News on crypto currencies, and other applications of distributed ledger technology, continues to arrive, following our last post here:

On the crypto currency side of things, Nasdaq is now considering issuing bitcoin futures, according to remarks by CEO Adena Friedman reported here on Fox Business. However, more potential is seen is other uses of blockchain technology. Following the successful settlement of their first futures, the CBOE’s CEO Ed Tilly  has said that they will take a “measured” approach going forward, as reported here on Markets Media.

While some regulators are taking a cautious approach to crypto currencies, Switzerland is embracing them, and also the use of ICOs according to this article on FT.com. There is a balance to be maintained between encouraging new ideas and not being seen as the “wild west” of innovation. This follows various comments at the Davos summit, where on the one hand caution has been expressed, for example by Steven Mnuchin as reported here on Reuters,  but on the other the blockchain “cannot be ignored” as discussed in this article on the CoinSpeaker web site.

Initiatives Advancing
The various initiatives which use blockchain technology to support energy and commodity  trading continue to advance. This article on the CoinSquare web site reports on both the agricultural commodity trading platform reported in our last post, and also more advances of BTL, which aims to support the post trade parts of the trade life-cycle. This article om Forbes looks at an initiative called Ondiflo, based in Houston, which is supporting gas and oil order processing using Ethereum.

Many are now thinking that 2018 will be the year in which blockchain is “made real”. That is the sentiment of this article on Coindesk, which looks at the recent shifts to more “real world” implementations. This week’s eWorld fair in Essen, is likely to see many demonstrations and discussions on such technologies, for example of Enerchain (see here).

ETR Advisory still have a couple of slots a available for meetings, should any attendees wish to discuss these or other regulatory issues. They can be booked by using the contact form here.