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https://www.coindesk.com/robinhood-raise-323-million-from-dst-sequoia-and-ribbit-capital-in-funding-round?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=coindesk&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Organic%20Robinhood, a trading platform for stocks and digital assets, announced a $323 million Series E according to a Reuters’ report. DST Global, a prominent investor in internet startups led the financing round along with crypto-notables Ribbit Capital and Sequoia. According to Reuters, the company will direct the capital towards expanding the business and offering new financial services. “We’ll use the funding to keep pursuing our mission of democratizing finance for all,” a Robinhood representative wrote in a statement. Since offering crypto assets beginning in January 2018, the Silicon Valley-based startup has rolled out a number of coins and crypto-related trading features. In May, Robinhood launched cryptocurrency trading for seven assets including bitcoin and ethereum in New York. Notably, the firm added ethereum classic trading one day ahead of Coinbase in August 2018. It offers crypto trading in bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, ethereum classic, litecoin, and dogecoin to 20 states. Nearly a year ago, in September, Robinhood started the IPO process in motion. CEO Baiju Bhatt said at the time, “Being a public company I think aligns very closely with our mission as well. And it’s definitely on the horizon, not in the immediate term, but that’s something we are thinking about.” The platform has gained popularity through offering commission-free trades. It is also looking to add cash management services. Robinhood’s total valuation topped $7.6 billion with this latest round, which also saw participation from Thrive Capital and NEA.
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https://quotes.cointelegraph.com = explains country status, sounds like Pres. of Brazil is lying World Leaders from these countries speak about BITCOIN:Brazil = "I do not know what bitcoin is." US = "I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity..." China = "A new generation of technology represented by artificial intelligence, quantum information, mobile communications, internet of things and blockchain is accelerating breakthrough applications." Russia = "Federal laws [are] aimed at the development of the digital economy, including determining the procedure for conducting civil law transactions in electronic form, as well as regulating digital financial assets and attracting financial resources using digital technologies. Deadline — July 1, 2019."
South Africa = "To ensure that we effectively and with greater urgency harness technological change in pursuit of inclusive growth and social development, I have appointed a Presidential Commission on the 4th Industrial Revolution." France = "Let’s do this in Europe, [be at the] the vanguard of agricultural data by developing tools that will track every product from raw material production to packaging and processing." India = "The government does not consider cryptocurrencies as legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate [the] use of these cryptoassets in financing illegitimate activities, or as part of the payment system." Japan = "In addition to the financial effects, we see that blockchain has the potential to make various industries safer and more efficient. Certain local venture companies are utilizing the ‘sandbox system,’ and are striving to be the world’s first business model to enhance the liquidity of digital assets." Malta = "We will now be showing people the added value of [blockchain] technology [by] applying it to something which they will use in their daily lives. This shows how the digital transformation will affect their lives." Ukraine = "You may say that I'm a naive dreamer, but we really want to build a country inside a smartphone, a government inside a smartphone. […] Innovations make all the processes transparent and efficient and deprive corrupt officials of their livelihoods. Would a spetsnaz blackmail you to seize documents if these documents were digitalized? Would another raider change the owner’s name in cadastre records if it were a blockchain records?" Albania = "As part of our effort to open up new markets and create new opportunities for well-paid jobs and qualified people […] we [have been] exploring the possibility of setting up a regulatory framework on cryptocurrency which is a shocking novelty nowadays and where the opportunity to be innovative and set up a center of gravity for innovative financial markets is open for every country despite their level of development." Belarus = "Wait, we’ll build a nuclear power plant and will have excess of electricity… I’ve left some room there. We’ll build farms and we’ll be mining these bitcoins and selling them. Moreover, they say when there is a bitcoin, there is no problem to sell it."
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https://www.badlefthook.com/2019/7/17/20697963/dillian-whyte-oscar-rivas-winner-interim-wbc-title-deontay-wilder-fight-june-2020This Saturday’s London tussle between Dillian Whyte and Oscar Rivas will, as expected, have both the WBC interim heavyweight title and a future crack at champion Deontay Wilder on the line. https://twitter.com/SkySportsBoxing/status/1151498764160516096As Hearn mentions, though the WBC mandates that Wilder face the winner by the end of May 2020, there’s a bit of a timing issue. “The Bronze Bomber” presently has his eyes on rematches with Luis Ortiz and Tyson Fury, the former of which is looking more likely for November than the original planned date of September 28th. Two fights in six months isn’t unreasonable, all things considered, but this is the modern age of boxing. In any event, Whyte (25-1, 18 KO) is probably the most interesting Wilder foe to not hold a belt at the moment, so I’d be perfectly fine watching the two go at it, and if Rivas (26-0, 18 KO) pulls off the upset, then I’d say he’s earned hsi shot. Whyte -460 Rivas +350
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Coinbase Announces Three Data-Based Trading Signals for Usershttps://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-announces-three-data-based-trading-signals-for-usersAmerican cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service Coinbase announced that it has released aggregated data in the form of three trading signals to its customers. Coinbase announced the new offerings in an official blog post on July 17. The three trading signals that are being offered are top holder activity, typical hold time and popularity, and price correlation. The purported aim of each of these offerings is to allow investors to create more informed trading strategies, by means of insights that go beyond raw price metrics.The typical hold time signal, for instance, tracks the median number of days that a given asset is held before it is moved via a new transaction. Asset popularity, in the same category, tracks how many users hold a given cryptocurrency. These metrics purport to allow investors to better understand user behavior, in an aggregate and anonymous form. According to the announcement, these new insights are “the first of their kind in crypto.” Coinbase also notes that the metrics will be offered alongside traditional market data, which it has already been providing. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Coinbase released a report on digital currency adoption and awareness trends in the U.S. on June 28. Coinbase drew on data from a survey that collected responses from 2,000 participants this year. Of those surveyed, 58% of Americans said that they had heard of Bitcoin.
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https://cointelegraph.com/news/canadian-town-says-yes-to-accepting-bitcoin-for-property-taxesCanadian crypto solutions provider and trading platform operator Coinberry has struck its second municipal partnership to provide Bitcoin payments processing for property taxes. A press release published on July 15 revealed that Coinberry has begun negotiations with the City of Richmond Hill in the Greater Toronto Area after the Council voted on July 10 in favor of cementing an agreement with Coinberry to support Bitcoin (BTC) property tax payments for residents and firms in its jurisdiction. The partnership represents Coinberry’s second municipal foray in less than six months, with the firm previously having implemented a crypto payments service with the Town of Innisfil, also in the Greater Toronto Area. Coinberry is a Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)-registered firm and has been converting multiple cryptocurrencies into Canadian dollars to settle property tax payments with Innisfil, meaning that the municipality itself does not hold crypto directly. The same solution will presumably be implemented in Richmond Hill. Once negotiations have been finalized, City of Richmond Hill municipal staff are expected to report back on the likelihood they will be able to implement Coinberry’s technology for additional payments of other City fees and broaden services as soon as September 30. According to the press release, the Council’s affirmative vote in favor of crypto payments means that the City of Richmond Hill’s City Manager is legally authorized to enter into a contract with Coinberry as soon as negotiations are complete. In a statement, the municipality’s deputy mayor Joe di Paola indicated that: "We believe that the demand for a digital currency payment option is only going to grow in the coming years, especially amongst millennials. Our Council was aware of Coinberry's successful implementation of a digital currency payment service with the Town of Innisfil, and since there was no cost and no risk to [...] do the same, it made the decision that much easier for us." As previously reported, In the United States, the state of Ohio became the first to authorize businesses to pay taxes using Bitcoin. Businesses are allowed to pay 23 different taxes using the crypto through an online portal that was established by the state treasury office. This March, Cointelegraph reported that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was allegedly auditing cryptocurrency investors and asking them to clarify multiple points, including how and through whom they purchased the assets and whether they use cryptomixing services or tumblers.
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https://www.coindesk.com/fed-chairman-jerome-powell-compares-bitcoin-to-gold?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=coindesk&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Organic%20Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he can envision a return to an era where multiple currencies are in use in the United States. During Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Facebook’s planned Libra cryptocurrency, he said: “The size of Facebook’s network means it could be, essentially, immediately systemically important.” Though the initiative raised “a lot of serious concerns,” including privacy, money laundering, consumer protection, and financial stability, he began to speak favorably about other cryptocurrencies. “Almost no one uses bitcoin for payments, they use it more as an alternative to gold,” he said Thursday afternoon. “It’s a speculative store of value.”
Powell has stated in the past that the United States should not return to the gold standard. Some took the statement as referring to a call to “drop gold, buy bitcoin.”
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https://www.coindesk.com/japanese-exchange-bitpoint-hacked-by-32-million-worth-in-cryptocurrencies?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=coindesk&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Organic%20Bitpoint, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange based in Japan, has been hacked for $32 million in crypto assets. According to a CoinDesk Japan report on Friday, Bitpoint halted all services including trading, deposit and withdrawal of all crypto assets on Friday morning after it noticed irregular withdrawal from its hot wallet on Thursday. It is not yet clear at this stage which types of assets were lost, the exchange offered trading for five cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether, litecoin and XRP. The exchange’s parent company Remixpoint Inc. said in an announcement that $23 million of the illegal outflow belonged to its customers. The news marks the latest breach of a Japanese exchange. In September 2018, Zaif, also a licensed exchange under the Japanese Financial Services Agency, was hacked for $60 million worth of cryptocurrencies. Earlier last year, Coincheck was also breached, resulting in more than $520 million worth of cryptocurrencies being stolen.
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https://www.coindesk.com/turkeys-new-economic-roadmap-calls-for-central-bank-cryptocurrency?hootPostID=5108aecb2d7aa63c06b2980f5d7933a7An economic road map unveiled by the government of Turkey this week includes several items related to blockchain, including a bid to create a central bank digital currency based on the technology.The Eleventh Development Plan, published on the government’s official website, was submitted to the Turkish Parliament on July 8, according to regional reports. It covers the period between 2019 and 2023, and is broadly intended to serve as a guiding point for improving Turkey’s economy. The wide-ranging plan covers an array of subjects, but notably states that a “blockchain-based digital central bank money will be implemented,” according to a translation. The document also indicates that legal and technology infrastructure will be fostered by the government in an effort to utilize blockchain for “transport and customs” purposes. Additionally, blockchain is mentioned as one of a number of new approaches, including artificial intelligence and connected devices — also known as the Internet of Things — that will be used to enhance public services. In this latter case, it’s not clear at this time how blockchain will be utilized. Few details of the proposed cryptocurrency are known, but the country has been entertaining the idea of a national digital asset, Turkcoin, since at least early 2018. According to reports at the time, the idea was pitched by lawmaker Ahmet Kenan Tanrikulu, the deputy chair of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party and the country’s former Industry Minister. The news that the central bank of Turkey will develop a blockchain-based currency comes days after Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, fired its governor, Murat Cetinkaya. According to the Financial Times, Erdogan said this week that the central bank will provide a greater degree of support to the economy. Other elements of the Eleventh Development Plan, while not directly related to cryptocurrency and blockchain, could ultimately impact businesses working in those areas. For example, the government plans to introduce a Regulatory Experiment Area, an Association of Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions, and the Istanbul Finance and Technology Base. Turkish banks have long partnered with crypto exchanges, though these institutions often impose strict listing and on-boarding policies.
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A Partner at Binance Labs Expresses Optimism Over Facebook’s Entry Into Crypto With Librahttps://cointelegraph.com/news/a-partner-at-binance-labs-expresses-optimism-over-facebooks-entry-into-crypto-with-libraSpeaking to Cointelegraph at Blockchain Week Rome, Teck Chei, partner at Binance Labs, said that he sees Facebook’s Libra Project at a step forward for crypto and increasing public awareness. In Chei’s own words: “I think having a company like Facebook, with such tremendous reach and distribution, into all different countries around the world – having them be interested in cryptocurrency and launching one is a very very positive thing for our industry. It brings a ton of awareness to people who have never heard of cryptocurrency.” Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world at present. Binance Labs are the company’s venture arm. Regarding concerns over Facebook’s use of crypto representing a step towards centralization, Chei remarked that they are one of 100 founders of Project Libra. Binance and Facebook will be able to work together, Chei predicted: “We naturally will engage with Facebook to kind of see how we can help advance the industry together.” Facebook’s Libra project has been subject to no small amount of criticism, both from governments suspicious of Facebook’s data use and from die-hard crypto followers concerned about centralization. In the United States, Libra will be the subject of Congressional hearings in July over concerns that Libra cryptocurrency will pose a threat to security. After briefings on the subject last week, Representative Emanuel Cleaver II reportedly commented that “We’ve seen the significant damage that foreign adversaries and bad actors have wrought on our democracy through Facebook’s platform, and that was simply through messaging and advertising.” Chei’s commentary comes on the heels of Gin Chao’s statement that Binance was engaged in official discussions with Facebook, as Cointelegraph reported on June 28. Chao said that Binance was “looking forward to working with libra as much as we can.” Earlier in June, Binance announced that the exchange would stop serving clients based in the United States in September as they configure a U.S.-dedicated platform.
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https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-25/there-are-now-more-5000-bitcoin-atms-around-worldAccording to the latest statistics, there are now 5,006 standalone BTMs in around 90 countries, where cryptocurrency users can buy or sell bitcoin (BTC). Some machines offer both services simultaneously. The data caps a protracted period of growth in the BTM sector, with the U.S. leading the trend as more and more locations and formats appear. As Cointelegraph reported, in 2019, it is not just the ‘classic’ BTM model which is expanding, but other methods of procuring BTC. A deal earlier in the year involving coin counting kiosk operator Coinstar brought bitcoin functionality to over 2,200 U.S. locations. The U.S. currently has more than half of the world’s BTMs at 3,229, with a new pilot scheme this month bringing the machines to Circle K convenience stores in Arizona and Nevada. “We are thrilled to be partnering with a respected organization like Circle K,” Marc Grens, president and co-founder of cryptocurrency provider DigitalMint said in a press release issued June 20. “This partnership opens the door for massive expansion of Bitcoin access to new markets around the globe.” Increasing competition in the BTM market is likely to reduce the fees charged to users, which tend to be noticeably higher than online alternatives. Other in-person options, such as buying vouchers, are also gaining popularity with users keen on avoiding burdensome identity requirements.
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https://www.coindesk.com/square-is-expanding-access-to-bitcoin-deposits-for-cash-app-users?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=coindesk&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Organic%20Payments company Square is rolling out bitcoin deposits for its mobile Cash App. The app, available on both Android and iOS, now supports deposits for at least some users, according to Twitter posts by bitcoiners and a check by a CoinDesk reporter of his own Square account Tuesday. Previously, users could purchase or sell bitcoin, as well as transfer the cryptocurrency to another wallet. Square first began allowing select Cash App users to purchase and sell bitcoin in November 2017, announcing a few months later that it would roll that feature out to all users. It is unclear how long Square has been adding the deposit feature; as of press time, not every Cash App user had the ability to deposit bitcoin. Podcaster Marty Bent tweeted a screenshot indicating he could accept deposits on June 18, suggesting that the company may be releasing this feature to a select audience in advance of a full lunch. According to a support page on Square’s website, “support for bitcoin deposits to third-party wallets is coming soon.” “In the meantime, you can transfer profits from selling bitcoin to any bank account or debit card linked to your Cash App,” the page says. The company itself has been investing heavily into bitcoin and its ecosystem, bringing in $65.5 million in revenue through the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap in the first quarter of 2019 alone (though the actual profit was a more modest $832,000). Square Crypto, the company’s new bitcoin-focused arm, is also hiring developers to specifically develop tools for the bitcoin blockchain. Former Google director Steve Lee was recently named as the first new hire for this team, though his role has not yet been specified. Square CEO Jack Dorsey – who also founded the social media giant Twitter – has long been a proponent of the cryptocurrency, having said in the past that he expects it to become the world’s currency.
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https://www.coindesk.com/fatf-crypto-travel-ruleA powerful intergovernmental organization devoted to combating money laundering and terrorism financing has finalized its recommendations on regulating cryptocurrencies for its 37 member countries.As expected, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards released Friday include a controversial requirement that “virtual asset service providers” (VASPs), including crypto exchanges, pass information about their customers to one another when transferring funds between firms.The final recommendation makes official the contentious part of FATF’s February proposal, saying countries should make sure that when sending money, businesses should: “… obtain and hold required and accurate originator [sender] information and required beneficiary [receipient] information and submit the information to beneficiary institutions … if any. Further, countries should ensure that beneficiary institutions … obtain and hold required (not necessarily accurate) originator information and required and accurate beneficiary information …” Under the new guidance published, the required information for each transfer includes: (i) originator’s name (i.e., the sending customer); (ii) originator’s account number where such an account is used to process the transaction (e.g., the VA wallet); (iii) originator’s physical (geographical) address, or national identity number, or customer identification number (i.e., not a transaction number) that uniquely identifies the originator to the ordering institution, or date and place of birth; (iv) beneficiary’s name; and (v) beneficiary account number where such an account is used to process the transaction (e.g., the VA wallet). Calling the “threat of criminal and terrorist misuse of virtual assets” a “serious and urgent,” FATF says it will give countries 12 months to abide by the guidelines, with a review set for June 2020. The so-called travel rule is a longstanding requirement for international banks when sending each other money on customers’ behalf. But blockchain industry advocates argued it would be onerous if not impossible to put into practice with crypto, harmful to user privacy, and counter-productive to law enforcement goals. Data analytics company Chainalysis, for example, has warned that instead of more transparency, the rule would spur services to shut down or drop off the radar. But despite hearing such concerns at a private-sector consultation meeting in Vienna last month, which drew 300 attendees, the FATF, led by the United States, pressed ahead. To be clear: FATF’s recommendations for anti-money-laundering policies are not binding; member countries adopt them by passing legislation or writing regulations. However, countries that fall egregiously out of compliance with FATF standards get put on a blacklist, making them radioactive to foreign investment. The crypto guidelines come a week ahead of the annual Group of 20 (G20) summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28-29. The G20, comprised of 19 countries and the European Union, has been pushing for international harmonization of crypto regulations. The guidelines also come just before the United States’ one-year presidency of the FATF ends on June 30. Marshall Billingslea, the U.S. Treasury official who holds the rotating post, had listed applying FATF standards to virtual currency among his top priorities. Just when we thought it was safe to store our crypto coins in other countries- now FATF wants to make it all transparent. This means I will be using my exchanges much less going forward.
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 https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/27007778/nba-launch-virtual-sports-betting-gameNBA to launch virtual sports betting gameA virtual sports betting game featuring NBA highlights and footage will debut next season in U.S. and European gaming and lottery markets, the league and NBPA announced Wednesday. "NBA Last 90" will drop contestants into the final 90 seconds of a simulated matchup between two NBA teams and offer wagering propositions on what transpires during the ending of a fictitious game. NBA partner Highlight Games Limited, a specialist games supplier, stiches together highlights from recent seasons to tell a story of what plays out during the 90 seconds. Contestants will be able to wager on several outcomes, including which team will win, who will score on the first possession and the total points scored by both teams. A random number generator, similar to what's used in slot machines, will determine the outcomes. Betting on virtual sports is new to the growing U.S. sports betting landscape, but it's already established in European markets. In the United Kingdom, £771.4 million was bet on virtual sports from April 2017 to May 2018, according to the U.K. Gambling Commission. That's three times as much as was wagered on golf during that time period in the U.K. “NBA Last 90” will drop contestants into the final 90 seconds of a simulated matchup between two NBA teams and offer wagering propositions on what transpires during the ending of a fictitious game. NBA The interest in virtual betting in Europe caught the NBA's eye, said Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA's head of fantasy and gaming. "We've been looking at this the past couple years and were really surprised to see how popular this was," Kaufman-Ross told ESPN. "In Europe, we're especially excited about using virtual as another way to engage with our fans with alternative content, especially given the time-zone challenges we have in the region." The NBA will become the first major U.S. sports league to enter the virtual sports betting market, as it continues to look for ways to embrace and profit from the gaming industry. "We are extremely excited about this partnership and the potential future opportunities for our players in the virtual gaming space," Josh Goodstadt, executive vice president of licensing for THINK450, the commercial arm of the NBPA, said in a release announcing the virtual betting game. "We look forward to working with the NBA and Highlight Games to create a unique gaming experience that will help to grow the popularity of the players and the league worldwide." In July 2016, bookmaker William Hill U.S. launched virtual horse racing in Nevada. New Jersey and Pennsylvania also allow betting on virtual events, but it has yet to catch on in the U.S. Virtual horse racing is available at 19 William Hill sportsbooks in Nevada. Horse racing is believed to be the most popular sport for virtual betting in the U.K., although there are also multiple virtual games for soccer, including Highlight Games' SOCCERBET. Now, the U.K. company hopes to find success with the NBA. "Highlight Games has an ambitious strategy to enter the nascent US sports betting and virtual sports market, and this collaboration is the first important step on that journey," Highlight Games CEO Tim Green said in the release. "NBA Last 90 features real NBA stars and real NBA highlights, differentiating it from any other virtual sports product on the market. We're confident that players around the world will be instantly engaged with NBA Last 90." Virtual sports  |
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 https://www.coindesk.com/senate-banking-committee-schedules-july-hearing-on-facebooks-libra-crypto?hootPostID=25d03d46c4e29e50ad6c460c1f252edcThe U.S. Senate Committee on on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing on July 16 regarding Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, Libra.The hearing, “Examining Facebook’s Proposed Digital Currency and Data Privacy Considerations,” comes in the wake of calls from members of Congress to more closely examine Libra and its potential risks. There have even been calls to halt work on the project until hearings are held. In light of those comments, a Facebook representative said that “we look forward to responding to lawmakers’ questions as this process moves forward.” The July 16 meeting will be held at 10 a.m. EST, and as of yet, no information about witnesses has been released. The hearing will be broadcast to the public. It was the Banking Committee that wrote an open letter to Facebook last month seeking answers about its work on Libra, including how it works and to what extent the social media giant has sought input from regulators and market watchdogs. As of this week, Facebook hadn’t directly responded to that letter, with a representative telling CoinDesk that “we received the letter and are addressing the senators’ questions.” After today’s hearing news broke, committee member and 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted that “Facebook has too much power and a terrible track record when it comes to protecting our private information. We need to hold them accountable—not give them the chance to access even more user data. #BreakUpBigTech.” US government says 'not so fast Zuck' |
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 https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-surpasses-1-million-daily-active-addresses-again?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=coindesk&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Organic%20Bitcoin just passed an interesting milestone today, one we haven’t seen since November 27, 2017. According to CoinMetrics.io, there are now over a million daily active addresses, a number that is defined as the number of unique “from” or “to” addresses used per day.
When Bitcoin first broke 1 million active addresses (Nov 27, 2017), 1 BTC was $9,352 and the median tx fee was $3.23. Yesterday 1 BTC was $8,230 and the median tx fee was $1.33. While DAA doesn’t mean much in practice, it’s an important metric in that it shows actual, unique transfers separate from the various direct transfers to and from bigger exchanges. The fact that there are over a million unique addresses transacting on the blockchain is, as they say, good for bitcoin. When Bitcoin first broke 1 million active addresses (Nov 27, 2017), 1 BTC was $9,352 and the median tx fee was $3.23. Yesterday 1 BTC was $8,230 and the median tx fee was $1.33. — Kevin Rooke (@kerooke) June 15, 2019 To put this number in perspective, however, we can point to Uber’s estimated 14 million rides per day or the estimated 798,877 iPhones a day Apple sold in 2017. While these are Apples to oranges comparisons, it is interesting to note that bitcoin is doing the transaction volume of some of the biggest brands in the world. |
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 https://www.coindesk.com/jack-dorsey-hints-at-how-square-crypto-may-help-with-bitcoin-development?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=coindesk&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Organic%20After revealing that his payments firm Square is building a small team to help with bitcoin and cryptocurrency development back in March, CEO Jack Dorsey has revealed more details about the project – even though it’s still early days. In an interview with The Next Web, Dorsey, who is also CEO of Twitter, confirmed that he’d recently hired former Google director Steve Lee to lead the team. Dorsey said that he’d interviewed “tens of candidates” for the post before arriving at Lee as his choice. The new hire will take responsibility for building the remainder of the team, as well as defining its future path, he said. Square is currently eyeing a maximum of five engineers and one designer, who will likely work on a single project rather than many. That’s because Dorsey aims to “make some step changes to various aspects of the ecosystem, versus an iteration,” he said. While one would expect devs, the choice of a designer comes as something of a surprise in such a early stage project. Dorsey put this down to the need for the need to make cryptocurrencies more accessible, as well as providing education on the technology. Joking that the team doesn’t want any “jerks,” Dorsey also said that it’s important any candidates must have good technical abilities. “We want to see significant open-source contributions to various projects. Bitcoin Core is a great example of that, but there’s others, too,” he said. As for its particular role in the crypto ecosystem, he explained that Square Crypto might conduct “grungy, but meaningful” code reviews in order to speed up development. While there are plenty of devs helping out on cryptocurrency projects, few are working on checking the correctness of the code, Dorsey said – changing that could give a “huge boost” to the space. Outside that, there’s need for work to improve efficiency and security. “There’s still a number of big flaws within the Bitcoin community right now,” Dorsey told TNW. The CEO also indicated that he wants to keep the role of Square in the mechanics of the team to a minimum, ruling out cheap stock options in favor of optional bitcoin salaries in order to build a desire to better “serve the community.” The work carried out by the team should also be open to the public. While it’s not set in stone yet, Dorsey suggested Square Crypto could operate like a traditional open-source project. Aside from the more general development work of the crypto team, Square is eyeing bitcoin technology in its products too. Back in February, Dorsey announced during an interview with podcaster Stephan Livera that there are plans to integrate the lightning network – a still early-stage bitcoin payments tech – with Square’s Cash app. |
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