Shelley and Goguen Updates to Be Released this Year

Willmen Blanco
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Shelley and Goguen Updates to Be Released this Year

Developer Charles Hoskinson clarifies that both updates are independent and that the responsible teams have progressed greatly with their development

Angel Di Matteo, a Clinical Psychologist interested in Bitcoin and the digital currency ecosystem, reports what Charles Hoskinson thinks about the Shelly and Goguen updates.

Cardano CEO and former co-founder of Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson, recently shared some interesting comments on the next update scheduled for the network, Goguen, which will improve the functionality of smart contracts.

Hoskinson shared these comments during a live interview on the Ivan on Tech YouTube channel, noting that Goguen is intended to be released sometime in 2019.

Properties of Goguen

Cardano analysts and enthusiasts say that Goguen constitutes one of the most important updates to the protocol once Shelley is implemented. According to information published in the roadmap of the network, one of the most important aspects of Goguen is the incorporation of a “next-generation virtual machine”, better known as IELE, which is specialized to execute in smart contracts.

Among the development team’s plans is also the implementation of a new “universal programming language framework”, which will be used as a central infrastructure for future technologies to be implemented in Cardano’s Blockchain.

The developers also affirm that this new technology is based on the “theory of the avant-garde programming language” and on formal methods, which aim to reinforce the security and reliability of the Blockchain network, closing the spaces against possible vulnerabilities.

Shelley and Goguen: Independent Developments

During the interview, Hoskinson shared important details about the plans contemplated to implement Goguen, noting that its launch is contemplated after Shelley is already operational in the network.

Despite the fact that one launch follows the other, Hoskinson stressed that the Shelley and Goguen progress lines are not exactly integrated, since they are updated by separate teams that work independently, using the original plans as a guide.

In this order of ideas, Hoskinson assured that the functionality for the smart contracts that Goguen brings can operate in either a centralized or decentralized system; hence, the update could begin to be implemented even if Shelley experiences some delays.

However, the founder of Cardano clarified that it would be best to implement these properties for smart contracts in a decentralized ecosystem, with the purpose of minimizing the weight that falls on the figures involved.

Improvements for Cardano in 2019

Making it clear that the updates could come at any time this year, Hoskinson assured that Shelley and Goguen will be released in 2019 and added:

“We are really almost ready for Goguen, so this year we will see the two launches and they will be improving as 2019 progresses.”

The CEO of Cardano also said that 2019 will be the year in which the network will undergo a great development:

“Year 2019 will close with a Cardano that is much more decentralized than Bitcoin, which will have smart contracts and many other things that people wait anxiously to see.”

The implementation of Shelly and Goguen updates this year will allow Cardano to become a more robust blockchain platform and, consequently, the confidence of its investors will increase.

By Willmen Blanco

A New Cryptobank in Puerto Rico Starts Operations

Maria Rodríguez
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A New Cryptobank in Puerto Rico Starts Operations

The institution that seeks to attract new investors will operate legally in Puerto Rico, whilst its transactions will be supervised by local authorities

The San Juan Mercantile Bank & Trust International Corp (SJMBT), which will be engaged in the cryptoactive trade, started its cryptocurrency purchase and sale banking operations, according to what the company announced in a press release published on April 2nd.

Recently, the new corporation reported that it received, last month, the legal operation license from the financial authority of that country. In this way, the cryptobank will operate legally in the Puerto Rican territory and its services and transactions will be regulated by local authorities.

SJMBT has already accepted its first deposit of a client. With the receipt of that first deposit, the bank is already officially open to the public, and with the cryptoactive operations it offers, its institutional clients will have a complete package of services for their commercial needs.

Designed for Investors

The exchange, based on membership for digital asset traders, is looking to expand the reach of its operations by attracting institutional investors.

In the press release, the Chairman and Director of operations of SJMBT, Nick Varelakis, said that starting banking activities in that entity is a significant milestone for the exchange of cryptoactives in the region.

“Institutional participants in the digital asset market now have access to an authorized, fully regulated and operational banking partner that provides a secure environment for the adjustment and settlement of digital asset operations”, he said.

In the first stage, neither the cryptocurrency nor the banking platform would work. However, the Mercantile Global Holdings website established that both platforms will offer electronic negotiation services and custody of fiat and cryptoactive funds.

Both operations must occur in accordance with anti-money laundering (AML) parameters and know your client (KYC) for greater user safety, preserve important information and avoid money laundering among other types of crimes.

The security measures that will be required for the successful process of the operations are detailed in a second press release published on March 12th.

So far no more details are known about the cryptoactives to be included in the cryptobank system or what other security measures will be implemented by this new institution and the cryptobolse for the storage and custody of cryptoactives.

About SJMX and SJMBT

San Juan Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (SJMX) and its banking affiliate, the San Juan Mercantile Bank & Trust International Corp. (SJMBT), are developing a professional-grade trading environment and integrated banking platform for trading digital assets. SJMX and SJMBT are subsidiaries of Mercantile Global Holdings, Inc. (MGH).

By bringing together an experienced team of exchange professionals, bankers, technologists, and legal and compliance personnel, “SJMX and SJMBT are bringing to the digital asset space what professional traders have come to expect from regulated exchanges and banks”, said the information. It adds that users can contact the company at [email protected].

This new financial institution joins the growing number of over-the-counter markets which seek to attract traditional investors to the crypto-ecosystem, adapting cryptocurrency platforms to traditional standards so that more and more users feel comfortable entering the world of cryptography.

According to the official explanation, SJMBT offers fiat and digital asset custody and settlement services, and it is expected to be integrated with the trading platforms offered by its affiliate, the San Juan Mercantile Exchange (SJMX).  Together, SJMX and SJMBT will provide an integrated end-to-end solution for institutional customers seeking a familiar, efficient and secure way to trade digital currencies.

By María Victoria Rodríguez

FED, IMF and World Bank approve of XRP

Willmen Blanco
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FED, IMF and World Bank approve of XRP

Iván López, an engineer, and expert in cryptocurrencies, explains the implementation of Ripple in financial organizations worldwide

Ripple (XRP) continues moving steadily and is making progress with financial institutions worldwide, as they are attracted to its cross-border payment solutions for faster and cheaper transactions.

Despite the bear market seems to have ended, Ripple has been one of the best-performing digital assets in recent months. This is due to the fact that Ripple Inc. is implementing several products whose designs are intended to compete and replace the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).

Of course, it is very striking that Ripple has dealt with large institutions very tactfully. This suggests that institutions need a face to adopt and harbor an idea, maybe due to the confidence they need so much. Anyway, Ripple’s participation with entities such as the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a testimony to its growth.

In the first instance, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen was chosen as one of the actors to discuss with the IMF the different ways in which Blockchain and other emerging technologies could be used to rationalize some of the activities executed within the financial landscape.

IMF Director Christine Lagarde warned banks that they would have to enhance and adopt new technologies, such as Ripple, which would help them serve their customers better. She believes that Ripple and other similar Blockchain companies would help banks reduce costs and accelerate transactions worldwide.

Improving Remittances

The WB recently published an article in which it praised the Blockchain technology and the efforts made by Ripple and others to improve remittances. Currently, remittances involve a high cost for those who need them most, especially for residents of developing countries who travel abroad and send funds to their country of origin.

Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, remains the most expensive region to send money, with an 8.97% average cost. Innovations in cross-border transactions can certainly help reduce operating costs for remittance service providers.

The latest report focuses on the various Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT), including Ripple’s xRapid technology, for which pilot programs and the Circle payment service have been run at several institutions.

It also referred to the Ripple’s pilot program for the American and Mexican market. Ripple indicates that there was a saving of 40-70% in this particular pilot program since cross payments only require a few minutes compared to the few days when they are executed through a Forex agent. In addition, Mercury FX, which uses xRapid, revealed that more than $ 1.8 billion in remittances have been executed through Ripple.

Fed’s Adoption of Ripple

Finally, we mention the Federal Reserve of the United States (Fed), which can even adopt any of the three Ripple Inc. solutions. The bank aims to adopt technologies such as Ripple, which would support interbank liquidity for faster payments.

In the report submitted to the Fed, Ripple informed that, for the United States of America to retain their competitive advantage and drive innovation in payments, it is crucial that new systems be studied and adopted.

Undoubtedly, Ripple’s position with regards to weighty institutions indicates that it is doing well. However, to the liking of many, Ripple is placed before the decentralized philosophy of cryptocurrencies, for which it does not capture their attention, but for many, this is what strengthens it.

By Willmen Blanco

American Trader to Give Back $800K Earned by Managing Unlicensed Exchange, Sentenced to Prison

Andres Chavez
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American Trader to Give Back $800K Earned by Managing Unlicensed Exchange, Sentenced to Prison

In the crypto industry, one that still has not surpassed the obvious hurdle that represents coming up with a proper legal framework is very important to do things right, without taking advantage of naive users that put their faith and resources in a specific platform without thinking they could be tricked by a criminal.

A particular case made the headlines this week in the United States of America, as a 22-year-old trader was ordered by the Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of California to give back more than $800,000 he had made illegally via a money transmission business that had no license.

A Two-Year Prison Sentence

The development was reported at the start of the week by the Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of California, which also informed that the dealer in question, whose name is Jacob Burrell Campos, received a two-year prison sentence for his shady acts.

Burrell was actually taken to custody last year, in August, without bail. He had pleaded guilty in October of managing a Bitcoin exchange without licensing or registering the business with the right organization, in this case, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). In addition to giving back the “earnings” and spending two years in jail, Burrell was also asked to pay a maximum fine of $250,000.

Among the acts performed by Burrell were selling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoin to more than 1,000 clients of the unlicensed exchange, according to information provided by the Attorney’s Office. The man advertised his site on LocalBitcoins.com, and also earned a commission that was 5% over the prevailing exchange rate whilst also taking cash thanks to ATMs and MoneyGram.

The infractor admitted to the American justice that his site did not have any KYC (Know Your Customer) or AML (Anti Money Laundering) performances to get to know the customers and the origin of their funds.

Dirty, Risky Business

According to Burrell, he had to shift to a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange after his American account was closed because of the suspicious nature of the transactions he performed. He said that he, at least initially, acquired BTC through a properly regulated platform, but later confessed that he bought $3.29 million worth of Bitcoin in the Hong Kong exchange from 2015 to 2017.

Burrell also told that he exchanged his USD with Joseph Castillo, a precious metals dealer in the city of San Diego and that he and other associates imported more than $1 million of US currency daily.

David Shaw, the Homeland Security Investigations’ special agent in charge of the case, stated that “[the] sentencing of Burrell is a reminder to those illegal and unlicensed money transmitters that the laws and rules apply to cryptocurrency dealings just as they do to other types of financial transactions.”

On the other hand, U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer explained that “the federal government will continue to investigate and prosecute all white collar criminals who refuse to comply with the anti-money laundering laws of the United States, and who assist others in avoiding scrutiny of their ill-gotten gains.”

By Andres Chavez

Coinbase Pro Now Support the EOS, Augur, and Maker Cryptocurrencies

Andres Chavez
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Coinbase Pro users received some good news this week, in their quest to have more tools and options to trade. In a blog post on April 8th, the American cryptocurrency exchange platform announced that it added support for three additional digital assets, on top of its already broad catalog.

Coinbase Pro is the professional version of the US-based exchange and wallet service. It will now have support for the EOS (EOS,) Augur (REP,) and Maker (MKR) cryptocurrencies in its platform.

New Trading Pairs

According to the blog post, Coinbase Pro will start accepting inbound transfers of the mentioned digital assets and accepted deposits for at least 12 hours prior to enabling the trade process. After enough liquidity is achieved, people will be able to perform trading on these order books:

EOS-USD, EOS-EUR, EOS-BTC (all Coinbase-supported regions excluding NY)

REP-USD, REP-EUR, REP-BTC (all Coinbase-supported regions excluding NY)

MKR-BTC, MKR-USDC (all Coinbase-supported regions outside the US)

In the publication, Coinbase Pro stated that the trading of EOS and REP will soon be available “in all jurisdictions supported by Coinbase Pro, with the exception of New York State. MKR will be available in all Coinbase Pro-supported jurisdictions outside the US. Additional regions may be added for each asset at a later date.”

A Little Bit More about the Supported Tokens

EOS, a widely used cryptocurrency and platform in China, is known for supporting the creation and development of decentralized apps (dApps,) posing a significant competitor for the Ethereum blockchain. With each passing day, more and more developers are switching to EOS.

On the other hand, REP is Augur’s Reputation token, a digital asset functioning on an open source, decentralized prediction market platform. REP can report and dispute the outcome of specific events on digital prediction markets. At the moment of writing this article, REP was exchanging hands at $21.68.

Maker, shortened to MKR, is based in the Ethereum blockchain. It is “a utility token, governance token, and recapitalization resource of the Maker system.” It is inside the top 20 cryptocurrencies according to CoinMarketCap’s market cap ranking, in the 19th spot. It was trading at $713.40 at the time of writing this piece.

Broadening the Options Offered

Coinbase Pro has a wide array of supported cryptocurrencies. It also recently added support for two up and coming projects that have achieved worldwide prominence: Stellar Lumens (XLM) and Ripple (XRP.) Now, both of them are offered in Coinbase.com as well, and the trading app for mobile operating systems iOS and Android.

This month, the American exchange successfully expanded its offerings to cross border payments, which means that its customers are now able to move funds to any person that holds a Coinbase account in the planet by using XRP and USDC (Coinbase’s stablecoin) with no additional fees. Thanks to the feature, clients will be allowed to send and receive funds instantly and convert them into their local currency.

Coinbase explained that “one of the most common requests we receive from customers is to be able to trade more assets on our platform. Per the terms of our listing process, we anticipate supporting more assets that meet our standards over time.”

By Andres Chavez

Bitfury Creates a System ​​for the Management of Medical Information Based on Blockchain

Maria Rodríguez
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Bitfury Creates a System ​​for the Management of Medical Information Based on Blockchain

The system created jointly between Bitfury and Longenesis will allow the management of information related to organizing valuable data for medical research

In a recent press note sent to different media, on Thursday, April 4th, it was announced that the startup Bitfury, a diversified blockchain company, partnered with Longenesis, a medical data market powered by blockchain, to develop a system that allows the management of medical information using a blockchain platform.

According to data offered in the press release, this tool is aimed at solving documentation and information management problems with the consent of patients for medical research, as well as the collection of vital information for future discoveries and clinical solutions. This must be done under the express compliance of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The document shows that once the information has been collected, it is recorded in the blockchain system of ExonumTM, which will audit the information. It means that the system can be used as a method for the handling of information and as a complementary alternative together with the digital systems usually used.

In this regard, the CEO of Insilico Medicine, Inc., Alex Zhavoronkov, said: “Although regulations vary from country to country, research organizations should work to deploy content management systems that protect the owners of information better than any other regulation. At the same time, consent procedures must be quick, cost-effective, parsimonious and universal to ensure that patients are fully protected and educated”.

About more advances of Bitfury in the health system, last February the company would have made an important alliance with Medical Diagnostic Web (MDW), in order to assemble an entire system for the medical industry based on blockchain technology. Along with this recent launch, the three companies seek to create a platform to ensure, maintain and share relevant medical information, such as diagnostics, pharmacological discoveries, among others.

This is not the first proposal to use blockchain technology in the medical industry. Previously, academics and experts from the University of California, San Francisco, the United States of America, also proposed a method to share hospital information, using a blockchain platform. This allows storing the data and preventing the modification or falsification of vital information.

On the other hand, some organizations in the world actually are interested in using more concrete blockchain technology to improve sanitary safety processes, using a platform that handles information with electronic tools in a faster way.

In March, the Seoul Medical Center, in cooperation with the Ministry of Science, Information and Communication Technology of South Korea, created the “Smart Hospital” project, whose objective is to improve the reliability of medical data and decrease the information processing time in the hospital, improving the flow of internal information of the health center.

Probably, in the near future, there will be more projects and companies interested in using blockchain technology to improve the speed of medical information storage process.

By María Victoria Rodríguez

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