The Reserve — SteemCN

22 January 2018 | SUBSCRIBE

// PUBLIC OFFICIALS GUILTY OF INSIDER TRADING

South Korean officials have been found guilty of insider trading - buying or selling cryptocurrency on the basis of the privileged information they have access to as public servants.

Beyond the question of how deep this runs - different ministries have been giving conflicting statements, often in direct contradiction to each other - it points to a much bigger underlying issue.

There is a (non-trivial) subsection of the crypto community, some of which fall under the ‘crypto-anarchist’ category - that want to totally remove government not only from monetary policy, but from all aspects of life. Bitcoin - the first blockchain - was the first step in removing banks, and government.

As governments try to shut down crypto as ‘corrupt’, they wilfully abuse their position of power for their own profit. Can you blame the crypto-anarchists? The events give serious ammunition to the already activist pro-crypto forces inside South Korea - a territory the crypto world must watch closely for insight on how the future battle between crypto and government will unfold.

// MUST READS

Improving ICOs: DAICOs
The first Quantum computer, that might break bitcoin security, is already under development.

// PRICING SUMMARY

// DISASTER OF THE WEEK

Public officials of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service have been reported for trading on insider knowledge of regulations. They sold significant holdings just before government announcements of a potential complete shutdown.

// TRACTION

IBM and Maersk together to build a blockchain platform to improve the transportation industry.
Two new blockchain ETFs will be launched soon.
Bitconnect lending and exchange platform is closing.
Blockchain wallet has launched a service to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in the US.
A Japan’s bank is launching its own cryptocurrency this 2018.

// ROAD TO REGULATION

Germany states any regulation on Bitcoin must be global.
Chinese institutions on the road to continue regulating virtual currencies.
The SEC has expressed its concerns about ETFs related to investors’ protection.

// ICOS

Last week highlights:

Aidcoin raised $21m for a blockchain based platform to donate transparently.
Selfkey raised $22m for a blockchain based digital identity system.
Adbank raised $12m for an online ad platform built on Ethereum.

Upcoming:

Skara - February 8, 2018 - A multi-award winning game with a token at its heart.
Blitzpredict - January 22, 2018 - Decentralised sportsbook and prediction market aggregator.
Dimensions Network - January 24, 2018 - Cryptocurrency trading platform.

// OTHER

Vitalik Buterin’s interview on cryptocurrency governance. Ripple becomes an investor of Omni, an on-demand storage company. How unbelievably rich people are getting because of cryptocurrency.

// EVENTS

Crypto Economy ICO 2018: San Francisco - San Francisco, USA - January 22-23, 2018

Crypto Funding Summit - Los Angeles, USA - January 24-25, 2018

Blockchain Protocol Analysis and Security Engineering 2018 - Stanford, USA - January 24-26, 2018