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March 7, 2019 MYSTERY STARTUP: Former employees of Bitmain who focused on bitcoin cash development are planning to launch a new startup that will offer cryptocurrency custody, over-the-counter (OTC) trading and lending services, CoinDesk has learned. According to two sources with knowledge of the matter, the former employees include those from the mining giant's Copernicus project that was impacted by company-wide layoffs last year. Full story CRYPTO CHEAT SHEETS: Israel-based social investing platform eToro has launched a cryptocurrency trading platform allowing U.S. customers from 31 states and territories to trade 13 cryptocurrencies. At launch, the platform will offer three CopyPortfolios to let users mimic the bets of established traders. eToro also announced a multi-signature crypto wallet for the U.S. that supports six cryptocurrencies initially. Full story SIX PICKS CORDA: SIX Group, the Swiss stock exchange operator, has picked R3’s Corda Enterprise platform as the blockchain on which to build its upcoming digital-asset trading, settlement and custody service. Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, SIX said it chose Corda Enterprise because it was designed for a highly regulated space. Its use cases beyond finance, as well as the flourishing open-source Corda ecosystem also appealed to SIX. Full story VOTE OF CONFIDENCE? The city of Denver, Colorado, plans to utilize a blockchain system to store and track votes in its municipal elections in May. The pilot program will allow overseas voters, active-duty military personnel and their eligible dependents to vote using a blockchain-based smartphone app from a startup called Voatz. The city hopes the technology will make voting easier and more secure for eligible residents abroad, as well as for those living with disabilities. Full story DIVERGING PATHS: Binance Coin (BNB), the crypto token that can be exchanged for transaction fees on the Binance exchange, is up more than 140 percent year-to-date and is now deviating from bitcoin's price trend. While most cryptocurrencies are highly correlated to bitcoin, BNB is charting its own course, for now at least, and is notably the only cryptocurrency out of the top 10 to post a yearly gain against the dollar. Full story BEST OF THE BEST FORTUNE: Facebook should pay users a “data dividend” in cryptocurrency, according to a piece in Fortune. With the firm said to be developing its own “Facebook Coin” and reportedly already in talks with exchanges to list the token, the social media giant could sidestep growing issues with regulators by rewarding users for their information. The move would also “spin the mounting momentum against [the firm] into a positive attribute,” the author says. THE REST BUSINESS WIRE: A Canadian court has for the first time used a bitcoin expert witness in a trial, according to Business Wire. CipherTrace CEO David Jevans testified last month at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in a case involving a man who allegedly purchased a handgun illegally and sold drugs for bitcoins on the dark web. FORBES: The team behind the cryptocurrency Zilliqa is partnering with King's College London's blockchain society for an education drive, writes Forbes. The university’s student-run group, KCL Blockchain, will host a series of workshops from Zilliqa, at which the crypto firm will provide its “Blockchain A-Z” program to all members for free. WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER Copyright © 2019 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