Weekend Recap: Everything That Happened in Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Aug. 31-Sep. 2

Industry 3 min, 44 sec READ

by Shira Lando

Just because you have a life doesn't mean you need to be left out of the loop. Here's everything that happened this weekend in 2 short lines.

Industry

• CBOE, the first futures and options exchange that traded Bitcoin futures last year, has announced that the launch of Ether futures is coming by end of 2018.
• Upcoming blockchain game War Riders was abruptly pulled from the Coinbase Wallet app due to a violation of Apple’s iOS Store guidelines.
• Research from Coinbase and Qriously reveals the American college population is twice as likely to invest in cryptocurrency as the rest of the US.
• Bitfi finally admitted defeat, closing its bounty program and removing "unhackable" claims from all branding and marketing materials. The official Twitter announcement read,

• PwC, U.K.-based multinational professional services network, PricewaterhouseCoopers, is launching a 2-year digital skills course to boost the digital skills of its staff, training over 1,000 employees on blockchain.
• Messaging giant LINE is set to become one of the first publicly traded companies to launch a proprietary blockchain mainnet with its own cryptocurrency.
• Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten acquired local exchange, Everybody's Bitcoin, for 265 million yen, or $2.4 million.
• U.S. users can now trade 4 leading cryptocurrencies on Yahoo Finance’s platform, these include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. The service, however, will only be available on Yahoo's iOS app, for now.
• The South Korean province of Gyeongsangbuk-do is planning to issue a local cryptocurrency for payments at stores, and blockchain for other uses. Nine cities in the region are being considered as testing grounds for this new crypto initiative.
• Firefox browser announced they intend to block trackers and other "harmful practices" including crypto mining malware scripts in future versions.
• Japan's National Police Agency (NPA) will develop a new software to help track individuals who partake in illicit crypto transactions.
• Bitcoin made mainstream headlines with Eminem's latest surprise album, "Kamikaze", in which he mentions Bitcoin in the 9th track, called "Not Alone"

Everybody Used to Bite Nickel, Now Everybody Doing Bitcoin

Regulation

• EU Finance Ministers will be meeting on September 7 to discuss the regulation of cryptocurrencies. Specifically, the abuse of cryptocurrencies (money laundering, financing of terrorism and tax evasion), the lack of transparency in the crypto industry and the potential benefits of ICOs.
• Colombian President Ivan Duque has promised to relieve cryptocurrency-related businesses of rent taxes for as long as five years, under the condition that they generate a certain quota of new jobs.

Blockchain Technology

• Ethereum (ETH) core developers decided in a YouTube meeting to delay the “Difficulty Bomb”, instead incorporating the code in the upcoming Constantinople hard fork.
• Origin Protocol, an open-source blockchain platform that allows users to create peer-to-peer, decentralized marketplaces, announced the launch of Origin Messaging, a service that uses Ethereum addresses as IDs for sending and receiving text messages.
• Quantstamp released a usable security product, the betanet went live on the Ethereum mainnet. The platform will facilitate the auditing of smart contracts by producing a "publicly verifiable record that an audit took place," which will in turn prove whether a smart contract is safe to use.
• U.S. retail giant Walmart has applied for a patent to use blockchain to secure deliveries by “in-field authenticating of autonomous electronic devices”.
• According to a report from Hosho Security Research, a quarter of all smart contracts are riddled with bugs and as many as 60% of projects have at least one security issue.
• The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network experienced over 2.1 million transactions on September 1, taking up over 63% of crypto transactions, this due to the launch of a BCH stress test, which caused no surge in fees.
• Coil, Former Ripple's CTO Stefan Thomas' project, has launched a closed beta. The project aims to allow content creators to better monetize their work.
• The Taipei Medical University Hospital introduced a blockchain platform to improve medical record-keeping. Through a password-protected app, users should enjoy improved services like patient referral and an easy access to medical records.

Markets

• Bitcoin's Positive Monthly Close, TRX, DGB, and XMR, Market Analysis Sept. 1
• BTC, BCH Continue to Post Gains, while for TRX HODLers, the Wait Continues, Market Analysis Sep. 2
• Following the announcement that it's been listed on the Ethereum network, DOGE spiked by 70% over Friday-Saturday, only to drop by 35% on Sunday. Look for our full report on this rollercoaster later today!
• According to new research from SFOX, the Bitcoin market is stabilizing. SFOX credits Wall Street for the dramatic reduction in Bitcoin's price variation over the last several months.