I shouldn’t have to tell you that Facebook‘s upcoming ‘cryptocurrency‘ Libra isn’t having a great time . With every passing day, and every new headline, it seems less likely that Libra will ever launch, let alone on time.
Well, if you’re skeptical and think Libra is going to be delayed, you can take a shot at making some money at it by betting that it won’t launch – just like I told you to do already .
While you could probably go down to a bookies and place a bet, that’s not something you’d want, is it? Because you actually know about Bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrency. What you want is a derivatives future, for no other reason than it sounding cool.
Joking aside though, CoinFLEX, a cryptocurrency-futures exchange is now offering derivatives that pay out based on the likelihood that Libra will actually launch and be operational by the end of next year, Bloomberg reports .
CoinFLEX’s physically-settled futures will pay out Libra tokens if the ‘cryptocurrency‘ is live by December 30, 2020. If Libra isn’t operational though, investors will get nothing and will lose their initial investment. Users will also be able to bet against Libra launching in 2020 .
According to the report, the futures will be available from October 24, with each Libra token being set at $0.30. After the initial futures are offered, contracts can be traded. It’s believed the prices of the contracts will vary depending on how Libra’s development is going.
*This is not investment advice. Do not gamble, ever. You will not win, probably.
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Switzerland’s cryptocurrency association needs more female leaders
An urgent and extraordinary meeting of Switzerland’s Crypto Valley Association (CVA) has been called in order to fight gender inequality. Two women are to be appointed to the board, following accusations it’s become a “boys club.”
“We want to create a space that works for everyone rather than just carry on with the same old boys’ club and their cronies,” declared Leeannee Abapo Senn, CVA communications chief. “Our objective is to elevate the dynamic women who have contributed to Crypto Valley and to create a stronger, more inclusive ecosystem.”
It’s been reported that 43 nominations for female candidates were received. A vote to install two female board members is scheduled for September 20. Local outlet Swissinfoh notes that the sheer number of women who came forward has taken the CVA’s diversity taskforce by surprise.
The movement was sparked after June elections revealed a systemic problem in the CVA: men were having it particularly easy when vying for board membership.
In June, all five members of its board were male. Four were easily re-elected, and the fifth nominee was of course, male. By decree, two female members are to be immediately installed, increasing the size of the CVA board to seven.
The original five board members will continue to serve until the next scheduled election. That means that even after the two female positions are filled, just two of the seven board members will be female.
Switzerland’s Crypto Valley is situated in ‘ the Zug ,’ an international tax haven for the tech industry. Thanks to its super-lax taxation systems and readily available incentives, Crypto Valley is a hotspot for blockchain entrepreneurs.
So popular is Crypto Valley, that the CVA boasts more than 1,000 members, including lawyers, consultants, incubators, and businesses. The weight of its roster makes it influential politically, amplifying the need for diverse board members.
Women in blockchain
Research from eToro indicates a gender gap not only exists in cryptocurrency, but it’s absolutely huge. It found that much fewer women are invested in digital assets than men: only 8.5 percent of cryptocurrency users are female.
Major cryptocurrency businesses are getting the memo, albeit slowly. Last week, it was revealed that Randi Zuckerberg , sister of infamous tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, is to advise Huobi Pro on its new blockchain ecosystem.
But this persists as an industry-wide problem, for cryptocurrency and the greater technology sector. A recent TNW Answers session was conducted with a group of powerful female tech leaders. Data shows that 58 percent of women tech founders across Europe had experienced some form of harassment. What’s worse is that the percentage rose to 75 percent for women of color.
It’s clear that this needs a systematic solution, but at least Switzerland’s largest cryptocurrency association realizes a problem exists. The forced inclusion of two women to the CVA board is certainly a start, but one that is unfortunately way overdue.
Moonday Morning: IMF builds its own cryptocurrency ‘for learning,’ and more
Welcome to another Monday and with that, another Moonday Morning – where we take a look at the weekend’s top blockchain and cryptocurrency news.
Here’s Hard Fork’s selection of last weekend’s top stories:
1. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have cobbled together to launch a private blockchain and quasi-cryptocurrency called “Learning Coin”. Both organizations are seeking to better understand the technology, and have stated that the coin (which has no monetary value) will not be available to the public.
2. In other news, an increasing number of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are said to be abusing an old rule to hide the fact they’re related to blockchain, reports Bloomberg . One fund in particular, which originally featured ‘blockchain’ in its name, is now known as “Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF.” The US Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on this, in a bid to get a handle on the proliferation of funds offering investments in emerging technologies.
3. Bitcoin now has a place in life insurance contracts. That’s according to a report by French daily newspaper Les Echos , which states that thanks to a vote in the country’s National Assembly last week, French savers will be able to invest in cryptocurrencies in their “assurance vie” life insurance accounts, which are typically used as medium- to long-term savings vehicles aimed at retirement.
4. Decentralized computing networking Blockstack is looking to raise more funding. The startup, which is rejecting to go do down the Initial Coin Offering route, is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch its own $50 million token offering. If it gets the green light, this could be the first SEC-qualified offering of its kind, The Block reports .
5. Last but not least, Bitcoin’s price has been making headlines yet again. The cryptocurrency’s sudden surge past the $5,000 mark has paved the way for speculation from pundits – with some going as far as saying that the Crypto Winter is now over.
Well, there you have it. The cryptocurrency world is anything but boring, with this weekend alone providing an assortment of news catering to everyone’s taste.
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