- Mining Giant from Japan attacks the Market!
- Indian Central Bank is checking Digital Rupee!
- AXA uses Ethereum Blockchain for Flight Insurance!
- British Financial Conduct Authority expresses itself to ICOs!
- Russian Minister: Crypto Currencies can't be ignored!
The Japanese Internet giant GMO is now actively addressing the Bitcoin mining market and is competing with its Chinese competitors. With low power consumption for its ASICs, the Japanese company could re-launch the market.
Mining & Research
At a press conference on Wednesday GMO Internet Inc. announced new plans for the development of the 7nm ASIC chip. The new 7-nanometer series was first explored by IBM in 2015 and is available in a few series production since 2017.
In addition to research, the company plans to set up a mining farm in Northern Europe. While some news portals speak of Scandinavia, there is rumors about the possibility of a Baltic country as a location.
The first tests will be carried out in December. The infrastructure offers clean and affordable energy, according to GMO.
For its own research GMO wants to spend about 10 billion Japanese yen, or converted $ 90.6 million (€ 76.2 million). The company plans to produce motherboards that can be equipped with ASICs as well as PCIe cards, which can also be connected to standard computers.
Each card should deliver up to 8 TH / s, consuming only 300 watts. Compared to its competitors, GMO's chip will only consume 56% of its energy. The mass production of the 7nm chips is scheduled to begin next May. In addition to the 7nm chips, the research funds will also explore 5nm and 3.5nm chips - a step that is very utopian due to the current research speed.
The Indian Central Bank continues to do research on crypto currencies. It also indicates the possible development of a future digital alternative to the Rupee.
The Indian government is currently trying to develop the country in the direction of a fully digitalized economy. To this end, the Digital India Initiative and various research programs were initiated to promote this process.
Already in January, the Indian central bank published a paper in which it clarified that the blockchain technology could provide the necessary basis for digitizing the rupee.
On the other hand, the use of non-Fiat crypto currencies is being viewed critically by the central bank, as Executive Director Sudarshan Sen said in Economic Times India. He described Bitcoin as a "private crypto currency", which does not correspond to what the central bank imagines.
The aim of the Indian central bank is to bring out a Fiat crypto currency, which is able to replace the physical national currency in the long term. The research department of the central bank is currently working on such a solution.
Previously, the Indian central bank had already warned users of crypto currencies. For example, in February this year, every "user, keeper, investor or dealer of virtual currencies" would do so "at their own risk".
The French insurance giant AXA is currently using the Ethereum blockchain to offer insurance to passengers. The blockchain stores the data and automatically processes the payment in case of an insurance case.
Snow, Lightning or Aliens
The insurance service named "fizzy" is marketed on the website as fresh, new and transparent insurance. Anyone who gets a flight with more than two hours of delay will be compensated.
The reason for the delay is completely irrelevant - as described on the website, it can be "snow, lightning strike or aliens".
The Ethereum blockchain plays an active role in this insurance: Before a user can start a flight, he can ask the fizzy insurance. Currently it is only possible to fly between the Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport and all transatlantic flights to the USA. But from 2018 onwards, all other flights will be added worldwide.
The possible insurance proceeds are displayed when the insurance is concluded. With the Ethereum Smart Contracts, everything will be done automatically. If the waiting time of two hours has been exceeded, the smart contract is triggered, which in turn prepares the disbursement to the customer. AXA is particularly focused on making the insurance business more transparent.
A particular surprise for crypto enthusiasts is the statement by Jean-Baptiste Mounier of AXA:
Fizzy is currently still in beta, but is already available to users. In the future, AXA plans to transfer further applications into Smart Contracts and the Blockchain, according to AXA.
The British Financial Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a statement on its website, which warns of the potential risks of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
After the ICO wave in the summer the regulation wave follows in the late summer. There have already been regulatory announcements by the relevant authorities in the USA, South Korea, Singapore, China, Canada, Malaysia and Russia. Now the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also responding and comments on the Initial Coin Offerings.
It states that ICOs are "highly risky, speculative investments". Users who think about investing in tokens should be aware of the risks and carefully consider what a project it is. In general, only experienced investors are advised to participate in ICOs, as only these could estimate the quality of the respective project.
Among the risks, FCA cites the lack of regulation of ICOs, the lack of investor protection, the high price volatility and the high risk of fraud. In addition, the Authority advises readers to report a conspicuous ICO or potential scam directly to the Financial Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). For people who are not yet familiar with the topic of blockchain and crypto currencies, information is also provided at the end of the statement.
Some of the risks stated by the FCA:
Unregulated space: Most ICOs are not regulated by the FCA and many are based overseas.
No investor protection: You are extremely unlikely to have access to UK regulatory protections like the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Price volatility: Like cryptocurrencies in general, the value of a token may be extremely volatile – vulnerable to dramatic changes.
Potential for fraud: Some issuers might not have the intention to use the funds raised in the way set out when the project was marketed.
Early stage projects: Typically ICO projects are in a very early stage of development and their business models are experimental. There is a good chance of losing your whole stake.
A minister of the Russian government was now opposed to a ban on crypto currencies. The technology can't be "ignored".
Mikhail Abyzov, who had already been appointed minister in 2012, made these statements during an interview with the RIA. In the interview, he also explained that he thinks "a decision is made very soon". The reason for this is the rapid development of the technology.
He also demanded a careful handling of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies.
Mikhail Abyzov said:
Abyzov, who previously led E4 (one of Russia's largest engineering companies), said the technology should also be supported in its development. In his view, this also includes the development of crypto currencies and other applications of blockchain.
"I think the Russian technology industry has a lot of potential. It is to be implemented in the format of a crypto technology or like other new technologies from the financial or non financial sector it is difficult to predict. But it is necessary to support and develop such initiatives, "he told the RIA.
Abyzov is not the only one with his opinion there have already been positive statements from other members of the Russian government about crypto currencies. In the recent past, several ministers had voiced positive comments on crypto currencies. For example, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said last week that it would be "pointless" to ban crypto currencies in the country.
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