Karen Chen, the former president of UBS China, is now the chief executive officer of financial technology group Higgs Block Technology Pte. Ltd. Chen is another example of a financial veteran that decided to jump from the financial industry to the blockchain sector.

Making the Crypto Leap
However, according to a phone interview with Bloomberg, Chen mentioned that she left UBS in October for personal family reasons. Chen initially started working with the Singapore-based blockchain company in December. Higgs Block Technology is however quite a young company. They were founded in August 2017 but have expanded relatively quickly.

Higgs Block Technology currently has five subsidiaries including Higgs Chain, BitUN Fintech, Higgs Consulting, Higgs Exchange Group, and Exchange Technology. The group also includes Coinsuper, a token exchange. These businesses overlap between blockchain technology, financial management consulting, and one-stop exchange solutions.

Bloomberg also pointed out that there has been an increasingly growing number of financial professionals that have joined the cryptocurrency industry. The trend is however significantly less for Chinese executives due to the regulatory crackdowns. However, while the government is strict on cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology remains highly relevant for Chinese clients.
SOURCE:https://btcmanager.com/former-ubs-president-joins-cryptocurrency-company-as-ceo/?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push

Bitfinex, an exchange famed for its opaque banking arrangements, has begun ordering its users to submit their tax details. The platform, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands, a known tax haven, will retain this information and may share it with tax authorities in their customers’ jurisdiction. The news has caused quite a stir.
SOURCE:https://news.bitcoin.com/bitfinex-starts-sharing-customer-tax-data-with-authorities/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Notifications

Launched in 2014 the EXMO exchange is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in the ecosystem and currently offers over 40 active currency trading pairs, with 16 unique currencies. The company also provides a comprehensive exchange model for cryptocurrency trading, helps newcomers learn about cryptocurrency trading, and is now launching a brand-new cashback system for the cryptocurrency market called Cashback.

EXMO Introduces Cashback Scheme, Returning 70 Percent of Commissions
The Cashback initiative will encompass every trader on the EXMO platform and provides another key reason for traders to use their exchange.

Initiated on May 1, 2018, Cashback schemes are increasingly becoming a popular concept applied in the cryptocurrency world. For example, Revolut is offering a cryptocurrency card that gives cashback in the form of bitcoin offering one percent. The cashback scheme will no doubt boost the use of the EXMO exchange.

As for the benefits to traders of offering cashback, they include reducing currency risk for traders as the cashback is delivered in the transaction currency. Secondly, cashback is credited on a daily basis, with EXMO already paying out 278.20 bitcoin in the past 30 days. Thirdly, the cashback system is based on a flexible rate that is linked to the volume of the exchange and finally, as much as 70 percent of the commissions earned by the platform can be returned to users.

What Do You Need to Know as a Trader?
Well, cashback received depends on the type of trading orders you make on the EXMO platform; maker and taker. You are a maker if you set limit orders and provide the exchange with liquidity, while takers are those traders who take what the market is giving them. The commission on market and executed limit orders are returned for the taker rate, while commission on open limit orders is returned for the maker rate.
SOURCE:https://btcmanager.com/exmo-introduces-brand-new-cashback-scheme-for-cryptocurrency-traders/?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push

In today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief we’re focusing on developments in the realm of international politics and economics regarding cryptocurrencies. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development is looking into the possible uses of digital coins and the associated technologies. Kazakhstan is calling for the adoption of common crypto rules by the United Nations, while Iran and Russia are thinking about using cryptocurrency in bilateral trade. 
SOURCE:https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-in-brief-thursday-oecd-explores-cryptocurrencies-central-asian-powerhouse-calls-for-un-crypto-rules/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Notifications

With HTC entering the race, a second cryptocurrency supporting smartphone created by a major electronics manufacturer is now on its way to the market. Could this be the start of a trend by all device makers to embed features such as hardware wallets into phones to help increase sales among more tech-savvy consumers? 
SOURCE:https://news.bitcoin.com/htc-to-launch-its-own-cryptocurrency-focused-smartphone-exodus/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Notifications

St. Louis Federal Reserve President, James Bullard, was recently interviewed at this year’s Consensus conference in New York City. That a top US economic policy maker was in attendance is victory enough; however, he was asked his opinions on cryptocurrency going forward by CNBC Global Markets Reporter Seema Mody. He explained he found the phenomenon “interesting,” and how more cryptos being issued all time necessitates keeping an “eye” on them. Mr. Bullard also compared the use case for cryptocurrencies with that of the dollar, and whether the former posed a threat to the latter. 
SOURCE:https://news.bitcoin.com/federal-reserve-pres-people-want-dollar-not-volatile-crypto/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Notifications

Japanese internet giant GMO has updated its plans to manufacture and sell its 7nm bitcoin mining chips as well as for its own mining operations. Interested customers will soon be able to reserve some of these chips.
GMO Readies 7nm Mining Chips
Japanese conglomerate GMO Internet Group published its first quarter results for the fiscal year 2018 last week. During the earnings results presentation, the company outlined its plans for the sale of its long-awaited 7nm bitcoin mining chips.GMO is building two versions of the chip, dubbed V1 and V2. The former is the initial prototype of the 7nm mining chip. The latter is for mass production of the 7nm mining chips, which the company plans to use in-house for its own mining operations, sell to the public, and use in cloud mining.

V2 is now being designed and will enter the mass production phase in the fourth quarter of this year.
SOURCE:https://news.bitcoin.com/japans-gmo-start-selling-7nm-bitcoin-mining-chips/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Notifications