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In a world of ICOs, this year definitely brought some changes, as the prices correction put pressure on the crypto startups gathering funds, but the support for the ICO projects and their evolution is strong. ETFs will likely to be approved next year. California is trying to define blockchain technology and smart contracts, while Brussels think tank is proposing standardized crypto rules within EU. Twitter is considering blockchain technology to fight scams on the platform and the concept of web 3.0 is increasingly gaining more tangible research and development.
Regulations & Finance
Think Tank Report Argues for Standardized Crypto Rules Within EU: Belgian think tank Bruegel believes “EU should create a single standard for cryptocurrency rules”, as well as how tokens are distributed and traded. The proposal argues for clearer rules on ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) to control risks and exploit the potential of the industry and blockchain technology. If adopted, the rules would allow startups to raise funds and operate in each of the EU member nations, rather than just out of specific country they’re based in.
Bitcoin ETF Will Likely Be Approved Next Year: After many denials of proposed ETFs (most popular were two submissions by the Winklevoss twins in March 2017 and July 2018), US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) postponed the next reviews. The reviews were initially scheduled for September, but more realistic view suggests that the timeline is more likely to be in the 2019. ETFs (exchange-traded fund) are considered by the industry to be imminent, happening sooner or later. They are seen as to have an impact on the Bitcoin price and many believe that the approval of ETFs could start the next bullish run.
California Passes Bill Defining Blockchain and Crypto Terms: A draft law designed to amend California’s legislation to create legal grounds for the implementation of crypto-related technologies has been passed by the state’s legislature. The document contains definitions of some key blockchain and crypto terms, including legal definitions of “blockchain technology” and “smart contract”, and aims to revise “electronic record” and electronic signature”, to legalize and facilitate record keeping using DLT (distributed ledger technology). But, in seeking to provide clarity, from the community point of view, it is argued if defining blockchain is even a good place to start, as it might as well make matters worse.
Japanese City Tsukuba Trials Blockchain-Based Voting System: A voting system based on blockchain has been recently tested in Tsukuba, which The Japan Times described as a “center for scientific research”. Blockchain technology was used “to prevent any sort of meddling in the voting process and to avoid the falsificatoin of results”. The use of blockchain in election processes is also being developed in other cities around the world, most famously in the Swiss city of Zug (known as the Crypto Valley), where they successfully completed the first blockchain-based election in July 2018.
Brian Kelly: ICOs Here to Stay, but ‘Days of a Whitepaper and a Dream’ Are Over In a world of ICOs, lots of things changed this year compared to 2017. Kelly sees blockchain and cryptocurrencies as “early stage technology”, as is Thomas Zeeb, CEO of securities services at Switzerland’s stock exchange SIX, stating that ICOs are “here to stay”, and predicted that mass adoption would come in around five years. Gavin Wood, Ethereum co-founder, also sees the future in ICOs and notes “there’s going to be a lot of evolution for ICOs down the line”.
“First and foremost we need to start with the problems that we’re trying to solve and the problems we’re solving for our customers and look at all available technology in order to understand if it could help us accelerate or make those outcomes much better. Blockchain is one that I think has a lot of untapped potential, specifically around distributed trust and distributed enforcement potentially.” — Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter
Industry & Technology
Twitter Chooses Blockchain Technology to Shore Up Digital Trust: Scams are a serious issue on Twitter, with fake profiles, gifts or even cryptocurrencies offerings. CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, confirmed that “blockchain is one of the priorities for the social media today as it is able to enhance transparency and fairness of the platforms” in a hearing before Congressional committee this week. For now, there is no actual plan in place, but Dorsey’s intention and commitment are good signs for the future of social media, Twitter itself and crypto community.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China To Embrace Blockchain Technology: ICBC as the largest bank in China, and its Chairman Yi Huiman said that “the financial institution will focus on innovations in cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT)”. While China still has negative views on digital currencies, they are starting to embrace the benefits of blockchain and are activelly working to develop and apply the technology in various industries.
What Does The Future Of Blockchain Hold? 10 Predictions From Tech Experts: Forbes summed up few predictions, that are seen as the next steps for blockchain technology. They recognize that technology is still at the beginning of its development and implementations in the larger industry, comparing some of the aspects of the current cryptocurrency sentiment to the 90's Dot Com bubble. Some of gathered predictions were for example: Widespread Distributed Data Models, DLT-Based Government Systems, A Growing Need For Credible Crypto Backing, Ultimate Transparency Across Industries, Blockchain-Based Security Measures and more.
Why We Need Web 3.0: Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum, elaborated his views on the future of internet and why web 3.0 is crucial for the evolution of web. Currently there are still some missing links to consider, like scaling or compatibility, but important points remain: “Centralization is not socially tenable long-term, and government is too clumsy to fix things.” His view on the current web is that it’s still like a big baby, saying “It has grown old without growing up”. Main focuses for the web 3.0 in creating new global digital economy, he argues, should be creating new business models and markets to go with them, busting platform monopolies like Google and Facebook, and giving rise to vast levels of bottom-up innovation.
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