BITS OF BLOCKS
BLOCKCHAIN, LAW AND REGULATION
Steven Pettigrove, Partner, Piper Alderman
Michael Bacina, Partner, Travers Thorp Alberga
China champions central bank blockchain trade finance platform
The People's Bank of China (PBoC) is set to receive 32.35 million yuan (around AUD$7.2 million) in "special funding".
Figure securitises $150M of home equity loans on Provenance Blockchain
Figure Technologies has announced the first end-to-end securitisation of a bundle of home equity loans, worth over $150m on a blockchain
EY, Microsoft and Consensys collaborate on creation of Baseline protocol for Ethereum
EY, Microsoft and Consensys are collaborating on the Baseline protocol for the public Ethereum blockchain
French Court finds Bitcoin is equivalent to fiat
A French Court has found that Bitcoin is equivalent to fiat money in a dispute between over ownership of forked digital assets.
Brazil Ministry of Education fights fake diplomas with blockchain
Brazil Blockchain beats dodgy diplomas with the government and 14 universities moving to trial blockchain secured qualifications.
Facebook backing away from Libra towards fiat denominated tokens
Facebook's Wallet project is reportedly backing away from including Libra and instead will include jurisdictions
Bank for International Settlements considers CBDC technology requirements
The BIS has released two key reports on CBDCs, one on the technological design considerations, and another reviewing ongoing retail projects
Blockchain: brewing a better coffee?
The iFinca blockchain platform seeks to address the issue of low prices paid to coffee farmers and rampant speculation in the market.
NSW District Court approves digital currency as security for costs
A NSW District Court Judge has approved the use of digital currency for security for costs in litigation
Lawsuit alleging Ripple’s XRP is unregistered security strides forward
The Court of California has decided to allow a lawsuit alleging that Ripple’s XRP crypto asset is an unregistered security.
CryptoKitties sharpen their claws for the UFC Octagon...
Dapper Labs, the company behind CryptoKitties, has announced a partnership with leading mixed martial arts promotion, the UFC.
Australian Stock Exchange details billions of efficiency in distributed ledger deployment
On 20 February 2020, the ASX gave evidence to the senate FinTech committee, with the Senators showing interest in the ASX DLT project
France, Austria combine forces to combat crypto crime
French blockchain security company NIGMA Conseil, and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), have signed an agreement of cooperation.
Blockchain veteran Caitlin Long announces new crypto-bank Avanti
Blockchain legislative champion and Wall Street veteran Caitlin Long has announced the creation of a regulated crypto bank called Avanti
Central Bank Digital Currencies around the world
Across the globe, central banks have been experimenting, and implementing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Bank of Canada: we will lay low unless Libra leaps
The Bank of Canada has declared that although there is “not a compelling case” for a Central Bank Digital Currency, they are working on one.
Bank of Korea set to deploy blockchain based bond system
South Korea’s central bank is currently working on its own blockchain-based bonds system
India's Election Commission considering blockchain system for voting
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is collaborating with the Indian Institute of Technology to develop a blockchain system for voting.