West Virginia taps blockchain technology for mid-term elections

West Virginian military personnel located overseas would be able to cast their ballots in the midterm federal election, thanks to a blockchain-based smartphone app. In a report dated August 6th, CNN stated that the app has been developed by a Boston-based company, Voatz.

Japan’s FSA mulls stricter crypto regulations to curb speculative investments – Report

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is planning to impose stricter regulations on cryptocurrencies, The Japan Times said in a new report. The regulator is considering stricter rules in order to curb the use of cryptocurrencies for speculative investments.

Government of Telangana to establish first Blockchain District in India

The government of Indian state of Telangana signed memorandum of understandings (MOUs) with Tech Mahindra, Nucleus Vision, and Eleven01 Foundation to launch India’s first Blockchain District in the state, according to an IANS report. They will be the core founding members of the Blockchain District, which will be a Center of Excellence for Blockchain.

Swiss bank Maerki Baumann announces support for crypto assets

Maerki Baumann, a private bank headquartered in Zurich, has decided to accept cryptocurrency assets, according to International Investment. It is the second Swiss bank to accept crypto assets following Falcon Bank, which offers crypto-asset management services for bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

South Korea to train young talent on blockchain, AI, big data

The South Korean government is rolling out a program aimed at nurturing young talent in innovative technologies such as blockchain. The Korean Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday said that the 2018 Innovative Growing Youth Talent Concentration Project will kick-off on August 10.

World Bank, CBA tap Ethereum for first blockchain bond transaction

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), or the World Bank, has selected Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to issue a bond using distributed ledger technology (DLT). CBA and World Bank are using a private Ethereum blockchain for this project.

Research Studies:

New research highlights two factors that can predict cryptocurrency returns

$1.8B injected into blockchain projects via VC funding so far in 2018 – Study

Events/Conferences:

Ethereum Birth Place Staged for “Blockchain Futurist Conference”, Top Tier Veteran Speakers and Tech Savvies to Take Part

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to host fintech-focused innovation office hours

Investments/Acquisitions/ Fund-raising:

Crytpo asset exchange ShapeShift acquires Bitfract

Blockchain music platform Audius secures $5.5M from Lightspeed, Pantera, and others

Tencent, Softbank back bitcoin mining giant Bitmain’s pre-IPO funding round – Report

Crypto tax solution startup Libra raises $15M in Series B funding

FBG Capital, Kenetic and others back Singaporean blockchain startup Rate

Blockchain startup tZero raises $134M in security token offering

Digital Currency and Blockchain Initiatives

IBM, Maersk announce blockchain shipping solution TradeLens with over 90 participating organizations

Microsoft targets permissioned networks with new Ethereum product on Azure

Opera to open up desktop browsers to crypto wallets with Ethereum support

South Korea’s Shinhan Bank partners with KT to develop blockchain solution

Applied DNA, Everledger to develop blockchain solution for high-end product markets

CoinJar announces first cryptocurrency index fund for wholesale investors in Australia

Decentralized encyclopedia Everipedia goes live on EOS blockchain

Rare Carat partners with Everledger for blockchain-based provenance tracking for diamonds