World’s First Blockchain Invoice Paid, Closed
Source: Populous World
Populous World, who facilitated the world’s first blockchain invoice purchase approximately a month ago, announced that as of today they have received payment, and the invoice has been officially closed. The ROI on the invoice was a reported 4.5% in just one month.
MyWish Launches NEO Support
Source: MyWish.io
MyWish, a platform for creating smart contracts without writing code, has announced support for NEO. The platform currently also supports BTC and ETH.
ETC Fork
Source: Twitter
Ethereum Classic announced its successful fork from the Ethereum network today via Twitter, claiming that blocktimes are getting faster and hashrates are going up.
Announcement: Trinity IOTA Wallet
Source: Trinity
Trinity launched a beta version of its IOTA wallet. The wallet is mobile-friendly and available for download at the source link above.
SEC Receives Court Order to Freeze $21 Million ICO
Source: Forbes
The SEC has halted the Titanium BAR Token ICO, a $21 million startup headed by Michael Alan Stollery, via a court order. The SEC accused Mr. Stollery of engaging in fraudulent activity, namely using investor funds to maintain his condo in Hawaii, and has frozen all Titanium assets. Mr. Stollery is also accused of lying about the ICO’s partnerships, including one particularly bold claim of affiliation with the Federal Reserve.
UK Financial Authority Investigating Cryptocurrency Businesses
Source: New Model Adviser
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that it has opened 24 investigations into various cryptocurrency businesses, including at least 7 that were a result of whistle-blowers. The move represents the FCA’s interest in regulating cryptocurrency endeavors, with potential ramifications ranging from consumer warnings to seizure of assets and prosecution.
Korean Supreme Court Rules BTC Can Be Seized
Source: Thenews.Asia
The Korean Supreme Court has ruled that Bitcoin has economic value and therefore can be seized. It in turn ordered the seizure of any assets deemed to have been earned through illegal activities. First on the list? A Mr. Ahn, convicted of sex crimes, alleged to have earned upwards of 250 BTC from his criminal pursuits.
“Bitcoin Candidate” Attacked for Cryptocurrency Donations
Source: Politico
Democratic Congressional candidate Brian Forde, an advocate of cryptocurrency, has come under fire from an opponent for accepting donations in Bitcoin. A former SEC lawyer running against Forde is attempting to associate Forde’s campaign with BTC’s involvement in illegal activities. A statement from the opponent’s campaign manager, who has apparently never heard of Big Oil, warns that “voters should be wary of any candidate who has received so much financial backing from any single industry.”
Chinese President Praises Blockchain, but not Bitcoin
Source: Blockmanity
In an address to the Chinese Academy of Sciences annual conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping extolled the virtues of blockchain as an integral part of the “fourth industrial revolution.” While his comments are bullish on blockchain, cryptocurrencies and ICOs remain illegal under Chinese law.
Wikipedia Co-Founder Still Bearish on Cryprocurrencies
Source: News BTC
Addressing a blockchain conference in Berlin, Wikipedia co-founder James Wales repeated his dubious views on cryptocurrency, saying that “we are in a bubble” and warned of an eventual market crash. Wikipedia's platform for donations continues to accept Bitcoin as a valid form of payment.
Asus Announces Crypto-Mining Motherboard
Source: Cryptocurrency Guide
The H370 Mining Master, a motherboard from Asus, claims to have the ability to support up to 20 GPUs for mining. The new tech will be on display this June at Computex 2018 and available in North America sometime in Q3. Pricing has yet to be announced.
Port of Brisbane to Leverage Blockchain in Supply Chain System
Source: BitMoney News
The Australian Port of Brisbane will become the first in the country to utilize blockchain technology, consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced today. The initiative will aim to increase efficiency and “reduce complexity” of the supply chain process and comes shortly after the results of a government inquiry into the national freight chains were released.
Announcement: Gumi Cryptos
Source: Venture Beat
Japanese mobile gaming company Gumi has announced the formation of Gumi Cryptos, a $30 million initiative to fund global blockchain projects. Gumi Cryptos hopes to bring international startups to the Japanese market through its extensive connections to the cryptocurrency space and is already a named investment partner in startups like Origin Protocol.
BitBay Exchange Moves To Malta
Source: CoinGeek
Polish cryptocurrency exchange BitBay has announced that it is moving its trading activities to Malta. Malta, proving to be an attractive option for cryptocurrency startups, has been aggressive in their attempts to make blockchain-friendly laws and policies. BitBay cites Poland’s “hostile decisions” towards cryptocurrencies as a factor in their move. It will continue to utilize the bitbay.net domain.
Canadian Bank Hackers Demand $1 Million XRP Ransom
Source: CoinDesk
The hackers of The Bank of Montreal and Simplii Financial, who gained access to account numbers and passwords for nearly 100,000 Canadian consumers, have demanded $1 million in Ripple (XRP) as ransom to not release the private data. As a potential jab at centralized financial institutions, the hackers also criticized the banks’ security measures as inefficient. The Bank of Montreal has already stated that they do not intend to pay the ransom.
Ethereum Now Has More Active Addresses Than BTC
Source: TrustNodes
Ethereum now has over 35 million unique addresses, with an average of 100,000 being created per day, according to a new report. BTC, in contrast, had about 24 million at last count. The estimate is at best imprecise – it does not account for users who mainly work through exchanges, nor does it factor in the number of Ethereum smart contracts, which do have addresses. However, in terms of solely active addresses, ETH currently sits at around 550,000, a healthy 80,000+ higher than BTC.
Like what you're reading? Check out the video version, or stop by Twitch to contribute to the daily news development. Or, check us out on Twitter and YouTube to keep up-to-date.