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July 16, 2019 SKIN IN THE GAME? During a contentious hearing in Washington, D.C., Facebook’s blockchain lead David Marcus told lawmakers he would be willing to accept 100 percent of his salary in the social media giant’s Libra cryptocurrency. But the senators weren't exactly won over by his answers to their probing questions about consumer protection and data privacy. Full story ANALYSIS: For a panel about a proposed cryptocurrency, the Senate Banking Committee hearing was notably light on crypto talk. Bitcoin was barely mentioned during the two-hour session and most of the lawmakers seemed far less concerned with the technology than with who was planning to leverage it: the House of Zuck. Full story ROUND II: Tomorrow Marcus faces the House Financial Services Committee, who will also interview a panel of expert witnesses, including former CFTC chairman Gary Gensler. He thinks Libra (the currency itself, not just the companion investment token being pitched to accredited investors) is a security and should be regulated as such. Full story BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: CoinDesk welcomed half a dozen experts on crypto and policy to our studio in New York to discuss Facebook's efforts. Watch the CoinDesk Live interviews right here.  AND THAT'S NOT ALL: Join CoinDesk in Washington, D.C., tomorrow for an evening of instant analysis and reaction as cryptocurrencies and Libra have their day on the Hill. Sign up here. INITIAL FUTURES OFFERING: The cryptocurrency futures exchange CoinFLEX, backed by Polychain Capital and investor Roger Ver, will launch its first initial futures offering (IFO) this week. “This is the first time we’ve made a futures market for a coin that doesn’t actually exist yet,” CoinFLEX CEO Mark Lamb told CoinDesk. “It’s a determiner of the price before the asset exists.” The Polkadot IFO on Wednesday will be the first sale that requires participants to buy the exchange’s native token. Modeled after the Binance initial exchange offering model, up to 300 FLEX token holders will have access to “discount” contracts priced at $75 per DOT. Full story DRUG LORD SATOSHI? Could the inventor of bitcoin have been an internationally notorious drug dealer? Maybe, says a piece from Wired. The author discusses how there are hints that Paul Calder Le Roux, a South African computer pro­grammer who remodeled himself as a global drug and arms criminal kingpin, could be Satoshi in a surprise mention in papers presented during a court case involving Craig Wright (who himself claims to be bitcoin’s creator). Backing up the author’s theory is that Le Roux – who has been in custody since 2012 – had the skills to have done so: he was a talented programmer with expertise in cryptography and networks. 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