countries

Blockchain Experts Weigh in on Russia’s Controversial Coronavirus Tracking App

Experts suggest that blockchain technology could have been a better solution for handling coronavirus-related data in Russia.Moscow’s COVID-19 App is pulled from Google PlayOn March 25, an app called “Social monitoring” appeared in Google Play store. According to the app’s description, it was designed for social monitoring as well as for providing access to emergency services.Users soon noticed that the app required many sensitive permissions, including geolocation, bluetooth pairing, biometric data, and calls. Notably, the data was also being openly transmitted without encryption. The backlash against the app led to

Talking Digital Future: Smart Cities

My journey into smart cities and their future development was a really big surprise, as the way I arrived there was not something that I had planned. I was working as the chief information officer for a company in Northern California called O'Reilly Media when I got a call from a headhunter who asked if I would consider being the chief information office for the City of Palo Alto. I can vividly remember — it was only about eight years ago — my feeling when she asked the question. The

Malaysia’s Securities Commission Gives Tokenize Xchange The Green Light

The 3rd of April, 2020, marked the end of a nine-month probationary period that the Malaysia based crypto trading firm, Tokenize Malaysia, had gone through. Within this time, the company managed to gain full approval from Malaysia’s securities watchdog, the Securities Commission, or SC.Gaining Approval To Start TradingWith the approval given for the company to operate a Digital Assets Exchange, its namesake crypto trading platform, the Tokenize Xchange, has now gained the full legal support and regulation it needs. This was reported on SoyaCincau, a local news outlet, on the

Coronavirus & Bitcoin Price: Is China Losing Its BTC Mining Monopoly?

This week the price of Bitcoin (BTC) surged more than 15%, reaching a high at $7,200 before pulling back into the $6,800 range. Despite the recovery, Bitcoin still has a way to go in order to reach the $8,000 level seen before the coronavirus-triggered selloff on March 12.Cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360The drop had several consequences on the Bitcoin network. Having reached the $3,800 price range, the accentuated drop forced some Bitcoin miners to throw in the towel and shut down their operations due to mining becoming unprofitable.As miners have

Malaysian Securities Regulator Approves Crypto Trading Platform

Following a nine-month-long probationary period, Malaysia-based cryptocurrency trading firm, Tokenize Malaysia, has received full approval from local securities watchdog.With the approval to operate a Digital Assets Exchange, the company’s cryptocurrency trading platform, Tokenize Xchange, became legally approved and regulated by the Securities Commission (SC) of Malaysia, local news outlet, SoyaCincau, reported on April 3. The exchange offers fiat-to-digital asset pairings.Malaysian laws require that local cryptocurrency exchanges register with the SC, after which they have up to nine month to achieve compliance with the SC’s regulation standards.Commenting on the development, Hong

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

Blockchain Head at European Commission Explains Usefulness of DLT

The head of the digital innovation and blockchain unit at the European Commission (EC), Pēteris Zilgalvis, explained the concise benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in an interview to The Banker, a subsidiary of the Financial Times. In the interview, published on April 3, Zilgalvis talked about the benefits and challenges of the technology.According to him, blockchain provides a powerful framework for data sharing, something that can't be done by normal databases:“We think that it presents an excellent technology for situations where different stakeholders need to collaborate but, due to

Bitcoin in the Aftermath of COVID-19: Two Possible Scenarios

Futurist and author, Daniel Jeffries, shared with Cointelegraph his view on the future scenarios awaiting Bitcoin in the aftermath of COVID-19. Two possible outcomes In one particularly dark scenario,  the global economy will plunge into a severe recession and countries will turn to authoritarianism in order to survive. In such a scenario, world governments will impose capital control measures, curbing citizens’ financial freedoms. Authorities will then crack down on cryptocurrency to prevent people from circumventing their restrictions. Jeffries does not believe that Bitcoin would be able to survive in such a scenario. He

Nigeria Launches Its First Bitcoin ATM

The largest country in Africa, Nigeria, is becoming savvier in the crypto sphere by the day. It recently launched its first Bitcoin ATM, which is also the fifteenth in the entire continent.Blockstale BTM installs ATMThe ATM was installed in the Dazey Lounge and Bar in the state of Lagos by Blockstale BTM. It plans to start 30 more terminals across the country. Daniel Adekunle, the founder and chief executive of the company said,“Despite all the legal uncertainties about cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, Nigerians happen to be the highest crypto traders in

Ark’s 1 Million Token Grant Fund Drives Community Innovation

Interoperable blockchain project Ark (ARK) designated one million ARK valued at roughly $150,000 toward its new development grants program on March 24.While the grant program was launched one week ago, Ark’s Strategic Partnerships Manager, Ray Alvarez, told Cointelegraph that it has already received proofs-of-concept from developers.The program exclusively funds “proposals involving technical deployments and usage of [the] ARK technology stack.”The applications include standalone applications and plugins, including development contributing to Ark’s decentralized private messaging application, desktop wallet, and transaction plugins.In addition to sparking development for specific applications, Alvarez states that

Indian Cryptocurrency Exchange to Expand Internationally

An Indian cryptocurrency exchange, BuyUcoin, has just received a license to expand internationally, according to a report from Business Standard.Apparently, the platform received what is called a crypto trade and wallet license from Estonia. Based in Delhi, BuyUcoin will only expand to countries with a clear regulation for cryptocurrencies.Speaking on the matter is BuyUcoin CEO and a co-founder of the project, Shivam Thakral:“The incredible judgment will lead to economic growth, job creation, investment opportunities along with overall mass adoption for blockchain and cryptocurrency-based products and services. At BuyUcoin, we strive