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Major FinTech payments firm Ripple is expanding to India with a new office in the country’s business capital, Mumbai. San Francisco-based Ripple has always been about introducing banks to blockchain technology in order to facilitate instant global money transfers. In sticking to those goals, the prominent venture-backed FinTech startup is now opening an office in India, a major developing economy that is undergoing a transformation into a digital society. In an announcement today, Ripple revealed details of its expansion into India with a new office in the city of Mumbai. Former banking executive Navin Gupta will lead operations in the country, with multiple decades of experience in global banks including HSBC and Citibank. In statements, Gupta noted: India is the largest recipient of corporate and retail remittances worldwide, totaling close to $71 billion…Ripple’s instant, cost-effective blockchain-powered payments can be a transformative component of India’s ec...

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) has established the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub to explore the social science of blockchain technology. In an announcement today, RMIT unveiled details of the research center focused on blockchain technology, an innovation that the university believes will become “a core infrastructure for the global economy.” The hub is being proclaimed as the world’s first research center aimed at exploring the social science of blockchain technology. The research center will be led by Professor Jason Potts from RMIT’s School of Economics, Finance, and Marketing. Professor Ian Palmer, pro-vice chancellor business and vice-president at the university stated: The RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub is the only full-service, research, learning and industry-linked blockchain body in the world. Blockchain, the underlying tech that powers cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, will ‘revolutionize businesses as we know it  in the coming ye...

In response to China’s ICO ban, crypto startup block.one has banned Chinese residents from participating in the initial coin offering for smart contracts platform EOS. Beginning this morning, all EOS ICO contributions violating this policy will be considered “null and void.” EOS ICO Prohibits Chinese Investors Following PBoC Ban The announcement, which block.one posted on Steemit, is a direct response to a report that the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has declared ICOs illegal and has ordered groups who have already completed crowdsales to return funds to investors. From now on, block.one explicitly bars residents and citizens of China from contributing to the EOS ICO, which raised $185 million during its initial phase in June and will continue until June 1, 2018. Chinese persons are strictly prohibited and restricted from using the EOS Smart Contract and/or purchasing EOS Tokens. If a Chinese person uses the EOS Smart Contract and/or purchases EOS To...

South Korean regulators are reportedly strengthening the regulation and monitoring of digital currencies including bitcoin. South Korea’s digital currency task force – a group comprising of the country’s central bank, financial regulators and digital currency companies – have discussed increased regulatory oversight into trading and business practices as a means to further consumer protection efforts. According to Business Korea, the task force held a joint meeting on Sunday where authorities planned to introduce these increased regulations for trading among the country’s domestic exchanges. The meeting, which was attended by the National Tax Service (NTS) and the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) also saw plans drawn toward strengthening user authentication procedures at exchanges as well as ‘suspicious transaction reporting’ systems at banks for transactions related to digital currencies. Financial Services Commission (FSC) chairman Kim Yong-beom, who chaired the task ...

Tenants at a London residence building can pay deposits in bitcoin, according to The Guardian. By year’s end, the building, The Collective, will also accept rent payments in bitcoin, marking the first time that a major developer in the United Kingdom has allowed bitcoin payments. The Collective said its decision came in response to demand from international customers. On Monday, the online booking form for The Collective’s Old Oak co-living scheme, the largest co-living development in the world with 550 rooms, announced it will accept bitcoin deposits. The Collective has promised “spot conversions,” meaning it will assume any financial risk while holding the deposit, and return it at the original value when the term is complete. Rents start at £178 a week for a 10-sq-m space, and the standard deposit is £500 for all units. Tenants will be able to pay their rent in bitcoin this coming fall. Currency Trends Impact Decision Reza Merchant, founder and C...

Bitcoin price has now dropped 20% toward $4,000, three days after hitting an unprecedented record high of $5,000 over the weekend. The price of bitcoin hits a two-week low in a decline following China’s ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs), a radical new form of fundraising where digital tokens are exchanged for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum. The early hours of Tuesday saw bitcoin value drop near $4,000, trading at figures unseen since August 22 nd . At Bitstamp, bitcoin’s value dropped to $4001.9 during the fall while a global average between exchanges leveled around the $4,050 figure. Chinese exchanges experienced more dramatic falls with trading on ‘big three’ exchange OKCoin falling to a low of CNY22,550, roughly $3,400. Data from CoinmarketCap reveals a significant sell-off in multiple markets around the world At the time of publishing, bitcoin prices are showing an upward recovery in trading above $4,300. Over the last...

For the first time since August 20, Ethereum price dipped below the $300 mark, to $295 as the market cap of Ethereum plunged by $6 billion in a single day. Earlier today, on September 4, price of Ether dropped by 10 percent after showing some signs of recovery. Last week, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the central bank of the country, abruptly announced its intention to regulate the initial coin offering (ICO) market and investigate into ongoing ICO campaigns. Some sources reported that the PBoC was looking to suspend all existing and upcoming ICOs in order for the institution to closely evaluate the legality of ICOs based on the country’s financial regulations and policies. This morning, major publications including CNBC, Bloomberg and Reuters revealed that the PBoC has officially decided to declare ICOs illegal and launch full investigations into 60 large-scale ICO platforms in the local market. Sourcing Caixin, the Beijing-based media group focusing on the Chinese financ...

The cryptocurrency markets plummeted on Monday following a report that the Chinese central bank had issued a blanket ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs). The bitcoin price fell 5%, while the ethereum price took an 11% dive. The altcoin markets fared equally as bad, with 91 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies declining for the day. Chart from CoinMarketCap This widespread investor panic caused the total value of all cryptocurrencies to plummet. Yesterday, the total crypto market cap was $164 billion–a $16 billion decline from the all-time high it set on September 2. But the news that the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) had decided to ban ICOs sent the crypto market cap careening below $150 billion. Chart from CoinMarketCap According to the report, all token sales are forbidden within the country, and organizations which have already completed ICOs are instructed to return all investor funds. This is likely an impossible task, since organizations have doubtlessly alread...