The Digital Asset Review
JULY 30, 2019

"The passing of the Blockchain Promotion Act by the Senate creates an opportunity to promote the technology at a federal level and expose more government organizations to how it can bring more transparency and efficiency to their work.

What’s especially exciting about this bill is that it’s received bipartisan support-- a testament to the fact that members of both major political parties in the US are recognizing the value that blockchain technology can bring to the United States and to the rest of the world, whether it’s by preventing tax fraud, eliminating bureaucracy or reducing waste."



"The U.S. dollar (USD) has been the world’s dominant reserve currency for almost a century. As such, many investors today, even outside the United States, have built and become comfortable with sizable USD overweights in their portfolios. However, we believe the dollar could lose its status as the world’s dominant currency (which could see it depreciate over the medium term) due to structural reasons as well as cyclical impediments.  

As such, diversifying dollar exposure by placing a higher weighting on other currencies in developed markets and in Asia, as well as precious metals makes sense today."



"Recent research suggests that the world’s biggest blockchain is in a class of it own.

To many people, bitcoin is not only the granddaddy of crypto, it remains the one true coin. Everything else, including Ethereum’s coin, ether, has traditionally been referred to as an alternative coin, or “altcoin.”

But is it time for a labelling shake up? While the discussion is not new, new arguments and data suggest that, alone among thousands of altcoins, ether could be in the running for a promotion. Here's why: "


"Taxpayers who deal - or even dabble - in virtual currency may be on the receiving end of a letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this month. The IRS has announced that they have begun sending letters to taxpayers who might have failed to report income and pay the resulting tax from virtual currency transactions or did not report their transactions properly.

The IRS started sending the letters to taxpayers last week. The names of these taxpayers were obtained through various ongoing IRS compliance efforts.

There are three variations on the letter: letter 6173, letter 6174, or letter 6174-A. The letters are allegedly targeted to taxpayers depending on the information available to the IRS. According to the IRS, '[a]ll three versions strive to help taxpayers understand their tax and filing obligations and how to correct past errors.' However, all three versions are not the same; one version alleges noncompliance while another merely indicates that the IRS has been made aware of cryptocurrency activity attached to the taxpayer."


"Football — or as it is called in United States, soccer — is by far the most popular sport on Earth. According to FIFA’s audit of audience data following the 2018 World Cup in Russia, over 3.5 billion people tuned in to watch the global showpiece. This number suggests that half of the world’s population caught some of the action during the competition — a staggering thought that hammers home the popularity of the game.

Given the potential number of people reached by the sport, any product or advertiser associated with the biggest football brands are almost guaranteed to benefit from the exposure."


SEC

"In a step forward for crypto regulation, the Securities Exchange Commission granted no-action relief to Pocketful of Quarters for its Ethereum ERC-20 token “Quarters”—assuring the startup that the Commission will not take enforcement action.

Pocketful of Quarters (PoQ) is a blockchain startup headed by CEO George Weiksner, age 12, and his father, PoQ’s CTO, Michael Weiksner. The startup aims to create a universal gaming token redeemable across video game platforms."



"Aximetria, a firm offering a personal finance app for both fiat and cryptocurrencies, has been awarded a license from the Swiss Financial Services Standards Association (VQF).

The firm told CoinDesk exclusively on Monday that the license – which is recognized by Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) – enables it to definitively state that its product is “fully compliant” with Switzerland’s anti-money laundering laws.

The news also means Aximetria can now start operations as a crypto financial intermediary under the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act."


Upcoming Events
October 15 - 16, 2019
Los Angeles, CA

The summit brings together developers, entrepreneurs, startups, angel investors, venture capital investors, retail investors, family offices, real estate investors, startup entrepreneurs, issuers, exchanges, broker-dealers, service providers, and members of the media.