Ethereum (ETH) core developers are considering implementing

more frequent and smaller hard forks, according to the most recent bi-weekly meeting held on April 12. The question of time between hard forks — or network updates — was brought up by the meeting’s moderator, Tim Beiko, who referenced it as an ongoing topic of discussion. Another dev then began the discussion by referencing core developer Alexey Akhunov’s previously expressed position in favor of shorter periods between forks.

To “check the temperature” of the devs’ position on hard fork timing, the dev asked if anyone on the call was “open to hard forks as short as three months.” The first three responses to the question were negative or tentative, with dev Joseph Delong calling three months “too quick […] for turnaround.” Another developer, Martin Holst Swende, then summarized the sentiment,

stating:

“as long as we’re not tied to large hard forkes every three months. So, more like opportunity windows, when things are finished.”

Another dev then pointed out that the team had yet to complete a hard fork within six months, suggesting that “there a couple of things we probably need to automate to be able to do that really well.”

The devs also referenced the topic as being previously discussed on the Ethereum developer forum Ethereum Magicians. In the discussion’s initial post, dated March 15, Beiko laid out the pros and cons of smaller and more frequent hard forks, noting that the team had discussed the topic on its dev call that same day. Some of the arguments in favor include that such a move would bring more frequent updates to the protocol and would also allow the team to separate concerns and isolate changes better and decrease the deployment time of updates that require multiple forks. Further, the testing process would be arguably easier since there would be fewer EIPs to test and fewer EIP interactions to check.

Still, arguments for larger and less frequent hard forks were also presented, such as the fact that they leave ample time for security evaluation. Less frequent hard forks require less frequent client updates and user coordination. In the case of frequent hard forks, a bug in a fork also risk delaying the next fork. As Cointelegraph reported earlier this week, a report released by decentralized application (DApp) analytics website DApp.com revealed that Tron (TRX) has the fastest growing DApp user base while Ethereum’s DApp user base is shrinking. Also this week, Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of Ethereum and IOHK, the company behind Cardano (ADA), criticized Ethereum and Eos’s (EOS) approach to development.

Article Produced By
Adrian Zmudzinski

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-core-developers-consider-more-frequent-and-smaller-hard-forks

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has categorically refuted

that the bank ever had any plans to open a crypto trading desk and stated that earlier media reports suggesting otherwise were incorrect.  Solomon made his remarks before the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on April 10, during a hearing entitled “Holding Megabanks Accountable: A Review of Global Systemically Important Banks 10 years after the Financial Crisis.”

As previously reported, Goldman Sachs’ alleged plans to create a crypto-focused unit by the end of June 2018 were originally covered in a December 2017 report from Bloomberg. In September 2018, unnamed sources told Business Insider that the project had been put on hold. Several days later, the firm’s chief financial officer, Martin Chavez, told reporters that the recent reports were “fake news.” In his remarks, Solomon said that Goldman Sachs has engaged with clients that are involved in clearing physically-settled crypto futures, but that alleged trading desk plans

were false:

“The first [Bloomberg article] wasn’t correct. Like others, we are watching and […] doing work to try to understand the cryptocurrency market as it develops […] but we never had plans to open a cryptocurrency trading desk.”

Notably, the CEO did not rule out such a move from the bank in the future,

stating that:

“We might at some point in time, but there’s no question, when you’re dealing with cryptocurrency, it’s a new area […] it is unclear from a regulatory perspective, it’s unclear whether […] in the long run, as a currency, those technologies are going to work and be viable.”

Ohio Republican Congressman Warren Davidson, who was questioning Solomon over the media reports, himself voiced his belief that the U.S. is lagging behind other countries and failing to “take advantage of this thriving sector [crypto]” due to regulatory uncertainty. As Cointelegraph previously reported, other CEOs in attendance at the hearing included JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who affirmed the value of blockchain technology but reiterated his belief that decentralized cryptocurrencies do not have any intrinsic value. A bipartisan bill to exclude cryptocurrencies from being classified as securities and foster more regulatory clarity for crypto — first proposed by Rep. Davidson and Democratic Congressman Darren Soto in December 2018 — was reintroduced in a revised form to Congress this week.

Article Produced By
Marie Huillet

https://cointelegraph.com/news/goldman-sachs-ceo-refutes-bank-ever-had-plans-to-open-crypto-trading-desk

The United States county of Missoula, in the state of Montana,

has adopted regulation for cryptocurrency mining, local media outlet the Missoulian reports on April 5. Per the report, the Missoula County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to impose new rules for local cryptocurrency mining operations. As Cointelegraph reported last month, when the regulation was first proposed, the draft of the rules stated that they aim “to protect the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of county residents.” The focus of the new law is seemingly on the possible effects of cryptocurrency mining on global warming and electronic waste. Also, from now on, crypto miners in the county will be able to establish their operations only in light industrial and heavy industrial districts and only after they have been reviewed and approved as a conditional use.

Miners will also need to provide certification that all electronic waste generated will be handled by a Department of Environmental Quality-licensed recycling firm. Another new rule established in the county requires miners to use exclusively renewable energy. Lastly, preexisting mining operations that aren’t compliant will be allowed to continue but won’t be authorized for expansion if they don’t conform with the new regulations. The draft specified that the rules will be effective as of April 4, 2019 and until April 3, 2020.

The Missoulian notes that the county’s staff claim mining company Hyperblock currently uses as much electricity as one-third of all homes in the county and plans to triple its power usage. Hyperblock reportedly purchases hydroelectric power to fuel its endeavors, but the commissioners reportedly argued that it displaces other potential renewable energy buyers. County commissioner Dave Strohmaier purportedly

commented:

“Near as I can tell cryptocurrency is using exponentially more energy; it’s a grotesque amount of energy and we’ve got to take steps to address it. […] We’ve got to utilize new renewables if we’re going to address climate change.”

Hyperblock manager Dan Stivers defends the company by stating that it has always used only renewable energy and that it could have used electricity obtained by burning coal since it was cheaper. Stivers also claims that Hyperblock uses a licensed recycler to deal with its electronic waste,

adding:

“Somehow none of that’s enough. It is a viable business model and if we had not moved in as anchor tenants, there would be no Bonner mill as we see it today.”

According to the Missoulian, a lawyer for the company hinted that it may file a lawsuit over the regulation in the future. As Cointelegraph reported earlier today, the secretary of Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury has stated that crypto mining operations are regulated by local trading law.

Article Produced By
Adrian Zmudzinski

https://cointelegraph.com/news/montana-county-adopts-regulation-requiring-crypto-miners-to-use-renewable-energy

Browser-based blockchain payments system Nimiq has acquired

a 9.9 percent stake in Germany’s WEG Bank AG, according to an official announcement published on April 3. The stake acquisition comes as part of Nimiq’s new strategic partnership with WEG Bank AG and Swiss-Maltese decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) Agora.Trade. The three partners are working to create a crypto-to-fiat bridge that would allow for the seamless exchange of value between crypto and traditional banking systems, the announcement states. As today’s post notes, their approach — using a decentralized exchange such as Agora.Trade as a vital component — focuses on crypto-fiat value transfers that do not rely on a single, centralized intermediary (such as a centralized crypto exchange or payment processor), and eliminate the need to entrust crypto asset owners’ private keys to a third party.

The evolving project, dubbed Nimiq Oasis, will aim to connect different cryptocurrency markets via the non-custodial exchange Agora.Trade to WEG’s system, which notably has access to the Europe-wide SEPA Instant Banking Network. SEPA support could prospectively enable the project to roll out its crypto-fiat services with access to a network of over 2,000 banks across 20 European countries, Nimiq notes, proposing a targeted rollout time of before the end of 2019. The partners’ aim to enable the exchange of value between the crypto and fiat systems includes a focus on making fiat deposits at WEG blockchain compatible. While today’s announcement only alludes to this in principle, an earlier post from Nimiq clarified that the project

aims to:

“Establish the Euro itself as the programmable counterparty to a non-custodial cross-chain transaction. In simple terms, it means that in a transaction to buy or sell Crypto, the counterparty could now be a Euro account holder.”

Notably, both the Litecoin (LTC) Foundation and crypto-fiat payments firm TokenPay each own a 9.9 percent stake in WEG AG Bank — a fact that Nimiq today notes could open up the possibility of further collaborations between the bank and the crypto firms. All three stakeholders’ shares are capped at 9.9 percent, as under German banking law, no entity can own more than 9.9% of a bank without additional regulatory approval. Securing fiat liquidity for non-custodial, decentralized exchanges has to date been slower than for their centralized counterparts. Major American centralized crypto exchange Coinbase has gone a step further by pursuing its own federal banking charter since spring of last year.

Article Produced By
Marie Huillet

https://cointelegraph.com/news/nimiq-acquires-99-stake-in-germanys-weg-ag-to-become-banks-third-crypto-firm-owner

Puerto Rico-based cryptocurrency trading platform San Juan Mercantile Exchange (SJMX)

has launched banking operations via a new subsidiary, the company announced in a press release on April 2. SJMX, which exists as a membership-based exchange for digital asset traders, is seeking to expand the scope of its operations for institutional investors.

The new venture, dubbed San Juan Mercantile Bank & Trust International (SJMBT), received a banking license from Puerto Rican regulators last month. With the receipt of its first deposit, the bank is now officially open for business, offering institutional clients more of an all-round package of services for their trading needs. “Commencing SJMBT banking operations is a significant milestone,” SJMBT president and chief operating officer, Nick Varelakis, commented in the press release.

He added:

“Institutional market participants in the digital asset space now have access to a licensed, fully regulated and operational banking partner that provides a secure environment for the matching and settlement of digital asset trades.”

The news comes on the back of rapid expansion of institutional services worldwide. As Cointelegraph reported earlier Tuesday, Hong Kong-based BC Group has also launched Asia’s first insured crypto custody solution. Market sentiment over institutional investor entry remains mixed as United States regulators continue to mull long-delayed offerings, such as trading platform Bakkt. Originally slated for November, the project has seen multiple setbacks, while authorities say they are addressing the application, and others like it, as a matter of urgency.

Article Produced By
William Suberg

https://cointelegraph.com/news/puerto-rico-sees-new-crypto-bank-accept-first-client-deposit