Crypto weekly is authored by maaria

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($6,374): -6% / -52%
- ETH ($451): -7% / -38%
- LTC ($78): -7% / -65%
- XRP ($0.45): -6% / -77%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- A Boston College study found that 56% of crypto startups that raise money through token sales die within four months of their ICOs. The researchers examined 2,390 ICOs and looked at the startups’ Twitter accounts to infer signs of life. Link.

- Coinbase announced it is exploring the addition of Cardano (ADA), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Zcash (ZEC), and 0x (ZRX) to its platform. BAT and ZRX would be the first ERC20 based tokens added to the platform. Link.

- Robinhood adds Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash to its Robinhood Crypto offering in select states. Robinhood Crypto is currently only available in 17 states. Link.

- Special counsel Robert Mueller filed an indictment against 12 Russians, accusing them of hacking the DNC and undermining Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The indictment notes that the alleged hackers paid for their activities with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Link.

- Palladium, a Malta-based blockchain company, launched the world’s first fully regulated Initial Convertible Coin Offering (ICCO). An ICCO is essentially a tokenized convertible warrant that gives investors the right to convert the tokens into shares of Palladium three years after the issue date. Palladium has a fundraising target of 150 million which will go towards building an exchange and purchasing a controlling interest in a European bank. Link.

- CBOE, the world's largest futures exchange, filed for a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC. The filing states that CBOE would invest in bitcoin for its customers and coordinate OTC trades. Last year the SEC cited lack of regulations and price manipulation to reject an ETF request from Gemini (the exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins). Link.

- Dirt Protocol raises $3 million to create a protocol for crowdsourcing trusted information, calling itself the “Wikipedia for structured data”. One key difference from Wiki though is that Dirt contributors need to stake tokens in order to contribute information, creating a platform that disincentives bad actors. Investors include General Catalyst, Greylock, Lightspeed, Pantera Capital, DCG, SV Angel, and Fred Ehrsam (cofounder of Coinbase). Link.

- A few weeks after the beta version of its mainnet went live, Tezos announced a new grant-making process to encourage community members to develop on its platform. Tezos raised $232 million in its ICO to build out a blockchain governance protocol. Link.

- Attackers used a compromised wallet to steal $23.5 million of crypto from decentralized exchange Bancor, including $12.5 million in ether. Link.

- MLB announces it is launching a crypto-based game where users can buy/sell/trade baseball avatars involving popular moments in baseball history. MLB is following in the footsteps of CryptoKitties, the collectibles platform where players can buy/trade cartoon kitten characters with ether. Link.

- Once tweeted as the “Uber for knowledge” by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Augur, a blockchain-based predictions platform is launching Monday. Open-sourced software Augur allows users to create and make bets on anything from Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign to when the first hurricane in 2019 will make landfall in the US. Augur hopes to lower fees and open the betting market to everyone. Link.

- The Bank of Canada found that the number of people in Canada who held Bitcoin rose from 2.9% in late 2016 to 5% in late 2017. One thing to note though: the survey was conducted in December 2017 around when the price of BTC hit a peak of nearly $20,000. Link.

- Opera, the Android browser, adds a crypto wallet to its mobile browser. The system is currently in beta and allows users to store/receive/send crypto and ERC20 tokens in their browser. The wallet is secured with the phone’s biometric security or passcode. The feature could allow for micropayment in the browser and paves the way for similar features in other browsers. Link.

- Google co-founder Sergey Brin said Google missed its chance to be at the forefront of blockchain technology. Brin, currently serving as president of Alphabet, suggested that blockchain is within the wheelhouse of X, the company’s semi-secret research division. Link.

- University researchers in China have filed a patent to use blockchain technology to protect cultural heritage. The system could store and share digital version of culturally important objects using blockchain. Link.

- Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen is investing in crypto. Cohen Private Ventures, which was launched by Cohen’s family office in 2010, invested in Autonomous Partners, a new hedge fund that is buying crypto and equity in blockchain-related companies. Autonomous Partners was launched in December by early crypto believer and venture capitalist Arianna Simpson, and has investors like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Union Square Ventures, and Craft Ventures. Link.