HOLIDAY NOTICE: Blockchain Bites will publish next on Monday, Jan. 6. Happy holidays to our readers from the staff at CoinDesk! ________________________________________________________
F*CKING BRILLIANT: In a 2019 review special, Charlie Shrem opens up to CoinDesk about his regrets over the years, how the crypto industry has changed since he got his start and why he will never stop loving it. “I’ve learned that the people in our space are fucking brilliant. We attract some of the smartest and coolest people I’ve ever met,” he said. Full interview
PAYMENTS POLICE: Blockstream’s c-Lightning team developed an enforcement layer to keep the peace among lightning network nodes. The new feature, Watchtowers, is likely to be implemented in the coming months. Full story
HOLIDAY GIFT: Blockchain-based payments firm Ripple has raised $200 million in a Series-C funding round led by alternative asset investment firm Tetragon. Japan's SBI Holdings and VC firm Route 66 Ventures also participated, Ripple said Friday. Full story
LEGAL WIN? Alleged BTC-e exchange operator and money launderer Alexander Vinnik will be extradited to France. The news was made public by the Russian embassy in Greece, the country in which he has been held since his arrest in July 2017. Full story
FRENCH VISA: France's financial regulator has approved an initial coin offering for the first time. The successful recipient of the "ICO visa" – a cryptocurrency fundraising platform called French-ICO – met the minimum guarantees required under a new legal framework passed earlier this year. Full story
BITCOIN BREAKDOWN: Bitcoin is on track to end 2019 on a positive note and significantly outperform traditional assets like gold and stocks. Currently trading at $7,125, representing a 93% gain on a year-to-date basis. Omkar Godbole breaks down the year’s price swings, what they mean, and puts them in context of the wider market. Full story
SANCTION COIN: On today's episode of the Markets Daily podcast, Adam B. Levine and Brad Keoun examine calls made by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for the Muslim world to develop a cryptocurrency to break U.S.-enforced sanctions. Listen in
Lightning towers