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BY THE NUMBERS: Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic collaborated with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to publish a public dataset of bitcoin transactions associated with illicit activity. Using machine learning software to categorize 203,769 bitcoin node transactions worth roughly $6 billion in total, the researchers determined that only 2 percent of the bitcoin transactions in the data set were illicit. While 21 percent were identified as lawful, the vast majority of the transactions, roughly 77 percent, remained unclassified. The research also explored whether AI could assist current anti-money laundering (AML) procedures. Full story
ETH + LIGHTNING: While bitcoin and ethereum enthusiasts might not always get along, one enterprising gaming startup is attempting to bring the two cryptocurrencies closer together. Blockade Games announced on July 31 that it has successfully bridged the two networks by sending a bitcoin lightning transaction in such a way that it can cause an ethereum smart contract to run. The company has run its code on the Rinkeby testnet and plans to deploy it on mainnet (using real ether) in the next couple of weeks. The work feeds into the firm’s plans to add lightning support to Neon District, its upcoming role-playing game built on top of ethereum. Full story
BIG PLANS: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wants to build an open financial system. As part of the company’s roadmap outlined during an open house session, Armstrong indicated his firm would continue to take a leading role in the development and dissemination of blockchain technology to get “100 million or more people to start [using] cryptocurrency.” Armstrong said: “We can actually change the law, you know, bend this curve and materially change the economic freedom of the entire world by what we’re going to build." Full story
BTC SQUARED: Payments company Square reported its second-quarter earnings Thursday, revealing $125 million in bitcoin sales through its Cash App, nearly doubling a record first quarter. “During the quarter, bitcoin revenue benefited from increased volume as a result of the increase in the price of bitcoin, and generated $2 million of gross profit,” the report explains. Founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Square reported that bitcoin represented very nearly half of the total revenue on its Cash App, at $260 million, for the second quarter of 2019. In an investor call Thursday announcing the numbers, Dorsey said: “We love you, bitcoin.” Full story
WALMART COIN? Retail giant Walmart has applied for a cryptocurrency patent that bears some similarities to the Libra token proposed by Facebook in mid-June. In its application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Walmart touts the concept of a digital currency “tied to a regular currency” – that is, what’s commonly known as a stablecoin. Libra will be a token pegged to a basket of fiat currencies and government bonds, according to Facebook. In another similarity, the filing suggests that the proposed coin could help provide finance for those with limited access to banking services – one of the major claims Facebook has made for Libra, most likely in an effort to appeal to the public (and regulators) over the token. Full story |
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| BULL SHIFT: Bitcoin has found acceptance above $10,000, prompting short-term technical studies to start aligning once more in favor of the bulls. As a result, a further rise toward $11,000 may be on the way. That said, signs of weakening bullish momentum on the hourly chart suggest a temporary dip may precede the upwards move. Full story |
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| | BLOCKCHAIN LOTTO: A crypto art project is using blockchain to pick the winner of a charity auction, reports The Next Web. The initiative from two crypto firms and crypto-focused artist Trevor Jones, will raffle off one of Jones’ artworks, with tickets to be paid for in bitcoin. Each entrant will be assigned a sequential hexadecimal number starting from zero and the winner will be the one whose number matches the last two or three digits of the hash of a bitcoin block to be mined on Aug. 4. The use of block hashes to decide the winner will make the raffle almost impossible to game, the piece says. |
WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER
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