I. Policy Trends

(1)European Union: EU Legislators Want to Incorporate ICOs into New Crowdfunding Regulations

August 14: A draft proposed by the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee recommends new regulations for public ICOs. Ashley Fox, a member of the European Parliament representing the United Kingdom, wrote a draft report on the operation and company-proposed regulations of the European crowdfunding platform. According to accompanying explanations submitted by Fox, the framework provides an opportunity to regulate token sales with the hopes that this will demonstrate ICOs will provide opportunities when compliant with legal regulations. The report stated that crowdfunding service providers should be allowed to raise funds through platforms that use cryptocurrencies. The new rules will require the platform to limit crowdfunding and follow securities laws.

(2)United States: The SEC has Issued a Permanent Ban on Fraud Cryptocurrency Company

August 15: The SEC recently issued a permanent ban on Tomahawk Exploration LLC and its founder David T. Laurence. According to the SEC’s order, the company and its founders tried to raise money by selling “Tomahawkcoin” tokens. However, the company’s marketing campaign was full of obvious exaggeration and was suspected of being fraudulent, intentionally misleading investors by publishing false information. The SEC has responded by issuing a warning notice to investors.

(3)Hungary: Hungary is Studying Framework for Cryptocurrency

August 15: Hungary has issued a statement saying that is currently considering regulation of crypto tools. The Hungarian Central Bank, Tax Authority, the Ministry of Finance and other departments have established a group to assess legal, economic, law enforcement, money laundering and other aspects of cryptocurrency, with the aim of introducing more detailed regulatory measures.

Ⅱ. Industry Trends

(1) Kenya: Kenya Plans to Use Blockchain to Complete Food Traceability

August 13: Bitange Ndemo, Chairman of the Kenya Blockchain Technology Working Group, recently stated that the country is working with IBM to complete the necessary blockchain technology.

(2) Facebook: Facebook has Established a Blockchain Group, and Will Possibly Apply Blockchain to Facebook

August 13: Facebook now has a blockchain team, which was revealed through LinkedIn to comprise of 12 members. David Marcus, former vice president of PayPal, has joined the group, and has stated that the group intends to use blockchain on Facebook. Later, in the group’s recruitment announcement, he also expressed his desire to promote blockchain use on Facebook to improve the lives of billions of people around the world.

(3) Kuwait: The Kuwait Financial Corporation and a Saudi Arabian Bank Have Entered in to a Partnership to Use XRP to Complete Cross-Border Payments for the First Time

August 13: The Kuwait Finance Corporation (KFH) has recently teamed up with Saudi Arabian bank Al Rajhi to complete cross-border payments for the first time using Ripple technology. KFH has also decided to advertise the “high security” that the technology brings to the Kuwaiti audience on television. This is currently awaiting approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait. The company earlier announced the use of XRP for cross-border payments.

(4)Japan: Japanese Listed Company TOKAI has Introduced Blockchain Technology to Sell Renewable Energy Directly to Consumers

August 14: Japanese listed company TOKAI Holdings has announced that it will establish a new company in April next year, fully entering the renewable energy business. The new company will work with power venture company Minna Power to produce local renewable energy in places like Shizuoka. The two companies have previously reached an agreement concerning capital business cooperation. TOKAI Holdings and Minna will use blockchain technology to sell renewable energy directly to consumers while bypassing traditional power companies.

5. Venezuela: The Venezuelan State-Owned Oil Company Will Start Trading Using Oil Tokens on August 20th.

August 14: Venezuelan President Nicolas Madura has stated that the Venezuelan state-owned corporation will begin trading with native cryptocurrency oil tokens on August 20th. The President didn’t mention whether PDVSA’s business partners agreed to the change. The tokens will be used from August 20th in parallel with the national currency Bolivar, with its price being linked with the Bolivar.

The country will also link oil tokens to wages and the pension systems.

Ⅲ. Cryptocurrencies

(1) ICO Research Report: ICO’s Share of Research Investment Declined in the Second Quarter, with Institutional Capital Share Soaring

August 13: ICOs market capital share in the second quarter of this year increased sharply, with the number of research investors continuing to decline. There was also a major shift in the way that project tokens were sold. Most of the project ICOs chose to sell privately instead of publicly. The median amount of money raised by token projects with a private share of 20% to 40% is twice that of a token project with a private share of only 20% or less. However, ICO Rating CEO Sasha Kamshilov also stated that funds raised during the ICO period are dependent on the degree of cooperation between the project and the investment fund.

(2) Crypto Asset Scale: Cryptocurrency Fund Research Institute States that the Number of Newly Launched Cryptocurrency Funds in 2018 Will Exceed 2017

August 14: A data report by Cryptofundresearch, a digital money research institute, showed that 156 new cryptocurrency investment funds were launched globally in 2017, and this number will be broken in 2018 as the number of global crypto assets increases. According to this report, more than 50% of cryptocurrency asset funds are less than $10 million. In addition, these companies typically have fewer than 5 employees and are mainly located in the United States, with companies located in the UK, China and Singapore also accounting for a certain proportion.

(3) Cryptocurrency Analysis Company: 60 of the Top 100 Tokens in the Cryptocurrency Market Have Yet to Release Applications to the Public

August 15: After analyzing development of the top 100 currency products in the cryptocurrency market, the cryptocurrency analysis company Invest in Blockchain concluded that 60 of the top 100 currencies in the crypto market haven’t released applications available to the public. This is in spite of the fact that they have raised millions of dollars in funding.

IV. Voices

(1)PricewaterhouseCoopers: Blockchain, Cloud Computing and Other Technologies have Become Key Choices for Financial Technology Companies

August 15: PricewaterhouseCoopers recently released a white book “New Trends in Technology with Business Customers.” The white paper pointed out that although the technology-savvy B (business) customers started late, they have already encouraged an explosion of interest in recent years. Emerging technologies like blockchain, cloud computing and big data have become important for financial technology business customers.

(2)Deloitte: The Automotive Industry is Expected to Adopt Blockchain Technology on a Large Scale within Five Years

August 15: Deloitte recently released a report titled “Technology Drives Blockchain Disruption of the Automotive Industry.” According to the report, the automotive industry will reach a turning point in the next five years when it adopts blockchain technology on a large scale, changing the car ownership and sales model. Deloitte pointed out that after expanding the scope of research to the future of travel, digitalization, automotive consumers and other important industry trends, the results show that blockchain opportunities abound throughout the entire value chain. Blockchain opportunities exist throughout the industry, including equipment manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, financial institutions and end users. Problems the real-world economy faces can be solved when this is combined with other technologies like cloud computing, big data and AI.

(3) Commodity Trading: Boston Consulting Group has Released a Report on Blockchain Application in the Commodity Trading Industry

August 17: The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently released an in-depth report that described a “realistic investigation” of the use of blockchain technology in the commodity trading industry. The BCG believes that there is strong debate about blockchain use in the commodity trading industry, and that blockchain technology is majorly flawed in several respects.

The BCG report states that blockchains can record complex transactions and track goods in an immutable and transparent manner, significantly reducing delivery risks while increasing trust, standardization and efficiency. BCG’s conclusion is that regardless of whether blockchain will be adopted on a large scale, this disruptive technology may still “act like a Trojan horse,” affecting the future of the industry and igniting discussion about improving transparency and regulation of trading terms and mechanisms.

Ⅴ. Market Trends

(1)Market: BTC rose by 3.89% this week, with an amplitude of 13.55%

August 13 to 18, Source: BITFINEX

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