US Congressman: Blockchain is ‘the authenticator’ in the AI era

In an address at the Permissionless II conference, US Congressman Tom Emmer urged the blockchain industry to shift its focus towards innovation—asserting that the technology is key to authenticating content in the AI era.

Emmer's remarks come in the wake of recent legal victories for Ripple and Grayscale, with the prospect of an upcoming Supreme Court ruling that could reshape the regulatory landscape.

During a panel discussion, Congressman Emmer began by acknowledging...

House of Lords approve UK crypto bill

UK parliamentarians have taken a significant step towards recognising cryptocurrencies as a regulated activity with the approval of the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB) by the House of Lords.

The move brings the bill closer to becoming law, marking an important development in the country's approach to digital assets.

Anto Paroian, CEO at ARK36, said:

"At ARK36, we feel the news that the UK parliament has just voted through a new bill which could...

a16z’s first global office will be in London due to ‘predictable’ environment

Renowned venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is opening its first global office in London due to a “predictable” regulatory environment.

The decision to expand comes in the wake of growing regulatory challenges faced by crypto firms in the United States. Chris Dixon, a16z's crypto founder and managing partner, highlighted the importance of a predictable business environment as a key factor behind the...

Blockchain Expo: The opportunities of Web3

During a session at this year’s Blockchain Expo, we heard from IDC Research Director Phillip Silitschanu about the opportunities of Web3 and the journey that lies ahead.

Silischanu shared his insights, based on vast experience, on the applicability of blockchain services and the potential of Web3. He discussed the opportunities and challenges presented by these technologies and their impact on various sectors.

Web2 vs Web3

Web2, also known as the social web, marked...

Tornado Cash sequel, Privacy Pools, aims to please US regulators

Tornado

An ex-developer of Tornado Cash, the sanctioned crypto mixer that makes crypto assets harder to track, is working on a new platform that hopes to solve the service’s ties to illicit activity.

Ameen Soleimani believes that Privacy Pools, the working name for his new Ethereum mixer launched on GitHub, will nudge US regulators to reconsider their stance on privacy mixers.

In a lengthy Twitter thread, Soleimani discussed what he says as the “critical flaw” with Tornado...

Blockchain Expo: Maturing blockchain industry paves the way for enterprise adoption

A session at this year’s Blockchain Expo Europe highlighted that blockchain is reaching a stage of maturity that paves the way for enterprise adoption.

The session was presented by Pedro Lopez-Belmonte, Senior Manager of Web3 and Technology Innovation at Richemont, on day one of Europe’s leading blockchain conference.

One of the first charts presented during the session was Gartner’s hype cycle, which shows blockchain platforms now leaving the trough of...

Crypto firms failing to meet anti-money laundering standards, warns UK watchdog

A pile of bitcoins.

A substantial amount of cryptocurrency businesses are not meeting the minimum anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism requirements set by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

As of January 2021, cryptocurrency-related companies have had to register with the authority before doing business.

The FCA said it “will only register firms where it is confident that processes are in place to identify and prevent this activity”.

Just five companies are...

Switzerland wants to accommodate crypto within existing financial laws

Cryptocurrency coins.

The Swiss Government believes that its existing financial laws are compatible to deal with new technologies like the 21st century’s most talked about distributed ledger technology (DLT) – the blockchain. And that is why the country’s Federal Council recently issued a report that outlines a legal framework for distributed ledger technology (DLT) to be included in the current financial system.

In the report, the council has proposed an amendment to the country’s securities...