PRICE CHANGE WTD/YTD

- BTC ($6,825): +18% / +82%
- ETH ($184): +12% / +38%
- LTC ($84): +9% / +176%
- XRP ($0.31): +1% / -12%
- Crypto Market Cap ($206B): +12% / +64%
- BTC dominance: 59%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- Bitcoin surged to $7,445 this weekend, its highest level since August, as cryptocurrencies extended their rebound from a slump last month amid the New York attorney general's investigation into Bitfinex and Tether. On chain transactions for bitcoin have risen for 3 straight months, hitting highs not seen since April 2017. More than $139 billion worth of bitcoin moved on-chain last month, a total similar to June 2018 when the price of bitcoin was near $7,000. Bitcoin started the year at $4,000. Link. 

- Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by volume, had 7,000 BTC, valued at close to $41 million, stolen from its hot wallet in a single transaction. The company announced it was making significant changes to its API, 2FA, and withdrawal policies, which were exploited by hackers during the attack. The exchange has since suspended all withdrawals and deposits on its platform while it investigates. Link. 

- Balaji Srinivasan, founder of Earn.com and CTO of Coinbase, announced he was leaving the company one year and one day after Coinbase purchased Earn.com for $100 million in 2018. Under Srinivasan Coinbase launched a USDC stablecoin, onboarded additional tokens, and added services like staking. Link. 

- Fidelity Investments, which launched a crypto custodian service earlier this year, is expected to begin trading crypto on behalf of its large institutional clients within a few weeks. Brokerages E-Trade and Robinhood already offer crypto trading to clients, though those firms target retail investors. Link. 

- Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with cryptocurrency IOTA to add several crypto-related options to its cars. Drivers will be able to earn crypto by allowing the car to hand over driving data on things like road conditions, traffic congestion, or potholes to navigation providers or local authorities. These coins will be redeemable for things such as coffees, paying parking tickets, and electric car charging. Link. 

- Figure Technologies, a fintech blockchain startup founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, closed a $1 billion "uncommitted" line of credit on a blockchain from Jefferies and WSFS Bank. The company issues home equity lines of credit on its private blockchain, allowing all loans to be tracked end-to-end and providing the credit partners with full transparency into the underlying assets and real-time access to loan performance. Figure plans to securitize the loans, becoming the first asset-backed security transaction with loans originated on a blockchain platform. Link. 

- Mobile phone manufacturer HTC revealed it was releasing a low cost version of its blockchain phone, the EXODUS 1s, that would be capable of running a full bitcoin node, meaning customers can store the entire blockchain's data on their devices. The company is targeting a release by the end of Q3. Link. 

- Facebook has lifted some restrictions on cryptocurrency and blockchain-related advertisements, over a year after its outright ban. Ads involving blockchain tech, industry news, educational content or events will no longer require  prior written approval. Ads related to token sales or ICOs will remain banned. The announcement comes amid reports that Facebook is working on its own stablecoin. Link. 

- Christian Catalini is on leave from MIT and reportedly helping Facebook with its cryptocurrency efforts. Catalini has been one of the more prominent researchers working on the topic of token economies. Link. 

- Fintech startup Fluidity announced plans for the first ethereum-powered mortgages in California and New York beginning in the summer. These mortgages will use smart contracts and cryptocurrency for back-end management. Fluidity plans to offer cheaper rates than banks. Link. 

- Reinsurance giant Munich Re is providing $50 million of insurance coverage for crypto security company Curv. Specifically Munich Re is insuring Curv and its customers against external hacks and insider collusion. Customers can opt-in for the insurance by paying a slight premium on AUM stored with Curv. Link. 

- Bluewallet, one of the more popular lightning network wallets, launched a new app for Apple Watches to use the lightning network. The watch uses a QR code to  receive payments. Link. 

- Starbucks announced plans to track beans from "farm to cup" using a blockchain system. Starbucks is using Microsoft's Azure Blockchain Service to give consumers details on where the coffee was sourced and roasted, all from its mobile app. Link. 

- The Ethereum Foundation plans to spend $30 million on ecosystem development over  the next 12 months. Over the past year the foundation spent roughly $27 million on its grants program, which supports critical projects across the ethereum ecosystem. Link. 

- One single address on the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network has accounted for nearly half of all the 1.17 million transactions on the network in the past month. The address has been making consecutive trades since April 8, often for the same amount of 0.000000731 BCH. Since it began sending transactions it has sent a total of $19,298 and received a total of $20,461. Link. 

- Amazon is making its Amazon Managed Blockchain, a blockchain-as-a-service platform, available to the general public. The platform allows users to create their own blockchain network, add nodes, and deploy decentralized applications and smart contracts. The service is available under AWS. Microsoft Azure and Oracle, two of AWS' major competitors, have already launched their own blockchain services. Link. 

- WeChat, the dominant messaging app in China operated by Tencent, is banning merchants on its platform from engaging in any ICO activities or offering crypto trading. The policy will impact OTC traders in China who are using WeChat Pay as one of the options for transacting Chinese  Yuan. Link.