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AirAsia has launched a blockchain-based air cargo network, aiming to make it easy and convenient to book for cargo space on its airlines. Known as Freightchain, it seeks to eliminate the tedious manual process previously involved, making it convenient for both the clients and the airline. AirAsia, which is Malaysia's largest airline, launched the network through Teleport, its logistics arm. It allows the clients to view the available cargo spaces on its airlines and make bookings in real time. It relies on a bidding process, enabling the clients to make informed decisions on costs and convenience. Freightchain will replace the previous system where the clients would manually search for the cargo airlines that best suit their needs. This process was quite tedious, with the clients often having to send several emails and make calls to several airlines. Even then, they were not sure they were getting the best deals and often had to settle for what they got. Launching Freightchain unde

Russia has requested the home detention of Alexander Vinnik amid concerns over COVID-19, in its latest attempt to secure the extradition of the alleged money launderer. Vinnik is currently in the custody of authorities in France, after being implicated in a $4 billion BTC money laundering scandal. The former BTC-e founder has been the subject of an intense legal struggle in recent months, with several states, including his native Russia, asserting their own rights to prosecute. However, while Vinnik is wanted by authorities in France and the U.S. on money laundering charges, Russia has been attempting to secure his extradition on less serious charges. This is widely believed to be a legal tactic by Russia to extradite Vinnik, and to ensure he faces less serious charges in his home country. The latest extradition request, reported by Russian media, highlights concerns for Vinnik's safety amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Speaking to RT, former Russian agent Maria Butina said Vinnik has ex

Real estate price reports from March in northern countries like Denmark and Sweden now show negative developments for the first time in over 10 years. If furloughed workers continue into unemployment, the effects on the housing markets will be even more significant, says Claudia Wörmann at SBAB Bank. Spring Real Estate Price Increase, Trend Broken Inhabitants of the northern countries of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark have gotten used to very low interest rates and constantly increasing real estate prices. In Sweden, interest rates were dipping into negative territories and in Denmark, famously some homeowners have been offered payments for taking out a mortgage (negative interest rates). Normally, homeowners in these regions see price increases each spring but this year the trend is broken and prices of apartments, houses and land plots have instead decreased a few percentage points. The change is large compared to the regular price increases. The development is worrying many cit

Governments around the world are careening toward a period of dramatic spending. The U.S. Federal Reserve announced another $2.3 trillion in lending programs on Thursday to stabilize America's coronavirus-stricken economy. The Bank of England announced it would likely extend billions of pounds to directly finance the government's crisis response. All this inspires inflation concerns around the globe, which appear to be driving demand for bitcoin (BTC) in some corners. "The non-stop quantitative easing process will finally impact the mid-term and long-term market," said Danny Deng, a leading member of both the China Blockchain Application Center and the National Internet Finance Association of China. "Bitcoin is designed for this kind of situation. So I'm optimistic about bitcoin's future." China is also expected to announce a stimulus package of its own. Deng said he expects the People's Bank of China to use a digital currency to distribute a sti

The People's Bank of China has said it will "undoubtedly" launch a digital yuan, in what has been seen as one of the strongest signals to date of the central bank's support for the policy. In a notice published on April 4, the bank said it would continue the development of a digital currency, with a view to launching as soon as practical: "The People's Bank of China (PBoC) will undoubtedly further its research and development of the national digital currency with enhanced top-down design." The notice was published following the 2020 National Currency Gold Silver and Security Work Video and Telephone Conference, an event convened by the bank's Vice Governor Yifei Fan where the bank set out its priorities for the coming year. This is the third time a digital yuan has been raised at the event, but the language in this year's notice has been widely interpreted as a strong signal of advancing plans and intentions. In 2018, the bank said it was working

Last month's crash in cryptocurrency prices has prompted manufacturers to sell inventories at a discount, in some cases as steep as 20 percent, over the past few weeks. Both the newest models and slightly older machines have been marked down. Complicating the matter is the imminent bitcoin halving in May that will reduce the network's mining reward by half, causing most miners to be less profitable if bitcoin's price doesn't increase significantly by then. For instance, DJ Miner, an overseas distributor for Shenzhen, China-based MicroBT, was advertising about $2,500 per unit of the manufacturer's flagship WhatsMiner M30S early last month. After bitcoin's March 12 crash – the worst sell-off in seven years – the price is now cut by 20 percent to $2,000 per unit. The WhatsMiner M20S, a less advanced but popular model that boosted MicroBT's market share against major rival Bitmain in 2019, is also seeing a 20 percent price cut from $1,679 to now $1,340, DJ Miner

If you want to conduct illegal activity, it's best not to leave a trail of any sort that can prove your involvement. A Russian rapper residing in California has learned this lesson the hard way after being arrested by the FBI. The federal law enforcement agency picked up Maksim Boiko and accused him of laundering money through digital currency exchanges and transactions, allegedly while doing little to hide his identity. Court documents released (in pdf) on March 30 indicate that Boiko conducted his extra-curricular activities using platforms such as the now-defunct BTC-e digital currency exchange, a portal that was also shut down for money laundering. The documents also show that Boiko allegedly has ties to QQAAZZ, an organized crime syndicate that operates in several countries around the world. The rapper's downfall began when he showed up at Miami International Airport this past January. At that time, he had $20,000 in cash, which is twice the amount allowed to be carried ac