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CRYPTO COLLABORATION: Money transfer giant Western Union has teamed up with blockchain startup Coins.ph to enable residents of the Philippines to more easily receive cash remittances. The newly inked deal will see both international and domestic payments made via Western Union's network arrive directly into the digital wallets held by Coins.ph's "over 5 million" users, the startup said. "There are many overseas Filipino workers who send money back home regularly and are always looking for additional remittance options," said Coins.ph co-founder and CEO Ron Hose. Full Story
LIGHTNING SWAPS: A San Francisco-based decentralized exchange (DEX) called Sparkswap has just launched, becoming the first North American exchange to fully integrate the lightning network, a bitcoin scaling solution. Sparkswap is funded by a $3.5 million seed round led by Initialized Capital, with involvement from venture capital firms such as Pantera Capital and Foundation Capital. The lightning-powered DEX offers cross-chain atomic swaps between bitcoin and litecoin. Initialized Capital partner Brett Gibson told CoinDesk that Sparkswap was the first startup he’s seen that offers traders self-custody without sacrificing speed. Full Story
BLOCKCHAIN NOTE: Kleinwort Hambros, a Societe Generale-owned private bank and wealth manager, has launched an actively managed exchange-traded note (ETN) targeting the blockchain sector. The London-based bank said its Luxembourg-listed ETN will invest in companies that could “profit most” from the development and increasing uptake of blockchain technology. The blockchain note will initially have 20 stocks diversified across areas including technology, shipping, oil and gas, custody and industrials. Full Story
MAKING A SPLASH: Ripple co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen, his wife Lyna Lam and nonprofit foundation Rippleworks have donated $25 million in XRP to San Francisco State University. The institution said the donation is the “largest gift ever made in a digital asset” to a university in the U.S. “This groundbreaking gift will position the College of Business as an evolving, distinctly diverse and industry-relevant epicenter of business innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Leslie E. Wong, the university's president. Full Story |
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| WEEKEND BREAK: Bitcoin's breakout from $5,050 resistance over the weekend has defied overbought indicators and set a new target of around $5,550 for the bulls (weekly resistance). While prices have pulled back slightly through Monday, footing has been found above former resistance levels now turned support. If BTC can maintain current levels and close above $5,200, that would argue for a continuation of bitcoin's bullish price trend. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST
100% ORANGE: France-based telecoms giant Orange has become the first member of Safe.press, a blockchain platform for the authentication of online news. The certification system – developed by French startup Block Expert – flags that a story is not fake with its green "safe.press" icon and allows “one-click verification of the authenticity and source of online content broadcast to the media in real-time,” Orange said. The firm added that all its press releases will be verifiable with Safe.press going forward.
THE REST
G20 RULE: International regulations for cryptocurrencies may be agreed to at June’s meeting of G20 member nations in Fukuoka, Japan, according to local news source Kyodo. At the event, central banks and finance chiefs from around the globe are likely to discuss rules to stem crypto-based money laundering and funding of terrorism. The piece says that the likelihood that North Korea is sidestepping international sanctions via major hacks at crypto exchanges is bringing extra focus on the issue, though the rogue nation is unlikely to be named in any statement.
TRASH TALK: The Indian city of Bangalore is drowning in trash, with huge amounts produced daily and landfill sites overflowing. While city resident attempt to complain about the resultant mess, their pleas are often ignored, according to IndianWeb2. That could soon change, though, as a new initiative from the Municipal Corporation of Bangalore and a technology-assisted governance non-profit aims to make it more likely citizens will have their voice heard by recording complaints and any resultant action on a blockchain. That should improve transparency and add extra pressure on officials, the piece says.
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WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER  |
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