Dublin calling

Dublin's blockchain ecosystem, blockchain and the law, 'no-fee' trading, $8bn industry, Israel's tax treatment View this email in your browser January 16th, 2017 "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." ­– Martin Luther King Jr. Got this from a friend? SUBSCRIBE HERE In the wake of the UK's exit from the EU, will Dublin replace London as the main fintech hub of Europe? With a thriving blockchain community and a growing ecosystem involving tech enterprise, startups, universities and research initiatives, many believe that it's well on the way. CoinDesk spoke to representatives from some of the sector's principal players, who cite the talent pool, government-funded initiatives and affordable living standards as part of the city's appeal. Throw in hackathons and other blockchain initiatives that are starting to attract interest from around the world, and you start to see the emerging network effects of a vibrant ecosystem that could end up becoming a leading European center for blockchain development.   Read the whole story Tweet Share We're gearing up for our developer-oriented conference CONSTRUCT, in San Francisco, USA from January 30-31. Attendance will be capped at 400, and tickets are close to selling out, so if you are interested in joining founders, CTOs, CEOs and industry leaders for two intense days of workshops, panels, demos and networking, don't delay! 😎 APPLY TO ATTEND 😎 Wait, there's more: 'Blockchain' May Fail Banks, But Open Software Won't *Year in Review*: Pavel Kravchenko, founder of Distributed Lab, argues that while it may be true that blockchain technology has yet to live up to expectations, that does not mean that it has failed. He believes that it is succeeding, just not where its supporters originally hoped. Rather than a solution for banking inefficiencies, it has served to highlight the need for change. Read more. Why Blockchain Will Trump Populism *Opinion piece*: Jens Albers, humanitarian filmmaker and co-founder of chain2change, takes a look at the prospects of the blockchain under a Trump presidency, and argues that they're actually pretty good. Aside from Trump's promise to lower regulation, Jens also points out the heightened role of bitcoin as an alternative asset in jittery capital markets. Read more. The Two Topics in Law and Blockchain *Opinion piece*: Lawyer Josh Stark, head of operations at Ledger Labs, attempts to add some clarity to the complicated field of blockchain and the law by separating the issues into two camps: application (how can the law affect blockchain?), and transformation (how can blockchain affect the law?). In his piece, Stark asks: how do you regulate something that transforms the nature of regulation? Read more. SWIFT, The DTCC and How Blockchain Will Go Mainstream *Opinion piece*: The announcements last week from the DTCC and SWIFT about their blockchain plans give us a glimpse of how blockchain will go mainstream: cautiously, through the adaptation of current process by incumbents. Not exciting, perhaps, but it is as big a deal as we're going to get in the short term. Read more. UK Exchange Coinfloor Embraces 'No-Fee' Bitcoin Trading The move aims to boost liquidity, mirroring a strategy already in use at some of the industry's largest China-based bitcoin exchanges. Read more. FTC to Host Blockchain Panels at March FinTech Event The US Federal Trade Commission is hosting its third FinTech Forum in March, with panels focused on on blockchain and artificial intelligence. Read more. Blockchain 'Bullies': Truth, Trolls and Bitcoin Uncensored's Big Short CoinDesk's Bailey Reutzel takes a look at some of the more unsavory tactics and philosophy of Chris DeRose and Joshua Unseth, the hosting duo of the podcast Bitcoin Uncensored. Read more.    Ethereum Classic Freezes 'Difficulty Bomb' With 'Diehard' Fork Ethereum Classic's recent hard fork to address denial-of-service attacks (among other things) has been labelled a success by the developers behind the project. Read more. Nigeria Warned its Citizens About Onecoin and Bitcoin This Week The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a statement warning potential investors against investing in OneCoin, bitcoin and other digital currencies. Read more.   Report: Blockchain Could Become an $8bn Industry By 2024 A research report by Grand View Research estimates a blockchain market value of $7.7m by 2024, due mainly to industry investments, enterprise interest and growing use of digital currencies among consumers. Read more.   Israel's Tax Authority Wants to Treat Bitcoin As Property According to a recent statement, the Israel Tax Authority (ITA) plans to treat digital currencies as an intangible asset rather than a currency, and will tax profits at the capital gains rate of at least 25%. Read more.   Coinbase Prepares to Fight IRS Summons With New Court Filing Lawyers for the digital currency exchange have filed to officially intervene in the case, arguing that the company deserves to be heard. Read more. Go to CoinDesk BTC: $828.16 +0.7%  ETH: $9.78 -1.4% @10:00 EST - More price details PRESS RELEASES   06, Jan - Press Release: UNICEF, UK Home Office and BTCC to speak at London Blockchain Week 2017 05, Jan - Press Release: Introducing World's First Bitcoin Marketplace for Digital Goods 05, Jan - Press Release: The Seam to form Cotton Blockchain Consortium with IBM on Hyperledger Fabric So, we decided that we missed you and decided to put out a newsletter today anyway, even though it's a US holiday. You're welcome. 😉 Happy Martin Luther King Day! Share Tweet Copyright © 2017 CoinDesk, All rights reserved. You're receiving this email because you subscribed for updates on our website. Our mailing address is: CoinDesk 636 Avenue of the Americas New York City, NY 10011 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list