Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 14 July 2016
With news on blockchain and Bitcoin appearing thick and fast, here’s a round-up of key events to save you time.
Boris Titov, Party of Growth
Bitcoin has got some love in Russia when the centre-right Party of Growth says it is open to accepting donations in the digital currency.
Boris Titov, head of the party, who also acts as an advisor to Russian president Vladimir Putin on entrepreneurial and business issues; says Russia can take “advantage of the difficult economic situation that has developed today for us to become a very profitable country open” to blockchain.
Over in Thailand, YoCoin has launched as a direct challenger to Bitcoin. YoCoin says it is a decentralised, peer-to-peer digital currency based on the Scrypt mining algorithm, “making it far more accessible than Bitcoin is when it comes to mining”. It adds that “anyone with a decent graphics card in their computer can start mining YoCoin at home with little effort”.
YoCoin says it is targeting the “younger crowd, especially millennials”. Future plans include the release of a mobile wallet for Android users, as well as the issuance of physical YOC coins. The latter being limited edition coins as “gifts for friends and family” or even “collectibles”.
Blockchain firm SolidX Partners has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed launch of its SolidX Bitcoin Trust. The trust will provide shareholders with exposure to the daily change in the US dollar price of Bitcoin, before expenses and liabilities of the trust, as measured by the TradeBlock XBX Index.
Industry advocacy group Coin Center says the trust differs and competes with the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust because SolidX’s version has secured insurance that covers the loss or theft of Bitcoins in its trust.
