Industria

Winklevoss twins propose self-regulatory body for cryptocurrency industry As regulation of the cryptocurrency industry intensifies, a prominent bullish duo has proposed one way to disabuse critics of the notion that the nascent sector represents a Wild West of investing. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who founded digital-currency exchange Gemini, are putting forward a framework for self-regulation of the virtual-currency sector called the Virtual Commodity Association (VCA). In a blog post, the Winklevoss twins say a dearth of regulation and the need for change as the market attempts to evolve, has prompted them to push for the industry to adopt broad practices...

Glimmers of Hope for Women in the Male-Dominated Tech Industry When Christine Betts arrived at the University of Washington in 2016, she planned to study economics. After an introductory computer-science course inspired her, she changed her mind. Betts joins growing ranks of women at influential schools entering the software field. The numbers at some colleges offer a glimmer of hope in an otherwise male-dominated industry. At Betts’s school, as well as Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, women represent about a third of computer-science students. It’s hardly gender parity, but the numbers are higher than they were five years ago....

FDA commissioner decries drug industry oligopoly Dive Brief: In a speech earlier this week, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called out pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), drug manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacies to "stop the shell games" in the drug supply chain. He pointed out that despite the fact cheaper, generic drugs are more often prescribed and promoted to patients rather than the more expensive, branded drugs, "generic drugs make up only 26% of prescription drug costs. That’s real savings for patients and our healthcare system overall." The overall tone of the speech was one of concern, with Gottlieb highlighting the fact that when...

FBI chief asks tech industry to build crytpo-busting not-a-backdoor FBI director Christopher Wray has addressed a cyber-security conference and again called for technologists to innovate their way around strong cryptography. Wray spoke at the Boston College / FBI Boston Conference on Cyber Security on March 7. He told the audience the issue of crypto can be solved because the industry's created cloud platforms users can access from anywhere. No, really: the speech is here, and here's the relevant excerpt: "For one thing, many of us in this room use cloud-based services. You’re able to safely and securely access your e-mail,...

How To Disrupt An Industry: Lessons Learned From An Overlooked Market Over the last few years, there has been a growing trend in the U.S. financial technologies (or fintech) market as investment pours into such point-of-sale solutions as peer to peer, money transfer, Face ID, digital wallets and more. Companies like Paypal, Apple, Facebook, Intuit and beyond have all made recent announcements on apps and platforms that enable people to pay one another with ease. We're in an exciting time, as the fintech world is evolving on an almost constant basis with technology presenting traditional finance with new and exciting...