The Brazilian state of Bahia has rolled out a blockchain application to monitor the public bidding process of contracts with the government, Cointelegraph reported. Design and Cayenne Technology reportedly created the Online Bid Solution (SOL), which is said to be a technology based on the blockchain. It is meant to link agriculture organizations with workers and suppliers while also offering contract bidding transparency. There are reportedly more than 1,000 organizations forecasted to tap into the solution.
And the operator of BitFunder, a defunct trading platform that was denominated in bitcoin, and WeExchange was sentenced for obstruction of justice as well as securities fraud, CoinDesk reported. The individual, who is from Texas, will be in prison for 14 months for reportedly transferring funds without the consent or knowledge of investors, defrauding investors through his scheme, and allegedly lying to Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents.
On another note, The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may think about subpoenaing large technology firms in search of the unreported digital currency holdings of taxpayers, CoinDesk reported. The news is reportedly according to a slide deck from a cyber training session that discussed many ways that criminal investors might come across potential digital currency tax cheats. The slide deck was reportedly leaked through social media by an accountant. The materials were reportedly presented to agency staff at a June event in Washington, D.C. at the World Bank.
And the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved a bipartisan piece of legislation called the Blockchain Promotion Act as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle aim to define blockchain, CNET reported. It directs the Department of Commerce to devise a standard “blockchain” definition. U.S. Senator Ed Markey said, according to reports, “blockchain is an exciting new technology with great potential and promise.” The legislation is reportedly intended to prevent an array of blockchain definitions when it comes to the state level.”