EU seeks to end anonymity of bitcoin users, proposes amendments

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have proposed amending a directive on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. The proposal stated: “It is therefore essential to extend the scope of Directive (EU) 2015/849 so as to include providers engaged in exchange services between virtual currencies and fiat currencies as well as custodian wallet providers

Russia’s AFI proposes blockchain implementation for client identification

The Association of Financial Innovation (AFI) in Russia has prepared a draft outlining the roadmap for improving the regulation of National Payment System, PlusWorld.ru reported. The draft has been posted for preliminary discussions on the Association's website. The main provisions of the roadmap include, among other things, the implementation of blockchain technology for identification of clients.

Swedish not in favor of Riksbank’s digital currency ‘e-Krona’

Swedish are not much in favor of the digital currency ‘e-Krona’ which is being considered by the country’s central bank. However, according to a new Sifo survey, nearly half of all Swedish are not in favor of e-Krona and think that it should not be introduced to complement the cash. The survey results showed that one in three do not care about the issue. Also, while 67 percent of respondents were aware of digital currency bitcoin, only 2 percent should have used it. Only about a tenth Swedish favored e-Krona.

RBI’s R&D institute for banking to test blockchain technology

Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), an arm of Reserve Bank of India, is set to test blockchain technology to support framework for digital transactions, as reported by Business Line. The arm will soon roll-out pilots to develop applications for banks to adopt blockchain.

Blockchain project Hyperledger establishes Technical Working Group China

Hyperledger, a collaborative cross-industry effort created to advance blockchain technology, announced the launch of a Technical Working Group China (TWG China) in order to foster a strong relationship between the Hyperledger global community and the China local technical teams.

Microsoft unveils first sports blockchain ‘BraveLog’, to launch officially on January 07

Tech titan Microsoft has revealed that it teamed up with AMIS, Taiwan Triathlon Co. Ltd., Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) and Fubon Financial Holdings to pioneer a new blockchain development and create a high profile and secure sports blockchain "BraveLog”.

Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance to discuss blockchain technology

The Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI) is going to discuss blockchain technology in relation to the insurance sector in its periodic meeting to be held today, 05 January 2017, CoinDesk reported. The Committee will discuss a number of issues, including blockchain technology in the insurance sector, the changing auto safety landscape, and an overview of insurance fraud.”

Digital Currency/Blockchain research studies:

Regulation of blockchain uses besides bitcoin to have greater disruptive impact on financial services: BBVA

Blockchain to move from proof of concept to production in 2017 – Report

Combination of IoT, blockchain and AI would enable sustainable development agenda at scale: UNEP

Conferences/ Events:

Blockchain Expo London 2017 to feature speakers across key industries

Important deals, partnerships, and more:

The Seam, IBM team up to launch cotton blockchain consortium using Hyperledger Fabric

Bitfury Group, Covington partner to launch Global Blockchain Business Council

UBS bank, innogy and ZF partner to provide blockchain-backed wallets for cars

Dubai telecom ‘Du’, NMC Healthcare partner to offer blockchain powered health records

Bitcoin startup Bitpagos rebrands as Ripio, raises $1.9m in series A funding

Tymlez, Safety Changer partner to provide blockchain solutions for enterprise information sharing