Today, former Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler reports more stock sales fueling insider trading allegations, GitHub will preserve Bitcoin's source code in an abandoned coal mine, and toilet paper token "flippens" bitcoin as cryptocurrency market leader. Here's the story: ______________________________________________________________________
Code storage
Bitcoin Core, the source code that runs the blockchain, will be preserved along with most cryptocurrency projects as part of GitHub’s archiving program. A "snapshot" of all this code will be copied onto film reels, stored in a steel container, and kept 250 meters underground in a forsaken coal mine, in an effort to keep the data alive and unscathed for 1,000 years. ______________________________________________________________________
Bitcoin payments
Zap founder Jack Mallers launched a desktop tipping product that allows senders to give either bitcoin or dollars while users receive dollars in their bank accounts. Of those onboarded to the beta-program was Boulder's Helping Hands Herbals cannabis dispensary which reportedly processed roughly $1,000 using the app last weekend. Now the dispensary will switch to only accepting contactless Strike payments, an anomaly in a region where most cannabis dispensaries are “cash only” establishments.
Lightning Labs announced a new standards proposal for companies to automate small bitcoin payments, like ongoing subscriptions. Although, the trouble with bitcoin payments these days is a lack of spenders, not spending opportunities. A number of crypto payments options have launched and been integrated into media publishers, like Civil, Coil, and Brave’s Basic Attention Tokens (BAT), though so far there hasn’t been a product market fit. CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen takes a deep dive. ______________________________________________________________________
Security status?
Litigants against blockchain payments startup Ripple and its CEO Brad Garlinghouse have amended their complaint to say XRP is not a security, seen as a strategy to hedge their original case. Still, plaintiffs claim the company had undertaken unfair or fraudulent business practices and marketing in selling XRP. "More than 60 percent of XRP is owned by Ripple and none of that XRP is used for anything at all, other than to be sold in the future to invest," the plaintiffs claim. Further, Garlinghouse said he was “very, very, very long XRP,” though he sold at least 67 million XRP in 2017. In February, a judge ruled the class action suit could proceed. ______________________________________________________________________
Hive expansion
HIVE Blockchain, a publicly-listed bitcoin mining operator, is set to double the size of its operations in a multi-million-dollar deal, largely funded through a sale of its shares. The firm will acquire an existing 30-megawatt (MW) mining operation in Quebec from rival Canadian mining company Cryptologic for around $2.8 million. The move comes amid a period of uncertainty for crypto mining companies, ahead of the bitcoin halving and market shocks caused by the coronavirus outbreak. ______________________________________________________________________
Internet through Ethereum
The Althea project is powering internet connections using cryptocurrency as a payment method. The network devices accept payment in ether (ETH) or DAI and allow people to join community-powered mesh networks. This could change the game for more than 37 percent of rural Americans who don't have broadband internet at home and are unlikely to be serviced by major ISPs. ______________________________________________________________________
FROM AROUND THE WEB - MKR auctions conclude with crypto venture firm Paradigm emerging as the biggest winner (The Block)
- Bitcoin gets removed from top slot on CoinMarketCap. (April Fools)
- Bitcoins and dollars are like oil and water—but financier Caitlin Long says she can blend them inside one novel institution domiciled in Wyoming. (Forbes)
- Is Bitcoin a cryptocurrency? (Fox Business asks)
- Cash App’s $100K giveaway pushes it to second place in UK App Store (The Next Web)
- Loeffler reports more stock sales amid insider trading allegations (AJC)
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