- Federal Reserve considers DLT integration for possible!
- FileCoin cracks ICO Record with 257 Million USD Funding
- Industry Insurance Companies work with Blockchain Technology!
- Japanese Government publishes Data of Crypto Currency Frauds!
- Russia: Lowering Electricity Costs for Miners with Financial Grants?
The US Federal Reserve Bank has suggested a report to consider Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) as well as crypto currencies for financial transactions.
I recently reported on the "Stella" project of the two central banks of Europe and Japan, which was to examine and evaluate the use of Distributed Ledger Technology in the central banking system. However, the report concluded that although DLT had a great potential, it could not yet replace the currently used Real Time Gross Settlement System.
The American central bank has now also occupied itself with the DLT and comes to a slightly different view. In a report published on Wednesday with the title "Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System ", the Fed is much more open to the implementation of DLT. The central bank is looking for a safe, fast and efficient system that will allow different banks and financial institutions to work easier and better with each other and with the government.
The Federal Reserve considers DLT and crypto currencies to be new methods of payment that enable secure and efficient payment transactions. The inclusion of these technologies should therefore be considered as a complement to the existing services of the Fed.
However, before selecting DLT for use, the Fed reserves the right to weigh the cost of the new technology and test its impact. The central bank does not provide a time frame.
FileCoin has completed its ICO with a record result of 257 million US dollars. In just one month, the project was able to break the existing funding record through ICOs.
CoinList, a joint project by Filecoin developer Protocol Labs and the start-up investment platform AngelList, was able to achieve very high funding in the shortest possible time. Despite initial technical difficulties, the ICO successfully ran until last night with a final funding sum of 205.8 million US dollars. Taking into account the Pre-ICO, which gave the project a further 52 million US dollars, a total funding of about 257 million US dollars is obtained.
With this sum, FileCoin could replace the previous record holder Tezos from his position. Tezos had recently collected a total of 232 million US dollars.
FileCoin wants to provide a decentralized network for storage space. Also, private users can free up unused capacity on the network for other users and receive remuneration for it. This allows central vendors of storage solutions or centralized cloud providers to be used.
However, FileCoin is not the first project to pursue this goal: StorJ also wants to provide a decentralized storage solution via the blockchain, and has long ago collected a funding through its ICO. According to information from CoinDesk in the second quarter 797 million US dollars funding sums collected over ICOs. This shows not least the role played by ICOs within the framework of conventional venture capital and corporate financing.
Digitization brings the industrial insurers under pressure. The blockchain process can digitize many processes.
Sometimes it takes nine months from the conclusion of the contract to the issuance of the insurance policy - when it comes to industrial constructions. "This is no longer acceptable," says insurance broker Sven Erichsen. Erichsen believes that an alternative is offered by blockchain procedures that provide more transparency and efficiency. "These are Whatsapp groups in business life."
The US insurance group AIG, together with its customer Standard Chartered, has tried out how this can look like in New York. The bank operates in 30 countries and buys numerous insurance contracts. The procedures are too little effective and transparent to the bank.
Insurance AIG answers with a blockchain solution, developed together with IBM. "We have begun with the liability policies for Kenya, Singapore and the USA," explains AIG manager Daniela Peeters at a conference of the German Insurance Association (GVNW).
Daniela Peeters said:
Siemens manager Alexander Mahnke believes that the industrial insurers underestimate the effects of digitization. He still frequently heard that the insurers would not have to fear disruptive effects from new technologies, so that their business model would not be under sustained pressure. The GVNW chairman quoted the well-known saying of the Microsoft founder Bill Gates that banking transactions were necessary, but not banks. "What applies to banks can also apply to other areas."
Mahnke sees disruptive potential especially in blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. "Both already play an important role in industry today," says Mahnke. "They will also have a lasting impact on industrial insurance."
A total of 33 cases of fraud related to crypto currencies have occurred in Japan in the first seven months of 2017. This is what the government announces and goes to the financial damages of the cases.
According to information from Nikkei and The Yomiuri Shimbun, the National Policy Agency (NPA) reported a sum of 76.5 million yen. This equates to approximately 590,000 euros. The data is from the period of January to July. This reflects a generally rising trend, which corresponds to that of the crypto currency market. In July alone, 17.3 of the 76.5 million yen were involved in criminal activities.
- Ripple: 29.6 million yen
- Bitcoin: 29.3 million yen
- Ethereum: 200,000 yen
- NEM: 100,000 yen
It is surprising that the level of damage does not seem to correlate directly with market capitalization. While Ripple is nearly equal to Bitcoin, the Ethereum damage sums are relatively low. Although data on Japan are of limited significance for global development, it is to be expected that there will also be an international correlation between the rising trend between the crypto currency market and the related crimes. Eventually, the growing market also gains in interest from attackers.
The Bitcoin situation in Russia is becoming increasingly confusing. In recent days, there have been inconsistent messages about dealing with the crypto currency. Now it is said that Russian miners could receive financial aid for the electricity costs that are generated by the mining process. This is in sharp contrast to the statements of the last few months in which the mining was banned in residential buildings.
The situation for the Crypto currency mining becomes more and more confusing. While citizens are very interested in mining, the government is strictly against it. The reason for this is the lack of control over crypto currencies in general. Now, however, the Institute for Internet Development and the Russian Community are working on a new project for the blockchain and crypto currencies. The aim of the project is to provide financial assistance for electricity costs arising during the mining of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies.
The Russian government could well be ready to make this proposal final. According to Arseny Shcheltsin, mining operators receive reductions in the payment of electricity costs. However, it is not for each of these grants. It is only in certain regions of the country where electricity is generally favorable that this measure is to be implemented.
However, such a decision would be unusual. Many Russian politicians generally reject crypto currencies. Such a measure would therefore not be beneficial. Nevertheless, it must be borne in mind that the country also benefits from the large mining companies. These consume on average about 3000 megawatts per month.
However, this proposal is only at the beginning. It remains to be seen how the Russian government will decide.
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