Decentralization is a more important phenomenon than blockchain, a senior executive at South Korean tech giant Samsung said in an interview with computing magazine JAX Jan. 10. Speaking about the future of blockchain, Ricardo J. Méndez, Technical Director at the firm’s innovative technology arm Samsung NEXT, forecast a consolidation of the space in the coming year, but underscored the importance of reshaping centralized […]

Several tobacco shops in Paris, France, have started selling Bitcoin (BTC) for fiat despite regulatory uncertainty, Reuters reports Tuesday, Jan. 8. Reuters has learned that the world’s largest cryptocurrency can now be purchased at six tobacco shops throughout Paris. However, in a contradicting report French magazine Capital has claimedthat there are as many as 24 shops currently participating in […]

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has recommended further research into cryptocurrency and will perform “a number of actions” relating to the sector in 2019. The agency has said this in its latest report published Jan. 9. In the document, which focuses on the “applicability and suitability of European Union law to crypto-assets,” the EBA appeared broadly unhurried about developing new regulatory […]

KodakONE — the developer of a blockchain-based image rights platform licensed by photographic industry giant Kodak — has reportedly generated over $1 million in licensing claims for image rights during a limited beta test of its platform. The news was reported by blockchain news source Breaker Mag on Jan. 8. As Cointelegraph previously reported, the KodakONE Image Rights Management […]

Crypto wallet Samourai removed security features introduced in its latest app update after Google Play found them in conflict with its “store policies.” The app’s Twitter handle confirmed that it has disabled features called Stealth Mode, Remote SMS, and SIM Switch Defense. A separate blog post accused Google Play of being extremely restrictive to become a “walled garden,” […]

United States federal agencies reportedly raided the office of a Michigan-based science and tech center last month during a crypto-related investigation, local news outlet Wood-TV reported Jan. 5. As Wood-TV reported, Chris Boden, the founder of The Geek Group, made a live public statement on YouTube Saturday night, which has evidently since been deleted. Boden reportedly claimed the office of […]

The personal Coinbase merchant account of Andrew Torba, social media platform Gab’s founder, has been terminated, the official Gab.com account tweeted on Jan. 4. As blockchain blog Breaker reported earlier, Gab’s business account on Coinbase was allegedly closed in December. The news source put forward that a possible reason why it is hard for Gab to obtain a payment processor is […]

Stablecoins may qualify as “money” under Texas law, according to updated guidance from the state Department of Banking. A memo published Wednesday by Texas Banking Commissioner Charles Cooper outlines how cryptocurrencies are to be treated under local and federal regulations, in particular adding details of how stablecoins backed by sovereign, or fiat, currencies may be assessed. The […]

CCN had a chance to talk to Arjun Mendhi of MTonomy. MTonomy is a Netflix, Google Play, or Amazon Primeexperience for Ethereum users. Based in Cambridge, MTonomy went live this week. Part of their team come from the MIT Media lab’s Digital Currency Initiative, which a number of famous Bitcoin developers have worked through, including Gavin Andresen. They will be adding […]

The American Economic Association (AEA) will host four dedicated presentations of cryptocurrencyand blockchain research today, Jan. 4, as part of its ongoing annual meeting. The session, dubbed ‘Blockchain and Tokenomics,’ will cover four academic papers from various sources. It will be hosted by the academic group the Econometrics Society and chaired by Lin William Cong, assistant professor of finance at […]