Crypto weekly is authored by maaria

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($6,687): +5% / -30%
- ETH ($273): -8% / -62%
- LTC ($57): 0% / -74%
- XRP ($0.32): -6% / -83%
- Crypto Market Cap: $216B
- BTC Dominance: 54%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Chinese mobile payment platforms WeChat Pay and Alipay announced they would work with government agencies closely to monitor crypto transactions. The announcement came just days after five high-level regulatory agencies in China - including the People's Bank of China and the Banking Regulatory Commission - issued a warning against any crypto-related fundraising and trading activities. Tencent, the parent company of WeChat Pay, announced it would prohibit users from using WeChat payments to make any virtual currency-related transactions. Link.

- Bitmain, the crypto mining giant, may be losing its technology edge according to Sanford Bernstein. Bitmain may need to write down the value of its inventory as makers of rival mining gear catch up. Bitmain continues to control 85 percent of the market for crypto mining chips, but is facing growing competition from players globally. Link.

- Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, unveiled an incubator program focused on early-stage blockchain startups. The program will take on around 8 to 10 companies per batch for a 10-week period, with the goal of holding one program per quarter. Binance Labs will hand out $500,000 to each program participant in exchange for a 10 percent stake in the business. Link.

- Serial founder Alex Adelman recently launched Lolli, a rewards platform that offers users BTC when they shop at participating online retailers. Consumers install a browser extension to discover retailers offering crypto rewards. Lolli is very similar to another recently launched loyalty app called Bumped; instead of handing out BTC, Bumped hands out microshares of the stock of the company the consumer just shopped at. Link.

- South Korea's largest crypto exchange, Upbit, posted a $100 million profit in the third quarter of 2018, despite massive declines in crypto prices. Korea's second largest exchange, Bithumb, posted around $35 million profit during the same period. Link.

- The World Bank raised $81 million for its upcoming blockchain bond, called bond-i, which is to be settled by Australia's Commonwealth Bank. The bond offers a 2.2 percent return over two years. The bank is using a private ethereum blockchain for bond-i and had Microsoft review its architecture and security. Link.

- Several of the world's largest digital exchanges joined an effort to root out bad behavior in the crypto industry. Gemini Trust co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, created the Virtual Commodity Association and recently added participants like Bitstamp, Bitflyer, and Bittrex. The Virtual Commodity Association develops industry standards and works with regulators to prevent fraud and increase transparency. Link.

- Lawmakers in Ohio say they are interested in attracting both blockchain developers and companies. Though no specific legislation was proposed, Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Ryan Smith said that he saw the tech as widely applicable in the public sector, including use cases like the storage of birth certificates and marriage licenses. Link.

- Venezuela attempts to stabilize its currency as it grapples with hyperinflation and other economic issues. The country's company is now tied to state-issued cryptocurrency called the Petro, which fluctuates based on oil prices. The country raised more than $3 billion from foreign buyers, but many call the crypto a scam with Russian machinations. Link.

- Singapore's stock exchange is working with the city-state's central bank to utilize blockchain to improve the efficiency of securities settlements. The collaboration is hoping to automate transactions via blockchain–based smart contracts, through a process that ensures assets are transacted only when corresponding payments are received. Link.

- The SEC rejected proposals from three companies for bitcoin ETFs. Soon after, the SEC announced it would review the disapproval orders for the nine bitcoin ETFs. Link.

- A key technical signal shows that bitcoin is in territory of a reversal. The last time this signal pointed to a reversal, bitcoin surged 39 percent the following month. The programmatic signal detects trend reversals and exhaustion. Link.

- Pornhub announces partnership with crypto payment and billing startup PumaPay to enable its users to pay in crypto. Earlier this month, Pornhub subsidiary Tube8 revealed plans to develop a blockchain-powered platform for users to earn crypto for watching and interacting with Tube8 videos. In March, Playboy Enterprises had announced it would be developing an online wallet to allow customers to use crypto to pay for the company's online media. Link.