Inshorts

Jim Yong Kim, World Bank President spoke positively about the blockchain technology when he appeared in front of the media. Despite the fact that earlier Kim used to warn about cryptocurrencies, he said: "Blockchain technology is something that everyone is excited about, but we have to remember that bitcoin is one of the very few instances. It’s very important that if we go forward with it, we're sure that it’s not going to be used to exploit". Speaking of cryptocurrencies, the president of the World Bank has favorably commented on some payment systems.

The co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak said that bitcoin is superior to gold in a number of characteristics. His conversation with a CNBC correspondent at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas was devoted to the topic of artificial intelligence, but at some point he moved to bitcoin. Wozniak noted that one of the main advantages of the crypto currency is its limited emission, which can not boast of state-made money from the states. He says that gold also does not have a limited emission, as people will continue to find technologically better ways to extract it: "Gold continues to be mined, both mined and mined. Perhaps the amount of gold in the world is limited, but bitcoin is a more mathematical and regulated thing. No one can change mathematics." In addition, the co-founder of Apple once again reminded that he has been interested in bitcoin for a long time and even bought a crypto currency when it cost $ 700.

Get citizenship, pay with bitcoin. Vanuatu, a South Pacific island paradise, is now accepting payments via bitcoin for citizenship. The price of holiday paradise’s citizenship is $200 thousand, currently worth about 42 bitcoin. The country is a member of Commonwealth and Vanuatu passport holders do not require visa for traveling to UK, Ireland and EU countries. Geoffrey Bond, head of the Vanuatu Information Center says, the government desires to be at the forepart of adopting new technologies, like receive payments in Bitcoin.

Another celebrity started talking about ICO. Football coach of Birmingham City Harry Redknapp wrote in Twitter that he is “proper excited” about ICO Electroneum. “I’m in. Get involved,” he urged his 213,000 followers in his first tweet since August. Electroneum responded to Redknapp's tweet saying that they did not pay him for advertising: "Harry has bought some Electroneum and isn't being paid for this - he's just excited as are the other 70,000 buyers so far." Note, that in 2012 during a tax evasion charge, Redknapp publicly stated that he was technologically incompetent. He said that he does not know how to work with a computer, never heard about e-mail and never sent text messages. According to the court decision, football coach was acquitted.

A self-drive rental firm in India Drivezy is planning to hold an ICO. The company has more than 1,300 cars in four cities in India. To date, the company plans to attract 17 625 ETH (about $ 5 million) during the ICO. Ashwarya Pratap Singh, CEO and co-founder of Drivezy saies: "Considering the rising cost of important assets and resources such as housing and transportation, I believe the future is a shared one. With the growing popularity of Bitcoin in India, we feel that this is the right time to open ourselves up to alternative means in the sharing economy. This ICO is a part of our vision to leverage the power of Blockchain to build an open, secure and transparent technology to globalize the Indian car sharing market."

Goldman Sachs is considering the possibility of trading cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. This should be due to the creation of a new trading option. Thus, one of the largest investment banks of the world can become the first bank on Wall Street, which will directly go to cryptomarket. Now Goldman Sachs is exploring the possibility of satisfying customers' interest in cryptocurrencies. The use of digital money in Goldman Sachs operations or other large investment banks can improve their image. The activity of Goldman Sachs in this direction is at the initial stage, which means that the bank can still abandon its plans.

France will set rules on token sales. Robert Ophele, Authority of Financial Markets (AMF) president said, that they are going to set rules on token sale and initial coin offerings, however, the framework is not quite clear yet. He also said that France wants to take quick position on blockchain using issue. He commented that cryptocurrencies are useful for fast and cost-free money transfer.

Maltese diplomas entrusted to blockchain. Government of Malta, an EU member, Mediterranean island country, launches a pilot project to recording academic certificates, like diplomas, on blockchain system. The government signed partnership with Learning Machine Technologies regarding the project. Evarist Bartolo, Minister of Education and Employment, says, now the certificates, education and ID records will be recorded on blockchain technologies safely; so students and workers may share or reach the information with whom they want. And he added, that this is a win-win situation for Malta.

Workers relatively new to the Russian market specialty in the industry can earn their own professional holiday. The RF Ministry of Labor is considering a proposal to establish a professional holiday for a specialist in cryptocurrency. "There is a proposal, we will consider," said Lyubov Yeltsova, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection. Received from the professional community, the proposal will be considered according to the rules, within 30 days.