In what could be a historic move, China and Singapore utilized the blockchain to completed a gasoline shipment between their borders on April 2, 2018. The act is among the of international shipping via the blockchain and serves as a beautiful use-case for skeptics of the technology.
Use Cases and Adoption
Tens years after introduction, the world is yet to wake up to the advancements and efficiencies of using a blockchain based systems. Traditional media outlets have so far focused on price volatility, while completely ignoring the technology that underpins every cryptocurrency.
However, in the past few months, BTCManager has observed several use-cases of by governments and institutions. Successful, real-world tests would only increase faith in a blockchain powered world, fueled by decentralized cryptocurrencies.
The shipping and logistics sector is among the most suited for a smart contract or blockchain environment, with the others being and possibly administrative innovations.
As most of the world over Initial Coin Offerings () and virtual currencies, China and Singapore went ahead and successfully conducted an international shipment via the blockchain.
Many cryptocurrency businesses are headquartered in Singapore, with China closely leading the race, and with such experiments, it seems prudent that an upcoming revolution is brewing in that part of the world.
Shipment Done by China’s Largest Firm
The shipment of gasoline was conducted by , which is wholly owned by the Government’s Sinochem Corporation. The shipment was sent from the Chinese city of Quanzhou to the port of Singapore, and the company :
“It is the first time that blockchain applications have been applied to all key participants in the commodity trading process.”
In a press release, the company deemed that the cross-border trial was the first step towards implementing blockchains in China’s energy and petrochemical industry.
“The technology is seen as a way to simplify complex and lengthy transactions in energy trading and reduce costs by digitizing key documents,” according to a Reuters report relating to the matter.
It must be noted that the state-owned Sinochem Group is no stranger to implementing blockchain, as they the world’s first crude oil blockchain import transaction in December 2017.
In a statement, the group said that smart contracts and digitally-generated bills cause a significant enhancement in the “execution efficiency,” and using blockchain can optimize “20 [percent] to 30 [percent] of the financing costs.”
By improving transaction efficiency, the company believes that using blockchain technology effectively decreases risks pertaining to this industry.
China-U.S Blockchain Use In Agriculture Trade
Another blockchain effort by the Chinese government was in January 2018, when the eastern superpower imported a container of soybeans from the U.S. It was the world’s first global agricultural trade using a distributed ledger.
Embedded in the transaction’s smart contract were a handful of documents including a letter of credit, a sales contract, and relevant certificates.
Later, the companies involved in this shipment concluded the benefits of using blockchain, which included saving time and reducing costs five-fold. This improvement is possible mainly due to the use of a smart contract.
With all this in mind, we certainly can’t predict where the price of cryptocurrencies would be in a few months, but with governments conducting successful experiments, one thing is for sure: The crypto storm is coming soon.
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The Australian financial authorities have informed all virtual currency exchanges operating in the region that with effect from today April 3, 2018, they must all start making efforts to fulfill their regulatory obligations.
AUSTRAC Regulation
Australia is one of the countries with a cryptocurrency ecosystem. In a prime example of this favorability, citizens can seamlessly buy and the in-store from over 1,200 newsagents spread around the nation.
The Australian Transactions and Reporting Analysis Centre (), the body that acts as the nation’s financial intelligence agency and watchdog, announced that all digital currency exchanges present in the country must start conducting proper anti-money laundering () and counter-terrorism financing () operations.
The Guidelines
AUSTRAC has made it clear that it is no longer business as usual for crypto exchanges operating in the state. Henceforth, all exchanges must adhere to regulatory .
Principally, exchanges need to formulate and stick with an AML/CTF program to identify, mitigate and manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
The watchdog has also mandated all exchanges to verify the identities of their clients thoroughly and must report all suspicious cases, as well as crypto-to-fiat transactions over $10,000. That’s not all, on- and off-boarding platforms are expected to keep some transaction records for up to seven years.
The above guidelines seem fair because more than a few have taken advantage of the entirely unregulated nature of the virtual currencies world to perpetuate in recent times.
Action Required
AUSTRAC has said that a new “policy principle” period starts immediately. As such, all exchanges are expected to begin taking the necessary steps towards getting registered.
The body has made it clear that its chief executive will have the authority to punish crypto exchanges who fail to comply with the new regulation.
An excerpt from the official statement reads:
“Transitional registration arrangements will be in place for existing businesses to allow them to continue providing services while their registration application is being considered. Existing businesses providing DCE services will need to register by [May 14, 2018].”
AUSTRAC has also stated that all exchanges which fail to register by the given deadline will be punished severely.
“There will be a criminal offense and civil penalty consequences if you provide digital currency exchange services without being registered.”
It’s pertinent to note that the Australian government had given AUSTRAC the power to regulate crypto exchanges since 2017 when it the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing bill.
Back in February 2018, BTCManager that over 1,200 complaints concerning crypto scams were sent to the Australian consumer protection watchdog. Therefore, it is expected that this new regulation will curb the rate of fraud in the continent’s crypto space to some extent.
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On Thursday, I decided to try the recently released Eclair bitcoin wallet for Android, which has support for the highly-anticipated Lightning Network. What follows is a thorough description of the entire experience. The first thing I noticed when downloading the Eclair Wallet from AQINC was the relatively low number of downloads. Between one and ten […]
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