BEST OF THE BEST HACKERNOON: Former Venezuela resident Eduardo Prospero says bitcoin proved useful when he escaped from the country, he wrote in a piece for Hackernoon. While “hodl” memes are ubiquitous, Prospero noted that he did not purchase bitcoin to invest or store it, but to use as a form of currency. The cryptocurrency helped him utilize financial services, accept remote jobs and fund an escape from Venezuela in a way that fiat currencies could not, he wrote. “Cryptocurrencies are at their infancy and all of the processes were a little awkward, but the technology fueled my against-all-odds escape from Venezuela. And that’s worth gold,” he concluded. THE REST NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW: The ongoing crypto bear market is taking its toll on Chinese miners, reports Nikkei Asian Review. The site reported that even low-cost electricity in locations such as the Qinghai province of China are unable to sustain bitcoin mining in the current environment. It’s not just cryptocurrency miners themselves that are impacted either. Computer chip manufacturers whose products supported crypto networks are losing revenue due to a sudden lack of demand. Local miner Lu Qing previously ran a cryptocurrency mining business, which had 7,000 miners at its peak with plans to expand to 12,000 units. However, the price decline saw the business collapse, and the computers themselves are selling for nearly 1/100 their original price. FORBES: Blockchain platforms may be able to facilitate crowdfunding to improve public infrastructure in the U.S., as well as improve accountability for different projects, says Forbes contributor Adam Millsap. Blockchain has the ability to open investment opportunities to individuals who might otherwise not want to fund a project. In Millsap’s example, a group could crowd-fund a bridge, then receive some proportionate level of tolls from that bridge. Further, the fact that a distributed ledger would clearly indicate which party is responsible for which parts and what aspect of a construction means it would be easier to hold such parties accountable for delays or issues. | 
