Bitcoin prices reached all-time highs on expectations that the Securities and Exchange Commission making a decision about the Winklevoss' Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund today.The cryptocurrency hit above $1,300 for the first time on Friday, now higher than where gold is trading.Investors can check prices on CoinDesk.The SEC confirmed that it would make a decision about the Winklevoss' Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund today... more than three years following request for approval.The question: will the SEC allow the BATS stock exchange to change its rules to offer the ETF, which would allow investors to buy bitcoin like stock.This blogger thinks the chances of approval are pretty good, considering Goldman Sachs (GS), Visa (V), and Accenture (ACN) have taken the leap, investing in bitcoin and blockchain, a digital ledger of bitcoin.Early this year, Accenture said that blockchain technology could reduce infrastructure costs for eight of the world's 10 largest banks by an average of 30%.

And as Bloomberg reported, even China can't rid the country of bitcoin.Part of the allure of bitcoin is that it allows people to make financial transactions anonymously and government attempts to stamp it out has just added fuel to the fire.CFRA's Todd Rosenbluth warns: If the Bitcoin ETF is approved, we think investors should proceed cautiously.While the potential new product would provide liquidity, the historic volatility of Bitcoin suggests the risks could be high," he says.ethereum malaysia price"Unlike other currencies, the demand drivers are less transparent to us."ethereum price usd liveBitmex blogger Casper Cheng says that the reasons for and against the bitcoin ETF are about even.bitcoin sync with network

He plays out each scenario: If the SEC approves the BATS rule change, all manner of American muppet retail investors can yolo into Bitcoin via a regulated ETF.The pool of eligible money that can easily obtain exposure to Bitcoin will dramatically rise.There are various predictions about the amount of money that could flow into Bitcoin.In short, it will be Yuge... If the rule change is denied, the price will quickly test $1,000.bitcoin futures cmeDue to the underlying bullishness of the market, traders will BTFD.ethereum news calendarIf not now, the general consensus is that one of the many ETF applications will be approved.bitcoin via skrillThe market will focus on the next application approval deadline for the SolidX or Greyscale ETF.ethereum miner for android

The BitMEX Coin Prediction Futures Contract puts probability at 53%.Though MarketWatch's Joseph Adinolfi smartly points out that the biggest threat to bitcoin is not the SEC.Latest In Focusonfunds BlogSummary Approximately 200 blockchain experts and enthusiasts from 16 countries were hosted at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue by Andreas Schertzinger, who leads Swiss Re's Reinsurance Technology Initiative, to discuss blockchain's potential for the insurance industry.rbi on bitcoinClick here to read the entire summary.1st bitcoin capitalVideos Presentations Monday, 23 January 2017 18.00 Welcome address and opening remarksAndreas Schertzinger, Lead, Reinsurance Technology Initiative, Swiss Re 18.10 The Blockchain Revolution: How the technology is changing money, business, and the worldAlex Tapscott, Co-Author of Blockchain Revolution, CEO of Northwest Passage Ventures 18.55 Demo: Using Blockchain to make charitable donationsGuido Baroncini Turricchia, CEO Helperbit 19.15 Apero and welcome dinner Tuesday, 24 January 2017 8.00 Coffee and networking 8.30 Introduction to day 2Andreas Schertzinger, Lead, Reinsurance Technology Initiative, Swiss Re 8.35 Keynote 1: How blockchain enhances the insurability of goodsLeanne Kemp, Founder and CEO, Everledger 9.05 Keynote 2: Blockchain-resident smart contracts: opportunities and challengesCasey Kuhlman, CEO, Monax Industries 9.35 Keynote 3: Blockchain: Disruption or sustained innovation?Kamesh Raghavendra, Vice President at The Hive 10.05 Demonstration: Insurance blockchain in actionDavid Edwards, Founder and Product Lead, ChainThat 10.25 Coffee break & Visit to blockchain kiosks 11.15 Interactive breakout sessions on the opportunities and challenges of blockchain (Round 1) Building enterprise grade blockchainsMatthew Roszak, Co-Founder, Bloq and Founding Partner, Tally Capital Understanding the Ethereum Blockchain ProtocolTaylor Gerring, Consultant, Ethereum Ensuring privacy and confidentiality on the blockchainGabrielle Patrick, co-founder and general counsel, Epiphyte Digital identity and sensitive data on blockchainsDavid Birch, Director of Innovation, Consult Hyperion The impact of blockchain on financial market infrastructureIan Haycock, Chief Operating Officer Asset Management, Swiss ReJürg Unger, Head Custody & Vendor Relationship Managment, Swiss Re 12.00 Lunch 13.00 Interactive breakout sessions on the opportunities and challenges of blockchain (Round 2) Building enterprise grade blockchainsMatthew Roszak, Co-Founder, Bloq and Founding Partner, Tally Capital Understanding the Ethereum Blockchain ProtocolTaylor Gerring, Consultant, Ethereum Ensuring privacy and confidentiality on the blockchainGabrielle Patrick, co-founder and general counsel, Epiphyte Digital identity and sensitive data on blockchainsDavid Birch, Director of Innovation, Consult Hyperio The impact of blockchain on financial market infrastructureIan Haycock, Chief Operating Officer Asset Management, Swiss ReJürg Unger, Head Custody & Vendor Relationship Managment, Swiss Re 14.00 Intra Group Retrocession (IGR) use case demo Richard Phipps, Senior Finance Project Manager, Swiss ReJags Rao, Blockchain Workstream Lead, Swiss Re 14.30 Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative (B3i) updateSylvain de Crom, Head of R&D, Aegon Blue Square ReinsurancePaul Meeusen, Director Finance Global Business Solutions, Swiss Re 14.50 Coffee break 15.20 How start-ups are testing the value of blockchain in the insurance industrySymbiont: Blockchain Catastrophe Swap (demo)Caitlin Long, Chairman and President, SymbiontSkuchain: Blockchain for supply chain insurance (demo)Srinivasan Sriram, Founder & CEO, SkuchainTradle: KYC and identity decentralised workflow on blockchain (demo)Gene Vayngrib, CEO & Co-founder, Tradle 16.20 Keynote 4: Preventing the use of blockchain for nefarious purposesMariusz Nowostawski, Associate Professsor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology 16.50 Panel discussion on blockchain's implementation challenges and opportunitiesModerated by: Elizabeth Wesson, Director Digital Strategy, Swiss Re Panellists: David Birch, Director of Innovation, Consult Hyperion Perianne Boring, Founder and President, Chamber of Digital Commerce Elizabeth Stark, Co-founder & CEO, Lightning 17.30 Wrap-upAndreas Schertzinger, Lead, Reinsurance Technology Initiative, Swiss Re 17.40 Farewell drink This event may be photographed, filmed and/ or recorded.

A summary of the event, pictures and/or a video of the event in which you may appear may be posted and made available on Swiss Re’s and the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue’s internal and external websites and in printed materials.Gallery Photos by Valeriano Di Domenico About the event Blockchain technology has opened up a number of new possibilities once considered unimaginable.Whether it's the possibility of instant payments, self-executing "smart" re/insurance contracts, lower transaction fees, less paperwork, or other efficiency gains, the insurance industry is taking note.A number of new entrants as well as the industry's established players are keen to identify and leverage the business opportunities that blockchain technology promises.At the event "Blockchain: how insurers are building up trust by breaking down barriers", hosted by the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue, participants interacted with top-notch experts and exchange ideas and insights about blockchain with the goal of 1) improving understanding of business opportunities and challenges and 2) determining how the insurance industry can best position itself to capitalise on the opportunities and 3) accelerating cross-company efficiency.

The event also offered participants the opportunity to test real life applications of blockchain technology and interact with companies that are developing new products and services that could transform the insurance industry.Exhibitors AccentureAccenture is a pioneer on Blockchain Technology, focusing on: Development of Distributed Ledger Technologies; thought leadership & patents; co-innovating proof of concepts (PoCs) and evolving solutions; and building an ecosystem of partners.The company has global research and development teams in the US, Europe and Asia, as well as numerous patents, including the “redactable Blockchain” patent.Accenture acts as innovation ecosystem enabler and co-innovation partner to the industry, FinTechs and consortiums, such as Hyperledger, Digital Asset, Ripple, MultiChain, Linux and MONAX.Accenture has been delivering real life implementations as well as PoCs and pilots for banks, exchanges, and the insurance industry, and is part of regulatory discussions and standard definition working groups on Blockchain.

Accenture will showcase a selection of insurance-related Blockchain use cases including Pension fund administration, Blockchain for Healthcare (IoT based) and Smart oracle (IoT based). Adridadou and managinationInsurchain was first implemented as a proof of concept by David and Micha Roon of Adridadou and managination at the 2016 EPAM Blockchain Hackathon in Zurich, where it claimed first prize.Insurchain is the brainchild of Zurich Insurance’s Antony Elliott.Its aim is to eliminate manual reconciliation from the insurance reselling process by using the Ethereum blockchain as a trusted data store.This automation improves the profitability of low price, high volume insurance products.Adridadou and managination offer consulting services and training to companies that enable them to create and maintain successful blockchain projects.Bitcoin Suisse AGBitcoin Suisse AG is Switzerland’s leading full-service Bitcoin company.Located in the Swiss "Crypto Valley,” as the area around the city of Zug is known, they provide a variety of financial services including brokerage, trading and advisory.

The Company also deals in physical precious metals and other Crypto-curriencies like Ethereum.Bitcoin Suisse also operates the largest network of two-way Bitcoin ATMs (BTMs) in the country allowing clients to buy *and* sell Bitcoin for Swiss Francs.Lastly, they produce novelty Bitcoin certificates and physical coins to help generate public awareness for the crypto-currency.Bitcoin Suisse AG is your Swiss partner in regards to Bitcoin, crypto-currencies & decentralized finance!https://www.bitcoinsuisse.ch/ Shift Devices AGThis Swiss startup designs, builds and markets **physical keys for the digital world**.The keys seamlessly connect to computers and can be used as simply as opening a front door.Yet, they provide optimal security through advanced cryptography, physical isolation from online thieves, and verifiable trust.Our hardware keys can secure, authenticate, and unlock any type of digital asset, without a need for centralized storage of sensitive data. ChainThat ChainThat is a technology-focused start-up that specialises in delivery of Blockchain-based enterprise distributed applications and products across different industry verticals.

Our team has an extensive background in the insurance industry with over 100 years of experience designing and deploying insurance solutions, many of which have won industry awards.Our team has invested in understanding Blockchain & decentralised technologies and how these can be adopted in practical and deployable enterprise insurance solutions.ChainThat is uniquely placed to help insurance organisations to execute their digital strategy and vision by leveraging the benefits of Blockchain technology to deliver competitive advantage./ EtheriscEtherisc builds smart insurance applications on the blockchain.Decentralised applications on the blockchain can make insurance processes much more efficient, with lower operational costs and higher transaction speed compared to traditional insurance.In September 2016, Etherisc launched the Flight Delay Dapp, which was created for Devcon2, the annual Ethereum developer conference that was held in Shanghai, China.Flight delays are a natural use-case for "parametric insurance", a product for which a damage and claim can be programmatically verified using a trusted data source.

/ HelperbitHelperbit is an Italian startup that uses the Blockchain technology to allow people to donate digital and local currencies to charities as well as to people in need all over the world.Donors can trace their donation and the manner in which it is used, offering full transparency of economic flows.This reverses the traditional home insurance model for natural disasters, thanks to a service powered by blockchain that empowers users to customise their premium.Microinsurance is also possible and claims payments are fast, fair and transparent./ SkuchainBased in Silicon Valley, Skuchain is the thought leader in the Blockchain powered supply chain management space.With a strong team of serial entrepreneurs from Stanford, MIT, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania, Skuchain helps enterprises tap modern technology to harness the power of ‘Collaborative Commerce’.Skuchain has 6 patent applications and co-produced Blockchain University.) and captains Trade Finance in the Innovation Council at BAFT.

Recently, Skuchain initiated the first live Blockchain transaction in trade finance with Wells Fargo in the US and Common Wealth Bank of Australia./ TradleTradle sells software to major banks and insurance companies for user-controlled Know Your Customer (KYC) portability, blockchain-based workflows and real-time regulatory supervision.The company was a participant in the UK FCA Regulatory Sandbox, the MAS SG hackcelerator, and the winner of KPMG Fintech Challenge.Tradle is listed on the Fintech50, was chosen as a McKinsey 'KYC innovator', and is regarded by Citigroup as a 'blockchain KYC company to watch'.Tradle's mission is 100% KYC automation, so that capital can flow like electricity.Tradle is the only solution to a massive KYC problem that works across all sectors of finance.It does not require a blockchain network effect as it provides significant value even inside the group.As the first mover in this space, Tradle successfully completed POC projects with Tier 1 institutions and has moved to live customer pilots.