Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Banking news
- Another banking giant has entered the crypto custody fray, with Italy’s Banca Generali set to offer bitcoin (BTC) custody to its customers. In a press release, the bank, which has over USD 79bn in assets and caters primarily to wealthy clients looking to safeguard their fortunes, has sealed an agreement with a crypto and fintech firm named Conio. The agreement sees bank Banca Generali snap up a USD 14m stake in Conio. The latter was set up in San Francisco in 2015, but caters primarily to Italy-based customers.
- Quontic, a New York-based privately held digital bank, said it is the first FDIC-insured financial institution in the US to go live with a Bitcoin Rewards debit card. The company said it is partnering with NYDIG, a Stone Ridge-run subsidiary firm that provides crypto services to institutional investors, which will provide Quontic with a custody platform to manage the BTC rewards.
Exchanges news
- Nobuaki Kobayashi, the trustee conducting the affairs of the bankrupt Mt. Gox crypto exchange, said he filed a draft rehabilitation plan today. The Tokyo District Court and an examiner will review the draft rehabilitation plan and determine whether to proceed with the rehabilitation proceedings relevant to the plan, an announcement said without providing any other details.
Crypto pay news
- Motorcycle manufacturer Soriano Motori said it now accepts crypto as a form of payment. In a press release, the firm, which has been “rebirthed” from the classic Soriano motorbike brand named after Spanish aviator and motorbike pioneer Ricardo Soriano, said it has teamed up with crypto exchange Coinbase for the move. The motorbike maker said that its three newest electric motorcycle models are now available for purchase for customers wishing to pay in BTC, ethereum (ETH) and three altcoins online using Coinbase-integrated technology.
Regulation news
- The Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit said it has withdrawn more than 1,000 activity licences of virtual currency companies. There are still about 400 companies active in Estonia that offer virtual currency services to clients from other countries mostly.
- Russia’s YooMoney e-pay platform, formerly known as Yandex.Money, will seek to block crypto exchange-linked accounts per a Telegram post from BTC Holder. The platform is one of Russia’s biggest e-pay solutions, with thousands of merchant partners throughout the country. It was co-created by domestic internet giant Yandex and the nation’s largest bank, Sberbank. But the new move, said the source, will see the platform cut off all crypto-related links in line with a new law that outlaws crypto as a form of payment. The legislation in question promulgates on January 1, 2021.
Blockchain news
- The World Economic Forum’s Mining and Metals Blockchain Initiative said they released a proof of concept that uses distributed ledger technology to track embedded greenhouse gas emissions. The successful completion of the proof of concept, named the COT, a Carbon Tracing Platform will be critical in helping to ensure traceability of emissions from mine to the final product, they added.
Trading news
- Sovryn, a decentralized platform for trading and lending BTC, said it is now “fully open to the public” to trade BTC in “a permissionless, noncustodial, and censorship-resistant way.” They also expect to launch a decentralized governance platform soon. Sovryn is developed on RSK, the Bitcoin-powered smart contract platform.
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