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The Malaysian government is seeking to utilize blockchain to increase transparency, sustainability and logistical efficiency of its three largest industries—renewable energy, palm oil, and Islamic finance. According to reports, the government has appointed a task force named the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) to oversee the blockchain adoption. Mastura Ishak, program director at MIGHT, told GovInsider: "Blockchain is interesting because it allows small players to have a say about what's going on." The Malaysian government believes that adopting blockchain in the renewable energy industry will help bring new players to the table and increase energy production in the country. Currently, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) is the only utility provider in the country. The new project will allow private solar panel owners to sell any excess electricity they have. In the new system, electricity sellers will be required to state how they are generating

First, Visa and MasterCard settled a class-action lawsuit over price fixing that reportedly cost the credit card giants as much as $6.2 billion. Now, reports are surfacing that major banks could be fined as much as $400 billion by 2020 for malpractice. So much for crypto being the bad guy, as traditional finance pundits would have everyone believe. Quinlan and Associates indicates that research into U.S. and European banks could potentially face the huge fines by regulators. The majority of the penalties are a direct result of the financial crash from 2008. The $400 billion does not include fines from other areas, such as unfair billing practices or money laundering. Last Monday, JP Morgan Chase was fined by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) $65 million after it was found guilty of not doing enough its part to protect the U.S. Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix (USD ISDAFIX) from 2007 to 2012. ISDA was established in 1998 and ISDAFIX is a reference

Denmark's largest bank, Danske Bank, reportedly knew that some of its Estonian branch's clients were on the Russian government's blacklist but did not close their accounts for two years. The bank is currently being probed by three countries over $150 billion money laundering allegations. Danske Bank is currently under investigation by authorities in three countries: the US, Denmark, and Estonia. Its officials reportedly "knew earlier than previously indicated about problems at its tiny Estonia branch, including that it held accounts for blacklisted Russian clients," The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing correspondence it has seen. The publication elaborated: Officials at Danske Bank were aware almost two years before it started shutting questionable accounts that the small but highly profitable branch was involved in potentially illicit money flows. The Estonian branch was one of the bank's profit drivers, generating a net profit of €63 million (~US

News wires buzzed this week when the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (Nasdaq) announced its pending purchase of Swedish crypto-friendly stock exchange Cinnober. Nasdaq made "an USD 190m all cash recommended public offer" to the exchange, which it terms a major "financial technology provider to brokers, exchanges and clearing houses worldwide." It could also be a significant first step for the $10 trillion Nasdaq into the world of crypto.  Nasdaq to Acquire Crypto-Friendly Swedish Stock Exchange Cinnober Adena Friedman, President and CEO, Nasdaq explained, "The combined intellectual capital, technology competence and capabilities of Cinnober and our Market Technology business will expand the breadth and depth of our fastest growing division at Nasdaq." From Stockholm, Sweden this week came a public announcement Nasdaq had made a $190 million offer to gobble up Swedish crypto-friendly stock exchange Cinnober. The acquisition &

After years of waiting for the government to put in place regulations to govern the industry, crypto and blockchain industry leaders have come together to establish a lobbying group whose goal will be to push for the implementation of these policies. Based in Washington D.C, the group brings together some of the biggest names in the industry, including startups like Coinbase and crypto-focused VC firms like Polychain Capital. Known as The Blockchain Association, the group aims to become the voice of the industry in D.C and to work with the regulators from the inside, helping shed light on the developments in the industry and influencing the policy-making process. The Inside Man The crypto industry has for a long time been perceived as anti-government, perhaps largely because of its promise of taking the power away from a few entities and giving it to the people. However, many industry leaders have continuously sought to involve the government in their operations and have called for the

Cryptocurrency may be banned in Zimbabwe, but bitcoin is helping ordinary folk make payments bank-free. It makes for a great fit for the more than 10 million Zimbabweans who lack access to basic banking services. And it's even more beneficial to the banked few, a distrusting lot, keen to protect their savings against bank failure, inflation or even political turmoil. How Do You Feel About Paying Rent in Bitcoin? Josh from Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulawayo, feels great about it. "I didn't have cash at hand, so, my landlord who is open-minded about cryptocurrency said I could pay in bitcoin," Josh told news.bitcoin.com . The 23 year-old unemployed psychology graduate, who mines bitcoin at a small scale, zipped 0.02281BTC to his landlord, the equivalent of US$120 at the time. Zimbabwe is faced with a two-fold problem: a shortage of foreign currency, and that of a surrogate currency called bond notes, initially billed as a panacea to the forex crunch. The South

An article written by Nicholas Krapels – an American academic who has lived in China since 2011 whilst working towards his PhD in Chinese politics at East China Normal University, has criticized mainstream media narratives pertaining to Chinese regulatory actions regarding cryptocurrencies. Mr. Krapels states that "Last week, many minor statements fomented a mountain of fear, uncertainty, and doubt regarding cryptocurrency's future in China. On Tuesday evening, Wechat blocked a few crypto-oriented news official accounts. Late in the evening the next day, Beijing's Chaoyang District banned public venues from holding crypto-related events." Mr. Krapels asserts that "the way Western media portrays events in China" heightened and exaggerated concerns pertaining to the events, adding: "That situation is only made worse when crypto influencers like Danhua Capital Managing Director Dovey Wan tweets out pictures of the primary source of the Beijing district ban

A Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed company has built a cryptocurrency settlement platform for real estate transactions. The firm has tested the platform using BTC and smart contracts for property sales and has released its findings; many benefits were observed over the traditional method. BTC and Smart Contracts in Real Estate Japanese Company Trials BTC and Smart Contracts in Real Estate TransactionsJapanese real estate company Ruden Holdings (TYO:1400) recently announced the results of an experiment using its newly-created "virtual currency real estate settlement platform." The company explained that the trial, which involved BTC and smart contracts, was conducted in collaboration with Blockchain Global Limited (BGL). The two companies partnered in April to develop the settlement system and a "virtual registration data inquiry system," Ruden detailed, adding: For the settlement of bitcoins (BTC) used in the property sale, Bitflyer's web service and API functions we