| BLOCKCHAIN TIMES? The New York Times is getting ready for a publishing experiment using blockchain technology. According to a new job posting, the media organization is looking for someone to help “design a blockchain-based proof of concept for news publishers.” To start the project, NYT is looking for a “forward-looking leader” who would be working on the proof-of-concept’s outline for 12 months within the company’s research and development division (though this job posting was quickly taken down). Full Story
STUTTERING TORCH: An experiment designed to push the boundaries of crypto payments using bitcoin's lightning network has grown into a global game called the "Lightning Torch." However, people engaging with the experiment have brought to light a lesser-known liquidity problem with network's channels, preventing some would-be participants from taking part. However, solutions are in the works that could resolve the issue. Full Story
COINBASE TRANSFERS: Coinbase has launched a new feature allowing users to directly transfer cryptocurrency holdings on Coinbase.com to accounts in the firm’s Wallet app. The option will be available once the app gets updated in the “next few days,” it said. While Coinbase.com stores users’ keys centrally the Wallet app lets them safeguard their own private keys. Direct transfers from the app to website accounts are also planned for the future. Full Story
PETRO PUNISHMENT: The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned a Moscow-based bank over its role in financing Venezuela’s controversial (and itself sanctioned) petro cryptocurrency. The Treasury said Monday that the Office of Foreign Assets Control has added Evrofinance Mosnarbank – which is jointly owned by Russian and Venezuelan state-owned firms – to its Specially Designated Nationals List. “Early investors in the Petro were invited to buy the cryptocurrency by wiring funds to a Venezuelan government account at Evrofinance,” it explained. Full Story | 
