Author: CoinDesk

• In January, a new token is being launched on the ethereum blockchain that will be backed one-for-one by bitcoin.
• 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.
• An arbitration body in China has ruled that despite the country's central bank ban on cryptocurrency trading, bitcoin should still be legally protected as a property with economic values.
• Shipping giant Maersk and tech provider IBM are wrestling with this problem with TradeLens, their distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform for supply chains.
• The four biggest agricultural corporations in the world plan to utilize tech such as blockchain and AI to bring the global grain trade into the digital age.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production.

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• Parties solicited to invest in the pre-initial public offering (IPO) funding round for Bitmain Technologies, Ltd., the leading maker of cryptocurrency mining software and hardware, received pitch decks falsely suggesting the company had secured financial backing from Digital Sky Technologies Global and GIC Private Limited.
• One of the oldest software wallet providers in the cryptocurrency industry is launching its first hardware product. Announced Thursday, Blockchain has partnered with hardware wallet maker Ledger and started taking orders for a new handheld device called Lockbox. The first batch of shipments will go out in November.
• Distributed ledger tech startup Ripple saw revenue from the sale of the digital asset XRP more than double this past quarter compared to the second quarter of 2018.
• The U.K. Royal Mint has suspended a long-running plan to create a crypto asset representing physical gold holdings.
• Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, and Deutsche Börse, owner of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, have completed a blockchain trial investigating the technology's potential in securities settlement.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production.

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• Police in the Indian city of Bangalore have seized an ATM just weeks after it was set up by local cryptocurrency exchange Unocoin.
• A college freshman is coming after your cryptocurrency – but not to steal your coins, just to prove that someone could do so pretty easily.
• The Financial Services Agency, also known as the FSA, Japan's finance regulator, has formally approved a cryptocurrency exchange association as a self-regulating industry body.
• Over a million dollars' worth of bitcoin has been hidden in a digital picture – and there's still some left to be found, despite attention from cyber-sleuths.
• The U.K.-based settlement infrastructure provider Setl has been granted a license from France's securities regulator to operate a central securities depository system using blockchain tech.

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• Crypto exchange Coinbase announced support for the Circle-issued stablecoin Tuesday.
• The newest commissioner with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission met with representatives from money manager VanEck and blockchain startup SolidX earlier this month to discuss a bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF).
• A decade after launching its first Android device, global consumer tech giant HTC is officially releasing its first blockchain-enabled phone.
• Months after its debut, the cryptocurrency being launched by the estate of the late Wu-Tang Clan member Ol' Dirty Bastard (ODB) is moving ahead – starting with a public pre-sale that begins this week.
• Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, published a mysterious tweet on Monday about bitcoin that's whipping up speculation across social media and the cryptocurrency community that it may be more than just a joke.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production.

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• Transaction fees on monero have fallen sharply after last Thursday's system-wide software update.
• An Australian securities regulator shuts down an ICO project planning to raise as much as $50 million.
• Not to be outdone, the U.S. SEC has suspended the trading of shares for a company which claimed to be offering an ICO that was registered with the regulator.
• Accenture says it has created an "interoperability node" that houses the rules of four major enterprise platforms.
• San Francisco-based smart contract security startup Synthetic Minds has raised $5.5 million for its bid to roll out a technology that analyses blockchain networks for coding bugs.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production.

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• A new report indicates that an infamous North Korean hacking group has managed to steal over half a billion dollars in cryptocurrencies.
• Ethereum's next hard fork will be postponed until early 2019, developers said Friday.
• Binance looks to add more stablecoins.
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might make it easier for fintech startups to navigate legal waters.
• A global money-laundering watchdog will begin publishing rules for international cryptocurrency regulation by next summer.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production.

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A clampdown on cryptocurrency by Indian regulators is forcing one exchange in that country to go to great lengths to do business.

The U.S. Marshals have announced a plan to auction off nearly $4.3 million worth of bitcoin next month.

Clients of the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox must submit claims for trapped funds by October 22.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with blockchain startup Coil as part of its mission to provide payment services for the unbanked.

A U.S. cryptocurrency exchange is reporting a significant increase in trades between tether (USDT) and a newer alternative called TrueUSD.

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• Trading bots appear to have gamed a big token announcement from Coinbase.
• Binance teams up with Chainalysis to monitor cryptocurrency transactions in real-time.
• A senior U.S. official made a big statement on blockchain-based smart contracts this week.
• Amazon Web Services' China division is partnering with public blockchain project Qtum.
• The ICO for Civil’s blockchain-for-journalism has officially failed.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production.

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• The Gemini dollar (GUSD) soared above $1 to a high of $1.19 Tuesday, just a day after competing stablecoin Tether (USDT) dropped to an 18-month low.
• Crypto exchange Bitfinex announced a new process for depositing fiat currency, a move that came after the platform halted the service in recent days.
• Singapore-based crypto exchange Huobi will list 4 US dollar-pegged coins some time this week.
• A new startup called the Paradigm Foundation has secured $1 million in equity seed as it hopes to unite all the decentralized exchanges in a single order book.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production made in collaboration with The Podglomerate.

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• Financial services provider Fidelity Investments is launching a cryptocurrency trading and storage platform.
• The price of the tether stablecoin (USDT) fell to an 18-month low Monday, and rumors are swirling.
• But it's not all bad news for stablecoins: Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has announced that it is adding four U.S. dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies to its platform for trading.
• Blockchain startup Adhara has secured $15 million in new funding from Consensys, the ethereum design studio. Good news for its all-star team of former banking innovators.
• Sony has developed a new blockchain-based digital rights management system that may see commercial rollout.

Late Confirmation is a CoinDesk production made in collaboration with The Podglomerate.

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