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Telcoin is focused on connecting with mobile networks globally, enabling easy conversion between telecom mobile money, prepaid credit and postpaid billing platforms.
Despite the popularity of Blockchain technology and the solutions that it has brought so far in various industries, its relative level of adoption is still considered to be low. The inherent potential of Blockchain is so huge that all we are seeing at the moment is described as “the tip of the iceberg.”
Becoming involved in the crypto industry is usually an entirely new concept to a lot of newbies who may not have the slightest idea about Blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The natural tendency of humans to resist change, especially when it affects a part of their lives that is considered precious, like wealth, makes it only natural for there to be some level of reluctance, and in some cases, resistance to such adventure. This process adopting blockchain and cryptocurrencies often involves signing up for an initial crypto wallet with any of the popular blockchain platforms. Most of the time, despite discovering the convenience offered by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in terms of transactions, the complicated processes involved in the initial acquisition of these cryptos ironically become moments of discouragement to people who are already looking for an excuse to stay away.
Cumbersome processes such as the acquisition of some technical knowledge, registering in an exchange, going through KYC, signing up for a wallet, etc have contributed to the reluctance of the wider population in adopting the novel technology and the benefits that come with it. Therefore, it can be deduced that the non-acceptance or relatively low adoption of Blockchain and cryptocurrency is not a matter of rejection, but rather a subject of compatibility.
Now imagine a subtle process of seamlessly leading the public through a gradual process of adoption using platforms that they are already comfortable with and used to. A process which makes crypto adoption easily compatible with existing telecom and mobile network processes would simplify and make it easy for the public to welcome the novel technology that would eventually become an intrinsic part of their lives. Hence, Telcoin is focused on connecting with mobile networks globally, enabling easy conversion between telecom mobile money, prepaid credit and postpaid billing platforms.
The Telcoin cryptocurrency is based on the Ethereum Blockchain that will be distributed by national telecom operators and made available to everyone, anytime, anywhere. The Telcoin business model is centered around mobile network operators with already existing infrastructure and global customer base. This model will enable a seamless and uncomplicated entry process for over five bln mobile network users across the globe, hence functioning as a viable tool for the adoption of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream.
In the beginning, Telcoin will initially be offered to mobile network partners, providing their customers with seamless access to the digital economy: online remittances, transfers, payments and e-commerce. The company will also provide the necessary marketing and product development resources to nurture the Telcoin ecosystem, in a joint effort with these telecom partners.
Telecoin’s major objective is not to compete with telecom mobile money, but to cooperatively participate in the overall mobile money ecosystem as a complementary solution; a tool that will increasingly bring users to mobile money, cryptocurrency-backed solutions and mobile wallets.
By partnering with mobile operators, Telcoin can avoid key points of friction that have prevented similar projects from succeeding: trust, reach and KYC compliance.
Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor this article can be considered as an investment advice.
BTC is the sixth highest currency in terms of total circulation.
Bitcoin is now the sixth most circulated currency in the world, behind five super powers, and outranking the Pound, the Ruble, and the Won, according to the Bank for International Settlements. The figure is based on a value of Bitcoin at $10,765 each, meaning that the total value of all Bitcoins in circulation is $180 bln.
While the number is substantial, should Bitcoin rise to $15,000, it will overtake the next highest circulating currency, the Rupee. The other four currencies outranking Bitcoin are the Yen, Yuan, Euro, and Dollar, all of which have dramatically greater levels of currency in circulation (the Dollar, for example, stands at $1.4 tln).
Other cryptocurrencies are also following suit, with Ethereum ranked at #17, and Bitcoin Cash at #20. Ripple falls just outside the top 20. However, both BCH and XRP are still above both the Krona and Rand for total circulation.
These numbers are, of course, somewhat skewed, because the value of notes in circulation is not reflective of the total value of a currency. Nevertheless, the numbers reveal the substantial power of Bitcoin in terms of currency interactions.
After the biggest week in Bitcoin’s history, is there a change of sentiment coming for the cryptocurrency?
As a wave of good sentiment washes over the perception of Bitcoin, naysayers still abound - banking establishment.
The latest ramblings from a banking head came at a conference this week in China., Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau reacted to the market volatility after Bitcoin hit the $11,000 milestone:
“We need to be clear: Bitcoin is in no way a currency or even a cryptocurrency. It is a speculative asset. Its value and extreme volatility have no economic basis, and they are nobody’s responsibility. The Bank of France reminds those investing in Bitcoin that they do so entirely at their own risk.”
While the Bank of France remains bullish on their stance of cryptocurrencies, America is gearing up for mainstream trading of Bitcoin this month.
On Friday, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission granted permission for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange to forge ahead with plans to launch Bitcoin Futures.
After a week of seesawing Bitcoin prices, the market reacted positively to the news and prices stabilized, hovering around the $11,000 mark on Saturday.
What remains to be seen is whether there will be an about turn in the perception of high profile banking figures towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon hit out at Bitcoin a month ago, all while the bank announced their plans to launch Bitcoin futures on the CME. Trading is expected to get underway mid-December, so we should be hearing from Dimon in the next two weeks.
PriceWaterouseCoopers’ Hong Kong offices announced that they’d started receiving payments for their accountancy services in Bitcoin this week.
What is the reason for their decision? To embrace new technology, according to their Asia-Pacific Chairperson Raymund Chao.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that big banks around the world are threatened by the rise of decentralized cryptocurrencies. Heads of the industry are constantly warning against or hitting out at the likes of Bitcoin.
Some are well-informed, cautioning against un-educated trading. Others seem completely oblivious to the underpinning Blockchain technology and uses of virtual currencies.
Their reactions seem like death throes, as they fight against the coming revolution in the way we do transactions and approach the current financial system.
As more financial institutions embrace cryptocurrency, pressure will continue to mount on the banking establishment. The question is when will they start playing a different tune?
Different types of databases and how they work.
A database is an organized collection of information or data.
Nowadays there is a large stream of information, and the challenge is to store it in a way that you can easily find and use it whenever you need it. The databases can be divided into three types:
Centralized. All the data is a unified body that is stored on one computer. To get the information you have to connect to the main computer called server.
Decentralized. It means that there is no central storage. Some servers provide information to the clients. The servers are connected with each other.
Distributed. There are no data storages. All the nodes contain information. The clients are equal and have equal rights.
Though they have been used for a long time, there are a number of issues.
Security. If someone has access to the server with the information, any data can be added, changed, and removed.
Reliability. If there are a number of requests, the server can break down and no longer respond.
Accessibility. If the central storage has problems, you will not be able to get your information unless the problems are solved. In addition, different users have different needs, but the processes are uniformed and can be inconvenient for the clients.
Data transfer rates. If the nodes are located in different countries or continents, the connection with the server may become a problem.
Scalability. The centralized networks are hard to scale since the capacity of the server is limited, and the traffic cannot be infinite.
Decentralized and distributed databases can solve these problems.
Well, they do not have any centralized storage.
And it means that all the data is distributed between the nodes of the network. If something is added, edited or deleted on any computer, it will be reflected in all the computers of the network. If there are some legal amendments accepted, new information will be spread among other users throughout the network. Otherwise, the data will be backed up to coincide with the other nodes. Thus, the system is self-sufficient and self-regulating. The databases are protected from deliberate attacks or accidental changes of information.
Decentralized networks can withstand the significant pressure on the network.
All the nodes of the network have the data. So, the requests are distributed between the nodes. Therefore, the pressure doesn’t fall on one computer, but on all the network. In this case, the total capacity of the network is much larger than the centralized one has.
Since the number of computers in the decentralized or distributed network is large, DDoS attacks are possible only in case their capacity is much larger than that of the network. But that would be a very expensive attack. In a centralized model the response time is very in this case. Therefore, it can be considered that decentralized and distributed networks are safe.
The users might be located all over the world, and don’t forget about possible Internet connection issues. In decentralized and distributed networks the client can choose the node and work with all required information.
A centralized network cannot expand significantly.
In a centralized model, all the clients are connected to the server. Only the server stores all the data. Therefore, all requests about receiving, changing, adding or removing the data passes through the main computer. But the server resources are finite. Consequently, it is able to carry out its work effectively only for the specific number of participants. If the number of clients is larger, the server load may exceed the limit during the peak time. Decentralized and distributed models don’t have this problem since the load is shared between several computers.
The databases accelerate the communication between different parties in the production lane.
Let’s consider the following example. In the entire life, the car passes many stages: from assembly, sale, insurance, all the way to utilization. At each step, a lot of documentation and reports are developed. If any clarification is needed, the requests to different authorities are sent. It takes a lot of time. Locations, language miscommunication, bureaucracy may become serious problems.
The Blockchain is able to avoid these problems. All the information about each car is stored on the network. This data cannot be removed or changed without a participant’s approval. And you can access the information you need anytime. And smart contracts facilitate the Blockchain implementation. A really great example of how this actually works is CarFix. The team is working on developing the whole vehicle life cycle using Blockchain. To find out more go here.
Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor this article can be considered as an investment advice.
With CME Group expected to launch their Bitcoin futures market by the end of Q4, now would be a good time to learn how Bitcoin futures work
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) confirmed Friday that CME Group and CBOE had met the requirements for regulated trading, while Cantor Exchange would also be able to debut Bitcoin binary options.
Futures contracts allow traders to speculate on the price of an asset without actually having to own the asset. The speculators profit by buying or selling a contract in anticipation of the asset’s price moving in a certain direction. In CME Group’s Bitcoin futures market--that they expect to have up and running by the end of Q4-each contract will represent five Bitcoins.
If a trader is selling their contract, they are called a short speculator, if a trader is buying a contract, they are called a long speculator.
Although there is often a minimum number of contracts that a trader must purchase, to keep this example simple, let's say Bob wants to buy one contract and the price is $50,000 ($10,000 per Bitcoin).
Before Bob owns the contract, Bob will need to deposit the initial margin. The initial margin is often called a “good faith” deposit. Similar to a down-payment, a good faith deposit is a deposit into a trader’s account that shows that the trader intends to follow through with their contract. The initial margin is a percentage of the total contract that is often around five to 10 percent of the total contract. If Bob’s initial margin is 10 percent, Bob will own the contract after he deposits $5,000 into his trading account.
Now let’s assume Bob deposits $5,000 to buy the contract and is a long-speculator, meaning he believes/hopes Bitcoin price will rise above the spot price he paid for his contract--10,000 per Bitcoin.
CME Group has set the tick--the minimum price movement of the trading instrument--for their Bitcoin contracts at $5.00. This means that if Bitcoin price increases by $4, Bob will not realize a gain/loss on his contract, because $4 is below the minimum tick. However, each time Bitcoin price increases by $5, Bob will gain/lose $25 on his contract (because each contract is composed of five Bitcoin)
The day after Bob Purchases his contract, let’s say Bitcoin price rises by $100 . Because Bob owns one contract, the minimum tick is $5, and with each tick Bob earns $25, Bob will gain $500 on his contract (20*)(25)=$500.
On the other hand, if Bitcoin price declined by $100 during the trading day, Bob’s would lose $500 on his contract and Bob will see the funds in his trading account diminish.
Keep in mind, Bob only paid $5,000 to become the owner of a contract worth $50,000. The $40,000 that Bob did not have to pay is borrowed money, in other words, Bob’s Bitcoin contract is leveraged. Because futures contracts are highly leveraged, investing in futures is considered very risky.
Now let’s imagine that after four weeks the Bitcoin index (price) increases by five percent or in other words, 500 index points. After four weeks, Bob has earned a profit of $5.00(500)=$2,500 viz. Bob has earned a 50 percent profit on his initial deposit. On the other hand, if the indexed declined by five percent Bob will lose $2,500, a 50 percent loss on his contract.
The more contracts a futures trader owns, the greater that trader’s risk. If the price decreases by a significant amount it is possible for Bob to lose even more money than he initially deposited for the initial margin.
Bob’s initial margin was 5,000 dollars, now instead of Bitcoin price rising by 100, let’s say Bitcoin price falls by $1,100, Bob’s account will be credited $5,500 at the end of the trading day. Now remember, Bob’s initial margin was $5,000. Because of his $5,500 dollar loss, he will be 500 dollars in debt to CME Group and will have to pay out of his own pocket to bring is trading account balance back to zero.
If Bob suffers a loss or a series of losses that deplete his initial margin to an amount lower than the maintenance margin--the lowest amount of money the broker allows Bob’s account to reach before requiring Bob to replenish his account-- Bob will receive a margin call from his broker, telling him to deposit the sufficient amount of funds to return him to the initial margin amount.
To mitigate some of the risk involved with Bitcoin’s volatility, the CME Group has placed price limits on Bitcoin Futures. Bitcoin futures will be subject to price fluctuation limits of seven percent, 13 percent, and 20 percent. When the price of a contract fluctuates +/- 7% to the prior settlement price--the price that Bitcoin was valued at when the market closed the previous trading day-- a two minute monitoring period will begin where contracts will continue to trade, however, within the +/- 7% boundary. If at the end of that two minute monitoring period, the price is still at the limit down or limit up, a two minute halt on trading will begin. During the two-minute halt traders will be able to create market orders, however, they will not be fulfilled until the two minute halt period is over. Afterwards, the price limit will expand to 13 percent without a halt period and will be hard capped at 20 percent without a halt period. However, If the price fluctuates to 20 percent, trading for the rest of the day must occur within the +/- 20% limit.
CME Group’s Bitcoin Futures are currently pending regulatory approval, however, if approved, CME will be launching their futures before the end of Q4. CME’s decision to launch Bitcoin futures will most likely cause a number of big banks to keep their eye on Bitcoin. The CBOE has already discussed plans to launch a Bitcoin futures market, and Nasdaq expects to launch their Bitcoin futures market in the first half of 2018. It is likely that many institutional investors are going to be keeping an eye on CME to see how Bitcoin futures pan out.
Despite rumors, the Amazon subsidiary will not be launching the same type of Blockchain-based services as its competitors, cites “other solutions.”
Despite previous rumors, Blockchain-based services will not be offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) anytime soon.
CEO Andy Jassy made the announcement at the AWS annual re:Invent conference held in Las Vegas in late November. Jassy presented his views on Blockchain technology, claiming there are limited use cases of Blockchain “beyond the distributed ledger.” He also reiterated the company’s policy not to “build technology because we think it is cool.”
According to Jassy, there are a number of other solutions to the problems that Blockchain is supposed to solve. He stressed that the majority of the distributed ledgers that are available so far have very limited capabilities.
However, Jassy has not completely shut the door on the possibility of working on a Blockchain-based product in the future. He claimed that they are interested in ways that Blockchain could benefit their customers:
“We are very intrigued by what customers are ultimately going to do there.”
Unlike AWS, rivals such as Microsoft and International Business Machines (IBM) are aggressively advancing projects related to Blockchain services and distributed ledgers. Over the course of the last couple of months, these companies have launched several Blockchain services and pilot projects in collaboration with their customers.
AWS is a subsidiary of major online retailer Amazon.com. The company offers information technology infrastructure services in the form of web services to its customers. Among the firm’s products and solutions are storage and content delivery, cloud computing, databases, analytics, application services, and mobile services.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will not be legal tender in the country until fully regulated.
Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has claimed that the government of India is yet to recognize Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country as of late November 2017. He did point out that the recommendations regarding the possible legalization of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies across India are being worked at by the government.
In an interview with the Economic Times, Jaitley said that he has already informed the Indian parliament that the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has yet to issue any licenses to operate with digital currencies within its jurisdiction. He further claimed that the government is still assessing recommendations to regulate the virtual currencies.
"Recommendations are being worked at. The government's position is clear, we don't recognize this as legal currency as of now."
The Indian government has been working to regulate the use of virtual currencies in the country for the past few months.
In April 2017, the government established an interdisciplinary committee to assess the possible drafting of regulations covering digital currencies. The committee is composed of several government agencies including the RBI, the Department of Financial Services and the Ministry of Revenue.
In October 2017, however, the Indian Supreme Court issued a notice to the RBI and other related agencies asking them to provide an answer to the petition filed on the cryptocurrency regulation issue. The original petition expressed apprehensionabout the possible use of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies in untraceable cross-border transactions, making them as attractive tools for cybercriminals and tax evaders.
Part of the petition read:
"The lack of any concrete [control] mechanism pending the regulatory framework in said regard has left a lot of vacuum and which has resulted in total unaccountability and unregulated Bitcoin trading and transactions."
Despite the increasing appetite for cryptocurrencies in the country, regulators have not yet decided how to regulate Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Until then, Bitcoin will not be considered a legal tender in India. In a previous report, a chief economist predicts that Bitcoin will not become legal in India without the necessarily monitoring from the government.
Blockchain technology in the local transportation is a logical continuation of a centuries-old evolution in the industry.
Blockchain technology in the local transportation or taxi industry is only the continuation of an evolution that has gone on for centuries. Mankind has long sought more efficient technologies both in transport service providing and industrial administration.
From ancient forms of transportation that involved trekking, the use of animals and carts, to the complexity of present-day machines, the transportation industry has developed into an organized ecosystem with basic administrative departments.
The local taxi systems that exist in almost every major town and city across the globe have proven to be quite essential to modern life. Given the importance of commuting in daily life, it’s unsurprising that taxis are in high demand and the industry is exceedingly competitive. It is estimated that the global taxi market fluctuates between 50 and 100 bln dollars.
Traditional taxi management systems have revolved around centralized organizations. For instance, in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, local unions and associations demand that every taxi operator must be registered and pay periodic dues and levies for running the association. This is supposed to be a way of ensuring proper licensing of taxi drivers, but the centralized nature of its management leaves room for misappropriation and poor management.
The introduction of partially decentralized taxi systems like Uber and Lyft introduced some necessary competition into the taxi industries. This has provided commuters with more options, leading to reduced fares and better quality service. However, despite the extent of decentralization that is introduced by these systems, they are still governed by a single database and run by a single company.
As Blockchain implementations are speedily sweeping across every industry, signs of the technology overtaking the taxi industry are clear already. For an industry that has been continually evolving over time and across ages, moving into a new phase will not be a surprising development at all.
According to Tomas Peleckas, Founder of A2B Taxi:
Licensed taxi drivers are essential to the industry for purposes such as security and appraisals. The situation in the market is an inspiration towards the creation of a platform designed to connect customers with professional and accredited drivers directly. Providing a mobile application for customers to find a licensed driver, as well as drivers to manage their business more efficiently will go a long way in creating a sanitized taxi industry. It is an essential tool for both the security of commuters and motivation towards quality services.
Implementing the concept of tokenization, or using Blockchain-based apps to manage local transportation systems is a development that has been long coming. It’s likely that many taxi services based on Blockchain and tokenization will spring up. This is largely due to the various benefits that Blockchain offers, especially in the area of personal control and decentralization.
For example, imagine traveling to a new city where the local currency is totally different from where you are coming from, and you need taxi services to take you from the airport to a hotel. Using a Blockchain-powered service automatically eliminates the need for any form of currency conversion as the value of the token remains the same and is available all over the world.
In many circles, Blockchain is described as the technology for the common man. This is a description that is proving its correctness in by giving regular people more control over their resources. It also services to open up the marketplace in various industries while enabling a level playing field for all involved.
Blockchain implementation will automatically enable a transparent industry; opaque unions and associations will no longer override the will of taxi drivers and commuters. Instead, anyone who holds a Blockchain token will retain full control of all the benefits associated with such tokens, be it in exchange for other tokens or fiat, or for the payment of taxi fares.
JP Morgan Chase strategist disagrees with CEO Jamie Dimon, says regulatory approval of CME’s Bitcoin futures market gives the currency legitimacy.
Given the strong views of JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon on Bitcoin, it is ironic that a global markets strategist at JP Morgan has come out with a note saying that regulated futures could give legitimacy to Bitcoin
The decision of US regulators to allow Bitcoin futures to trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has pushed Bitcoin into mainstream finance. CME obtained the regulators’ go-ahead after self certification, having assured the US CFTC that the products will follow existing law. The move could allow financial institutions with restrictive mandates to take Bitcoin exposure.
Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, a global markets strategist at JP Morgan, also feels that the move could give legitimacy to Bitcoin. In a note to investors, he said:
The prospective launch of Bitcoin futures contracts by established exchanges in particular has the potential to add legitimacy and thus increase the appeal of the cryptocurrency market to both retail and institutional investors
CEO Jamie Dimon has strong views about Bitcoin: he believes the currency is a fraud and has even threatened to fire anybody who is “stupid enough” to buy it. He has ranted that governments will shut Bitcoin down and that the currency is in a bubble which will wreck investors.
Dimon is not alone in his views - other industry titans like Warren Buffett have said that Bitcoin is best avoided. However, that hasn't stopped the currency’s price from climbing to new levels.
Panigirtzoglou seems to have taken a view diametrically opposite to that of his boss, calling Bitcoin a new asset class:
The value of this new asset class is a function of the breadth of its acceptance as a store of wealth and as a means of payment and simply judging by other stores of wealth such as gold, cryptocurrencies have the potential to grow further from here.
In spite of Jamie Dimon's views against Bitcoin, JP Morgan seems to be making the most of the opportunity presented by the currency’s rise. The bank recently invited Bart Stephens, a tech venture capitalist, to give a talk on Bitcoin at JP Morgan San Francisco. Stephens presented to fund managers and clients, even as Dimon slammed Bitcoin.
The comments made by Jamie Dimon against Bitcoin resulted in a dip in its price, which coincided with JP Morgan buying units of a Bitcoin tracker fund. This has resulted in a market manipulation case against Jamie Dimon in a Swedish court. After CME announced the launch of Bitcoin futures, JP Morgan surprised observers by announcing that it may add Bitcoin futures to its own list of offerings. When opportunities for money making exist, there are no untouchables for the big banks.
An increasing number of millennials are investing their hard-earned money in Bitcoin instead of opening traditional bank accounts.
One in four millennials are investing their hard-earned money in the leading digital currency Bitcoin instead of opening traditional bank accounts. They claim that they earn more from their Bitcoin investments and their money is safer, according to a survey.
Based on the survey conducted Blockchain Capital, 70% of the 10,000 millennials who were polled claimed that they are not content with the interest rates offered by banks and almost 65% said that their money is safer in Bitcoin because they personally control it. The survey also showed that nearly two-thirds of female respondents have begun to branch out from Bitcoin and invested in other digital currencies in order to diversify their portfolio.
Despite their preference of Bitcoin as a form of investment, slightly less than 50% of the millennials surveyed said that they are also looking for a more convenient form of banking and 45% stated that they want their banks to integrate Bitcoin wallets in their operation so that they can directly invest in cryptocurrencies through their existing bank accounts.
The survey also estimated that the majority of millennials will invest around two-thirds of their savings into virtual currencies. According to the site founder Andrew Sung, the survey results showed that the younger generation is much quicker to embrace new technologies than their older counterparts.
“The younger generation has been notoriously quicker to act on new technologies, including the latest smartphones, which have enabled millennials to invest in Bitcoin over the last few years, before large hedge funds and financial institutions started to get involved.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the accounting industry’s “Big Four” firms, is now accepting Bitcoin as payment for services at Hong Kong office.
The Hong Kong office of auditing and accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has started accepting Bitcoin as payment for its professional services. The company noted that the first Bitcoin payments it accepted was from local companies involved in digital currencies and Blockchain technology.
According to PwC Asia-Pacific chairperson Raymund Chao, their decision to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment reflects their move to embrace new technologies. Chao also notes:
"It is also an indication that Bitcoin and other established cryptocurrencies have now developed into more broadly accepted forms of settlement."
The decision by PwC to accept Bitcoin as a method of payment came at a time when the leading cryptocurrency is registering an unprecedented rise in the financial markets. The most popular virtual currency has breached the $11,000 price for the first time in its short history. This phenomenal performance has resulted in the emergence of questions on whether Bitcoin is a true store of value and means of exchange that can be utilized in transactions or just a day trader’s plaything.
PwC has often been an early adopter of new technologies. The company has been involved with digital currencies and Blockchain technology since 2014. Among its activities include the issuance of statements supporting the role of Bitcoin in advancing innovations in various industries, as well as conducting its own research on the virtual currencies.
One of the research initiatives launched by the company is a project to study the possible application of Blockchain in the wholesale insurance industry. The project was advanced in collaboration with the Z/Yen thinktank’s Long Finance initiative. PwC has also established its own consultancy services to offer advice to clients about the new technologies.
