Canada

TikTok Ban: The Beginning of a New Age in Social Networks?

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that forbids American companies to transact with Tencent and Bytedance. The ban comes after a long debate involving alleged data mining from apps like WeChat and TikTok. Following the ban, Tencent shares fell 5%. American companies will effectively have 45 days to stop transacting with these companies. The ban is sparking worldwide debate regarding the boundaries of national security. Is this an opportunity for decentralized social media platforms to step up? Tencent and the Yuan Plummet The announcement was immediately felt on

Bitfarms Streamlines Workforce As Coronavirus Threat Continues

Birfarms, a cryptocurrency mining outfit based out of Canada, would be trimming its staff. This is due to the coronavirus pandemic’s effects on its operations.The company made the decision known in an update published earlier this week, explaining that it will be making some adjustments to the coronavirus amid both its economic and social effects.Focusing on Sustainability and ProfitsVia the update, the company explained to stakeholders and community members that it had optimized its operations to maximize mining power over the past few weeks. As a result, it’s been able

Professors Are Building a Blockchain-Based Digital Court

Professors are building what they call a “digital court for a digital age” via blockchain technology.They believe that this effort will “save time, money, and effort.” That, and of course, information can not be altered once it is on the blockchain.The two professors, Hitoshi Matsushima and Shunya Noda, the former at the University of Tokyo and the latter at the University of British Columbia in Canada.Of course, this system would ensure legal disputes could take advantage of the technology, a field that hasn’t been much explored.Speaking on the matter is

Ripple Funds Blockchain’s Disruption of the Legal Industry

A new blockchain course offered by the Australian National University (ANU)’s law school commenced this year with support from Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI).Cointelegraph spoke to Lauren Weymouth, the senior manager of the UBRI’s University Partnerships Program, and Scott Chamberlain, the academic running the curriculum, to find out more about how blockchain can disrupt the legal industry and the partnership between the ANU and UBRI.Chamberlain will be working alongside the developer behind the Toast XRPL Wallet, Richard Holland, to develop and deliver the course.ANU law school launches blockchain courseChamberlain

FATF Grades U.S. Government on Crypto Regulation Enforcement 

The Financial Action Task Force, one of the most prominent Anti-Money Laundering (AML) enforcers in the world, has called out the United States government for being lax on policy enforcement. On March 31, the body published a report in which it explained that the United States is only “largely compliant” with its AML and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) regulations – especially when it comes to the issue of virtual currencies. Higher Awareness is Good, but Loophole Still Exist In the report, the FATF outlined the United States’ degree of compliance with the recommendations it issued last

Past Halvings in Review: Case for an Immediate Bitcoin Upsurge Is Flawed

The block reward halving of Bitcoin (BTC) has long been touted as an optimistic factor to drive the short-term price trend of BTC in the first half of 2020. Historical data, however, shows that the halving does not necessarily coincide with an immediate upsurge in the price of Bitcoin.On the Bitcoin network, miners create blocks that record Bitcoin transactions to essentially verify and confirm payment data using computing power. Through large-scale mining centers filled with ASIC mining chips and sophisticated equipment, miners use a large amount of electricity and have

As Malta Delays Regulatory Clarity, Fewer Firms Remain on ‘Blockchain Island’

It seems that Malta is becoming both less popular among and less populated with crypto firms. The European Union country attracted dozens of industry players in 2018 on the back of the “blockchain island” agenda championed by the local government, but the relevant framework has not yet proven to be effective. Meanwhile, the official rhetoric apparently started to shift away from the blockchain sector, as the government now aims to consolidate it with “other niche sectors.”Meanwhile, the Malta Financial Services Authority, continues to pluck out non-registered crypto agents — be

Celo to Issue at Least $15.7 Mln in Community Grants During 2020

Open-source payments network, Celo (cGLD), announced on March 31 that it had awarded $700,000 in developer grant funding to 16 startups looking to build on the Celo network. Cointelegraph spoke to Xochitl Cazador, the head of ecosystem growth at cLabs — the company behind Celo — to discuss what they look for from grant applicants, and Celo’s plans for 2020.Celo provides grant funding to 16 startupsCazador states that the most important criteria applicants are assessed on is whether they “support Celo’s mission of building an open financial system that creates conditions