Code storage

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April 1, 2020 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) Quarterly results/Yearly predictions Bitcoin ended the first quarter of 2020 down from the start of the year, but not as badly as the record-setting losses suffered by global equities. Bitcoin, the market bellwether, was down just 10 percent for 2020’s first three months, compared to 20 percent losses in the Nikkei 225, 14 percent for FTSE, and an 18 percent drop for the S&P 500, its worst quarter since 1938.  While many analysts are predicting a bitcoin bull run, the options market sees a very low probability of the cryptocurrency hitting a new record high by December. The options market shows just a 4 percent chance of bitcoin crossing above $20,000 before year’s end, according to data provided by the crypto analytics firm Skew. The probability of bitcoin ending the year above $10,000 is 16 percent while the odds of prices challenging the June 2019 high of $13,880 by December are 8 to 10 percent, the data shows.  Market research In May of 2020, bitcoin is expected to undergo its third “halving,” a programmed supply reduction that has in the past coincided with a strong run-up in the bitcoin price. In this paper, we explain what the bitcoin halving is, why it matters and why the market is so focused on this event.   Carter on COVID-19 calamity Castle Island Ventures and Coin Metrics co-founder Nic Carter joins Nathaniel Whittemore to discuss cascading crises, crypto dollarization and the state of the bitcoin narrative. Or in Carter’s words, “why I'm feeling fired up, why this is a geopolitical crisis as much as an economic one, and why I'm so obsessed with dollarization these days.”    WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER   Copyright © 2020 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