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North Carolina today expanded its Money Transmitters Act to cover activities related to bitcoin and digital currencies.

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Brexit has come and gone, but its effects are still rippling throughout the markets.

Innovate Finance, a U.K. members association for fintechs, surveyed its members about the effects of Brexit on fintech companies. The association plans to present its findings to national and local governments in London as a way to influence new negotiations between the U.K. and the European Union.

Innovate Finance asked members to rate on a 1-5 scale how much they agreed or disagreed with statements about Brexit's effect. A "1" represented strong disagreement and "5" represented strong agreement.

"Access to international capital and investment into the sector is the most critical factor for the ongoing success of UK fintech." This statement received the highest average score at 4.7, followed closely by access to the European single market, and free movement of labor and access to EU talent, both of which scored a 4.5.

Members pegged better business investment and taxation as the new opportunity most likely to stem from Brexit with an average score of 3.4. Members were almost neutral on statements regarding potential opportunities when compared to statements on critical factors. Most opportunity statements scored near a 3.

Meanwhile, 48% of firms are thinking about relocating jobs or expanding their team primarily outside of the U.K., while 24% were neutral on the idea and 29% disagreed. Several financial firms with operations based in London (such as JPMorgan, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and UBS) have all cautioned that they could relocate employees if the new deal doesn't work in their best interests.

The fintechs' priorities mirror those of the broader financial services industry, which contributes approximately 8% of the U.K. economic production and 17% of London's. This significant contribution should give the financial services industry a degree of influence on the new deal between the U.K. and the EU.

These negotiations unfold during the most profound era of change for financial services companies since the 1970s brought us index mutual funds, discount brokers and ATMs.

No firm is immune from the coming disruption and every company must have a strategy to harness the powerful advantages of the new fintech revolution.

The battle already underway will create surprising winners and stunned losers among some of the most powerful names in the financial world: The most contentious conflicts (and partnerships) will be between startups that are completely reengineering decades-old practices, traditional power players who are furiously trying to adapt with their own innovations, and total disruption of established technology & processes:

• Traditional Retail Banks vs. Online-Only Banks: Traditional retail banks provide a valuable service, but online-only banks can offer many of the same services with higher rates and lower fees

• Traditional Lenders vs. Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces: P2P lending marketplaces are growing much faster than traditional lenders—only time will tell if the banks strategy of creating their own small loan networks will be successful

• Traditional Asset Managers vs. Robo-Advisors: Robo-advisors like Betterment offer lower fees, lower minimums and solid returns to investors, but the much larger traditional asset managers are creating their own robo-products while providing the kind of handholding that high net worth clients are willing to pay handsomely for.

As you can see, this very fluid environment is creating winners and losers before your eyes…and it’s also creating the potential for new cost savings or growth opportunities for both you and your company.

After months of researching and reporting this important trend, Evan Bakker, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has put together an essential report on the fintech ecosystem that explains the new landscape, identifies the ripest areas for disruption, and highlights the some of the most exciting new companies. These new players have the potential to become the next Visa, Paypal or Charles Schwab because they have the potential to transform important areas of the financial services industry like:

• Retail banking

• Lending and Financing

• Payments and Transfers
• 
Wealth and Asset Management

• Markets and Exchanges

• Insurance

• Blockchain Transactions


If you work in any of these sectors, it’s important for you to understand how the fintech revolution will change your business and possibly even your career. And if you’re employed in any part of the digital economy, you’ll want to know how you can exploit these new technologies to make your employer more efficient, flexible and profitable.

Among the big picture insights you'll get from The Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry:

• Why financial technology is so disruptive to financial services—it will soon change the nature of almost every financial activity, from banking to payments to wealth management.
• The basic conflict will be between old firms and new—startups are re-imagining financial services processes from top to bottom, while incumbent financial services firms are trying to keep up with new products of their own.
• Both sides face serious obstacles—traditional banks and financial services firms are investing heavily in innovation, but leveraging their investments is difficult with so much invested in legacy systems and profit centers.
• Meanwhile, startups are struggling to navigate a rapidly-changing regulatory landscape and must scale up quickly with limited resources.
• The blockchain is a wild card that could completely overhaul financial services. Both major banks and startups around the world are exploring the technology behind the blockchain, which stores and records Bitcoin transactions. This technology could lower the cost of many financial activities to near-zero and could wipe away many traditional banking activities completely.

This exclusive report also:

• Explains the main growth drivers of the exploding fintech ecosystem.
• Frames the challenges and opportunities faced by incumbents and startups.
• Breaks down global and regional fintech investments, including which regions are the most significant and which are poised for the highest growth.
• Reveals which two financial services are garnering the most investment, and are therefore likely to be transformed first and fastest by fintech
• Explains why blockchain technology is critically important to banks and startups, and assesses which players stand to gain the most from it.
• Explores the financial sectors facing disruption and breaks them down in terms of investments, vulnerabilities and growth opportunities.
• And much more.

The Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry is how you get the full story on the fintech revolution.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the fintech revolution, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of financial technology.

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Russian banks and financial services firms have come together to form the country’s first financial blockchain consortium, a coalition that will seek to explore and implement blockchain solutions in the banking and financial services industries. Announced at the beginning of the month, Russia’s first ever blockchain consortium will see various prominent banks and notable financial […]

The post Russian Banks Form Private Blockchain Consortium appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Xapo, a bitcoin wallet that claims the largest capitalization in the bitcoin industry and a reputation for not fearing controversy, has jumped into Argentina’s battle with Uber by allowing Uber Argentina to accept Xapo card payments. Uber sent a tweet on July 3 saying “Pay your trips with Bitcoin! Loading your card @Xapo obtains a $ […]

The post Plugging Bitcoin, Xapo Capitalizes On Argentina-Uber Dispute appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

The second so-called Bitcoin “block halving” is fast approaching. This week, as three-quarters of all bitcoins have been mined, the block...

The post Bitcoin Miners Share Optimism as Second Bitcoin Halving Approaches appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

The XBT Provider instruments Bitcoin Tracker One (Ticker: COINXBT) and Bitcoin Tracker EUR (Ticker: COINXBE) have resumed trading in...

The post Publicly-Traded Bitcoin Fund XBT Provider Resumes Trading Following Acquisition by Global Advisors appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin price is simmering just above $670 as the market waits for the Bitcoin network starter gun. Where to and what may happen in the chart before the block reward actually halves? This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3-hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not a member? Join now and receive a […]

The post Bitcoin Price Compression Building Pressure appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Ryan Taylor, head of finance at Dash, claims the bitcoin blockchain’s practice of paying the entire blockchain reward to miners is faulty, in a piece on EconoTimes. He claims Dash, which allocates less than half its rewards to the miners, offers a more promising future. Taylor said it makes no sense to devote all of the network’s resources […]

The post Dash Spokesman Slams Bitcoin Paying Miners 100% Reward appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Startups in the UK and US are claiming that they're able to strip Bitcoin users of some of their anonymity to fight online crime. Reuters is reporting that London-based company Elliptic has teamed up with the Internet Watch Foundation to stop the cry...

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has announced a partnership with a blockchain industry startup aimed at fighting online child sex abuse. With the news, the UK-based charity has provided a database of bitcoin addresses associated with sexual abuse to the startup. Elliptic, in turn, will seek to use the information to "alert financial institutions and […]

The ANZ Banking Group, a major banking corporation in Australia and New Zealand is exploring and investing in blockchain technology. Like most other banks, it is focusing on private ledgers, unlike a public ledger like the bitcoin blockchain. The recent hack-attack of the DAO is more proof that public blockchains are far too risky to […]

The post DAO Attack Fallout Sees Pubic Blockchains Questioned by Australian Bank appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Some Bitcoin miners have been busted for stealing electricity according to a public statement by police in Ma’anshan, a mining town in China. Very few details are provided except to state that 74 bitcoin mining units have been seized, coinciding with a small fall in difficulty of around 1.63% on June the 8th. This is the second […]

The post Chinese Bitcoin Miners Busted for Electricity Theft appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Upcoming changes to how bitcoin incentivizes key participants have stoked fears a 51% attack could again become viable.

Non-profit organization the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and blockchain start-up Elliptic have teamed up to tackle those using the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, to buy child sex abuse images online, the two announced today. London-based blockchain startup Elliptic has created a unique tool that has the ability to trace any suspicious transaction patterns of Bitcoin. Since its […]

The post Partnership Aims to Curb Bitcoin Usage in Child Pornography appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Oil is getting volatile again.

The price of oil fell heavily in overnight trading on Tuesday as Brexit worries, combined with indications that output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) hit a record high in June, weighed on the market.

Brent crude lost 4.3% and then steadied at just over $47 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was flat at $46.61, having slid 5% overnight.

Here is the Brent chart:

Investor concerns about the impact of Britain's decision to leave the European Union on global trade and growth dragged down markets on Tuesday, and oil was no exception.

The market was also hit by higher than expected production figures. According to OPEC, the oil producing cartel, production of crude oil increased by 240,000 barrels a day in June to 32.88 million. The glut was boosted by Nigeria, which pumped an average 1.53 million barrels a day last month, a gain of 90,000 a day from May, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Meanwhile, production in Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude oil producer, gained 70,000 barrels a day to 10.33 million barrels a day. According to Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia boosts output in summer to fuel air conditioners and protect against the heat.

Both Barclays and JPMorgan warned clients in notes this week that uncertainty around global growth would hit already shaky demand for the black stuff.

Analysts said concerns over the global economy were weighing on the outlook for oil demand and on prices.

"The deterioration in the global economic outlook, financial market uncertainty and ripple effects on key areas of oil demand growth are likely to exacerbate already-lackluster industrial demand growth trends," Barclays said in a note to clients.

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• The Iraq Inquiry, dubbed the Chilcot Inquiry, is set to be published at around 11.30 a.m (BST).
• Politicians, family members of those killed in the Iraq war, and some journalists received reports at 8 a.m. BST — 3.5 hours in advance of the general public release.
• It is one of the most highly-anticipated political reports in Britain's history.
• The 2.6 million word document is the culmination of a huge investigation that was launched by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009 into the United Kingdom's involvement in the war in Iraq.
• A number of MPs are seeking to impeach former prime minister Tony Blair as they believe he should be prosecuted for breaching his constitutional duties and taking the country into the conflict that resulted in the deaths of 179 British troops.

0823 — UK POLITICIANS WANT TO IMPEACH TONY BLAIR

Former PM Tony Blair will definitely not be investigated for war crimes but UK politicians over the last few weeks have said they are seeking to impeach him using an ancient Parliamentary law.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron also said earlier this week:

“Bush and Blair’s choices have created a failed state which continues to be the source of extremism and instability across the Middle East.”

Blair knowingly lied to the public to justify this war, and his actions have damaged public trust, damaged the UK’s standing in the world and crippled the ability of the UK to make humanitarian interventions. It is time he accepted responsibility and acknowledged his catastrophic mistake.”

0814 — POLITICIANS AND SOME JOURNALISTS RECEIVE COPIES OF THE CHILCOT REPORT

Politicians also receive a copy of the Chilcot report around 3 and a half hours before the general public. Many, including the current Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of Labour Jeremy Corbyn, and ex-PM Tony Blair will make statements from 12.30 p.m. BST onwards.

0816 — FAMILIES RECEIVE REPORTS — MORE SPEAK OUT AGAINST BLAIR

Families of those who died during the Iraq war will be receiving a copy of the report and a summary around now. More families are speaking out against former PM Tony Blair.

Karen Thornton, whose son Lee was killed in Iraq in 2006, hit out at Blair on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning:

"If it is proved that he lied then obviously he should be held accountable for it … He shouldn’t be allowed to just get away with it.

"Nobody’s going to held to account and that’s so wrong … I think the people who lied should be held to account."

0810 — THIS IS HOW ENORMOUS THE CHILCOT REPORT IS

0804 — THE DELAY OF THE CHILCOT REPORT LEADS TO PARODY TWITTER ACCOUNT

The Iraq Inquiry has taken 7 years to complete and over £10 million to produce. Last year, Chilcot enraged the public and politicians over the delay.

Finally after all this time, on May 6, Sir John Chilcot wrote to the Prime Minister proposing to publish the Iraq Inquiry's report on July 6, 2016. The Prime Minister agreed to this date in his reply received on May 9 2016.

But meanwhile, someone created a parody account of Chilcot's attitude towards the report, which has amassed nearly 4,000 followers:

0753 — WE WILL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 'WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION'

The main argument former Tony Blair cited for going to war was that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons — dubbed 'weapons of mass destruction' or WMD.

Blair's government published a dossier in September 2002, called the 'September Dossier,' which was meant to show the threat of so-called WMD were to Britain and the rest of the world. Blair said in the foreword of the report: "The document discloses that his military planning allows for some of the WMD to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them."

These were the kinds of pictures used as evidence in the report:

However, these claims fell into dispute and were ultimate not proven, which cast an extra layer of doubt over the legitimacy of the invasion.

0748 — 'BLAIR CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO WALK AWAY TO HIS MERRY LIFE AND HIS MILLIONS'

Families of soldiers that died during the Iraq War have been speaking to the press about their dismay that former PM Tony Blair will definitely not be investigated for war crimes — regardless of the outcome of the report.

Valerie O'Neill, whose son Kris was killed in 2007 in an IED attack, is the latest family member affected by the Iraq war to speak to the press. She spoke to International Business Times UK :

"Tony Blair has to answer for his actions, whether it is in a court of war here or in The Hague. He can't just walk away and say sorry [...] and go off to his merry life and all his millions. No. In my opinion he should be in the Hague, on war crimes [charges]."

You can read her full interview here.

0742 — FAMILIES WORRY OF A 'WHITEWASH'

179 British troops died during the 2003 invasion in Iraq and since then, 251,000 combatants and civilians in total have been killed in the country, according to the database The Iraq Body Count.

In the run-up to highly-anticipated publication of the report, families fear that Sir John Chilcot, the chair of the inquiry into the war, will be a "whitewash."

While he decried that the report would be a "whitewash" he has worried families by saying in a public statement this week:

“We are not a court – not a judge or jury at work – but we’ve tried to apply the highest possible standards of rigorous analysis to the evidence where we make a criticism.”

0731 — KEY TIMINGS FOR TODAY

The Chilcot report will be released at 11.30 a.m. BST but families are said to receive a free copy of the £767 report at around 8 a.m. BST.

Other key timings are as follows:

11 a.m. BST: Sir John Chilcot will make a statement.

11.30 a.m. BST: Chilcot report to be published.

12.30 a.m. BST: Prime Minister David Cameron to make a statement.

12.40 a.m. BST: Leader of the opposition — Jeremy Corbyn — is tipped to be making an apology on behalf of the Labour party due to former PM Tony Blair (and ex-Labour leader) taking Britain into war with Iraq.

Tony Blair is set to make a statement today at a press conference but the time is not confirmed.

0715 — WELCOME TO BUSINESS INSIDER'S LIVE BLOG ON THE PUBLICATION OF THE IRAQ INQUIRY

The Chilcot Inquiry is a thorough investigation which has taken place for the last seven years into the United Kingdom's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003. It will cover political decisions made between 2001 and 2009 relating to the run-up to the UK's intervention, the military action itself, and the aftermath of the conflict.

Business Insider will publish the link to the report when it is published at 1130 a.m. BST today and will follow the press conference, scheduled for 11 a.m. BST. We will also bring you the developments following the publication of the report and statements from political leaders and former Prime Minister Tony Blair when these are published.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Counterparty is set to launch Ethereum’s Virtual Machine (EVM) on a testnet in two weeks with Counterparty developer Ruben de Vries making solid progress toward the end result, which will eventually bring Ethereum’s smart contract to Bitcoin. In late 2014, Counterparty carried out a Proof-of-Concept EVM port; however, in comparison, this port is the newest […]

The post Counterparty’s EVM Port to Enable Bitcoin with Ethereum Smart Contracts Moves Forward appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.