The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking to fund research into how technologies like blockchain can improve the resiliency of cyber-infrastructure.

According to a grant proposal solicitation initially released last year and updated at the start of 2017, the NSF is looking to fund research to the tune of $8.5m. The agency is looking to grant between seven and nine awards of up to $1m apiece.

While not explicitly focused on blockchain, the grant does invoke the technology as one topics of exploration once funds have been granted. The NSF is a US government agency that funds scientific research in a variety of areas.

As the solicitation noted:

“With the growing amount of remote instruments and the increasing amount of data being collected from multiple, often remote, wireless and mobile sensors, science is increasingly distributed and virtual. Solutions such as the introduction of blockchain technology are needed to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of data as it traverses multiple environments such as mobile, cloud, campus, and Internet networks.”

It’s not the first time that the NSF has thrown its weight behind research involving the technology.

In mid-2015, the agency awarded roughly $3m in grant funding for a cryptocurrency research project involving participants from Cornell, the University of Maryland and the University of California Berkeley.

On a broader scale, the US government has moved in the past year and a half to promote or fund blockchain projects or startups.

For this latest grant round, the NSF is looking for university-based teams, as well as nonprofits and research outfits, to submit proposals. The proposal deadline is 1st March, according to the solicitation sheet.

Source : http://www.coindesk.com/us-government-looks-fund-cybersecurity-research-blockchain/

The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week announced that it is delaying its decision whether to approve the listing of SolidX Bitcoin Trust on the NYSE Arca exchange.

Meet SolidX Bitcoin Trust

Blockchain technology company, SolidX Partners Inc, first filed a registration statement (Form S-1) with the SEC on July 11, 2016, proposing to launch its SolidX Bitcoin Trust. According to the company’s letter to the SEC in November last year:

The Trust is functionally almost identical to existing physically backed exchange-traded products, which have become an important component of the market. The Sponsor submits that it is in the public interest to permit the development of the Trust, which will enable a new and compelling investment option to investors.

SolidX Bitcoin Trust will not be actively managed. There is no minimum investment. “An investor may hold as little as a single share, which represents approximately one tenth of a bitcoin,” the company told the SEC. In addition, the company has secured “significant insurance coverage for the bitcoin that will be held by the Trust.”

SolidX’s Filing Progress

SolidX Bitcoin Trust is to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca under the symbol XBTC. NYSE Arca is the first all-electronic exchange in the U.S. It currently trades more than 8,000 exchange-listed securities and is ranked number one in the listing and trading of exchange-traded product, according to its website. On July 12, NYSE Arca filed with the SEC to list and trade SolidX Bitcoin Trust’s shares.

After the SEC repeatedly extended the period to consider approving or disapproving the listing, the Commission announced early this week:

The Commission, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,9 designates March 30, 2017 as the date by which the Commission should either approve or disapprove the proposed rule change.

Industry Comments

The Commission has received seven comments from the industry. All of them were in favor of approving SolidX Bitcoin Trust except one. Ken I Maher’s short and abrupt message to the SEC urged the Commission to consider the risks of the bitcoin ecosystem.

Other letters to the Commission includes one submitted collectively by 30 industry leaders such as 21 Inc’s Balaji Srinivasan, Bitpay’s Stephen Pair, Bitstamp’s Nejc Kodrič, Blockchain’s Marco Santori, Circle’s Joshua Lim, and Coin Center’s Jerry Brito. They urged the SEC to approve SolidX Bitcoin Trust’s listing stating that:

Access to bitcoin exposure needs to be nondiscriminatory in nature: an investor should not be excluded from this asset class merely because they are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the technological processes involved in safely procuring and holding bitcoin.

Denise Krisko, President of Vident Investment Advisory LLC, told the SEC “The trust will benefit investors and the broader Bitcoin ecosystem through access to a liquid and transparent product that will further drive this innovative and exciting technology.” Joseph Colangelo, President of Consumers’ Research, told the Commission that “Bitcoin has established itself as a significant new asset class,” stating “the SolidX Bitcoin Trust will protect U.S. consumers in a way that truly bears in mind the best interest of such consumers.”

Meanwhile, Cato Institute’s Associate Director, Thaya Brook Knight noted that “approving the rule change would ultimately promote investor protection, and would therefore forward the mission of the SEC.”

Source : https://news.bitcoin.com/sec-delays-decision-solidx-bitcoin-trust/

First it was Chinese stocks, then Chinese real estate (twice), then Chinese commodities (twice), and now Chinese Bitcoin’s bubble has burst as a massive short squeeze on the offshore Yuan combined with comments on ‘virtual’ capital controls has sparked a bloodbath in the cryptocurrency from 8,896 yuan to 6,101 yuan in the last few hours…a 31% collapse.

Despute the collapse – BTC China is only back at 2 week lows…

For those chasers, don’t say we did not warn you, as we noted previously, for those buying into bitcoin here on the momentum, most of which originates in China, we urge readers to be cautious as by now the PBOC has certainly noticed that the digital currency remains one of the final, and most successful, means of bypassing capital controls in China. Should Beijing mandate that bitcoin no longer be a means to illegally transfer capital offshore, there is risk of a dramatic, and sharp, drop in its price.

Source : http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-05/another-bubble-bursts-bitcoin-china-crashes-over-30

Last week, Bitcoin.com reported on Supload, a new image-hosting service that pays users in bitcoin for views on their uploaded images. While the service has been well received by bitcoiners, some users have raised concerns that the public at large is not sharing their enthusiasm, stereotyping it as “just another affiliate referral website.” Bitcoin.com investigates how bitcoin businesses can overcome this public perception.

Public Perception of Affiliate Sites

User ‘Vigilante_Gamer’ wrote on Reddit that “Most of the time when I’ve shared images from Supload, it was received just fine.” However, one instance his post drew public-perceptionnegative reaction causing him to delete the post and stop using the service “unless the public perception changes.” He explained that “People in the thread considered it a ‘shady’ website simply because they checked out the site and saw that it said ‘earn bitcoin!’”

The negative reaction he received was not bitcoin-specific, but rather a perception that Supload is “just another affiliate referral website,” which is why it appeared shady. A user told him that “People typically spam their referral links all over the place hoping to get them popular so they can make money.” Others on this thread agreed that affiliate sites appear to say “click this so I can make money” rather than “I want to share something with you.”

The Revenue-Sharing Model

Arguably, Supload is not an affiliate website since it hosts images and shares advertising revenues with its users. Vigilante_Gamer compared its revenue-sharing model to Youtube, which hosts videos and pays users a portion of their revenue as well. However, the analogy failed to resonate with some users. The response he received was:

It’s perception. I see someone posting something from an affiliate website when there are plenty of website out there that do the SAME thing just as well if not better? I view it as a cash grab. Most people view it that way. That’s why you were told it was a shady website.

While Youtube is not without its own problems, it’s perceived by the public as a “good video host – not because it makes money.” Users stated that, “Aside from big YouTubers, not many people are making money off it.”

With over a billion users worldwide, Youtube is often youtubesubject to crooks wanting to exploit its platform for monetary gains. The difference is that while Supload users want to earn bits from their uploads, most Youtube spammers aim higher than the small amount of revenue-share provided by Google. Thus, they market more aggressively.

Some of Youtube’s problems date back many years. In 2009, Kaspersky Lab detected a spam campaign with a link to YouTube that featured an unsolicited video advertisement. In 2014, Trend Micro discovered malicious ads on the site that can lead to malware exploit kits. In 2015, Symantec found a trend in an SMS spam campaign directing users to a YouTube video with a link to an adult website.

Patience is a Virtue

Changing public opinion takes a long time and requires educational outreach. Wendy Salomon, vice president of reputation management at Nielsen, explained that in many cases the reputation of a given brand is directly tied to its industry.

It may take some time before the public stops linking startups like Supload with affiliate sites in their minds. However, Salomon believes that individual companies can overcome poor industry reputation “by focusing on their individual reputation and telling their company’s unique story.”

For Supload users and bitcoin promoters alike, focusing on high quality is the best tactic. Continued, steady promotions of high-quality materials have dual benefits. Not only do you make more money from the larger number of prospects, but you also help normalize that brand or product for others in the future. Mike Reilly, Supload co-founder and website programmer, told Bitcoin.com:

We are striving to be more than just an image host and want to become an entire platform that will enable users globally to monetize any type of content that they own. I believe that once the future updates are released, and as the site grows, it will become more clear to people that we are not an “affiliate link” type of website.

Source : https://news.bitcoin.com/can-bitcoin-businesses-break-affiliate-site-stereotypes/

Bitcoin has hit its all-time high price on pioneering Chinese exchange BTCC (formerly BTC China), reaching almost 7,700 yuan.

CHINESE INVESTORS PUSH BITCOIN TO NEW ALL-TIME HIGH

As of 21.30 PST January 3, the price of a coin reached 7,658.19 yuan, beating a 2014 high of 7,588.88.

The CEO of China?s oldest Bitcoin exchange BTCC Bobby Lee marked the occasion tweeting,

The spike comes in light of widely-expected renewed efforts by Chinese authorities to stem capital outflow from the country?s slowing economy.

As of July 2017, ?banks and other financial institutions in China will have to report all domestic and overseas cash transactions of more than 50,000 yuan ($7201), compared with 200,000 yuan previously,? Reuters reported Monday. Transactions by individuals will need to be reported if they cross the $10,000 border.

In November, the government announced any outgoing forex transfers of over $5 million could be vetted by tax officials and potentially denied. Previously, the threshold for inspection was $50 million.

China?s official Xinhua news agency nonetheless stated the latest rules were not to do with capital controls.

Reuters explained,

.....its checks on transactions are meant to target money laundering, terrorism financing and fake outbound investment transactions, and not normal, legitimate business activities.

LINGHAM: TRADING SPIKES ?WILL NOT HELP CAUSE?

The mood in China reflects similar circumstances in countries such as India, Venezuela and Pakistan, where currency shake-ups had led to heightened direct interest in understanding, trading and transacting in Bitcoin.

Civic CEO Vinny Lingham, however, has reiterated his stance on Bitcoin?s current use case, saying its main use is still not as a currency.

?I believe that we first need to see it get to the $3,000 price range, which I forecast for later this year, and I believe this is entirely possible, but it must happen while maintaining low volatility and steady growth,? he wrote in a blog post Wednesday. ??Countries falling apart and pouring money into Bitcoin will not help the cause if it happens too quickly.?

He added in a tweet that Bitcoin was fulfilling its first-stage implementation, and that ?Bitcoin the currency? is only the third and final stage.

Lingham was capitalizing on his first-ever post from 2014, in which he stated he ?didn?t believe Bitcoin is suitable as currency? and that it was ?a commodity that can be traded for goods and services.?

He added,

It may become a currency in time, but it just isn?t one right now. It?s a scarce, digital commodity ? and the trading that takes place on exchanges really reflects the market sentiment around the value of this digital commodity.

Source : http://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-high-china-17b-market-cap/

The storage of Electronic Health Records (EHR) in the United Arab Emirates could soon be revolutionized after the development and implementation of storing patient records on a blockchain.

A partnership between UAE Telecom du, a telecom and broadband provider and NMC Healthcare, a major private healthcare provider in the region will be the first to introduce blockchain technology into the management of patient information within the UAE, according to a report by regional tech publication ITP.

Some of the core characteristics of blockchain technology, including data integrity and immutability, trust and security have long been touted as the next significant disruptor in the healthcare industry. Other efforts of a blockchain-based healthcare network have already started to take shape.

Blockchain Enables Immediate Access to Patient Records

The healthcare provider will be able to securely record and store medical health records on a blockchain, ultimately leading to more efficient interactions with patients with the seamless retrieval of records. Further, the simple feature of digitizing health records from paper that can then be shared among other hospitals over a blockchain could prove critical in situations where time and patient care is of the essence.

Dr. B.R. Shetty, founder and CEO of NMC Healthcare stated:

We believe the results of this initiative shall improve our patients’ data management processes, reduce administrative costs and also help us in serving our patients in a further effective manner with accurate information for better diagnosis and treatment.

A majority of patient records including blood test reports and x-rays remain on paper, according to Carlos Domingo, chief innovation officer at telecom giant du. The lack of shared access to patient records could result in unwelcome delays for providing healthcare at other hospitals. The solution, is the error-free domain of a distributed ledger platform, according to the executive.

Domingo added:

By digitizing all health records, and putting them in Blockchain technology, data can be shared and distributed across all hospitals. We are looking at fully digitizing the health system with Blockchain technology to assure data integrity with zero error and guarantee end to end accountability of the patients’ records.

The UAE is quickly proving to be a hotbed for blockchain development and implementation, across a number of industries. Blockchain solutions have been sought in the precious stones industry to curb conflict diamonds’ trade, e-Voting among participants of Abu Dhabi’s securities exchange and a multi-layer rewards program.

The most obvious example of endeavoring to implement blockchain technology in the region is the Dubai Government’s initiative to see all of its documents on a blockchain by the year 2020.

The storage of Electronic Health Records (EHR) in the United Arab Emirates could soon be revolutionized after the development and implementation of storing patient records on a blockchain.

A partnership between UAE Telecom du, a telecom and broadband provider and NMC Healthcare, a major private healthcare provider in the region will be the first to introduce blockchain technology into the management of patient information within the UAE, according to a report by regional tech publication ITP.

Some of the core characteristics of blockchain technology, including data integrity and immutability, trust and security have long been touted as the next significant disruptor in the healthcare industry. Other efforts of a blockchain-based healthcare network have already started to take shape.

Blockchain Enables Immediate Access to Patient Records
The healthcare provider will be able to securely record and store medical health records on a blockchain, ultimately leading to more efficient interactions with patients with the seamless retrieval of records. Further, the simple feature of digitizing health records from paper that can then be shared among other hospitals over a blockchain could prove critical in situations where time and patient care is of the essence.

Dr. B.R. Shetty, founder and CEO of NMC Healthcare stated:

We believe the results of this initiative shall improve our patients’ data management processes, reduce administrative costs and also help us in serving our patients in a further effective manner with accurate information for better diagnosis and treatment.

A majority of patient records including blood test reports and x-rays remain on paper, according to Carlos Domingo, chief innovation officer at telecom giant du. The lack of shared access to patient records could result in unwelcome delays for providing healthcare at other hospitals. The solution, is the error-free domain of a distributed ledger platform, according to the executive.

Blockchain healthcare
Seamless, secure access to patient records across hospitals could soon be a reality.
Domingo added:

By digitizing all health records, and putting them in Blockchain technology, data can be shared and distributed across all hospitals. We are looking at fully digitizing the health system with Blockchain technology to assure data integrity with zero error and guarantee end to end accountability of the patients’ records.

The UAE is quickly proving to be a hotbed for blockchain development and implementation, across a number of industries. Blockchain solutions have been sought in the precious stones industry to curb conflict diamonds’ trade, e-Voting among participants of Abu Dhabi’s securities exchange and a multi-layer rewards program.

The most obvious example of endeavoring to implement blockchain technology in the region is the Dubai Government’s initiative to see all of its documents on a blockchain by the year 2020/

The Blockchain Provider

The blockchain technology to be used in the healthcare initiative will be provided by Guardtime, a working collective of scientists, network architects, software developers and security specialists who are growing in significance in the blockchain industry.

One of Guardtime’s notable tasks includes developing a blockchain-based cybersecurity solution for the UK’s critical infrastructure, that includes the likes of nuclear plants, the electricity grid and flood defense systems.

The blockchain-based security provider also jointly won a $1.8 million contract from DARPA to develop a blockchain-based monitoring system.

Source : https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/uae-healthcare-provider-to-store-patient-records-on-a-blockchain/

Bitcoinist asked digital currency experts Kim Dotcom, Reggie Middleton and Tone Vays to give us their thoughts on what we should expect from Bitcoin this year.

3 PROMINENT EXPERTS SHARE THEIR PREDICTIONS

It would hard to find anyone who predicted Bitcoin could more than double in value in 2016. Even the most ardent proponents can only be so optimistic. My view of its price by year’s end went as high as $800 by year’s end, but I certainly didn’t see the afterburners coming in a December Bitcoin buying spree.

Where do we go from here? Is there something that can affect the Bitcoin price in 2017 that we should consider? I asked three experts in the digital currency space to give me their thoughts on what we should expect from Bitcoin this year and here’s what I discovered, starting with Bitcoin blogger and trader, Tone Vays.

I see a very strong start to 2017. A lot depends on SegWit passing, but it will be the confidence and speculation in the eventual consensus on SegWit being passed that should drive the price to as high as $2,000 by end of summer. (Just like the price went up 3 months prior to halving, then pulled back for 3 months then after). Then sometime in August, I expect a correction, so that at year end we should be in $1,500 – $1,720 range.


Reggie Middleton is the creator of Veritaseum and has an impressive track record of predicting the future rises and falls in the financial markets. Yet, he was not willing to put a dollar amount on Bitcoin.

I’m reticent to give price targets since that’s not how I work, but I’m bullish. Bricking prices will move corollary to capital control.pressure from Asian and South American countries, as well contrary to the downwards pressure found in fiat currencies. More directly put, BTC will act as a put option on FICC (fixed income, commodity, and currency) downward movement or a call option on said volatility. Expect to see a lot of that as Trump takes office, the ECB bungles its macro policy and developing.nations.continue their war on cash.

It is always interesting to hear from the man, the myth, the legend known as Kim DotCom. With his upcoming Bitcoin project BitCache expected to hit the market shortly, I was expecting him to be pretty upbeat on “The Internet of money,” and he didn’t disappoint. Kim likes to think big.

To the average person, the current value per Bitcoin of $1,000 per Bitcoin seems high. But if you look at the market capitalization of all Bitcoin it is only $16+ billion. The market value of all the gold that was ever mined is approximately $7 trillion. It’s not hard to imagine that a mass adoption of Bitcoin could reach a market cap of more than $1 trillion. Do the math. Bitcoin are still incredibly cheap. A price per Bitcoin of $100000 is a possibility within a decade or two. Hold on to your Bitcoin. You’ll see a rise to $2000+ in 2017.

PRICE TO DOUBLE EVERY YEAR?

I may or may not be a Bitcoin expert, but my two cents are that it should be safe to assume that Bitcoin’s market value should double every year, so approaching $2,000 this year, $4,000 the year after, and so on.

The upside for Bitcoin is as the greater global economy continues to spiral downward, and a growing number of nations begin a war on cash, as Middleton said earlier, people will slowly discover Bitcoin to be a valuable alternative, either as a currency or as an economic “safe haven.” A growing global digital currency in a world hellbent on taking the freedom of cash from the proletariat is a pretty good hedge, IMO.

What is working against Bitcoin is it still is suffering from scalability issues and limited mainstream adoption penetration. The Bitcoin community needs to come together on a way to handle more transactions than a few per second before Bitcoin can be all that it will be. Considering today is only Bitcoin’s eighth birthday as a publicly traded digital asset, it has come a long way in a short amount of time, but there are still major obstacles to overcome before it reaches its full potential.

Considering today is only Bitcoin’s eighth birthday as a publicly traded digital asset, it has come a long way in a short amount of time, but there are still major obstacles to overcome before it reaches its full potential.

Source : http://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-money-experiment-8/

What a good start of the New Year for those holding Bitcoins!

Web-based digital currency Bitcoin has passed $1,000 for the first time on the Bitstamp Price Index (BPI) since early November 2013.

Bitcoin broke the barrier on 1 January and now is trading above $1,020 at the time of writing, marking a bright beginning to 2017 for the digital currency.

At the time of writing, 1 Bitcoin = $1029.33.

Bitcoin is a revolutionary virtual currency that has no central authority; instead, it relies on thousands of computers worldwide that validate transactions and add new Bitcoins to the system.

The world’s first and most famous cryptocurrency is developed around Blockchain, which is a complex cryptographic protocol and a global computer's network that oversees and verifies which Bitcoins have been spent by whom.

The identity of the people spending Bitcoins is extremely difficult to trace because of its anonymous nature. Therefore, the currency is very popular among criminals.

The digital currency has historically been highly volatile. Its value reached above $1,100 in two months in late 2013, before the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange hacked. The incident dropped the Bitcoin value to under $400 in few weeks.

Market watchers have suggested that the value of Bitcoin may have been boosted in the past year by increased demand in China on the back of a 7 percent annual drop in the value of the yuan in 2016, which is the Chinese currency's weakest annual performance in over 20 years.

According to Reuters, Data shows most Bitcoin trading is done in China. More than 5 Million Bitcoins were traded within 24 hours since the turn of the year, with nearly 38 Billion yen traded (~$3.2 Billion), , according to Cryptocoin.

Bitcoin's outstanding performance this year has also been driven by a lack of supply of cash in India, where its Prime Minister removed high-denomination banknotes from circulation at the beginning of November 2016.

While Bitcoin remains the most widely used and successful cryptocurrency of all time, some cryptocurrency has also gained popularity in the past year, which includes Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Monero, and Dash.

Source : http://thehackernews.com/2017/01/bitcoin-price.html

The price of bitcoin inched upward over the course of trading today, passing $1,000 for the first time on CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index since early January 2014.

Though the price (at press time) was still shy of a three-year high of $1,023 set in January of that year, the milestone nonetheless marks a bright beginning to 2017 for the digital currency. (Bitcoin appreciated by more than 100% in 2016).

The price had reached as high as $999 earlier in the day only to fall back to the $960s, a pattern that was similarly observed over the last week of trading as bitcoin failed to build momentum toward $1,000.

The increase notably took place during what was a day of lower-than-average trading volume, 7-day exchange data from Bitcoinity reveals.

As asserted by analysts, 2017 is expected to be a banner year, one that could finally lead the price to pass its all-time high of $1,216.7 set in 2013.

Source : http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-price-1000-january-1-2017/

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have proposed amending a directive on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing that will require cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets to identify suspicious activity, a directive that would include identifying bitcoin users.

The directive constitutes the main legal instrument to prevent the EU financial system from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing. The directive, to be transposed by June 26, 2017, establishes a framework to require member states to identify and mitigate risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

Technology has created alternatives for financing that are beyond the scope of EU legislation that should no longer be justified, the proposal [PDF] noted. To keep pace with evolving trends, new measures to improve the existing preventive framework are needed.

Cryptocurrencies Addressed

As of May 2015, the directive made no mention of cryptocurrencies. If and when cryptocurrencies are included among AMLD directives, anonymity during transaction exchanges between crypto and fiat currencies will be obsolete.

The European Parliament in May approved a proposal for a task force to investigate the role of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and blockchain technology.

The vote to establish this task force came soon after the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) recommended that the EU Commission consider revising EU payment laws, on the basis of its assessment of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Paris Attacks Called For Change

The push for the amendments came amid increased regulatory debate about cryptocurrencies following the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. Much of the debate focused on the anonymity provided by cryptocurrency exchanges and prepaid cards.

The proposal for the amendment came within a week of Europe’s central law enforcement authority, Europol, published a report explicitly stating that there is no evidence of ISIS using bitcoin as a means to finance its activities.

Exchange services between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies and custodian wallet providers are not presently required to identify suspicious activity, the new proposal stated.

Terrorists Can Conceal Transactions

Terrorist groups can benefit from the anonymity provided by cryptocurrency platforms and can transfer money into the EU’s financial system, the proposal noted. Hence, it is essential to extend the scope of EU Directive 2015/849 to require exchange services between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies as well as custodian wallet providers.

For anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, authorities should be able to monitor the use of cryptocurrencies, the proposal stated. It would safeguard technical advances and the high degree of transparency attained in alternative finance and social entrepreneurship.

The anonymity of cryptocurrencies enables their misuse for criminal purposes. Requiring exchange services between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies and custodian wallet providers will not fully address the issue of anonymity of cryptocurrency transactions since the virtual currency environment will largely remain anonymous since users can also transact without these providers.

Also read: European Commission seeks to end anonymity of bitcoin transfers

Proposal Seeks Oversight Of Cryptocurrency Users

To combat risks related to the anonymity, national Financial Intelligence Units should be able to associate cryptocurrency addresses to the identity of the owner of such currencies. The possibility of allowing users to self-declare to authorities on a voluntary basis should also be considered.

The proposal defines “virtual currencies” as a digital representation of value that can be digitally transferred, stored or traded and accepted by natural or legal persons as a medium of exchange, but does not have legal tender status.

It defines “custodian wallet provider” as an entity providing services to safeguard cryptographic keys on behalf of customers, to holding, storing and transferring virtual currencies.

Under the new proposal, member states are required to ensure that exchange services between virtual currencies and fiat currencies, and custodian wallet providers, are registered.

The proposal also addresses anonymous prepaid cards, which are easy to use in financing terrorist attacks and logistics. Hence, it is essential to deny terrorists this means of financing their operations by further reducing the limits and maximum amounts under which obliged entities aren’t required to apply certain customer due diligence measures provided by Directive (EU) 2015/849.

It is important to lower the thresholds for anonymous prepaid cards and to identify the customer in the case of remote payment transactions exceeding 50 Euros, the proposal noted.

Link : https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/the-european-union-wants-to-identify-bitcoin-users/