Summary: Worldbank launch blockchain bond. ICE physical bitcoin future + starbucks adoption. Bitmain prepare $18bn IPO. Bitcoin cash vulnerabilty solved by Bitcoin developer. Google cloud blockchain tools. Goldman crypto custody. Venezuala goes full crypto. Ripple + BillClinton&Madonna
News Recap:
Ripple, the central entity controlling the XRP token, has spent it’s marketing budget on getting former U.S president Bill Clinton to speak at an upcoming conference. They’re also partnering with Madonna to fundraise for orphans in Malawi.
Binance has announced that they will be acquiring mobile wallet “Trust Wallet” to expand their mobile offering.
Google has partnered with Digital Asset to bring blockchain platform and developer tools to the Google Cloud Platform.
The central bank of Vietnam has backed a decision by the country’s Ministry of Finance to ban the import of cryptocurrency mining equipment.
Lightning apps continue to grow with the release of ThunderMessage, a message board for the Lightning Networkwhere each upvote costs 1 satoshi.
Venezuela is replacing its national currency, the bolivar, with a new one that will reportedly be tied to its controversial "petro" token.
The Gemini exchange's ETF submission has been rejected for a second time. Commissioner Hester Peirce dissented, stating her concern that the Commission’s approach undermines investor protection by precluding greater institutionalization of the bitcoin market.
Nestlé is experimenting with tracking baby food on the Blockchain. They are working with nine other large food companies, including Unilever and Walmart, as well as IBM on a blockchain system called Food Trust, to trace food and ingredients worldwide.
HTC is launching a blockchain phone called the HTC Exodus. It will run a BTC and ETH node and will also provide cold storage. It will also support lightning payments.
Starbucks along with ICE (owners of the NYSE), Microsoft and BCG, are working to launch a new company called Bakkt that will enable consumers and institutions to buy, sell, store and spend cryptocurrencies on the global network by November. This follows ICE’s recent announcement of physically settled Bitcoin futures.
Chinese Billionaire, Bruno Wu, is planning a $300m cryptocurrency hub in Connecticut, USA. It will include the construction of a FinTech college and other crypto training facilities.
Goldman Sachs Is considering a custody offering for crypto funds.
U.S. Congressman Bob Goodlatte has disclosed cryptocurrency holdings in BTC, BCH, and ETH. The House Judiciary Committee chair is the first congressional member to publicly declare digital asset holdings.
The SEC has delayed a decision on the much anticipated VanEck /CBOE Bitcoin ETF. Pushing a decision back to September 30, 2018. This follows the recent decline of the Gemini exchange ETF.
Commonwealth Bank of Austalia (CBA) has been mandated by the World Bank to issue a Blockchain Offered New Debt Instrument (Bond-i). The bond is expected to raise $50-$100m using a permissioned blockchain, however CBA note they will be open to using other blockchains in the future.
Altcoin “Bitcoin Cash” suffered a major vulnerability that would allow unintended splits in the network. The vulnerability was found by a Bitcoin developer and sent to the Bitcoin Cash developers to be fixed.
Bitmain, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of ASIC mining chips and miners of cryptocurrencies has revealed in their pre-IPO investor deck that they sold most of their Bitcoin for the altcoin Bitcoin Cash, leading to at least $500m in losses in the last 3 months.
Bitmain has officially filed documents for the much anticipated IPO. They will raise potentially as much as $18 billion this September at a market capitalization of $40 to $50 billion. It will be underwritten by China International Capital Corporation and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Q4 2018 or Q1 2019.
