Welcome to The Blockchain Report, your daily rundown for the latest in crypto with your host Taylor Nikolai.
First up, is India launching its own cryptocurrency? It sure looks like it!
According to NewsBTC, a senior government official in India admitted that the country has plans to create a government-backed cryptocurrency. India’s finance ministry set up a board in 2017, recommending measures to be taken in order to properly direct digital currencies. They were supposed to present their findings in July of 2018, but that got pushed back as they take everything into consideration. So as it turns out, while the Indian government is considering releasing its own cryptocurrency, they still might ban all other cryptocurrencies.
Next up, are you going to SXSW? You might have the chance to see a co-founder of Ethereum! According to Forbes, Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin has been announced as a keynote speaker at the popular Texas festival SXSW. Lubin, along with Vitalik Buterin, founded Ethereum. After leaving Ethereum, Lubin founded ConsenSys, to help startups build on top of the Ethereum network.
Next up, IBM is working to help countries transform their economies using blockchain tech. According to NewsBTC, IBM is helping The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) to implement blockchain technology into the country’s existing infrastructure. This is part of a five-year plan to increase the efficiency of the country’s economy.
Director of the Information Technology Department of the CBA, Farid Osmanov, said “The main goal is to enable commercial banks to work with their customers and provide them with timely access to their services.”
Next up, the SEC! According to Coindesk, The Securities Exchange Commission has asked a US district court to enforce a subpoena in an investigation on a pump-and-dump. Now, if you didn’t pay attention to 2017, there were a ton of pump-and-dump scams going on, which is why we appreciate companies like ICOWatchDog for existing.
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US regulators are investigating Saint James Holding and Investment Company Trust, as well as its trustee, Jeffre James. According to the SEC’s statement, they’re “investigating whether certain individuals or entities engaged in a potential “pump-and-dump” scheme in the stock of Cherubim Interests, Inc.” So to “pump” the price, the SEC is saying they made false statements claiming to have $100 million in financing for an ICO. Then when the price went up, they allegedly dumped it. Not great!
Thanks for watching The Blockchain Report. Be sure to follow @BlockchainReport on Instagram to stay up to date on the latest cryptocurrency news and trends. We’ll see you tomorrow.
