Mimblewimble launch prep

To view this email as a web page, go here.

December 21, 2018 TWIN MIMBLEWIMBLES: Harry Potter-themed bitcoin scaling and privacy solution Mimblewimble is about to go live – not in one, but in two distinct implementations. On Dec. 25, and Jan. 15, respectively, two different networks – dubbed Beam and Grin – are expected to launch, each offering slightly different builds of the protocol. “So far, privacy has always been introduced at the detriment of scalability. We’re changing that,” pseudonymous Grin developer “Ignotus Peverell” told CoinDesk. The first implementation of the tech, Grin, began being coded in late 2016. In March 2018, it was joined by Beam, an Israel-based startup that’s offering a slightly different interpretation of the technology. Subtle differences in the design choices hint that, while Grin maintains an emphasis on community-driven decentralization, Beam stands out for its sharper business sense. An atmosphere of friendly competition between the two has taken shape – though it’s occasionally tipped into outright resentment from each side. Guy Corem, an advisor to Beam, told CoinDesk: “We share a common goal which is to implement Mimblewimble in the most robust way possible.” Full Story. LOWERED TARGET: Crypto miner maker Ebang has refiled its draft IPO prospectus with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, saying that its earnings took a hit in Q3 2018. While it didn’t provide detailed figures for the quarter, Ebang said: “We experienced significant decreases in revenue and gross profit for the three months ended September 30, 2018 compared to the preceding three months ended June 30, 2018. ” However, the first six months of 2018 were much more positive. Ebang took 2.1 billion yuan ($304 million) in revenue – eight times as much as the same period in 2017. The profit for the first half of this year is also up significantly at $135 million. That’s 16 times that seen in H1 2017. While it remains unknown how much Ebang intends to raise in the IPO, a source told CoinDesk its planned offer size has been “reduced by more than half” since the firm’s initial filing. A Reuters report suggested in May that Ebang was seeking to raise as much as $1 billion. Full Story IMMUTABLE NEWS: A U.S. news article has been archived permanently on the Ethereum blockchain, in what may be a world first. Maria Bustillos, editor of the journalist-owned news site Popula, announced Monday that she had stored an article originally published in Death and Taxes magazine in full on the blockchain, with a digital signature also being recorded on IPFS. The event caps a five-year plan to leverage the immutability of blockchain to store articles, protecting them against accidental or deliberate destruction. Bustillos told CoinDesk that she saw "the key benefit of blockchain technology [as] decentralization, as a means of producing incorruptible records."  Popula will now store every article it produces on ethereum, typically about 90 days after each piece is published, she said. Bustillos also hopes other journalists will recognize the value of storing articles permanently on a blockchain. Full Story. As bitcoin turns 10 years old, scholarly interest has only grown. This, in turn, has contributed to the cryptocurrency's growth. CoinDesk’s Crypto-Economics Explorer aims to see if other decentralized networks leverage different types of social interest to grow in a similar way. The data visualization and chart above show the five most popular cryptocurrencies by that metric across several platforms. BACK IN BUSINESS: Bitcoin closed well above $4,000 yesterday, confirming a bullish reversal on the widely followed three-day chart. As a result, the odds of a near-term rally to the crucial price barrier of $4,400 have improved significantly. Full story BEST OF THE BEST FINANCIAL TIMES: The U.K. government has said it “ stands ready” to give the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wider scope to regulate crypto assets, according to a piece from the FT. The Treasury Committee of the U.K. parliament said in a recent report that it is currently difficult to determine whether certain crypto assets qualify as security tokens and thus fall under the scope of existing rules. The government will consult on the issue and, if needed, is prepared to ensure FCA rules “can be applied to all cryptoassets that have comparable features to security tokens, regardless of the way they are structured,” City minister John Glen said. THE REST FORBES: It’s a dog’s life. That’s why A3, Airbus’ Silicon Valley innovation arm, is holding a crypto fundraising event for a dog shelter that seeks to find ageing hounds a home to avoid them being put down. The event will utilize Airbus's public blockchain platform, dubbed Heritage, to reward donors with a crypto collectible – or more technically a non-fungible token based on ethereum’s ERC-721 standard – by way of a receipt. As well as helping out dogs in need at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, a registered non-profit, it’s hoped that new holders of the tokens will be encouraged to find out more about the tech. TIMES OF INDIA: A municipal corporation in the Indian state of West Bengal, New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA), has issued its first ever birth certificate over a blockchain. The recipient is a month-old baby called Divit Biyani.  "I'm glad the government is implementing new technology like this to secure information and prevent manual manipulation," Divit's father Varun said. Debashis Sen, the NKDA's chairman, told the newspaper that putting birth certificates on a blockchain gives them an extra layer of security and makes them immune to cyber threats due to its multi-level encryption. WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER Copyright © 2018 CoinDesk. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 250 Park Avenue South New York, NY, 10003, US Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list