Wisdom of the crypto: Seeing the future
U.K. Treasury Committee: ‘Wild West’ cryptoassets should be regulated
Report: 2018 saw a huge increase in illicit cryptocurrency mining
Binance plans to launch a crypto exchange on almost every continent
Fiat is still where all the money is in. And we've got to open that gate.” — Zhao Changpeng, CEO Binance on his company’s plan to launch fiat-to-crypto exchanges
The Big Block
The “wisdom of the crowd” phenomenon has been widely explored by many experts. The discovery that the aggregate answers of many different people are often superior to those of individuals has jumpstarted new companies and industries. Companies like Wikipedia, Quora, and StackExchange show us how crowdsourced answers can lead to fast and accurate information. The rise of prediction markets demonstrates how crowdsourced answers can lead to financial gains.
These markets, if leveraged at scale, could potentially provide the world with one of most efficient forecasting tools available. However, the prediction market industry is greatly handicapped currently due to censorship and centralization — two words that should immediately capture the interest of entrepreneurs in the world of crypto.
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Around The Block
U.K. Treasury Committee: ‘Wild West’ cryptoassets should be regulated
The committee published a report on cryptoassets recommending regulation. Some key findings from the report include:
The ambiguity of UK regulators position on cryptoassets is not sustainable.
The arguments that cryptoassets could further financial inclusion are unconvincing.
There is no evidence to suggest that the application of blockchain technology is currently reliably operational.
Cryptoasset markets are vulnerable to manipulation, and they fall outside the scope of market abuse rules. — More
Report: 2018 saw a huge increase in illicit cryptocurrency mining
The Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA) released a joint analysis revealing a 459% increase in detected illicit cryptocurrency mining malware since 2017 with no signs of slowing down. The CTA attributes the spike to the leak of EternalBlue and slow patch management. — More
Binance plans to launch a crypto exchange on almost every continent — More
Singapore central banker suggests crypto utility tokens are not securities — More
Bitfury launches new suite of bitcoin miners — More
Industry leaders and banks to launch a blockchain-based commodities trade financing platform — More