.”

Cointelegraph has reached out to Durov, but has not yet received a reply. While still not officially confirmed, the creation of TON is compatible with an earlier article from Bloomberg, which said[3]:

“[Durov] sees Telegram as a charity that he’ll start to monetize early next year, but only enough to fund expansion.”

The Mark Zuckerberg of Russia

The enigmatic Pavel Durov teamed up with his brother to launch Telegram in 2013. The app boasts end-to-end encryption[4], making it extremely useful for dissidents and ordinary citizens living under oppressive regimes. In fact, according to Bloomberg, Telegram accounts for 40% of Iran’s internet traffic. The Iranian government is so aggrieved by the app’s privacy features that they have charged Durov, in absentia, of terrorism.

Durov isn’t terribly bothered; he’s used to standing up to national governments. He and his brother cofounded Russia’s largest social network, VK, building a company worth over $3 bln. VK was in fact quite similar to Facebook, but whereas Zuckerberg was able to maintain control (and a massive ownership stake), Durov was not.

Pavel Durov

When he refused to hand over personal user information to Russian authorities, he was forced to sell his stake in the company to one of Putin’s allies. Thus, while Zuckerberg had the option of an IPO, Durov is using an ICO to monetize his creation.

After being forced out of VK, Durov left Russia for good, taking with him an estimated $300 mln and 2,000 Bitcoins. He took his substantial wealth with him to St. Kitts and Nevis, investing enough in the Caribbean nation to become a citizen. However, he spends most of his time in Dubai.

Durov insists Telegram is not for sale at any price, because his users’ privacy is too valuable to risk:

“Even for $20 billion, it’s not for sale. That’s a lifetime guarantee.”

I Try to Make Everything Simple For the Community, Founder of Orioncoin

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Cointelegraph continues publishing interviews with prominent guests of BlockShow Asia 2017[1], that took place in Singapore in November 2017.

Woanjen Tang is an experienced asset manager. After completing a Bachelor of Civil Engineering with Ryerson University, Woanjen returned to Malaysia to hone his multinational business management experience. Projects under his leadership flourished at a commercial and residential real estate brokerage. Upon his exit from real estate, he went to Canada, where he founded Orioncoin Computing Corporation.

Cointelegraph talked to Woanjen Tang, founder and CEO of Orioncoin[2] about new startups, traveling and simplicity as the highest level of complication.

Cointelegraph: Thank you very much for coming! My first question is about your perception of the venue. What did you feel today coming here? What is your first impression of the Singaporean crypto community?

Woanjen Tang: Oh, I think Cointelegraph has a great BlockShow today. A lot of networking, a lot of media and investors here, and new startups that can bring more ideas to the space about the future of Blockchain technology.

CT: Do your prefer networking with startups or with those who have already experienced projects and not venturing into new ideas?

WT: I think both, also with the already established Blockchain firms. They are established and we know their ideas, while a lot of startups have new ideas that impressed even me.

CT: Do you travel a lot?

T: Oh, yes, I travel a lot.

CT: What about different perceptions of your project for example in different countries?

T: Orioncoin, basically… we make loyalty points on our own Blockchain- on Orioncoin’s Blockchain. So it can quickly help on the travel side of the business and the hotel business, leisure business. And it’s going to expand it – the more people travel, the more they will use Orioncoin. Because in the past people used to travel less than they should because the technology was not so advanced. Today we can travel by planes; you can go anywhere fast. The more we travel, the more Orioncoin expands.

CT: Orioncoin was your idea. What did inspire you?

T: It is a long story. I try to make everything simple for the community- basically, make loyalty points.

CT: Do you think that simplicity is the highest level of complication?

T: Yes, because people aren’t usually interested in a conventional or in loyalty point systems. So we basically just simply provide a Blockchain technology to the loyalty point system, which can increase the value, and then more and more people get excited to come into the space. Through loyalty points, which they can have for free and use the coin access to the cryptocurrency market – we move the development forward.

My key to success is to read more Cointelegraph

CT: What is your personal background?

T: I was doing a civil engineering background in Toronto, Canada.

CT: Do you think that it is important to have a particular background, knowledge in order to be successful in Blockchain and crypto projects?

T: Yes, background really helps. If you have the right background, it certainly helps, but it depends on certain cases.

CT: And what is your personal key to success?

T: My key to success is to read more Cointelegraph. It’s part of how I learned about Blockchain and the Blockchain people. Try to look at YouTube for more knowledge about Blockchain and listen more, read more and communicate more in the space, join the space for local meetups and everything. Then you will have the sense of what is Blockchain.

CT: I have the last and logical question out of what you said just. I am collecting lists of inspirational reading from our speakers and guests. So would you recommend something that impacted you recently? It does not have to be related to Blockchain.

T: Actually, the guy named Andreas, I forgot his last name impacted me most. He is Greek. You can search on YouTube. He is passionate about Bitcoins and Blockchain technology, and what it can bring to change the world and eliminate the trust between people and the government. Basically, corrupt this whole system by stealing your wealth, you know? What he suggests is stealing your wealth in a stealth mode. So you have one thousand today, you have one thousand tomorrow – so actually your wealth is still the same. But, for one thousand today you cannot buy the one thousand tomorrow’s goods because of inflation. Because they are printing money, they are stealing wealth in stealth mode. You cannot see it, cannot complain because you have one thousand now, you have one thousand tomorrow – doesn’t change. Why do you say I steal your money? So, basically, people don’t see it but this guy, he saw the problem and explained it quite well. That is what inspires me. We should go and explore more about Blockchain and bring the services and products to the market.

CT: Thank you very much! It was a pleasure to talk with you!

Thank you!

Blockchain Will Make Loyalty Programs Actually Work, Says Orioncoin CEO

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At BlockShow Asia[1] just last month, Orioncoin[2]’s CEO Woanjen Tang unveiled preparations for a new Blockchain[3] platform that addresses complexities in conventional loyalty programs, while at the same time offering enhanced liquidity and accessibility in the crypto space.

There are a number of reasons why conventionally designed loyalty rewards programs don’t work well, including a lack of intrinsic or perceived value, a lack of transparency, and a difficulty in transfer. The result is ineffectiveness — loyalty programs and rewards points often are left unused by consumers, who find it difficult or not worth it to figure out where and how points can be used.

In a presentation at BlockShow Asia in Singapore last month, Tang pointed out that only 40 percent of loyalty program memberships are currently active. Tang introduced a Blockchain-based loyalty platform that increases efficiency of said programs by providing a universal, native cryptocurrency, ORC, which can be redeemed across loyalty programs or cashed out for other crypto or fiat.

Liquidity and accessibility

Beyond the customer rewards for using the ORC coin, the Orioncoin platform has provided a method for moving funds smoothly between cryptocurrency and fiat currencies, infusing liquidity[4] and accessibility into what is traditionally not a liquid economy.

The Orioncoin platform offers credit cards for international usage, as well as the ability for users to move funds to fiat currencies and then shift them to a conventional bank account, all within a single platform.

BlockShow Asia

BlockShow Asia 2017 was powered by Cointelegraph and centered on showcasing innovation in Blockchain technology. The event brought together more than 1,500 participants[5] and saw the launch of twelve new ICOs and a Blockchain startup competition.

Blockchain Revolution for Luxury Industry – Counterfeit Exposed

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The day is not far when you’ll be able to simply take out your phone and check whether the product you have on hand is genuine or not.

Cointelegraph got a chance to speak with Jérôme Grillères, CEO of VeChain, at BlockShow Asia 2017[1] about his vision of the luxury market.

Jérôme worked at Barclays and Goldman Sachs for more than 12 years. With the help of his experience and the team at VeChain, he wants people to identify counterfeit products just by using an app on their phones.

CT: Please tell us how you got involved in the world of cryptocurrencies.

JG: I started my career in the IT industry, then moved to finance and after a few years I met someone who was passionate about Blockchain[2] and its potentials who introduced me to cryptocurrency. In those days, I was in finance and the idea of digital currency fascinated me. Since then, I’ve not looked back.

CT: Do you want to distract the fans of luxury lifestyle?

JG: No, I want to make it even better than what it is right now.

CT: All right. So, how?

JG: From a customer viewpoint, what I want to bring to you is a very easy way to check whether a product you have in hand is genuine or not, to fight against counterfeit, but not only that. Once you have the product, you want to know that’s not fake. Then I want to allow the brand that you’re interested in to share more behind-the-scenes stories about the product with you. So they can share where the product was made, how the product was designed, the concept behind it, who the designer is and more. You’ll also be able to know what fabric was used, how the fabric was selected based on desirable features and the process it went through to become the luxury product you see.

CT: Could you give an example? Let’s choose some luxury goods. How does it work?

JG: As a customer, you would walk into a store and you see a very nice bag that you’re interested in. Let’s say a leather bag – you’ve dreamed about it for a long time and you found it here.

CT: Dreams come true!

JG: First, you want to make sure this is an authentic bag, so you take your cell phone, you start either a VeChain application or the luxury brand application and you scan the bag. The application will tell you automatically if it is real or not. As easily as that. Then the application may display a video of the designer, an interview with the designer explaining why you should select a bag like this. You may find out that the bag you like is a limited edition, so you want to know why it is a limited edition. In the app, you get all the features of this edition and other information about the bag.

CT: The legend and story behind.

JG: Absolutely. After that, you just say okay, I can’t resist anymore and you just buy the bag. After buying it, you ask the seller to transfer the ownership to you. They show you a QR-code, for instance, on their phone, you flash it with the app and now for everybody in the Blockchain know that this bag, which is number six of the limited edition, only 100 pieces in the world, belongs to Maria.

CT: That’s how Blockchain…

JG: That’s how Blockchain works.

CT: So for sure it’s mine.

JG: For sure, it’s yours.

CT: Everybody knows?

JG: Let’s say, one day you cannot find it anymore. You feel like that’s the end of the world! You go to the app and say, “Somebody stole my bag!” and that gets written on the Blockchain. If someone ever finds the bag and scans your bag, they will see: okay, this bag belongs to Maria and she declared it lost, so that person could connect the police and help you recover your bag.

Or if fortunately, the bag was not very far away – it was in the back of the closet and you later found it, you can just scan the bag again and say, “Ok, I’ve found it. It was only lost for a couple of hours. All good.” All this is recorded in the Blockchain.

Blockchain path

CT: You said you got involved just six months ago. What do you think you did right and what wrong in this Blockchain industry.

JG: VeChain started about two or three years ago. What we did right is simply providing some cool, easy-to-use technology to guarantee that the goods are authentic. It’s something that did not exist before. Not only did we provide it, the Blockchain ensures that It’s very easy to access.

What did we do wrong? So far, we don’t have an example of something that went wrong, but we’re working with luxury brands and that demands carefulness, so we are always trying to improve ourselves.

CT: What is an ICO that you wish existed but it does not actually?

JG: What I would like to see is in the field of loyalty programs, for instance. It’d be very interesting to see an ICO that would provide some loyalty coins for brands, like instead of giving me miles that I can only spend on flights or some goodies, maybe some tokens that I can use to purchase a hotel room, as well as maybe some entertainment. Maybe a little bit more integrity across the industries, like global loyalty program that would be a coin. That would be quite interesting to see.

Highlights from the event

CT: How does BlockShow stand as a conference compared to other events that you have attended?

JG: I think BlockShow is quite impressive assessing by the number of people that are attending. We had a huge traffic at our booth. We have a wide variety of profiles of people. We met investors, other startups with bright ideas we can do business with. We also met some potential clients. I think what is very impressive is that you can really access variety of profiles in a very short time. That has been very helpful for us. The conference gave us the opportunity to showcase our technology. Blockshow has really given us a boost with the speech and that’s a great opportunity. The organizers managed to bring a lot of interesting people to the venue.

CT: Any highlights you would like to mention? Who is your favorite speaker?

JG: Besides myself? Kidding. That was a humorous part. I very much enjoyed watching the panel discussion about Blockchain and the token economy. I found a lot of insightful comments. It was very interesting because they were putting forward some of the things we were discussing for the luxury industry. Those guys are on top of things. They know what they were talking about and it was quite reassuring to see that we are all on the same page.

Startups are Innovating in Knowledge-Sharing Space, Adding Financial Incentives

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Incentives make the world go round. Everyone knows this, but not everyone acts on this information properly. When you look how a lot of websites are set up, it often isn’t very easy to figure out how or why everything works so well.

For example, with Wikipedia[1], who would have guessed that millions of people would contribute to the formation of the world’s most comprehensive encyclopedia without being paid? This works completely opposite to what most informed people would expect of the world, yet Wikipedia’s business model is based on free usage and free contributions.

Applying that a little further, there are websites like Quora, Survey Monkey and Stack Overflow that depend upon questions being answered for free. These contributions can come from those with specialized knowledge, or just people who have the spare time and are willing to answer some questions based on their goodwill.

The current way of managing platforms

The main thing about these platforms is they operate based on the goodwill of the contributors. Most people don’t have the time or willingness to write out long answers to questions or to answer surveys, but there are the rare few who see value in sharing their knowledge and helping others. Right now, these platforms depend upon these people to function properly.

Thinking about things from a purely economic standpoint, the lack of funds being directed towards the labor in these ecosystems is a sign of inefficiency. By adding the proper incentives into the system, it would increase the quality and quantity of the content being contributed. It is likely that many more people would be willing to contribute to a platform where they didn’t feel like their time and knowledge was being exploited with zero rewards to them.

Another factor here is the attention being given by readers. Attention is as limited as labor is, and it is important to factor this scarcity into the design of a platform. For every viewer on the platform, there is the desire to find relevant information in a timely manner. Creating incentives makes this possible by eliminating the content with the least utility and ranking the rest of the content.

Potential changes to the business model

Google’s competitive advantage is its ability to get the most relevant information[2] in front of its users in a timely manner. People are willing to bet their time that Google will be the most efficient way to find information because of its past history of delivering on that promise.

The website Steemit has been working to make a social media platform that works more like Google. The goal is to reward users who contribute great content by having a reward pool of tokens. As a result, the quality of posts has increased, which improves the user experience and adds value to the overall platform.

Building on these ideas, Qurito[3] is another Blockchain-based company which is going to change the way questions, surveys and polls are conducted. By using a token-backed incentive system, it will soon be possible to facilitate the flow of rewards to users who add value by inputting their knowledge into the global network of Qurito[4].

What will Qurito change?

For many people, this will become a great way to monetize their spare time and use the knowledge they have already accumulated. They get rewarded for their minor contribution and feel good about how they have used their time.

There will be downsides with a method like this; there is no denying it. A lot of the top experts who contribute on websites like Quora are doing so to add value to the world, not to make money. If the system was commercialized to place more of an emphasis on the money-making aspect, they might lose interest.

The other obvious downside is many people won’t be willing to pay to have questions or surveys answered. In this way, you can assume that the free models will remain, so it will not cost money to post a question. Being an entirely free service, in future Qurito will be able to propose answers of higher quality, speed and accuracy for a fee.

The people who are willing to pay to receive answers are going to find their curiosity satisfied way more quickly. Ideally, there will be lots of platforms like this in the future that are able to capitalize on the unmet needs of markets that are currently operated for free, and the result will be a sharp increase in the quality of contributions on the platforms.

Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor this article can be considered as an investment advice.

Brett King: Banking Will No Longer Be as We Know It

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Brett King is an author, speaker and radio host with extensive experience in the financial industry. He’s worked with Deloitte[1], Center for Financial Services Innovation and Breaking Banks Radio. He’s also a Founder and Executive Chairman at Moven, a mobile banking app.

King is an advocate for innovations in the banking system. The main idea he puts forth in his books, interviews, and speeches – most recently at Money 20/20[2] October this year – is that banks are losing their dominance and we’ll most likely see a new era of “financial technologies without banks” services in the very foreseeable future.

We decided to ask him how the banking future looks and whether Blockchain[3] has anything to do with it.

Cointelegraph: You believe that the banking system might become less relevant in the future. Why do you think that and what kind of future is ahead?

Brett King: It’s not just the fact that most of the leading innovations, in terms of financial services experiences, are occurring through technology layers that the banks don’t know. It is proven historically. Look at precedents for the level of disruption we’re experiencing in financial services right now. Try to remember the level of disruption that occurred previously, say with the introduction of the motor vehicle and the systems changes around that – changing the way people travel, access to gas stations to get fuel for the vehicle, teaching people to drive, etc.

If you look at financial services right now, we’ve got Blockchain, we’ve got Artificial Intelligence[4], we’ve got changes in identity management, changes in the way you transmit money, changes in the way you access value stores in real time. Almost all of this experience layer that we’re gonna be delivering financial services through in the real-time world is not owned by banks. So that’s a challenge.

Now you could argue that they’ll be behind the scenes. But the fastest growing organizations that we see globally today are also not banks; they’re fintechs, they’re tech fins like Apple Pay or Alipay[5].

When you look at all the major ways you’ll access financial services in the future, you see that the trend is moving away from going to a bank.

CT: Does it mean banks will no longer be at the forefront?

BK: Banking will just be embedding a new life. But banks don’t wanna be obsolete. So where does that leave them? The key issue is whether you can leverage bank architecture and infrastructure to provide support for the technology-led banking world. The problem with that again is the infrastructure we have in banking today – legacy architectures are not very responsive to the sorts of changes and needs that we have.

CT: Can embedding technologies help?

BK: I think that if you look at 12-13 years ahead, say 2030, I would say that you probably have two billion people that’ll be using day-to-day banking services, independent of banks.  So they’ll be able to survive in the world using non-bank financial capabilities delivered through technologies.

CT: Do you mean that banks won’t even be behind it?

BK: No they won’t be involved in it. There could be banking as a partnership, like Alipay has with a bank, that store some funds for them. That doesn’t make them a priority infrastructure.

PIC

Brett King at the Money 20/20 conference. October, 2017

CT: Do you think Blockchain technology could play a role as a substitute for banks?

BK: Blockchain is an absolute key. Let’s just take one example. I’ve talked a lot about the Internet of Things (IoT)[6] and the technologies involved, allowing IoT devices to conduct commerce. For example, an autonomous vehicle paying road tolls or is paid by Uber[7] for working, or paying for electricity at a supercharger station, or an Amazon drone that you can rent out to deliver your goods and services. And these devices are involved in actual commerce transactions.

But how do you give those devices a bank account? They don’t have an identity card, they don’t have a driver’s license. So, Blockchain is going to be a way for us to provide extensibility for those sorts of use cases that we can’t do with traditional systems.

CT: In such cases, providing an identity to these kinds of things is seen in Blockchain technology?

BK: Correct, and value stores as well.

CT: Fascinating! Last question, why do you think Blockchain technology ICOs are gaining momentum right now?

BK: We’re seeing innovation in a bunch of areas right now with the way we think about ecosystems. You have new platforms emerging, like Amazon, Uber, Airbnb, which within those ecosystems or platforms create their own marketplaces.

Just look at the ICO phenomenon, it’s natural that we’re gonna find new ways of creating ownership structures or rewarding utility and it goes beyond traditional venture capital markets and stock exchanges. Even the formation of the very early stock exchanges in many ways follows the way the ICO market is forming.

When you have Blockchain and ICOs you can have ownership, you can have participation across geographies that aren’t defined by traditional markets. So then the question is why should you limit ownership of the Blockchain business across borders? Why does it have to be in a specific market, like an IPO in the US market or the Hong Kong market; it really doesn’t make sense. We need something like a stock market that links to crowdfunding, which could be enabled on a global basis on an IP.

And if we talk about that, that’s how an ICO looks like. So I think it’s a natural progression of the way we think about creating ownership on the IP layer for these types of dynamic businesses.

I don’t think it’ll be without challenges – legally and so forth, but having said that I think it’s going to be a very interesting evolution over the next 20-30 years.

 

 

Startup Aims to Build Open-Source Telecom Ecosystem on Blockchain

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There are 2,000+ mobile network operations in charge of providing communication services at global scale. However, the traditional infrastructure is centralized, inflexible and inaccurate. Common services like 3G/4G, Wi-Fi, BOSS mobile communications solutions and companies that use cloud-based communications solutions are often unable to render accurate content billing and distribution.

Conventional mobile packages overcharge customers, not to mention that they pose concerns around data transmissions. An alternative solution to average mobile network providers could be Blockchain technology[1].

Decentralized telecommunication ecosystem

As opposed to a controlled, centralized telecom system, a decentralized approach could provide better privacy[2] from an end-user perspective. At the same time, it could offer more affordable and flexible packages tailored specifically to the needs of the customer.

Standard telcos are known for their inability to deal with network breaches and security gaps. Users fear that their privacy[3] may be breached at any point by savvy hackers hungry for their personal browsing history, or for delicate information such as social security number and private passwords.

Blockchain technology to the rescue

With Blockchain technology, the telecom industry could evolve into customized data plans that deploy smart contracts, ensuring the end users’ information is secured. There are certain bulletproof features of the Blockchain to back up such claims, such as consensus algorithms, asymmetric encryption and a distributed ledger. By using a secure digital identity, telco users can leverage digital assets to protect their private data.

Through a decentralized global Wi-Fi sharing network, advertisers[4] and content producers could make their content accessible to fans without making them pay for additional data transfer costs. Qlink[5], a Singapore-based project, is on a quest to build the world’s first mobile network powered by Blockchain technology.

Co-Founder and COO of Qlink, Susan Zhou, emphasizes:

“Qlink believes the development of the Blockchain industry as a whole will experience a long period of explorational development and then seek merger and integration. Public chain services with different purposes will communicate via agreements and protocols, similar to the TCP/IP in Internet industry today. The Telecom chain, as one of the foundational chain which supports all communication services, will be one of the pillar chains in the ecosystem, meaning Qlink has the most potential to integrate Blockchain based telecommunication in the near future.”

Bridge between Blockchain, telecom

By building a decentralized mobile network, Qlink aims to create a P2P Wi-Fi network for digital assets like SMS packages, Wi-Fi hotspots and data. The company’s end goals are to enable quicker content distribution, develop new revenue channels and establish a brand new data clearing platform among major carriers.

The Qlink ecosystem allows industry players to adopt a user-driven approach, and leverage new business models to disrupt and impact the traditional telecom system. Digital assets are registered on the Qlink NEO Blockchain, whereas billing and content information will be featured on Qlink chain. The dual Blockchain architecture will streamline communication through the cross-chain protocol.

To create a truly decentralized mobile network, Qlink[6] will also launch its very own vehicle-mounted hardware, Qlink BaseStation. The aim will be to allow the end-user to contribute to the decentralized 4G network coverage. The company crowdsale runs on the NEO Blockchain.

Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor this article can be considered as an investment advice.

Overstock CEO Considers Selling Company to Fund Blockchain Venture

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Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne is likely to sell his e-commerce firm in order to fund a new Blockchain land registry venture[1], according to the Financial Times. Byrne is one of the early advocates[2] of Bitcoin and his company was one of the first to bring cryptocurrencies to the digital merchant space[3].

Joint venture

The joint venture is taking place between Overstock subsidiary Medici Ventures,[4] which manages the company’s Blockchain investments, and Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto himself. The venture will make a framework for local property records[5] which will leverage Blockchain technology as a way to transfer rights and make ownership records harder to forge.

Byrne said in an interview that he plans to launch a pilot by early next year. As the venture comes into focus, Byrne believes that one funding option would be to sell Overstock, either partially or as a whole, and use the capital to fund this new venture:

“One of the possibilities is I sell the business and we have all the capital we need.”

To make things official, advisory firm Guggenheim Partners has been hired to help explore potential options for the sale.

Fighting poverty

In statements, de Soto positioned the technology behind the new venture as a means to help alleviate poverty. As Cointelegraph reported last year[6], De Soto is also involved in a land registry project involving BitFury and the Georgian government.

De Soto further explains:

“Billions of people have resources that cannot easily be transformed into productive capital. Blockchain is a powerful tool to solve these structural issues, which are some of the principal causes of poverty and conflict.”

Overstock has been a notable mover in the Blockchain space[7]. Several years ago the company started building its Blockchain-powered securities exchange, which it leveraged last year to raise $30 mln in new funding.

Members of European Parliament Agree Cryptocurrency Has Come to Stay

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Sorin Moisa[1], Member of European Parliament[2], has emphatically stated that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Moisa opened a discussion at a policy dialogue organised by ORCA Alliance[3] and EU40 [4]at the European Parliament on Saturday in Brussels. He maintained what is needed at the moment is a clear-cut policy framework and regulation[5]:

“The policy response should be aimed at eliminating the impostors and revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive which will help to kick-start this process. Regulating ICOs is also an area worth considering since they should respect EU security-related frameworks. With regard to monetary policy, it is difficult to understand what adjustments, if any, is required to be made to respond to these developments.”

Policy definitions

When MEP Eva Kaili[6] took her turn, she agreed entirely with her colleague and insisted that cryptocurrencies will increase decentralization[7] and make intermediaries less relevant. She suggested that on the issue of definitions, decision-makers need to wait for developers and the market more generally to make the necessary tests.

Peteris Zilgalvis[8], Head of Unit – Startups and Innovation, DG CONNECT[9] at the European Commission, pointed out that the Commission is approaching this from the pro-innovation standpoint. He accentuated that the Commission is also looking at Blockchain’s use in sectors beyond finance.

He revealed:

“The Blockchain Observatory will be launched in January 2018 and will see a close collaboration with innovators and look at the different use cases of cryptocurrency and decide whether it will be worth intervening or leaving the market alone. The FinTech Action Plan to be published in March 2018 will also touch upon this issue.”

Tadas Langaitis[10], Member of the Lithuanian Parliament and Chair of the Digital Economy Committee, indicated that providing guidelines on Cryptocurrency is very pertinent and will lead to mass adoption in the European Union. Tadas, who has been travelling around the world promoting Blockchain technologies, believes this will make it easy for people to join the Bitcoin revolution.

Other issues tackled at the meeting include moving policy dialogue with the authorities beyond the national level. It was highlighted that the should be more locus on transaction volumes and not only at price fluctuations.

Event’s focus

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Dmitrij Radin, CTO of ORCA Alliance, explained the event was intended to shed light on regulatory holes in the space, such as the lack of clear definitions. In his view, without adapted rules concerning cryptocurrency, there is a peril of fragmentation and of double standards vis-à-vis other regulated payment methods.

Dmitrij declared:

“At the same time, the industry believes it would be important to have some guidelines, if not a legislative framework, to make sure that these new means of payments are recognized as a legitimate tool. The cryptocurrency community awaits further guidance from decision-makers to make sure that they ‘tick the necessary boxes’ and avoid ending up in a grey area from a legal perspective.”

Some of the industry players who attended the forum include:

Sarah Compani, Legal Advisor, Bitfinex

Craig Sellars, Co-Founder and CTO, Tether

Anastasija Plotnikova, Legal Adviser, ETHLend

Martins Liberts, Co-Founder, Debitum Network

Marius Parescius, Initiator, Business Hive Vilnius

Natan Avidan, Founder, ORCA Alliance

Jeremy Gardner, Founder, Augu.

Coinbase President Hints at Listing New Currencies, IPO

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In an interview on CNBC[1], Coinbase[2] president Asiff Hirji provided some veiled clues as to what is coming for the cryptocurrency[3] exchange in the future. He also gave insights about recent happenings.

Hirji did not reveal much in the way of specifics, but did comment on a number of matters, including what type of investors are opening new accounts[4], how other cryptocurrencies will be added to the exchange and whether the company will go public.

Account growth

First, the president indicated that trade volume was up thirty times year-over-year and that the exchange is adding new accounts under management[5] at the rate of tens of thousands per day. When asked about what type of account holders these were, he said:

“These are the same kind of people that you would imagine would have accounts at brokerages and want to invest in cryptocurrency…As the asset class has matured, I think there are a lot of people who are adding it just like any other asset class to their portfolio.”

New asset additions?

The interview also included two ‘burning questions’ for the exchange regarding how the future will unfold. The first was whether the site would begin supporting other cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin Cash[6].

Hirji was not forthcoming with specifics, but did indicate that companies have been given roadmaps for how to apply to join the exchange. He said:

“So we have published a digital asset framework which outlines the criteria we look at for any particular asset before we list it…You need to pass those exams before we would ever list the asset…suffice to say that we have a framework out there and we have a lot of people campaigning for new assets.”

Going public

After other discussions, including the addition of Bitcoin futures and how the market will respond to the new contracts, the interview turned to the question of taking the company public as an IPO[7].

The potential of either another exchange purchasing the company or a future public offering was not completely rejected by the president. He said:

“We would be quite expensive for any exchange to look at. That being said, it is certainly in the interest of our investors…and the most obvious path of Coinbase is to go public at some point, but there’s a lot for us to do between now and then, whenever that date is.”