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LINGERIE STAKE: Cryptocurrency startup TokenPay is getting into the lingerie business. The Switzerland-based startup has spent $1.3 million for a 6 percent equity stake in Naked Brand Group (NAKD), the Australian lingerie company best known for supermodel Heidi Klum’s signature fashion lines. TokenPay CEO Derek Capo told CoinDesk the move is part of the startup’s broader diversification strategy following a December 2017 token sale that netted roughly $20 million. Spending the proceeds on equity investments has been a hedge against crypto market volatility, he said. Full Story
MARCO POLO ARRIVES: The first two real-world transactions have been conducted on Marco Polo, the trade finance blockchain built on R3’s Corda platform. The trades took place between two German industrial companies, with one transaction involving the delivery of hydraulic couplings from Germany to China and the other the delivery of pumps within Germany. While all that may sound prosaic, the news is notable since the transaction data was exchanged through distributed ledger technology, ditching the usual slow and costly physical documents and intermediaries. Full Story
UNLAWFUL ICO: Switzerland’s finance watchdog has found that the cryptocurrency mining firm Envion AG, which raised millions through an initial coin offering (ICO) last year, held the sale illegally and “seriously violated” laws. The country’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said that Envion had received public deposits of fiat and cryptos worth over 90 million francs ($90.33 million) from at least 37,000 investors, concluding that the firm should have acquired a banking license for the offering. The firm has now been placed in liquidation by the Swiss Cantonal Court of Zug. Full Story
FOREVER ETF? Blockchain-based trading platform CEDEX says it has now secured a supply of more than 6,000 diamonds ahead of its launch of a diamond exchange-traded fund (ETF). The diamonds – worth over $50 million – come from gem holders registering their stock on the exchange for trading, the firm told CoinDesk. CEDEX claims to have used blockchain tech and a proprietary algorithm to overcome hurdles that previously prevented diamonds from becoming a tradable asset class like gold: lack of transparency, liquidity and fungibility. Full Story
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| HIGH BAR: That bitcoin has bottomed out near $3,100 in December is generally accepted by now. A bull reversal, however, would be confirmed only if BTC validates the previous month's bullish engulfing candle, an early sign of trend reversal, with a close above $4,190 on March 31. Right now, that looks a steep target and the odds would drop further if prices find acceptance below the 30-day moving average at $3,900 in the next 48 hours. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST
BIAS BROWSER: A software developer has come up with a browser extension called “Coinflict of Interest” to help spot people’s bias towards four of the top cryptocurrencies on popular warring platform Twitter. The plugin looks at Twitter accounts’ negative tweets and profile mentions of bitcoin, ethereum, XRP and bitcoin cash to try and gauge their real crypto preferences. The developer, Luke Childs, told The Next Web that, “the results shouldn’t be taken too seriously. I think, in general, the results are accurate enough to be helpful.”
THE REST
APPLE VS BTC: Apple announced a new credit card this week, touting its enhanced privacy . According to a piece in Forbes, the tech giant says it doesn’t access Apple Card users’ data, with details like transaction history being held on their devices. Further, the physical card does not carry a number – a “massive gain” in privacy, the article says. Yet, payments partner Goldman Sachs does have access to users’ unencrypted data. With today’s financial system, it’s nigh impossible to have “true financial privacy” on the web, the author concludes. But a tech like bitcoin could, if governments would allow it.
BANK DOUBTS: Two major U.S. banks that have made investments in blockchain technology are now having doubts that the tech will live up to its potential in finance, says a piece from American Banker. At an industry conference Wednesday, Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan said he thought blockchain has been “way oversold.” The tech should have brought a big shift in the industry by now, yet “that’s just not the way it is,” he said. Cathy Bessant, chief operations and technology officer at Bank of America said that blockchain is overhyped, adding, “Bring me a use case that makes sense, and I will look at it,” Bessant said. “But in financial services, it’s a really tough model.” |
WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER  |
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