Delaware Judge Throws Out Case Against Blockchain-Based Payment Network Ripple

In an apparent victory for the Blockchain-based payment network Ripple, a Delaware judge ruled in their favor regarding the recent lawsuit over R3 consortium’s wish to force the company to make good on a contract to buy a huge volume of XRP. The news broke via Ripple’s Twitter account:

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Breaking news! https://twitter.com/bgarlinghouse/status/918876945806327808 …

5:08 PM - Oct 13, 2017

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R3, the ‘Blockchain-inspired’ startup servicing banks and financial institutions, maintains that Ripple Labs has violated a prior purchase agreement for XRP tokens between the two companies.

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Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, started the Twitter feud, indicating that the judge in the Delaware lawsuit had ruled to ‘throw out’ the case. However, after further information came to light, the judge had issued a verbal ruling regarding Delaware’s jurisdiction over the matter. The lawsuit will proceed, however, in California and New York.

The case, according to others, will continue in California and New York. R3 is suing Ripple for specific performance of an option agreement in which Ripple agreed to sell up to five bln XRPs for a price of $.0085. Ripple has countersued, claiming that R3 reneged on a number of contractual promises, and is simply acting in a spirit of opportunism, after the cryptocurrency soared more than 30 times over.


Source: Cointelegraph

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Why Banks are so Nervous About Bitcoin

There was a time where Bitcoin was not even on the radar, it was a novel idea that was primarily used by thieves and drug dealers on the dark web. Nothing to be afraid of in terms of holding a monopoly on money.

However, that same little upstart is now disrupting the system of things; from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, ICOs and the ever impressive Blockchain technology. This is now a legitimate threat on traditional banks.

"Bitcoin’s skyrocketing run in value, as well as adoption and mainstream acceptance, has led to banks - and regulators, getting very nervous and instigating a few knee jerk reactions. These reactions are, however, simply asserting the fact that Bitcoin is a legitimate disruptive threat."

• Bitcoin taking on the banks

Regulators are trying to play catch up with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, realising now that it’s not going away. In fact, it is challenging their monetary system which is intrinsically linked to banks, and especially central, government-backed, banks.

China, especially, Russia, recently, Japan and the US have played their hands in varying degrees of harshness in efforts to try and control the decentralized monetary idea.

In fact, traditional centralised, powerful organisations like banks, governments, regulators and technology behemoths are all spending billions in figuring out how to use and control distributed trust technologies.

• A powershift

Banks have existed unchallenged for hundreds of years, and that is the key issue here; Bitcoin, backed by a solid platform such as Blockchain technology, is a ghost that is incredibly hard to control due to its decentralized nature.

"John McAfee has been brazen about regulators’ power plays to try and control Bitcoin, saying that they will never be able to ban it."

The power and control of money is being ripped away from traditional institutions, which can also be seen on Wall Street. Some of these traditional investors are siding with what could be the future, while others vehemently denounce it.

Individuals can now enter into direct peer-to-peer trusted exchanges with strangers. They no longer need a central institution to vouch for the other party.

Just like the fax machine, the library, even metered taxis, new technologies have come along and made others obsolete. Banks are now in the sights of Bitcoin and are in their death throws, as they lash out with the power of states behind them.

However, there’s no stopping progress, and even with state-backed regulations trying to wrestle the money of the people under control, banks have every reason to be nervous.

Source : Cointekegraph

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Singapore's Central Bank works to Regulate Bitcoin Transactions

The minister for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation's central banking authority, has said the institution is working to create a regulatory framework for bitcoin payments.

In response to a question on the matter from an MP, Tharman Shanmugaratnam – who is also deputy prime minister of Singapore – confirmed that while the MAS "has been monitoring" cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether, it has no intention of regulating them. However, certain peripheral activities will require a legal framework, he said.

MAS, he went on, is now working to create a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrency payment services, in order to ensure they are not misused for money laundering and terrorism financing.

In the statement, Shanmugaratnam clarified that, while MAS has yet to produce a targeted regulatory framework uniquely for ICOs, it will do so if deemed necessary.

Shanmugaratnam explained:

"Virtual currencies can go beyond being a means of payment, and evolve into "second generation" tokens representing benefits such as ownership in assets, like a share or bond certificate. These are financial activities that falls under MAS' regulatory ambit."

The minister also said that while cryptocurrency trading is widely popular in U.S., Japan and Hong Kong, trading volume is relatively low in Singapore. On top of that, only about 20 Singapore retailers accept bitcoin, according to the the central banking authority.

In August, MAS announced that tokens may be classified as securities. Further, the financial regulator has issued statements warning investors of potential fraudulent ICO schemes.

Last month, the bank accounts of a number of bitcoin businesses based in Singapore had their bank accounts closed without explanation. MAS said at the time that, as the closure represent a commercial decision taken by banks, it would not interfere.


Source: Coindesk

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Malaysia's Central Bank will Statute for Ban Cryptocurrencies in the End year

The governor of Malaysia's central bank would not rule out a ban on cryptocurrencies when discussing upcoming regulation yesterday.

Speaking to reporters at a financial crime conference in Kuala Lumpur, the governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said it will decide "before the end of the year" whether to ban the trading of cryptocurrencies under its mandate as a domestic financial regulator.

Yet, in subsequent statements, Ibrahim hinted that Malaysia's final stance might not be so severe.

According to the Malaysian Insight, he said:

"This (ban on cryptocurrencies) is something that we will decide on by the end of the year. The guidelines that we will be issuing before the end of the year will address issues in terms of registering the players, collecting data and ensuring that whatever they do will be transparent."

Pushed for further information, Ibrahim called for patience. "Now is only October," he said. "In less than three months we will give you the details."

While it had previously stated that bitcoin would be left unregulated, BNM announced in September it would begin to create guidelines for entities working with cryptocurrencies. Last month, BNM issued an investor warning for those participating in blockchain token sales, also called initial coin offerings (ICOs).

That announcement came soon after Chinese authorities issued a statement in early September ordering an immediate halt to all token sales. Under seeming regulatory pressure, leading cryptocurrency exchanges came forward in the subsequent weeks to announce they would be voluntarily closing their doors in light of the ban.


Source: Coindesk

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SHOWTIME WEBSITES USED TO MINING CRYPTOCURRENCY IN THE SHADOW

American TV network Showtime has been forced to remove code from two of its websites that secretly mined the privacy oriented cryptocurrency monero on visitors' computers, according to reports.

Gizmodo and The Register both indicate that two websites run by Showtime – the eponymous Showtime.com, as well as ShowtimeAnytime.com – had concealed code for CoinHive, a JavaScript-based monero miner. Originally intended as a way for websites to generate income without having to utilize ads, in this case the software appears to have been used to covertly draw upon the computing power of unsuspecting site visitors.

BleepingComputer, which covers cybersecurity topics, has detailed the inner workings of the situation. As the site highlights, it's not clear at this time who, exactly, inserted the code onto the Showtime websites. Neither is it certain how long the code was live on the Showtime sites. The code was spotted over the weekend and was removed by the firm Monday.

Thus far, Showtime hasn't commented publicly on the news, and a representative for the network declined to comment when contacted by many professional website.

The developments are notable given the public profile of Showtime, which is owned by U.S. media giant CBS Corporation. It also comes days after torrent website The Pirate Bay sparked criticism for (in this case, voluntarily) live-testing a JavaScript-based monero miner.


Source : CoinDesk

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