A few days after announcing a new branch in Switzerland, China’s mining giant Bitmain Technologies is considering another expansion – this time in Canada’s Quebec province. According to a report by Reuters, Bitmain is looking at potential mining sites in Quebec and has already begun discussions with power authorities. The new plan appears to be an […]

The central bank of Lithuania has launched a new regulatory “sandbox” for startups working with blockchain. Announced last week, the “LBChain” initiative will see the Bank of Lithuania set up a dedicated platform around the tech, through which companies can develop services (though these would be subject to some gatekeeping by central bank officials). It’s […]

Magda Borowik is the special envoy for fintech to the Ministry of Digital Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the director of technology research at FinTech Poland. The following article is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2017 in Review. The last couple of years were owned by the ‘fintech’ buzzword. From startups to investors to […]

Sberbank, one of the largest banks in Russia, has announced a blockchain laboratory to develop and test blockchain-based solutions. The new lab aims to generate product prototypes, perform pilot tests and deploy blockchain-based business solutions for Sberbank Group, a press release says. According to Igor Bulantsev, Sberbank’s senior vice president, blockchain can help in “reshaping” the financial […]

Chinese web search giant Baidu has launched its own blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform. Based on technology developed by Baidu, the open platform sets out to provide the most “user-friendly” blockchain service. According to the firm’s dedicated website, “Baidu Trust” allows the conducting and tracing of transactions, and can be applied in various use cases, including digital currency, digital […]

Does the world really need a blockchain phone? Sirin Labs is betting it does. The startup, which recently raised $157 million in an initial coin offering (ICO), is building an Android smartphone from scratch with special features for cryptocurrency enthusiasts: an app store for distributed apps (dapps), cold storage for private keys and easy conversion […]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday that the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a government body that assesses financial system risks, has formed a working group focused on cryptocurrencies. Mnuchin remarked on the process during an appearance at The Economic Club in Washington, D.C. after being asked about the topic of bitcoin. “We are very […]

A lawmaker in Florida has introduced a bill that, if passed, would create a legal foundation for blockchain data and smart contracts in the U.S. state. House Bill 1357 introduces multiple stipulations that blockchain ledgers and smart contracts be treated as legally-binding methods of data storage – provided that such measures do not break any pre-existing […]

Pavel Matveev is the CEO of Wirex, a bitcoin wallet and payment card provider. The following article is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2017 in Review. The new year will usher in regulatory arbitrage amongst companies that want to develop innovative solutions, as well as from states seeking to maximize tax receipts from cryptocurrency-related businesses. While […]

The Bank of Korea (BoK), South Korea’s central bank, has launched a cryptocurrency task force to explore the technology’s effects on the financial system. According to a report by local news agency Pulse News, the bank said that the task force will see participation from eight departments, including the financial stability and monetary policy units, to study […]