Crypto weekly is authored by maaria

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($7,382): -13% / -45%
- ETH ($573): -20% / -21%
- LTC ($119): -15% / -46%
- XRP ($0.61): -13% / -68%

TWEET OF THE WEEK: “If a person in the EU puts their name on the blockchain and later asks Satoshi to delete it, does everyone have to fork under GDPR?” - Ryan Hoover @rrhooverLink.

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary partnered with San Francisco-based cryptocurrency company Ripple to donate $4 million in XRP to Ellen Degeneres’s Wildlife Fund. Link.

- Four months after acquiring asset custodian Kingdom Trust, security firm BitGo has decided instead to build its own. BitGo announced it would no longer proceed with acquiring Kingdom Trust, after approval of the acquisition spent four months in regulatory limbo. Link.

- TruStory, a platform for users to research and validate claims that people make online, raises $3 million in an attempt to crack down on cryptocurrency frauds. While the platform will initially begin with the crypto market and claims being made in white papers and websites, ultimately the goal is to become a source of truth for all types of professional and personal claims. Founder Preethi Kasireddy was previously at Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase. Link.

- GDPR takes effect May 25 and European crypto companies are struggling to understand the implications. The blockchain could potentially store personal data – starting with one’s transaction history- and as such, could fall into the scope of GDPR. Some argue that blockchain allows users to control their personal data, and as such is in compliance with the spirit of GDPR. Link.

- MIT tested smart contracts on bitcoin’s lightning network, to show how the platform can be used to efficiently handle millions of transactions with high degrees of complexity. Smart contracts could add new functionality to bitcoin and new types of securities that could be traded/exchanged in the protocol. Link.

- The top 25 cryptocurrencies fell across the board, as bitcoin fell below $8,000 on May 22 for the first time since April 18. The only top-25 cryptocurrency to be up this week is TRON (creating a decentralized platform for content creators), which saw minor gains around positive news of its upcoming main net launch on May 31. The project also announced a partnership with vSport to develop a FIFA World Cup prediction platform which could have contributed to the gains. Link.

- TRON founder Justin Sun, is reportedly acquiring BitTorrent Inc, operator of torrent client uTorrent. Separately from the announcement and TRON cryptocurrency, BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen announced last fall his plans to create his own cryptocurrency, Chia, that would fix the ‘centralization’ problems of bitcoin. Link.

- Circle, a mobile-payments and cryptocurrency firm backed by Goldman Sachs, wants to become the go-to destination for first-time bitcoin buyers. It recently introduced a feature called “Buy the Market” which allows users to purchase all 7 of the digital coins offered on its platform at the same time. Circle recently announced a $110 million round led by Bitmain at a valuation around $3 billion. The company is looking to compete with existing platforms like Square, Robinhood, and Coinbase that make it easy for users to buy/sell cryptocurrencies. Link.

- Coinbase announced it was launching a new version of its GDAX platform called Coinbase Pro and that it was acquiring crypto trading relay platform Paradex. The new platform makes the trading experience easier and more intuitive, and offers streamlined access to historical data as well as a consolidated portfolio view. Coinbase Pro will enable users to trade hundreds of tokens directly from their wallets, including ERC-20 tokens. Though this service will be available to customers outside the U.S. initially, Coinbase will bring this service to the U.S. upon regulatory approval. Link.

- Cryptokitties is being sued for trade secret theft and violation of a non-disclosure agreement related to its recent deal with Stephen Curry on a digital Curry collectible trading card. Cryptokitties developer, Axiom Zen, has since taken down its collectible assets based on Curry. Link.

- American Express is piloting a program that will allow merchants to reward customers for purchasing specific items at their stores, starting with online merchant Boxed. Bonus rewards points will be offered to Boxed customers who buy Dove soap, Planters nuts, Cheerios cereal, and a handful of other items. AmEx is using technology developed by Hyperledger that enables AmEx and merchants to generate product-targeted offers while allowing the merchants to keep their own inventory management systems (no new systems/integration required). Link.

- Porn star Stormy Daniels partners with Vice Industry Token (VIT) to reward her site visitors for watching videos. Tokens earned can be used to access premium content or to purchase services at other sites supporting the token. The move comes a month after Pornhub announced it would accept the verge cryptocurrency for payments. Link.

- Just weeks after announcing its partnership with Pornhub, verge (XVG) saw over 55 million XVG’s being stolen/lost to miners as attackers exploited vulnerable code within the verge protocol. Verge has since begun working on an emergency hard fork to fix the issue. Meanwhile, users on Reddit continue to argue that verge code is still exploitable despite attempts at fixing it by the verge development team. Link.

- Walmart files for a patent on a blockchain ledger that could track items that stores sell to customers. This is the latest application in a slew of related applications that Walmart has filed in efforts to track food products. The proposed system would allow a customer to register the item after it is purchased and resell the product in a digital marketplace. Walmart’s distributed delivery record blockchain would be updated as transactions occurred, allowing it to follow products through their entire life cycle. Link.

- Transport and logistics company Maersk has begun using blockchain platform Insurwave, developed by EY, for maritime insurance. In its first year, Maersk will use Insurwave to manage 1,000 vessels and support over 500,000 digital ledger transactions. Link.

- Mobile banking app Revolut announces compatibility with Ripple’s XRP and bitcoin cash. Users are now able to exchange 25 supported fiat currencies for 5 cryptocurrency offerings, though they can’t send/receive cryptocurrencies from the app. The startup also announced a new feature called Vaults, which allows users to round up spare change and invest it over time. The U.K. based app provider raised a $66 million Series B last summer from investors like Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital. Link. Link.

- Tencent announces a partnership with the tax authority of the city of Shenzhen to use blockchain in the fight against tax evasion. The two groups have set up an Intelligent Tax Innovation Lab, which is working on a new digital invoice based on blockchain technology – a legally valid digital receipt that serves as proof of purchase for goods and service. The product will be based on Tencent’s blockchain platform which was announced in April. Link.

- VeChain, a Shanghai-based blockchain startup, is testing a blockchain application to verify wine supply chain and fight counterfeits in the $2.8 billion Chinese wine economy. By scanning a QR code, consumers will be able to obtain essential information about the wine, including winery details, grape variety, an 18-digit Chinese customs declaration number, and dates when a bottle was taken from storage and delivered for consumer purchase in Shanghai. A partner at VeChain commented, “The beauty of blockchain is that shoppers can see information about the whole life cycle of a bottle of wine from various sides, including vineyards, logistics, and retailers.” Link.

- The Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) issued a cease-and-desist order against cryptocurrency mining firm, Extrabit, to cease its token sale offering in the state. Extrabit is accused of making unrealistic promises to potential investors over likely returns, as well as offering an unregistered security. Extrabit claims to generate profits from mining bitcoin, cash and miners, and had promises of a 185 percent return on investment every quarter for investors who maintained a positive balance in their Extrabit wallet. Link.

- U.S. Transport giant Norfolk Southern Corp revealed it is joining the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), which was formed in 2017 to popularize and develop blockchain applications in the transport and logistics industry. To date, BiTA members include FedEx, Uber, UPS, and GE transportation, among others. Link.