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SECRET WORK: The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is charging full speed ahead with its digital currency plans, hoping to beat Facebook’s Libra to market. A dedicated team from the central bank’s Digital Currency Research Lab is now developing the system in a closed-door environment, away from the PBoC’s downtown Beijing headquarters, a person close to the bank told CoinDesk. The team has been working in this separate location since early summer so they could fully concentrate on the project, the source said. Full story
MINER RULES? Cryptocurrencies are helping to facilitate human trafficking, and thus should be regulated far more heavily than at present, an expert witness told a U.S. Senate subcommittee yesterday. David Murray, vice president for product development and services at Financial Integrity Network, recommended that Congress create a new class of regulated financial institutions known as “virtual asset transaction validators,” i.e. crypto miners. Regulating miners in this way would be tantamount to prohibiting them from participating on public blockchain networks, said Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center. Full story
SLEUTH FUNDING: Blockchain forensics firm Elliptic has raised $23 million in a Series B funding round led by Tokyo-based financial institution SBI Holdings. Announced Wednesday, the funding will help drive Elliptic’s Asia expansion, which includes a recently opened Singapore office and another in Japan that will open this week. Tomoyuki Nii, executive officer for overseas investment at SBI Investment, who will be joining Elliptic’s board of directors, told CoinDesk that the Japanese company contributed $10 million to the funding round. Full story
REMEMBERING HAL: On Friday, Sept. 6, bitcoiners around the world are vowing to run in memory of the late Hal Finney. Anyone is invited and dozens of the technology’s enthusiasts have already pledged to join. Finney, long touted as one of the first people to see the promise of bitcoin, died in August 2014 after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Team Satoshi, a group who wants people to raise awareness of bitcoin through sport, is throwing the event in Finney’s memory because he loved to run. Full story
LOBBYING HIRE: Blockchain payments tech provider Ripple has hired a former political adviser to boost its advocacy efforts with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. In a tweet reposted by Ripple on Tuesday, the new hire, Ron Hammond, announced that he has joined the firm as its new manager of government relations. Hammond previously served as a legislative assistant for Rep. Warren Davidson, where he led the drafting of the “Token Taxonomy Act” – an attempt to bring in legislation giving cryptocurrencies clearer legal standing in the U.S. Full story |
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| POSITIVE SIGNALS: Bitcoin validated Monday's breakout with a high-volume 2 percent gain on Tuesday. So, the probability of BTC challenging key resistance at $10,956 in the next couple of days has increased. A UTC close above that level would revive the short-term bullish outlook. The case for a rise to $10,956, however, would weaken if prices drop below the hourly chart support at $10,286. Full story |
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| PENSIONS SAVER: When U.S. employees change jobs, the funds saved in their pensions account are very often left behind, according to a Forbes piece that cites a figure of $2 trillion in 401(k) funds that is collectively lost by workers not rolling over their savings. However, blockchain could provide a solution, the author suggests. A blockchain system that tracks retirement accounts could allow employees to keep better tabs on their funds, while a token could be provided to a bank or financial institution to trigger the rollover of the account when they shift jobs. |
WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER
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Run, Satoshi, run!