In the Daily: Elon Musk Talks Bitcoin, Shanghai’s Fudan University, Xdat Exchange

In this edition of The Daily we cover some largely supportive remarks the famous entrepreneur Elon Musk has made about Bitcoin, the latest academic institution to launch a blockchain R&D center, and a new offering from Malta-based exchange Xdat.



Also Read: Bank of Spain Report: Bitcoin Is a Solution for a System Without Censorship

Elon Musk Talks Bitcoin

The founder of Tesla and Spacex, Elon Musk, is once again making headlines about crypto. He recently went on the Ark Invest podcast to discuss the future of autonomous driving technologies. Most of the half-hour interview focused on the strategy behind his electric car company but the topic of cryptocurrency eventually popped up in the last four minutes.

Musk commented: “I think the Bitcoin structure is quite brilliant. There seems like there is some merit to Ethereum as well, and obviously others. But I’m not sure if it’s a good use of Tesla resources to get involved in cryptos … We’re really just trying to accelerate the advances of sustainable energy. One downside of Bitcoin is … computationally it’s quite energy intensive. There has to be some kind of constraint on the creation of crypto. It’s very energy intensive to create the incremental bitcoin at this point … It bypasses currency controls. Paper money is going away, and crypto is a far better way to transfer value than pieces of paper. That’s for sure.”

Shanghai’s Fudan University Launches Research Center

Shanghai’s Fudan University has become the latest academic institution to launch a blockchain R&D center. Founded in 1905, Fudan is one of the most prestigious and selective schools for higher learning in China. The Shanghai Blockchain Engineering Technology Research Center is tasked with carrying out basic research in the field, developing demo applications in collaboration with the broader industry, and training talent to serve Shanghai’s economic development.

Last month the University of California, Berkeley announced the formation of its own blockchain-focused startup accelerator program, the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator. This program is meant to help aspiring entrepreneurs create high-value ventures in the blockchain space with industry guidance from Silicon Valley.

Xdat Exchange Lists 18 Trading Pairs

Xdat, a new Malta-based cryptocurrency trading exchange, has announced the listing of 18 trading pairs. These comprise ETH/BTC, BCH/BTC, EOS/BTC, ETC/BTC, XRP/BTC, DASH/BTC, LTC/BTC, BTC/ETH, BCH/ETH, EOS/ETH, ETC/ETH, XRP/ETH, DASH/ETH, LTC/ETH, BTC/TUSD, ETH/TUSD, BTC/EURO, and ETH/EURO. The company has further plans to add other pairs over time.

The exchange is compliant with Maltese regulations for KYC and AML procedures and caters to both retail and institutional investors. Its fiat gateway allows users to deposit funds in 12 major currencies: USD, GBP, JPY, HKD, CHF, AUD, NOK, SEK, DKK, CZK, PLN, and HUF. This selection is meant to eliminate the need for involvement of a foreign bank for the supported options and allows users to work solely with Xdat’s bank.

“Xdat is on a mission to address the key problems of existing exchanges … including lack of flow of new capital, lack of trust, no approach for mass adoption, and high fragmentation,” said CEO Prashanth Swaminathan. “Our aim is to bring crypto to all. To that end, we will be working closely with our community and using their support and feedback to make our interface more user-friendly and trading as streamlined as possible.”

What do you think about today’s news tidbits? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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