– The Financial Blockchain Shenzhen Consortium (FISCO) announced the launch of a coinless open-source blockchain platform
– Coinbase has launched stablecoin USDC, backed one-to-one by U.S. dollar
– Alibaba Cloud expanded its Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) offering outside of China
– The UK Royal Mint has suspended its plan to launch gold-backed cryptourrency Royal Mint Gold (RMG)
– Japan’s financial regulator has approved an association of cryptocurrency exchanges as a self-regulatory industry body
The Financial Blockchain Shenzhen Consortium (FISCO) announced the launch of FISCO BCOS, a coinless open-source blockchain platform designed to meet the regulatory and operational requirements of the financial industry.
FISCO is one of the largest blockchain consortiums in China. It consists of 100+ members, including tech giants Huawei and Tencent.
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Coinbase, major U.S. crypto exchange, has launched stablecoin USDC, backed one-to-one by U.S. dollar.
Technically, USDC is an ERC-20 token, based on the Ethereum blockchain.
The underlying technology behind USDC was developed collaboratively between Coinbase and fintech company Circle.
USDC is the first stablecoin supported by Coinbase.
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Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, expanded its Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) offering to major global markets including South East Asia, U.S and Europe.
The official press-release states Alibaba Cloud already has a proven track record of enabling multi-scenario applications (such as public benefits systems, logistics and medical industries) through its BaaS blockchain technology since its official launch in October 2017.
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Intercontinental Exchange’s cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt could get a green-light to launch its bitcoin futures product as soon as next week, according to anonymous source with direct knowledge of the situation.
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The UK Royal Mint has suspended its plan to launch gold-backed cryptourrency Royal Mint Gold (RMG).
Reuters reports that after its partnership with the CME Group failed the UK government “vetoed a plan to have the tokens trade on a cryptocurrency exchange”.
Initially, the Royal Mint announced its plan to issue gold-backed tokens in 2016, saying they would give investors an easy way to buy and trade physical gold held in its vaults. The tokens were to be traded on a blockchain-based trading platform run by CME.
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The Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan‘s financial regulator, has approved an association of cryptocurrency exchanges as a self-regulatory industry body.
The FSA said in a notice that it has provided the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) with a status that will let it set rules for the nation’s crypto exchanges and take action over any violations.