Crypto weekly is authored by maaria

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($8,190): +10% / -39%
- ETH ($465): 0% / -36%
- LTC ($84): 0% / -62%
- XRP ($0.45): 0% / -77%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Voyager, a crypto startup founded by Uber co-founder Oscar Salazar, revealed plans Wednesday to offer no-fee trades of at least 15 different cryptocurrencies. Voyager expects to compete with Robinhood, the stock trading app that also currently provides zero-free trading of five cryptocurrencies. The company plans to aggregate cryptocurrency prices across 10 exchanges and three additional market makers, giving customers the opportunity to execute buy and sell orders at better prices than customers would get by visiting just one exchange. Link.

- For the second time, the SEC rejected a proposal from the Winklevoss Brothers to package bitcoin into an ETF. The SEC’s decision cited market manipulation and mistrust as key concerns, especially given that more than three-quarters of trading volume between bitcoin and fiat happens on overseas exchanges that regulators don’t monitor. The price of bitcoin fell to $8,000 on the announcement. Link.

- Bitwise, the crypto asset manager, also filed with the SEC to launch an exchange traded fund that would track a basket of 10 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. The SEC has rejected all applications for ETFs that track cryptoassets, but Bitwise is the first to apply for one that would track multiple cryptocurrencies. Bitwise launched the first crypto index fund in November and has tens of millions of assets under management. Link.

- An Irish medical aid project that tracks the delivery and distribution of aid by using digital identities became the first organization in the world to record a baby being born on the blockchain. The blockchain system is now the driving force behind the baby and it's mother gaining access to postnatal care, medication, and follow up appointments. Link.

- A Coinbase internal investigation found no insider trading of Bitcoin Cash by its employees last December. Coinbase had launched the investigation in the wake of a sudden surge in the price of Bitcoin Cash hours before Coinbase announced the addition of the asset to its exchange. The move made BCH available to millions of customers. Link.

- A new Gallup poll of US investors reports that just 2 percent of investors currently own bitcoin and less than 1 percent plan to buy it in the near future. While most investors say they have no interest in ever buying bitcoin, 26 percent said they are intrigued by it. 48 percent of investors between the ages of 18-49 said they knew something about bitcoin compared to only 16 percent of investors over the age of 65. Link.

- Pantera Capital, the cryptocurrency investment firm, reported a more than 10,000 percent lifetime return five years after its formation. The return is impressive, but far less than the 25,000 percent lifetime return it had through the end of last year. Link.

- BitGo announces support for Zcash. Clients will be able to store zcash in both BitGo’s multi-sig wallets and its cold-storage custody solutions. BitGo also announced plans to list more than 100 tokens by the end of 2018. Last week, BitGo also added support for 57 ETH-based tokens. Link.

- Accenture filed a patent proposing a system to use blockchain to streamline and automate shipping logistics. According to patent documents, the proposed system would determine certain types of attributes for objects being shipped and track the objects as they are shipped from one location to another; data stored on the ledger would confirm the objects’ status and condition. The system could also create alerts and messages for managers involved in the shipping process or government agencies that regulate the product. Link.

- Google joins Apple in banning cryptocurrency mining applications from its mobile app Store. While apps that mine cryptocurrency directly on devices have been banned, Google will still permit apps that remotely manage the mining of cryptocurrency. Link.

- Coinbase announces a new partnership with WeGift. Coinbase customers in Europe and Australia can now convert their tokens on their Coinbase account into digital gift cards for popular stores like Uber, Tesco, Google Play, Marks and Spencer and more. Link.

- Google accidentally removed popular Ethereum wallet MetaMask from the Google Chrome web store earlier this week. During the 5 hour period the app was down, Google left multiple phishing copycats available, leading to many users being affected by the scam. Link.

- Encrypted messenger app Telegram has released a personal identification authorization tool, called the Telegram Passport. The tool encrypts a user’s personal ID information and let’s them securely share their ID data with third parties. Initially the tool is expected to be used for financial services and ICOs. Link.

- Popular crypto wallet service MyEtherWallet has launched a free beta version of its first companion mobile app. The MEW Connect app allows users to log into the service without typing their private key, just like hardware solutions such as Ledger or Trezor. Beyond enabling a secure connection for MyEtherWallet.com users, the app could eventually offer features including payments. Link.

- Galaxy Digital, the crypto-focused merchant bank founded by Mike Novogratz, announced a $52.5 million round in crypto-lending firm BlockFi. BlockFi offers corporate and retail loans backed by bitcoin and Ethereum, though over time they expect to offer lending against more cryptoassets. Link.

- Tron, a blockchain startup founded by Justin Jun, closed its acquisition of BitTorrent for $126 million. Tron said it would maintain BitTorrent’s 100 million active users, but that it would also use the division to support Tron’s global business development and partnerships. Tron has issued its own cryptocurrency (“TRX”), which has a market cap of around $2.4 billion. Link.

- ICO support platform KickICO lost $7.7 million in KICK tokens in a hack. Some 70 million KICK tokens were stolen after the KickCoin smart contract owner’s private key was compromised. The hackers were able to empty the wallets of several users. The startup has since committed to returning tokens to all holders. Link.