Crypto weekly is authored by maaria

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($6,135): -5% / -54%
- ETH ($450): -4% / -38%
- LTC ($80): -16% / -64%
- XRP ($0.47): -11% / -76%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Creditors of the defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox received a massive victory this week when the Mt. Gox trustee announced that a civil rehabilitation process would commence and those seeking to recoup funds from the exchange could see their money sometime in the next year. Mt. Gox was once the world’s largest exchange by trade volume before it dramatically collapsed in 2014, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. The document mentions that creditors seeking to regain their lost funds in bitcoin may receive pro rata distributions at more than $440 per bitcoin, the value of bitcoin at the time of the bankruptcy proceedings. Link.

- Litecoin price hit a seven month low as the crypto markets turned risk-averse after Bitcoin fell to near 2018 lows earlier in the week. Link.

- Walmart has been awarded a patent for a system that would store medical records on a blockchain from a wearable device. The system would allow medical professionals to retrieve medical data from a patient that is unable to communicate — the patient’s medical records would theoretically be stored on a blockchain, accessible by a device worn by the patient that first responders could access with an RFID scanner. Link.

- Singer Akon is planning to launch his own cryptocurrency, called Akoin. The singer is planning to set up a futuristic city near his birth place in Senegal, and Akoin will be its official currency. Link.

- StreetCred raises $1 million from Bowery Capital and Notation Capital to build a marketplace where users are rewarded for collecting location data on local businesses. Founder/CEO Randy Meech has been working in mapping for years, previously serving as the CTO at MapQuest and then CEO at Mapzen, an open-source mapping subsidiary of Samsung, which was shut down earlier this year. StreetCred is collecting data on the blockchain which means the data is decentralized and essentially cannot be shut down. Link.

- Coinbase has been the subject of many concerns recently, with the US SEC and California Department of Business Oversight reportedly receiving 134 pages of complaints from Coinbase users about their issues with the platform. The documents were obtained by Mashable following a 5-month FOIA process. Users complained about issues around accessing their funds or being locked out of their accounts. Coinbase’s user growth seems to be outpacing its resources — in October 2017 the company had 11.7 million users, up 148 percent from 4.7 million users the year before. Link.

- Entrepreneurs and developers behind four blockchain startups were named as 2018 Thiel Fellows. Recipients will each be given a $100,000 grant over the next two years to help them build their current and future projects. The four blockchain startups include Vest, Polkadot, MyCrypto, and Mechanism Labs. Link.

- The U.S. Senate is holding hearings to assess the impact of cryptocurrencies on American elections. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham will oversee the hearing. Though details on the hearing have not been released, it is expected that there will be a debate about donor cryptocurrency contributions to U.S. campaigns and how to avoid potential financial foreign interference in elections. Link.

- The South Korean government announced it would invest 10 billion Korean won ($9 million USD) to support blockchain development in the country, with plans to carry out six blockchain-based pilots in the public sector. The initial works will focus on livestock supply chain management, customs clearance, online voting, real estate transactions, cross border e-document distribution and shipping logistics. Link.

- Chief Strategy Officer Phil Potter of Bitfinex is resigning from the company, as Bitfinex strategically moves its focus away from the U.S.. Bitfinex is the 4th largest crypto exchange by trade volume. Potter referred to ‘new opportunities’ but did not elaborate to reporters. Link.

- Privacy oriented cryptocurrency zcash is about to undergo its first-eve hard fork. The update requires all users to switch to a new software, so that zcash blocks hold less metadata and the protocol can process transactions faster. Link.

- Quebec’s public power utility submits plan to parcel out 500 megawatts worth of power to crypto miners. Demand from crypto miners has been so high the utility is pushing for a quick resolution to the bid. The decision comes as governments and utility companies around the world must manage energy loads as more and more mining facilities are opening up. Link.

- Crypto startup Stellar is in talks to acquire Chain, the SF-based startup building blockchain technology for the financial industry. The sales price is estimated to be $500 million in Stellar’s digital currency Lumens. Chain previously raised more than $43 million in venture funding from investors including Khosla Ventures, RRE Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Blockchain Capital. Stellar was founded in 2014 by Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb. Link.