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The Consensus Pump is back!
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Consensus Day 1 Recap
Crypto prices went a bit nuts over the weekend, and again today.
It looks like we’re now firmly in bull market territory, less than 25% away (at one point) from the *big* $10k psychological threshold.
Today may have been the first day of CoinDesk’s Consensus event in New York, but it’s day five for some of the most hardcore blockchain week revelers. (Fluidity Thurs, Ethereal Fri-Sat, Magical Crypto Conference Sat-Sun, and now the main event.)
There have been a TON of announcement so far, and we’re not even through the first full day of programming as of this writing.
Tops so far:
Ion, Microsoft's open source decentralized identify solution program, just launched, and they’re using the Bitcoin ($BTC) blockchain. The identity solution allows users to retain personal data while sharing it between different online sites. Facebook was asked to participate but declined. [And why would they, when the strategy is to engage in decentralization and privacy theater on a more…umm…proprietary basis.] According to Microsoft's Yorke Rhodes, Ion aligns with the software giant’s "philosophy of consumer ownership and consumer centricity."
Gemini has teamed up with Flexa to launch a real-time crypto payment system for consumers. Via Flexa's app “Spedn”, retailers like Crate & Barrel, Nordstroms, and Amazon's Whole Foods now accept crypto. Backend operations are facilitated by Gemini to convert funds in real-time with four cryptos available for use including Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), Bitcoin Cash ($BCH), and the Gemini Dollar ($GUSD). “The idea of living on crypto is now a reality," Gemini's Tyler Winklevoss said, "You can now do it."
Bitcoin ($BTC) Futures exchange Bakkt has announced its intention to launch a “user acceptance test” by July to begin customer onboarding and test its model, according to a Medium post by CEO Kelly Loeffler. Bakkt will roll out daily and monthly futures contracts margined by ICE Clear US, which will operate like existing gold, oil, or interest rate futures contracts. The futures exchange is also placing $35 million in the clearinghouse’s risk waterfall in what Loeffler describes as Bakkt's 'skin in the game.' An integrated custodian is in the works, yet still pending approval.
Esports betting site Unikrn has opened betting on Fortnite and Apex streams through different platforms, according to CoinDesk. Following a $10 million VC round led by Mark Cuban, Ashton Kutcher, and Binary Capital and a $40 million public token sale in 2017 for native token UniKoinGold, the betting site has opened bets for the two top streaming games. The site has 100,000 registered betters and 4 million visitors per month.
Polymath announced a new security token blockchain called Polymesh. Being built in the collaboration with Charles Hoskinson, the new blockchain will focus specifically on security tokens which Polymath co-founder Trevor Koverko believes will help spur adoption in the nascent space.
Securitize is open sourcing its code in partnership with tZERO. This will allow tZERO to list some tokens by Securitize on its alternative trading system.
Kadena is going to launch its new proof-of-work chain, Chainweb, in October. As a jumping off point Kadena revealed a partnership with USCF Investments, a commodities and alternative investments provider with $3 billion in AUM.
We’ll run free newsy editions this week, but our paying subscribers can expect the same high-quality premium posts starting again tomorrow.
-TBI
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Best of the Boards
This week we are switching things up and highlighting some of the best user generated boards from the past week. Build your own, tweet it, and tag us us for a chance to be featured next week!
Regulatory guidance notes - @b4tang
This board pulls together some important SEC and FinCEN guidance along with explanations from some of twitters most popular regulatory voices.
Binance Security Breach (May 7, 2019) - @mwill_crypto
Most likely the hottest topic in crypto over the past week, the Binance security breach, is covered in depth in this board with news, analysis, and price information.
300 Level Crypto Learning - @messaricrypto
A throwback to one of our first boards, 300 level crypto learning is a great guide to some more complex topics in crypto that everyone should know.
Did I miss something?
Send me the link, your twitter handle and your best imitation compression algorithm write up. If I like it, I’ll include your bit next issue (with attribution).
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