Cryptocurrency bigwigs are banding together to form a political lobbying consortium that will take on the industry’s hardest policy making issues directly from Washington DC.
The NGO, known as the Blockchain Association, is trying to become the go to lobbying organization on political and legal issues that challenge cryptocurrency and blockchain companies.
In its first Medium blog post yesterday, the consortium stated it is aiming to deliver “a unified voice for the blockchain industry.”
The group will include a host of industry representatives from cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain development startups, and specialist venture capital firms.
The likes of Coinbase, Circle, Protocol Labs, Digital Currency Group, and Polychain Capital are the inaugural members of this movement.
Widow of QuadrigaCX CEO gives $9M to trustee to help re-pay victims
The widow of the CEO of the defunct Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX is surrendering personal assets to assist with the repayments of user’s affected by the exchange‘s sudden collapse.
In statement released yesterday , Jennifer Robertson, outlined the settlement that’s been reached with the appointed trustee, Ernst & Young (EY).
“I have now entered into a voluntarily settlement agreement where the vast majority of my assets and all of the Estate’s assets are being returned to QCX to benefit the Affected Users. These assets originally came from QCX at the direction of Gerry (Gerald Cotten, QuadrigaCX’s former CEO),” Robertson said in the statement.
While the exact amount of assets to be surrendered isn’t mentioned in the statement, a supporting statement from EY estimates the figure to be $9 million (CAD $12 million).
While the exact amount of assets to be surrendered isn’t mentioned in the Robertson’s note, a supporting statement from EY estimates the figure to be $9 million (CAD $12 million).
This figure is based on the estimated value of Cotten’s estate, which is said to include luxury vehicles and dozens of properties in Nova Scotia.
Robertson will be holding on to $162,700 in personal assets which include, retirement savings, a Jeep, jewelry, and some shares in QuadrigaCX and its associated entities.
Robertson says she had no “direct knowledge of how Gerry operated the business prior to his death,” and that she was not aware of his improper actions in managing the QuadrigaCX business.
What’s more, she also denies knowledge of Gerry’s suspicious trading activities and appropriation of user funds. All of which effectively contributed to the downfall of the exchange.
The Canadian exchange was thrown into turmoil after the untimely death of its CEO, Gerald Cotten, late last year. Unfortunately for users of the exchange, Cotten didn’t have any contingency plans in place and was the only person who knew the company’s passwords.
While I’m sure some affected users will be pleased to see some assets recovered, there’s still a long way to go find the whole $134 million that’s said to have been lost in the exchange‘s collapse.
H/T – CoinDesk
Want more Hard Fork? Join us in Amsterdam on October 15-17 to discuss blockchain and cryptocurrency with leading experts.
UK shipping giant floats blockchain as a solution to sink supply chain woes
The UK’s leading port operator is planning to explore blockchain as a possible tool to improve the performance of British shipyards.
Associated British Ports (ABP) today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to work with blockchain logistics developers, Marine Transport International (MTI), Dry Bulk Magazine reports .
ABP operates some 21 ports all over the UK, and is responsible for processing 25 percent of the nation’s seafaring freight.
This partnership will see the two companies work together to examine how blockchain can be used to increase efficiency and throughput at ports across the UK. Of course, these “solutions” are yet to be developed so the specifics of how the tech will be used, remains to be seen.
Currently, every member in a supply chain uses a different computer system to track shipments. In some cases, data has to be manually input from one system to another when shipments arrive at port.
Naturally, this is a less than efficient system. ABP claims it will create a blockchain-based solution which allows all members of a supply chain to communicate more easily and efficiently – on one, unified system.
Indeed, the use of blockchain suggests that it will be secure, immutable, and transparent. This should prevent any illicit tampering with shipments as they pass through the supply chain.
Of course, it is yet to be seen if the solution can deliver on these promises.
Blockchain is big business in the shipping world. This isn’t the first instance of the decentralized technology being used to aid in the processing of large cargo shipments. Earlier this year a sizeable amount of almonds was sent from Australia to Germany , tracked entirely on blockchain.
