Bank of America admits cryptocurrency is a threat to its business, Bank of China submits patent for scalable blockchain system, top 5 price changes, and more!
Bank of America Acknowledges that Cryptocurrency Poses Threat to its Business Model
In its annual report to the SEC, Bank of America admitted that cryptocurrency is a significant threat to its business model. As reported by TheNextWeb.com, Bank of America stated:
“Clients may choose to conduct business with other market participants who engage in business or offer products in areas we deem speculative or risky, such as cryptocurrencies. Increased competition may negatively affect our earnings by creating pressure to lower prices or credit standards on our products and services requiring additional investment to improve the quality and delivery of our technology and/or reducing our market share, or affecting the willingness of clients to do business with us.”
Bank of China Submits Patent for Scalable Blockchain System
The commercial, state-run Bank of China (not the People’s Bank of China) has filed a patent with the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) for a solution to scale Blockchain technology systems. According to CoinDesk, “the patent contains a method for compressing Blockchain data that seeks to solve the problem of storage space in new blocks without compromising on traceability and immutability.”
Archos to Begin Production of New Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet
Archos, a company best known for its audio accessories, is producing a new cryptocurrency hardware wallet called the Safe-T Mini, which will have a retail price of USD 62.00. According to Bitcoin.com, the Safe-T Mini includes many of the same features as the Ledger Nano, including the ability to generate a private key and support for a range of currencies — with more to be added after release. The wallet will begin shipping in June 2018.
Austria’s Finance Minister Drafting Stricter Oversight on Cryptocurrency Exchanges and ICOs
Austria’s Finance Minister, Hartwig Loeger, is drafting regulations on cryptocurrencies modeled after the country’s trading rules for gold and derivatives. According to Bloomberg, the goal is to prevent cryptocurrencies from facilitating money laundering and to bring cryptocurrency exchanges under similar oversight to those of financial instruments. Loeger is also drafting regulations on ICOs, which would require them to submit “digital prospectuses” to the FMA for approval in order to protect against market manipulation.
Source: ICO Alert
