Mapping out Blockstream | Arms dealer turns out to be the FBI | IBM puts literal oranges on the blockchain
Bitcoin $3,492
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Ethereum $107.61
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Crypto Mkt Cap $115B
▲ BTC Dominance 53.40%
“Misunderstanding the power dynamics within blockchain systems can lead to faulty risk assessments, in that we may view the tokens of these systems as less malleable than they actually are.” — Angela Walch, Associate Professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law.
The Big Block
Blockstream is one of the most influential businesses in Bitcoin. The Bitcoin and blockchain technology development firm was founded in 2014 by well-respected cypherpunk, Adam Back, and a host of other prominent Bitcoin developers.
Blockstream has raised over $100M in venture capital funding to develop products and services for Bitcoin. These include the Liquid Network sidechain, its cryptocurrency data feed, and its Blockstream Satellite.
Read More on The Block (1 Minute)
Around The Block
Ethereum Core Dev Call #54: Waiting for ProgPoW
Ethereum Core Developers regrouped for their 54th public bi-weekly this Friday. If you haven’t tuned into an Ethereum Developer call before, we suggest giving it a go. The calls are a great way to see how decisions are coordinated and made at the core developer level. At the very least, check out the first 5 minutes for some groovy Web3 tunes.
While today’s call discussed roadmaps, Ethereum talks at the Stanford Blockchain Conference, and research updates, the discussion around how to best move forward with ProgPow — a proposed change to the Ethereum hashing algorithm which would narrow the performance gap between generalized and specialized hardware — once again took center stage. For a refresh on the ProgPow debate, see our recent take on the concerns. — More
Arms dealer turns out to be the FBI
Did you know that bitcoin utilizes a public ledger that keeps track of all transactions? In fact, almost every single cryptocurrency known to man uses some sort of public ledger that allows for the tracking of all the transactions on the network. So, you might guess that law enforcement likes bitcoin, and you would be right.
This case involves some pretty troubling allegations. The defendant is accused of attempting to purchase a toxic chemical to use as a chemical weapon in a purported scheme to kill his spouse. This is, of course, terrible if true, but what does this have to do with bitcoin? Well, not much, but it is indicative of a trend. — More
Grin lead developer in a powerful message: ‘I’m disappointed by the way the industry around Grin is shaping up’ — More
CoinGate introduces XRP payments for merchants — More
Smart contract auditor Hosho lays off 80% of staff — More
Casa opens its code to the public — More
Big changes at a Canadian exchange Coinsquare, 40 employees laid off — More
IBM puts literal oranges on the blockchain — More
Crypto hedge funds are acting more like VCs — More
Fidelity is in the “final testing” phase for its new digital asset business — More