ICO Watchdog: Blockchain Report — 6/21/2018
Summary:
Multicoin Capital Gets Backing From Union Square Ventures; Nasdaq Blockchain Pilot Is Able To Handle Margin Calls And Collateral Delivery “Within Minutes”; IBM Launches Free Blockchain Program For Students In India
Multicoin Capital Gets Backing From Union Square Ventures
According to Fortune, the venture capital firm Union Square Ventures (USV) has backed the cryptocurrency hedge fund startup Multicoin Capital. Fred Wilson, the co-founder of USV, confirmed that Multicoin is the sixth cryptocurrency fund the firm has invested in over the past year and a half.
This investment from USV brings Multicoin Capital’s total Assets Under Management (AUM) to $75 million. That figure is up from $50 million Multicoin stated it raised in March from investors including Marc Andreessen and David Sacks. Multicoin expects to raise at least $200 million in funding soon.
Kyle Samani, Multicoin’s cofounder, stated that the fund has outperformed both the Bitwise HOLD 10 cryptocurrency index as well as Bitcoin.
Nasdaq Blockchain Pilot Is Able To Handle Margin Calls And Collateral Delivery “Within Minutes”
According to Coin Telegraph, the massive stock exchange Nasdaq has successfully tested a blockchain-based proof of concept that provides 24/7 securities collateral solution. The proof of concept aims to solve challenges that Central Counterparties (CCPs) face when it comes to making margin calls after trading hours.
According to EuroCCP CEO Diana Chan, with current systems counterparty risk protection for equity trades is “not well-served” by global market infrastructures. CCPs are facing significant difficulties when making margin calls and securing collateral transfers after hours and across several time-zones.
A press release from Nasdaq states that the blockchain proof of concept:
“Demonstrated that a shared, resilient network can be built between collateral givers, collateral takers and intermediaries [that enables parties] to handle the margin call, the securities collateral delivery and the return process within minutes.”
IBM Launches Free Blockchain Program For Students In India
According to CCN, IBM has collaborated with India’s National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) to launch a 12-week online course on blockchain architecture, design, and uses.
The course is India’s first educational effort on distributed ledger technology and adheres to the country’s political stance of being wary of cryptocurrencies yet embracing blockchain.
Students can enroll for the course from July 2018, and all coursework will be available free-of-cost on the NPTEL website. The certificate will be subject to fees and an online exam.
Sandip Chakraborty, from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, stated:
“The popularity of blockchain has moved from cryptocurrency to business applications across many industries such as insurance, finance, supply chain logistics, digital identity, healthcare and public sector.”
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