Citigroup has given up on their idea of issuing blockchain based cryptocurrency token, Gulru Atak stated, “Based on our learnings from that experiment we actually decided to make meaningful improvements in the existing rails by leveraging the payments ecosystem and within that ecosystem, we are considering the fintechs as well or the regulators around the world as well, including SWIFT.”

The Crypto Currency Data (CDF) service of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) tracks the price of thousands of new cryptocurrencies.  According to the latest information from the company, the updated version of the service will be used to track thousands of cryptocurrencies and several hundred exchanges.  This in the opinion of the developer will improve the transparency in the market.

If the service upgrade would be successful, the cryptocurrency Data feed will become a reliable alternative to the very popular CoinMarketCap portal, which is currently being used by several cryptocurrency investors and community members to track the prices among several other things.

Meanwhile, after the QuadrigaCX incident, Canadian Regulators have proposed regulations that include mandatory licensing for the cryptocurrency exchanges.

A consultation period has been provided for until May 15, 2019, for investors to provide their opinion in this regard. Procedures will be established for establishing security, anti-money laundering procedures, insurance coverage, and risk management.

Increasing numbers of countries are considering cryptocurrency as an asset and utility, and they are coming up with regulatory norms to facilitate mass adoption in their countries.

Malta is home to several cryptocurrency exchanges like “Binance, OKEx, DQR and ZB.com” and the Island is infamously known as the Blockchain Island.  The Malta Blockchain Summit is organized every year with several star-studded speakers making their speeches in the event.

The Maltese government is also known as an “international advocate” to take to blockchain adoption.

However, the IMF has to state that there are critical gaps in anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism policies.

Limor Bibi, the presiding Judge, heard the arguments from the representative of Israel’s Bank Igud and rendered that banks can refuse the deposit of funds, which originates from the conversion of cryptocurrencies.

There was a similar case in the past year when the Supreme Court of Israel ruled favorably to the “Tel Aviv-based cryptocurrency exchange Bits of Gold Ltd.”  The bank account of Bits of Gold Ltd. was restricted by Bank Leumi, which is one of the largest of the two banks.