In “This was the NEWS” we take a look at the most important news of last week. What has happened in the crypto space over the last 7 days? News items that you may have missed and you really need to read. You will find it here!
- New York Embraces Crypto and Blockchain
New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, signed bill A8783B, which was introduced in December 2017. The goal is to explore cryptocurrencies and its underlying technology. This task force will consist of nine members from different fields, technologists, consumers, institutional and retail investors. This group will be looking into various areas including mining, crypto exchanges, and tax implications. They will also be tasked with producing legislative and regulatory recommendations.
“NEW YORK LEADS THE COUNTRY IN FINANCE. WE WILL ALSO LEAD IN PROPER FINTECH REGULATION. THE TASK FORCE OF EXPERTS WILL HELP US STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN HAVING A ROBUST BLOCKCHAIN INDUSTRY AND CRYPTOCURRENCY ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PROTECTING NEW YORK INVESTORS AND CONSUMERS.” -Clyde Vanel
Read more about how this task force will impact New York here: https://altcoinbuzz.io/crypto-news/regulations/new-york-embraces-crypto-blockchain/
- BTC ATM’s Manufacturer Has Finally Found Its Home
Lamassu Industries AG has found a home in Switzerland. The Bitcoin ATM manufacturer has been looking for a home for years before settling on Lucerne, Switzerland. Due to the future regulatory framework in Switzerland, the company feels this is the best place for innovation.
“THE CRYPTOMAT INDUSTRY (AKA BITCOIN ATMS) IS BOOMING AND WHILE WE GROW, WE WANT TO BE IN A PLACE WHERE RULES ARE WELL DEFINED AND REGULATORS ARE PRO-INNOVATION.” -Zach Harvey, Co-founder of Lamassu
Read more about Lamassu Industries AG here: https://altcoinbuzz.io/crypto-news/regulations/btc-atms-manufacturer-has-finally-found-its-home/
- Coinbase is Losing Staff. This Time to TrustToken
Vaishali Mehta, former senior compliance manager at Coinbase, has recently left Coinbase in order to join TrustToken as head of compliance. With the bear market, we are in, stable coins have been very popular, increasing trading volume from September to November 2018 by 1032%. Besides Mehta, Adam White and Mike Lempres have also recently left Coinbase.
“Crypto is an exciting place and I have been lucky to have been a part of this ‘madness’. I really related to TrustToken’s vision to foster a new financial future which is resilient to fraud, failure, and greed.” Vaishali Mehta
Read more about Vaishali Mehta’s move here: https://altcoinbuzz.io/crypto-news/spotlight/coinbase-is-losing-staff-this-time-to-trusttoken/
“This was the NEWS” summary!
At the time of writing Bitcoin just passed $4,000 for the first time since Christmas. While it isn’t safe to say if we are going up or down in the near future, it is good to see some significant green candles.
New York has been a problem state for cryptocurrencies the past few years but hopefully, this new task force can have a positive impact. This task force can help regulators, not just in New York, determine how laws will be applied. The best case scenario would be for them to help regulators understand that they can’t over-regulate this space. Regulations will occur whether we want them or not, better to have them help the space, rather than hurt the space.
While many people think that Bitcoin ATMs are old technology, they still have a purpose. Some users don’t have access to options like Coinbase and Gemini. Having a Bitcoin ATM to use can be very beneficial for parts of the world.
While Coinbase is losing another member of its staff, Vaishali Mehta to TrustToken, at least they are going to places that will help the cryptocurrency space grow and gain more adoption. If TrustToken can become a digital token that people and businesses can accept as payment then that will allow the world to get used to accepting cryptocurrencies as payments. A lot of businesses refuse to accept cryptocurrencies citing volatility, a stable coin, in theory, should alleviate all problems of that volatility.
