Crypto weekly is authored by maaria

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($7,420): +16% / -44%
- ETH ($465): +3% / -36%
- LTC ($84): +8% / -62%
- XRP ($0.45): 0% / -77%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Cryptocurrencies rebounded this week as Bitcoin traded above $7,500 for the first time in a month, pushing past the security and regulatory concerns that have plagued the market for much of this year. Bitcoin bulls attribute the gains to the CFA Institute announcing it would add blockchain and crypto to its curriculum and recent reports that BlackRock has formed a team to investigate ways to use crypto and blockchain. Link.

- 5 major crypto innovators clinched four spots on Fortune’s “40 Under 40” annual rankings for the most powerful young disruptors in global business. The list includes Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin (24), Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong (34), Russian developer who founded Telegram Pavel Durov (33), and Robinhood co-CEOS Vlad Tenev (31) and Baiji Bhatt (33). Link.

- Robinhood has added support for Dogecoin on the Robinhood crypto platform. DOGE started as a parody on a dog meme based on a real Japanese Shiba Inu named Kabosu. DOGE was introduced in December 2013 and currently has a market cap of $331 million. Link.

- During testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the estimated $295 billion cryptocurrency market isn’t big enough to pose a threat, and that the US central bank is not looking to regulate it. Link.

- Crypto exchange Coinbase has formed a Political Action Committee (PAC), though it has yet to raise or donate any money. PACs are formed primarily to raise funds on behalf of candidates running for public office, usually representing specific business or ideological interests. According to government filings, the PAC is not currently attached to any specific candidate running for public office. Link.

- China’s crypto millionaires are using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to buy real estate abroad. In particular the US and the UK are the most sought-after locations for real estate, especially fintech hubs like London or the Bay Area. In one case, a beef salesman turned early bitcoin adopter from China’s Shanxi province, sold 500 bitcoin in the US and then used that money to buy a 100,000 square foot mansion in Los Gatos, a 90-minute drive from San Francisco. Link.

- POINTS, a startup looking to build a credit scoring protocol on top of the recently-launched Ontology blockchain, raised $8 million in seed funding. Investors included a mix of traditional venture capitalists and some strategic partners. Investors included: Dana Capital, Ceyuan Ventures, and Zhong Chen Xin Credit (China’s first nationwide credit rating agency). Link.

- CFA Institute will add topics on cryptocurrencies and blockchain to its Level I and Level II curriculums beginning in 2019. While token prices have fallen in 2018, ultimately some say that blockchain technology could ultimately transform swathes of the global financial system. “This is not a passing fad” said the Managing Director for curriculum at CFA Institute in Charlottesville. Link.

- New York’s State Assembly introduced a bill to investigate the legality and impact of a possible state-issued cryptocurrency. The digital asset in question would be backed by bonds, which the state would issue in order to fund infrastructure projects, among other efforts. The project would follow in the footsteps of the City of Berkeley, which partnered with fintech startup Neighborly to raise an “initial community offering” to raise funds in lieu of a conventional muni-bond offering. Link.

- For its upcoming movie Robin Hood, Lionsgate studio has announced a partnership with the Robinhood investment app to give away $50,000 in a crypto scavenger hunt at San Diego Comic-Con this week. Attendees will search for coins redeemable for $50, $500, $1,000, or $5,000, which they can use to invest in cryptocurrencies on the Robinhood app. Link.

- BitPay becomes the eighth company to land a New York license for mobile payments in cryptocurrency. Getting a license requires a fairly cumbersome regulatory process, which concludes looking at the company’s cybersecurity operations, AML/anti-fraud practices, capitalization, and KYC operations. With the license BitPay can bring its mobile payments capabilities to New York, allowing residents to use both bitcoin and bitcoin cash to make/receive payments from users and businesses worldwide. Link.

- South Korea’s Financial Services Commission is setting up a department dedicated primarily to cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The new department – dubbed the Financial Innovation Bureau — will focus on developing policy-making initiatives for blockchain platforms. Link.

- IBM is backing a new cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar, in a partnership with US-based financial services provider Stronghold. The stable coin, called Stronghold USD, launched on Tuesday on the Stellar blockchain platform. Buyers of the coin will deposit USD with the company’s partner bank, Nevada-based Prime Trust for Stronghold to issue the tokens base on a a 1-to-1 ratio. Stable coins, pegged to an asset like gold or major currencies like the euro or US dollar, have merged as issuers seek to expand the utility for digital currencies, which are unregulated and volatile. Link.

- Semiconductor manufacturing giant TSMC said that it expects cryptocurrency mining-related products to cool off during Q3. The company manufactures component for bitcoin mining chip makers, including Bitmain. The prediction came as the company announced its second-quarter results, which represented a decline of 7.2 percent from the previous quarter. Link.

- Barclays Bank filed patent applications to use blockchain in banking services, specifically around account security. The bank proposed streamlining KYC processes by storing identifying information on ap private blockchain. Link.

- New York state regulators are paving the way for crypto miners to build facilities in the hydro-rich region. Regulators approved a new rate structure that allows a municipal utility in the northern region to directly negotiate contracts with miners interested in running operations there – the goal is to continue attracting new business while protecting residents from rising energy costs. Link.

- Canada’s only actively managed crypto hedge fund, the Rivemont Crypto Fund, had about 91 percent of its assets in cash as of July 13, with the remaining 9 percent in Bitcoin. The fund launched December 14, four days before Bitcoin hit an intraday peak of $19,511. Link.

- An Asia-based investment manager for family offices is planning to a launch a crypto-custody service in Hong Kong. The custody service will hold digital assets for its clients as well as provide periodic audits. The firm also announced it would be working with insurance companies to safeguard clients’ digital assets, though it did not disclose who the financial underwriters would be. Link.