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Today’s newsletter is packed full of content that is going to keep you busy all weekend. Before you skip to the Weekend Reads make sure you check out Circle Research’s monster 81 page Q2 report. As always, the team comes up with some good insights and great looking charts (many of which feature Messari data).
Want to get access to all of our advanced data, tools, and research? Hit that subscribe button and join us today.
Community updates:
Over the last few weeks our community analysts have been hard at work building out the “Investopedia” of crypto. More than 80 pages have been completed with many with additional boards to take your learning to the next level.
Check out some of this weeks additions like UTXO, SHA-256, and Lockdrop.
The contributions are only picking up, so expect to seem more in the future. We have big things in store for our analysts, and are excited for what’s to come! If you’re interested in joining email jack@messari.io with some examples of work you’ve written.
Registry updates:
Across projects on the Messari Registry there were a few significant updates this week. Check them out on our weekly updates board and remember to create and share your own boards for a chance to be featured in Monday’s newsletter.
Now, onto our weekend reads.
Messari’s weekend reads:
Vision Hill active crypto indices - Vision Hill
Rise of the new crypto mafia - Ash Egan
Part l: A history of Visa - Mine Safety Disclosures
Decentralized money - Zooko
Clock's ticking on one of world's most important nuclear treaties. A dangerous arms race may be next - Eliza Mackintosh
The Fed's Formative Years - David C. Wheelock
Ethereum: The Digital Finance Stack - David Hoffman
It’s the settlement assurances, stupid - Nic Carter
Have a good weekend y’all.
- The Messari Team
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Messari Compression Algorithm
Content and thoughts from around the web as summarized by the Messari team.
⏱[Messari Research] Settlement time of major PoW coins (July 2019)
Transaction speed could be one of the most misunderstood metrics in crypto. In Bitcoin it takes an average of 10 minutes for a transaction to be placed in a block, while Ethereum takes ~14 seconds. However, just because it is placed in a block doesn't mean it is final since they can be reverted.
Determining if a block is "settled" is subjective since its finality is probabilistic, but we can say define settled as having a fixed amount of security spend (as measured by revenue to miners). Using this methodology it is evident that Bitcoin has the fastest settlement time compared to all major PoW tokens.
Quick Bits (Don't read that, I read it for you)
Choke Points (Exchange News)
🇻🇪According to an investigative report from Spanish newspaper ABC, the Maduro administration in Venezuela may be using cryptocurrencies to avoid economic sanctions. The report outlines a scheme where airport tax revenue was converted into bitcoin ($BTC) and other cryptocurrencies before being transferred to exchanges in Hong Kong, Hungary, Russia and China. Once outside the country the assets were allegedly converted and sent back to Venezuela. (share or read more)
♎️ Monex Group, the Japan-based online brokerage firm that also owns cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, has submitted an application to join Facebook’s Libra project. Monex's application was announced by Monex president Oki Matsumoto at a meeting, according to reporting by Reuters Japan on Friday. The Libra Association will reportedly be reviewing the group’s application around the end of September. (share or read more)
Startup Signals (ICOs, Cryptos, and Startups)
🏬 After their peer-review process for governance, Storecoin is announcing "Phase 2" of the governance infrastructure development as Storecoin Discourse, a community project that Storecoin descibes as "actively cultivate[d] the space as a forum for discussing the most interesting content and news surrounding crypto governance not only with regard to Storecoin but beyond." (share or read more)
🍭 Lolli, a Bitcoin rewards shopping app, has partnered with Safeway, a major American grocery chain, to give customers 3.5% back in Bitcoin on all their purchases. According to a blog post announcing the new partnership on Thursday, Safeway – and Albertsons Companies’ subsidiary – operates 894 locations across 17 American states. (share or read more)
The Powers That Be (Legal/Reg/Policy)
💸 Jon Barry Thompson, principal of cryptocurrency escrow firm Volantis Escrow Platform, has been charged with charged with fraud in New York. Thompson is accused of taking over $7 million from clients and falsely claiming he had purchased bitcoin with the money and that Volantis acted as a custodian so there was "no risk of default." (share or read more)
🍹According to Quartz, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the team behind Long Island Iced Tea. According to a search warrant request, first reported by Quartz, the FBI is seeking to gain access to encrypted messages held on a phone seized in a different case involving securities fraud at another firm, Kelvin Medical. (share or read more)
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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