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Bitcoin Halving May 12

How Much Ether Is Out There? Ethereum Developers Create New Scripts for Self-Verification

William FoxleyAug 11, 2020

Ethereum and Bitcoin advocates have engaged in spirited exchange since Friday to answer an ostensibly simple question: What’s the total supply of ether?

Bitcoin

MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’

Danny NelsonAug 11, 2020

Digital gold is now the "principal holding" of MicroStrategy's revamped treasury reserve strategy.

Podcasts

Joe Rogan for Fed Chair! Feat. Hugh Hendry

Nathaniel WhittemoreAug 11, 2020

Former hedge fund manager and financial dissident gives his take on what ails the U.S. economy and why the Federal Reserve should be more, not less, irresponsible.

OCC

Following OCC Letter, Some US Banks Appear Open to Providing Crypto Services

Nikhilesh DeAug 11, 2020

Nationally regulated banks want the OCC to clarify just how and when they can provide cryptocurrency services, hinting traditional financial institutions are paying close attention to the space.

India

India May Be Starting Its Biggest Bitcoin Bull Run Yet

Leigh Cuen Shuai HaoAug 11, 2020

India’s crypto trade volumes have soared since the Supreme Court of India lifted banking restrictions for exchanges in March. According to Coin Dance's Paxful and LocalBitcoins volume data, India’s bitcoin peer-to-peer trade volume reached an all-time high in July.

USDC

Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stumbles to $11,300; USDC Lending Rates Skyrocket

Daniel CawreyAug 11, 2020

Bitcoin experienced heavy selling Tuesday, while traders are finding profits in stablecoin borrowing strategies.

Stablecoins

First Mover: After Falling 65% This Year in Bitcoin Terms, Do ‘Stablecoins’ Need a Rebranding?

Bradley Keoun Omkar GodboleAug 11, 2020

So-called stablecoins have been tanking in bitcoin terms lately. Should we be calling them "crypto-dollars" instead?

Podcasts

The Latest on the Global Economy’s Most Contentious Relationship

Nathaniel WhittemoreAug 10, 2020

China and the U.S. trade high-profile sanctions, but the real impact is showing up in banks and on the Hong Kong stock market.

Ethereum Classic

Ethereum Classic’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

William FoxleyAug 10, 2020

Ethereum Classic suffered two 51% attacks in the same week. One week later, exchanges, investors and developers are split on the implications.

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Opinion

10 Reasons Quant Strategies for Crypto Fail

Jesus RodriguezAug 11, 2020

The terms "crypto" and "quant" go together perfectly. The reality is more complicated.

Chia Network

Chia Network Raises $5M to Rival New Crop of DeFi-Friendly Base Layers

Leigh CuenAug 11, 2020

Chia Network, led by BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen, just raised another $5 million in an equity round led by Slow Ventures.

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BSN

China’s Blockchain Infrastructure Launches Website for Global Devs

David PanAug 11, 2020

China's Blockchain-Based Service Network has launched an English-language website for international decentralized app developers.

Ethereum

Alchemy Goes Public With Developer Platform in Bid to Grow DeFi Ecosystem

Leigh CuenAug 11, 2020

Blockchain infrastructure startup Alchemy just launched its full suite of products to the public, after a two-year closed beta serving teams like MakerDAO and Kyber Network.

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Censorship

VPN Usage Surges as Belarus Remains Offline

Anna BaydakovaAug 11, 2020

People in Belarus are discovering anti-censorship tools as the country experiences a major internet outage

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Ether

Some Traders Now Taking Bets Ether Will Break $1K by December

Omkar GodboleAug 11, 2020

Some option traders are now betting ether will rise to $1,000 by year’s end.

Recent

Lebanon

Bitcoiners Launch Cryptocurrency Relief Fund Following Beirut Explosion

Leigh CuenAug 11, 2020

A group of Lebanese expats in Europe organized the Crypto Disaster Relief For Beirut Explosion fund to support those affected by last week's tragedy.

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Coinbase

Coinbase Exits Industry Lobbying Group in Protest Over Recent Unspecified ‘Decisions’

Danny NelsonAug 11, 2020

Coinbase cited recent board decisions that could "irreperably impair" the Blockchain Association.

News Roundup

Blockchain Bites: MicroStrategy’s $250M Bitcoin Bet, India Booms, Banks Open to Custody

Ben SchillerAug 11, 2020

MicroStrategy bets $250 million on Bitcoin's safe haven thesis. Indian crypto is booming. And David Marcus has a new role at Facebook.

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Elliptic

Elliptic Hires Former Revolut CFO as It Prepares for Asia Expansion

Danny NelsonAug 11, 2020

David MacLean will oversee the crypto tracer's finance and personnel operations.

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Binance

Binance Denies Report It Was Blocked From Installing Its CEO on Board of Failing Bank

Paddy BakerAug 11, 2020

Crypto exchange Binance said the FMA had not rejected an application for CEO Changpeng Zhao to join the board of the now-defunct Union Bank.

Podcasts

Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 11, 2020

Adam B. LevineLyllah LedesmaAug 11, 2020

With bitcoin increasingly acting like gold and one company betting a quarter of a billion dollars on BTC, CoinDesk's Markets Daily is back for your news roundup!

Funding Rounds

DEX Aggregator 1inch Raises $2.8M From Binance Labs, Galaxy Digital and More

Anna BaydakovaAug 11, 2020

Launched by software engineers from Porsche and NEAR Protocol, the startup has raised $2.8 million in a funding round led by Binance Labs.

IPOs

Coinbase’s Existing $8B Valuation Means It Doesn’t Need an IPO, Lawyer Says

Paddy BakerAug 11, 2020

An IPO would do little to boost Coinbase's following or $8 billion valuation, said a lawyer that specializes in getting startups to a public offering.

Dapper Labs

Bison Trails Now Supports ‘Flow’ Blockchain From CryptoKitties Maker Dapper Labs

Sebastian SinclairAug 11, 2020

Bison Trails users can now build apps, games and more on Dapper Labs' scalable blockchain.

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Recent

Bitcoin Mining

Riot Blockchain Mined 227 Bitcoin in Q2

Zack VoellAug 11, 2020

Riot reported a current mining capacity of 556 petahash per second.

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Gold

Bitcoin Rally Stalls as Increasingly Correlated Gold Drops Below $2K

Omkar GodboleAug 11, 2020

Bitcoin is increasingly taking cues from gold, a tried-and-tested store of value asset.

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Supply Chain

Blockchain to Play ‘Essential Role’ in Farming Supply Chains, Says US Government

Paddy BakerAug 11, 2020

An agency attached to the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it expects blockchain will play an important role in the sector's supply chains.

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Crime

Australian Woman Jailed for Theft of More Than 100,000 XRP

Sebastian SinclairAug 11, 2020

The 25-year-old received a sentence of more than two years for the 2018 theft of XRP worth around $300,000 at the time.

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Cryptography

How a Decentralized Randomness Beacon Could Boost Cryptographic Security

Alyssa HertigAug 10, 2020

Filecoin will be the first protocol to use this production-ready version of drand to create decentralized, verifiable randomness for “leader selection.”