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Blockchain Observations

Being a forum for blockchain ideas

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Important Technology Trends in the Life Insurance Sector

The life insurance sector is currently being affected by technological disruption, as new digital technologies force insurance firms to either adapt and change the way they interact with their customers or fall behind the competition. Advancements in technology and changing customer preferences are driving this disruption. Customers now expert a mo...

Bill Sheridan

Bill Sheridan Managin Director for Tax Solutions at IHS Markit

New Crypto Tax Guidance Finally Arrives

The IRS has been broadcasting for several months that cryptocurrency tax guidance was coming soon and even as late as the end of last week IRS officials at an American Bar Association meeting were saying “very soon.” The IRS has finally issued new FAQs and Rev. Rul. 2019-24 providing much-needed crypto tax guidance. For financial intermediaries, ...

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How the Blockchain and Crypto Could Transform the Food Delivery Industry

On-demand taxi services are one of the biggest and smoothest running technology business models. The next biggest is the online food ordering and food delivery industry. These industries are rapidly growing and evolving because of the low initial capital expenses and variety of niches new startups can fill. However, they have a long way to go. Let...

Konstantin Rabin

Konstantin Rabin Head of Marketing at Kontomatik

How does digital currency save millions of dollars for governments?

The world has been embroiled in a serious discussion about whether or not digitized fiat currency should exist in various countries. The argument was pushed when China first announced it would be making its own version of digital currency in order to somehow combat Libra, but there may be other implications as well. Things such as easier distribut...

/regulation

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Compliance Cold Feet? The Evolving Payments and Blockchain Landscape

This week, three major regulated financial firms (PayPal, MasterCard, Visa) all reportedly are getting cold feet about their participation in the Libra Association project. Can anyone really be suprised after last month's policy moves? Consider: --As noted in this analysis on Medium over the summer, the revenue streams for the Libra Association r...

/regulation

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SEC Pulls Its Punches in ICO Enforcement Action

At the beginning of the week, a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action generated attention mostly by levying a large fine ($24 million) in the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) sector. Many shrugged, seeing this as another example of regulatory hostility to cryptocurrency. The reality is more nuanced. The complaint itself is remar...

/regulation

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Factors that are Blocking Cryptocurrency’s Mass Adoption

For us who have been observing crypto for a while, its stagnation as a marginal asset can get frustrating, and quite frankly, incomprehensible. The world is already moving towards a mobile, paperless and cashless society and crypto seems to be the perfect medium for this transition. People have mounting concerns about the world’s economic and soci...

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

Gartner and Blockchain: the Good, the Bad and the ....

Last year Gartner, the high-standard research institute, painted a rather realistic scenario for blockchain. In one of its research papers, Gartner stated that its latest technology hype cycle puts blockchain beyond the peak of expectations and is currently sliding down towards the trough of disillusionment stage. They estimated a 5-10 year times...

Carlo R.W. De Meijer

Carlo R.W. De Meijer Owner and Economist at MIFSA

Using Blockchain for Legal Entity Identifiers or LEIs

In one of its reports, GLEIF, the Swiss-based organisation which coordinates the management of the global Legal Identity Identifier (LEI-) system, suggested to use blockchain technology for identifying financial legal entities, as that would not only improve transparency and security but may also lead to broader global acceptance of the LEI. This ...

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Are Blockchain Based Digital Networks The Future of Social Media?

Things in the digital world are always upgrading. Innovators are always thinking about the next step and how to improve the user experience. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest have become household names and are the main social media channels we know of. However, even these brand-name giants are quickly trying to reinvent themselves...

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