Distributed ledger technology

For high-value, low-volume transactions, that is. Big Blue formally launched the platform Tuesday, but the custody bank has been using it for months, as has a group of Canadian institutions.

The Japanese exchange bitFlyer has processed $30 billion in bitcoin trades so far in 2017. Now it has its sights set on American crypto enthusiasts.

The business world has been seeking the benefits of distributed ledgers but worries about security, control, privacy, performance and other issues. Microsoft says its new Coco framework will solve all these and more.

Readers react to USAA teaming up with Amazon’s Alexa, how a new Wells Fargo’s scandal could affect arbitration rules, a digital identity startup’s ambitions, and more.

Christine Duhaime, an anti-money-laundering attorney in Toronto, lays out the reasons banks should become early experts (and assist) in initial coin offerings. She also lays out the risks, especially in the wake of the SEC’s report suggesting some ICO tokens are really securities.

Startups and open-source software projects have raised $1.3 billion this year through initial coin offerings. The real boom may still lie ahead, fears of a bubble notwithstanding.

The federal agency's investigative report concludes that crowdsales of blockchain tokens known as initial coin offerings may need to comply with securities laws.