“MCD will introduce exciting new features to the Maker Protocol, including the highly anticipated Dai Savings Rate (DSR) and, of course, additional CDP collateral types.
The DSR will not only allow users to earn on Dai held, but will also immediately create an entirely new dimension for innovative Maker protocol integration on the backend of DeFi dapps.
Christensen also announced a redesign of the Maker website, unveiling in the process the new Dai logo.“
See Also: MakerDAO’s Multi-Collateral DAI Token Is Launching Nov. 18
“Announced at the ethereum developer conference, thirty different blockchain companies and nonprofit organizations plan to fork the Facebook-led Libra crypto project to build their own permissionless version, dubbed OpenLibra.
Anything running on Facebook’s Libra, you can just drag and drop to OpenLibra. Finances will work the same. The code will work the same. There is no token sale. No equity and no company behind this initiative.
OpenLibra’s core team includes representatives from blockchain projects including Cosmos, Web3 Foundation, [Ethereum Foundation], Democracy Earth and others, as well as non-profit organizations such as the Danish Red Cross.
So far, the OpenLibra project has published a permissionless version of the Libra virtual machine on GitHub. OpenLibra will run atop Tendermint blockchain software specifically designed for use on public blockchain platforms such as Cosmos.
In Libra we trust, in Facebook we don’t.”
See Also: OpenLibra
“Binance is now accepting fiat through Alipay and WeChat, opening up the exchange to peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto transactions from China.
One of the largest social media apps globally, WeChat currently has over 1.1 billion active users. Payment application Alipay has over 900 million users.”
“The guidance notice released Wednesday addresses: the tax liabilities created by cryptocurrency forks; the acceptable methods for valuing cryptocurrency received as income; and how to calculate taxable gains when selling cryptocurrencies.
New cryptocurrencies created from a fork of an existing blockchain should be treated as ‘an ordinary income equal to the fair market value of the new cryptocurrency when it is received.’ [Notably] ‘you would only be liable for new income based on the fair market value of the asset when received, and most forks don’t start out with a high valuation.’
In a disappointment to crypto users who like to spend their coins on everyday purchases like cups of coffee, the IRS specifically said it would not create an exemption for transactions below a certain threshold. Paying somebody for service will result in a capital gain or loss.”
“Significantly, the BoE says it needs access to be able to monitor payment chain information as one of its conditions. Network participants, exchanges listing the Libra coin, and Libra-compatible wallets will also fall under scrutiny.
The resilience of the proposed Libra system would rely on the stability of not just the core elements of the Libra Association and Libra Reserve but also the associated critical activities conducted by other firms in the Libra ecosystem such as validators, exchanges or wallet providers.”
“Two U.S. Senators have publicly asked Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard to remove themselves from the Facebook-led cryptocurrency payment network, Libra.
In what could be viewed as threatening language, Schatz and Brown say participating firms such as Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard may see heightened regulatory scrutiny overall as a result of Libra membership.
If you take this on, you can expect a high level of scrutiny from regulators not only on Libra-related payment activities, but on all payment activities.”
See Also: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Testify Before Congress Over Libra Crypto
“UNICEF will now be able to receive, hold and disburse donations of cryptocurrencies ether and bitcoin, through its newly-established UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund. In a first for United Nations organizations, UNICEF will use cryptocurrencies to fund open source technology benefiting children and young people around the world.
Contributions will be held in their cryptocurrency of contribution, and granted out in the same cryptocurrency. The first contributions to the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund will be received from the Ethereum Foundation.
This is a new and exciting venture for UNICEF. If digital economies and currencies have the potential to shape the lives of coming generations, it is important that we explore the opportunities they offer.”
“FAT Brands, the parent company of franchises such as Fatburger, Bonanza Steakhouse and Ponderosa Steakhouse, in cooperation with digital securitization platform Cadence, is tokenizing a bond offering on the ethereum blockchain.
Cadence will use a public version of the ethereum blockchain for the tokenization. FAT Brands aims to bring the security to the public by the end of 2019.
There will be security tokens issued on the ethereum blockchain that digitally represent ownership in the underlying Reg D exempt bonds.
Morningstar Credit Ratings likely will also engage in the ordeal to give the public a sense of the asset’s risk and profitability levels.”
“Libra Gets Forked, Mariano Conti Shows Why Crypto is Life-Changing, Danny Ryan on Eth2.”
“Mutual fund giant Vanguard has partnered with Nasdaq Ventures-backed blockchain startup Symbiont to develop a trading platform for the $6 trillion currency market.
With the new platform, Vanguard, which manages $5.2 trillion, aims to lower transaction costs for the trillions of dollars worth of currencies it trades annually by boosting peer-to-peer trading for investors.”
“Though separate from U.S. regulators and from other global regulatory bodies, Canada’s government has been reticent to establish crypto regulations that might conflict with other countries’ laws. Instead, Gord described a regulatory gray zone that confounds his consulting group and the legal teams.
A vast majority – 96 percent – of Canadian businesses with 500 employees or less have at least considered implementing distributed ledger technology. Nearly 40 percent of respondents said that ‘legal and regulatory challenges’ were impeding their growth.”
“The startup revealed that it will incorporate the Universal Protocol Platform UPT utility token into its payment processing technology. By doing so, OmiseGo intends to let stakeholders to use UP stablecoins for financial services and tax collection, as well as collect transaction fees.
Also today, OmiseGo announced a partnership with Hydro Labs, an open-source blockchain project designed to address the unbanked issue. The cooperation between the companies is geared to streamline Hydro Pay Ethereum-based transactions, purportedly making them instant.”
“Bitcoin (BTC) jumped 5.1 percent on Wednesday to the highest price in three weeks, after the Federal Reserve (Fed) said it would print money to expand the size of bank reserves – seen as a move by the U.S. central bank that could spark inflation.
Powell said the Fed may have to keep pumping money into the financial markets by buying securities in the coming days in order to ensure the smooth functioning of short-term lending markets.
Some investors and analysts describe the Fed’s latest operation as round four of quantitative easing (QE).”
See Also: Grayscale: Institutional Interest in Crypto Doubles in Q2