Blockchain and Crypto related News

A new IBM research report finds most polled central banks believe they should issue a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), although they remain uncertain if blockchain can provide sufficient cost and efficiency benefits.

The report released on Friday and conducted by IBM and OMFIF, an independent central bank think thank, examines opinions among 21 central banks between July and September on the topic of CBDCs and distributed ledger technology.

An advisory committee to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) believes the agency should provide clearer guidelines on how cryptocurrency transactions may be taxed.

In a new report published on October 24, the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) highlighted cryptocurrencies' rise in popularity, noting that "there has also been an equal rise in question as to the applicable tax consequences."

The IRS has already issued one notice back in 2014 stating that cryptocurrencies are treated as a form of property for tax purposes, reiterating that position in a statement published in March ahead of the April 15 tax filing deadline.

Yet according to the report, "many industry and tax practitioners still question other tax consequences of cryptocurrency transactions."

A new token is set to be launched on the ethereum blockchain this January, one that will be backed one-for-one by the world's largest cryptocurrency.

The companies behind the initiative include decentralized exchange startups Kyber Network and Republic Protocol, as well as cryptocurrency custody company BitGo. What's more, a number of ethereum-based projects are also reporting that they will support adoption of the token once released.

An arbitration body in China has ruled that despite the country's central bank's ban on cryptocurrency trading, bitcoin should still be legally protected as a property with economic values.

The Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration published a case analysis on Thursday via WeChat, detailing its ruling on a recent economic dispute that involved a business contract relating to possession and transfer of crypto assets.

According to the case analysis, the unnamed plaintiff signed a contract agreement with the defendant, which allowed the latter to trade and manage a pool of cryptocurrencies on the plaintiff's behalf.

Crypto needs a killer app and a better sales pitch.

"The average consumer just doesn't care about decentralization," Jeff Morris, Jr., an under-the-radar venture investor in the crypto space, told CoinDesk in a recent interview.

Through the fund he created last year, Chapter One Ventures, Los Angeles-based Morris has quietly gotten in on some of the buzziest crypto companies over 2017 and 2018 – CryptoKitties, Radar Relay, Blockfolio and Paradigm.

NICOSIA, Cyprus, Oct. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Invest Cyprus, the national Investment partner of the Republic of Cyprus, VeChain Foundation, a Singapore registered legal entity with focus on building public blockchain solutions, and CREAM, a USA registered legal entity with focus on blockchain project strategic advisory and investments, are announcing that the parties have signed a MoU for strategic collaboration. The essence of this MoU is to establish a framework for the basis of cooperation in the field of blockchain technologies and related use cases. This collaboration signifies the change in the direction to a prosperous Cyprus in the next digital age. 

Microsoft is moving to turn blockchain-based decentralized identity from a lofty aspiration into a business line.

In a white paper posted this week, the software giant says it intends to develop two products designed to give consumers greater control of their personal data – long the Holy Grail of many technologists in the blockchain space and adjacent industries.

One such product is an encrypted personal data store, or "identity hub," which is a combination of user's personal devices and cloud storage that Microsoft would offer through Azure, its cloud computing service.

Although few details are provided, the general idea is that consumers could store identity information in this hub and their permission would be required for third parties to access it. This stands in contrast to the status quo, where data is held at countless third parties and regularly obtained without the user's knowledge, much less consent.