Connections. Compliance. Cap Tables.
The Digital Asset Review
MAY 21, 2019
Bitcoin Pizza Guy Featured on Anderson Cooper's 60 Minutes

"The beloved “Bitcoin Pizza Guy,” Laszlo Hanyecz, will be featured in the next airing of 60 Minutes where he will explain how he spent almost $800 million on pizza. Set to air on Sunday, it will be the first TV interview Hanyecz has ever given and will help bring Bitcoin to a much wider audience.

'Are there nights you wake up,' Cooper asks, 'where you think, ‘I could have had $800 million… if I hadn’t bought those pizzas?'' "

Beyond KYC: Regulators Set to Adopt Tough New Rules for Crypto Exchanges

"In addition to verifying and keeping records of their own users’ identities, exchanges and other service providers would have to pass customer information to each other when transferring funds, just as banks are required to do. This is known in the U.S. as the “travel rule”.

Many in the blockchain industry have argued that this practice is at best onerous if not completely unworkable with cryptocurrency and apt to drive users away from regulated platforms. "

Top Banks 'Investing $50 Million' to Build Blockchain Settlement System

“Some of the world’s biggest banks are said to be investing around $50 million to build a blockchain-based digital cash settlement system.

A Reuters report on Friday, citing “people familiar with the plans,” said possibly a dozen unspecified banks are involved in the project. The participating banks will reportedly be setting up a new entity called Fnality for the project, which could launch next year. "

Microsoft Meets Bitcoin: Computing Giant Using Bitcoin as Base Layer for Open Digital Identity Network

"Identifying data would be similarly partitioned and available, say, if you were pulled over at a traffic stop, or if you went to an emergency room in a foreign hospital. Theoretically, unlike current driving and health information, which in “siloed” in distinct and regionally-restrained databases, the new identity systems built on some form of “blockchain” would be global, and you would have to give permission for that data to be perused. "

Canadian Blockchain Expert Alex Tapscott and NextBlock Global Limited to Pay $1M for Misleading Investors

"'We will not tolerate market participants who play fast and loose with the facts when providing offering memoranda to prospective investors, including marketing decks,” said Jeff Kehoe, Director of Enforcement at the OSC.

“This dishonest behaviour robs investors of the opportunity to make informed investment decisions and undermines confidence in our markets.' "

Stellar’s Blockchain Briefly Goes Offline, Confirming the Project Lacks Decentralization

“Recently, blockchain-powered network Stellar stopped confirming transactions for more than one hour, effectively going offline.

Although no money was reportedly lost as a result, Stellar’s major issue has now been highlighted publicly: The project is not decentralized, at least not to the extent expected at this point. Notably, the offline scenario was predicted by researchers earlier last month. "