The U.S. tech giant Google is set to update its ad policy in October, re-allowing registered cryptocurrency exchanges located in the U.S. and Japan to advertise. According to the official announcement, starting in October, Google will allow registered cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise on its Google Adwords platform, targeting the U.S. and Japanese audiences. The announcement notes that advertisers will need to be certified with Google in the country where the ads will be launched.
U.S. retail giant Walmart and its division Sam’s Club, a membership-only retail warehouse club, will require suppliers of leafy greens to implement a farm-to-store tracking system based on blockchain tech. Walmart, which is set to introduce a similar traceability system “for other fresh fruit and vegetable providers within the next year,” notes that over 100 companies will be required to implement IBM’s blockchain service.
The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has confirmed its Bakkt cryptocurrency platform’s first offering will take the form of physical Bitcoin futures. ICE, which also operates the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has said that Bakkt — a “regulated ecosystem” for institutional investors aiming to get exposure to cryptocurrency — will offer futures against at least three fiat currencies: the U.S. dollar, British pound sterling and euro.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on September 26 that would establish a crypto task force to combat terrorist use of cryptocurrencies.House Resolution (H.R.) 5036, which represents an amended version of the bill proposed by Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) to the Committee on Financial Services in January, establishes an “Independent Financial Technology Task Force” to fight the illicit use of cryptocurrency. Similar to the original version of the bill that was introduced on January 10, H. R. 5036 establishes the same time-frames for investigating and providing reports on the potential use of crypto in criminal activities.
More than 45 representatives from major Wall Street firms and crypto companies took part in a “crypto roundtable” hosted by Congressman Warren Davidson to discuss Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and cryptocurrency regulations in Washington D.C. The discussion provided a chance for industry representatives to express their concerns regarding possible regulations of the crypto space. Namely, experts told lawmakers that there is a pronounced lack of regulatory clarity for ICOs and digital currencies.
Ripple will lead a group of crypto startups to lobby lawmakers and financial regulators in D.C. to support crypto and blockchain innovation. The coalition of San-Francisco-based crypto firms — Securing America’s Internet of Value Coalition — is planning to pay Klein/Johnson Group, a bipartisan lobby group, to assist the crypto and blockchain community in conveying to regulators that the industry needs support from the government. The coalition, together with the lobby group, will raise issues with Congress, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and other agencies that have relations to cryptocurrencies.
Austria’s government is set to use the Ethereum (ETH) public blockchain to issue €1.15 billion ($1.35 billion) of government bonds in an auction on October 2. Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) will reportedly operate the live blockchain notarization service, where the bank will issue the bonds on behalf of the Austrian Treasury (OeBFA). OeKB says this will be the the first time a blockchain-based notarization service will be used as part of a Federal Bond Auction in Austria.
Circle Internet Financial Ltd. is launching a USD-backed digital token dubbed the “USD Coin.”A consortium called Centre — which includes Bitmain Technologies Ltd. among its members — will act as a platform for deposits and fiat conversions for the stablecoin. The USD Coin will reportedly be available on Circle’s Poloniex exchange, as well as Huobi, OKCoin, KuCoin, and digital wallet and exchange Coinbase. As per Circle’s release, over 20 companies are about to announce support for the USDC, while others might add trading through the open ERC-20 standard.
Major league Italian soccer club Juventus announced this week that it will launch its own cryptocurrency “fan token,” two weeks after a similar announcement from Paris Saint-Germain. The product of a partnership with “blockchain-based fan engagement platform” Socios.com, the Italian club aims to release its “Juventus Official Fan Token” as soon as Q1 next year. The club currently ranks top in Italy and number two worldwide, with a fanbase reportedly topping 60 million.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against international securities dealer 1pool Ltd., which was offering Bitcoin-funded security-based swaps. Per the SEC complaint, the case involves the Marshall Islands-based corporation 1pool Ltd., which provides cryptocurrency-related services and stands behind 1broker.com, and its Austria-based CEO Patrick Brunner. The complaint alleges that the parties violated federal securities laws in connection with security-based swaps funded with Bitcoin (BTC).
Tom Lee, Fundstrat’s head of research, said in a note to clients this week that altcoin Ethereum is about to see a “trend reversal and rally strongly” up to $1,900 per token by the end of 2019. According to Lee, the “overly negative” sentiment on the Ethereum market will be a basis for its strong rebound in the near future.