Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and cryptocurrency have been a hot topic this summer.  DLT has begun its transition from a proof-of-concept phase, to a real world deployment. Some of the changes over the last six weeks include: Bitcoin splitting into two currencies; the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) began exercising authority over initial coin offerings (ICOs); China’s central bank has led a committee criticizing ICOs as “illegal fundraising activity”; distributed technologies’ completed an application to ISDA’s master agreement per a white paper they released; and cash-settled Bitcoin futures are now being offered by one of the world’s largest options exchanges.  With just these few changes DLT proves to be an area to keep watch on.

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