Bitcoin OTC Crackdown, Wrapped ETH on Tron, XRP Ledger Foundation + More News

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.

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Regulation news

• China is clamping down on over-the-counter (OTC) crypto trading over money-laundering suspicions, per ChainDD. The media outlet said that the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is creating a “blacklist” of OTC offenders making illicit crypto trades – with those who end up on the list likely to face “up to five years” of bank restrictions, including blocks on debit and credit card usage.

Altcoins news

• Tron (TRX) said it has entered a strategic alliance with BitGo t​o bring Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and a newly minted Wrapped Ether to the Tron ecosystem as TRC20 tokens. WBTC is pegged to bitcoin (BTC) and has over USD 820m worth of BTC in custody, while Wrapped Ether will be pegged to ethereum (ETH).

Blockchain and DLT news

• The XRP Ledger Foundation has been launched in order to “accelerate the development and adoption of the decentralized XRP Ledger.” The foundation said it received an initial donation of over USD 6.5m from Coil, Ripple, and Gatehub.
• The European Blockchain Partnership is planning a pan-European regulatory sandbox in cooperation with the European Commission (EC) for use cases in the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) and outside of EBSI, including for data portability, B2B data spaces, smart contracts, and digital identity (Self-Sovereign Identity) in the health, environment, mobility, energy and other key sectors. The sandbox is expected to become operational in 2021/22, the EC said.
• Anhui Province, in China, has unveiled details of a five-year blockchain plan, per the Hefei Media Group. The media outlet reported that Anhui authorities have begun work on a project that will see “high-level” blockchain talents fostered in the province’s universities and research facilities, ready for deployment in public and private sector initiatives. The province is also keen to apply blockchain technology to product traceability initiatives, small- and medium-sized enterprise loan financing and data management-related projects.
• Samsung SDS, the IT services arm of the Samsung Group, will begin blockchain-powered medicine distribution management pilot projects in November, reported Yakup. Samsung SDS said that it has received applications for pilot projects from unnamed pharmaceutical companies, distributors, pharmacies and medical institutions – and will conduct a set of pilot projects that will last from three to six months. The project will also involve an IoT-powered patient temperature history-tracking service and will reduce all parties’ reliance on paper-based solutions, improve databases and verify the return and collection of pharmaceutical drugs.

Exchanges news

• US-headquartered crypto exchange Gemini said it has expanded their full services into the UK after the recent approval of their Electronic Money Institution license by the Financial Conduct Authority. The exchange now also supports the pound sterling.

Investments news

• Nori, a Seattle-based startup developing a marketplace for carbon removals, said it recently closed a USD 4m round from Placeholder, North Island Ventures, Tenacious Ventures, and others. The funds will be used to expand the team, onboard more carbon removal suppliers (i.e. farmers), and launch an industrial-grade carbon marketplace.