Ep. 59. Why You Should Still Care About Tokens

Simon is with Anthony Macey, Martin Bartlam, Partner and International Group Head of Finance & Projects and Fintech Global Co-Chair at DLA Piper, Noelle Acheson, CFA and Editorial Producer at Coindesk, and Todd McDonald, Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships at R3, to go over the biggest blockchain stories of the week. First up the panel looks at crypto unicorn, Bitmain considering $18 Billion IPO, one of the world's largest. The cryptocurrency mining company is filing for an initial public offering (IPO) potentially as high as $18 billion this September at a market capitalization of $40 to $50 billion. Then they discuss Facebook's Marcus stepping down from Coinbase board. David Marcus is stepping down from the board of directors at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, citing his new assignment at Facebook leading the social media giant's blockchain strategy. Barclays denies crypto trading desk plans as staff removes ‘Digital Asset Project’ LinkedIn Info. Barclays told Cointelegraph that they have “no plans for a crypto trading desk.” As of press time, Duval and Tyrer’s LinkedIn profiles still show positions at Barclays working with 'digital assets,' but all information detailing the specifics of the jobs is not listed. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan invest in Axoni's $32 Million funding round. Enterprise-focused blockchain startup Axoni has completed a $32 million Series B funding round led by Goldman Sachs and Nyca Partners. Also participating in the round were Andreessen Horowitz, Citi, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Y Combinator and Digital Currency Group, among others. R3 publishes a new post-quantum signature algorithm tailored to blockchains. Corda team has recently announced a new digital signature scheme that unlike RSA and ECDSA, it will remain secure even against a powerful quantum computer. The panel manage to explain quantum computing. Criminal activity in cryptocurrency has dropped 80% since 2013. An agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has noted that Bitcoin’s (BTC) role in crimes has dropped to just 10% of transactions, while transactions themselves have “grown tremendously”. We also have a Tweet of the Week on Ripple. All this and so much more on this week's episode of Blockchain Insider. And if you enjoyed our tweet of the week why not send us your best tweets? See if you can get a shout out on the show! We hope you enjoy the show and, as ever, don't forget to subscribe! Want to join the conversation on all the topics discussed? Tweet the show @bchaininsider and if you really love the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. This week's episode of Blockchain Insider was produced by Laura Watkins and Petrit Berisha. Edited by Holly Blaxill. Special Guests: Anthony Macey, Martin Bartlam, Noelle Acheson, and Todd McDonald. Links: Crypto Unicorn Bitmain Weighs $18 Billion IPO, One of World's Largest - CoinDesk Facebook's Marcus Steps Down From Coinbase Board - CoinDesk Barclays Denies Crypto Trading Desk Plans as Staff Removes ‘Digital Asset Project’ LinkedIn Info Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Invest in Axoni's $32 Million Funding Round - CoinDesk R3 publishes a new post-quantum signature algorithm tailored to blockchains Soaring ICO Failure Rate Sees Investors Flock to 'Bigger Players' - Bitcoinist.com Where Have All the Augur Users Gone? - CoinDesk US DEA: Criminal Activity in Cryptocurrency Has Dropped 80 Percent Since 2013