Blockchain News 10.07.2018

100+ merchants will be able to trial Bitcoin’s Lightning Network via CoinGate

Merchants are now one step closer to being able to accept Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network.

Payment processing startup CoinGate started a pilot program that will allow 100+ merchants to trial a Lightning-enabled version of its service.

As with CoinGate’s standard service, the company will handle crypto-to-fiat exchange. Additionally, the new pilot has the benefit of covering the costs should funds be lost due to the early-stage nature of the software, Lightning implementations are now largely in beta.

Czech investment bank raising $100M for blockchain fund

Benson Oak, an investment bank based in Prague, Czech Republic, has announced it is raising $100 million to launch an investment fund dedicated to the Israeli market and taking a focus on blockchain startups.

The new investment arm, called Benson Oak Ventures, has already secured $25 million and aims to reach the $100 million target by the end of 2018.

According to Benson Oak Ventures’ website, the fund will be interested primarily in blockchain startups offering consumer products or creating platforms that enable community growth, all in an effort to boost blockchain’s use at the consumer level.

Bancor goes offline following security breach

Crypto exchange platform Bancor has gone offline following a “security breach” that took place Monday morning.

The loss from the hack is reported to be $23.5M.

Bancor had tweeted that its platform is now offline.

This morning (CEST) Bancor experienced a security breach. No user wallets were compromised. To complete the investigation, we have moved to maintenance and will be releasing a more detailed report shortly. We look forward to being back online as soon as possible.
— Bancor (@Bancor) July 9, 2018

UK watchdog welcomes first crypto startups to regulatory sandbox

For the first time the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, is directly recognizing the potential of blockchain-related startups by giving sandbox-access to 11 blockchain and distributed ledger technology-related companies.

The regulator said:

“We have accepted a number of firms that will be testing propositions relating to cryptoassets. We are keen to explore whether, in a controlled environment, consumer benefits can be delivered while effectively managing the associated risks.”

The FCA’s regulatory sandbox was launched in June 2016 with the goal of allowing businesses to test “innovative products, services, business models and delivery mechanisms” in the market with FCA’s temporary authorization.

Banks in South Korea have $2B in crypto, consider it an emerging asset class

Commercial banks in South Korea may be bullish on cryptocurrencies, owning more Bitcoin than even the largest domestic exchanges.

According to South Korean news outlet, Yonhap, financial institutions in the country have almost $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.

The amount is equivalent to only 8% of the total deposits owned by South Korean brokerage houses, which are worth 26 trillion won. However, it is being reported that the percentage is growing and the space is considered an “emerging asset class.”

Additionally, Shinhan, the 2nd largest bank in Korea, has developed a Bitcoin vault for their customers.

Kraken Daily Market Report for 09.07.2018

BTC $6,699 ↓0.86% $27.6M	ETH $476.0 ↓3.07% $20.3M	EOS $8.12 ↓6.99% $2.51M	BCH $742.09 ↓3.28% $2.45M
ETC $18.44 ↓0.32% $2.25M	XRP $0.4753 ↓2.12% $2.24M	REP $35.06 ↑1.95% $1.3M	XMR $137.13 ↓1.11% $1.21M
LTC $81.28 ↓3.62% $1.13M	XLM $0.2091 ↓2.80% $732,877	USDT $1.00 →0.00% $372,651	DASH $232.7 ↓5.14% $319,740
ZEC $169.2 ↓3.72% $190,254	GNO $49.2 ↓5.77% $39,042	ICN $0.671 ↓3.76% $14,776	MLN $27.47 ↓1.29% $14,744