PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- BTC ($9,613): -4% / +157%
- ETH ($170): -8% / +27%
- LTC ($65): -10% / +114%
- XRP ($0.26): -5% / -27%
- Crypto Market Cap ($245B): -5% / +98%
- BTC Dominance: 69%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- The top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap outside of BTC have closed below their 200-day price averages, marking a period of greater selling momentum for so-called 'altcoins'. Most traders now have their funds locked up in bitcoin, which currently makes up 69% of crypto market cap. Link. 

- Telegram, the messaging service with over 200 million active users, will begin testing its TON blockchain on September 1st, and is aiming for a mainnet launch on Oct 31. As part of its test, Telegram will release the code for running TON nodes and instructions on how to set up a node; TON's consensus mechanism will also be available for testing. Telegram raised $1.7 billion in a May 2018 ICO from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark, and Sequoia Capital. Link. 

- Telegram has notified its investors that it is ready to send out its initial batch of the TON blockchain's native token, GRAM, within the next two months. TON is expected to launch Oct 31 and if it doesn't Telegram will have to refund investors in its token sale. Telegram has recently launched its test net and it's internal incubator, TON Labs, is working on tools to make it easy to build on top of the platform. This includes tools to allow developers to easily migrate their ethereum dApp codes over to TON. Link. Link. 

- EU's Competition Commissioner said that Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency would be a focus for antitrust and financial regulators in the near future, and has already sent questionnaires earlier this month to gather information on the project. Specifically the EU is examining how Libra will be run and how Facebook might link it to data from its social network and messaging apps, citing concerns that the currency might unfairly shut out rival payment providers or set unfair limits on those participating in it. Link. 

- Alibaba and Tencent will be among the first eight organizations to receive and interact with China's central bank cryptocurrency, which is expected to launch in the coming months. The groups will be responsible for dispersing the cryptocurrency to 1.3 billion Chinese citizens and others doing business in renminbi. The currency will not have a pure blockchain architecture in that it is a permission blockchain that is centrally managed by the central bank. Link. 

- A Coinbase report finds that 56 percent of the top 50 universities in the world now offer at least one course on cryptocurrency or blockchain, a 25 percent increase from 2018. Twice as many students report having taken a crypto course in 2019, up from 9% in 2018 to 18% in 2019. Cornell University was ranked highest on the blockchain front, offering 14 blockchain and cryptocurrency-related courses. It was followed by MIT and New York University. Link.  

- Portugal's tax agency released guidance that cryptocurrency trading and payments in the country are tax-free. Cryptocurrency trading in real currencies and renumeration in cryptocurrencies are exempt from VAT and there is no income tax on any earnings. Link. 

- Crypto exchange Binance launched Binance Lending, a platform that guarantees returns as high as 15% to customers lending their cryptocurrencies. The exchange is letting its customers earn up to 15% in annual interest for lending out their BNBs - the exchanges own coin-, 10% for Tether, and 7% for Ethereum Classics. Binance believes this feature will lead to stickier customers and ultimately more revenue for Binance, as it looks to maintain its dominant market share. Link. 

- Algo Capital, an investment firm focused exclusively on investing in the Algorand blockchain ecosystem, raised $200 million for a new fund called Algo VC Fund from investors like Arrington ZRP Capital. The fund will focus on projects building applications and infrastructure on Algorand, to accelerate the adoption of its cryptocurrency, Algo, as a means of payment.The new commitments to the fund were all made in Algo. Link. 

- Investment firm Elwood Asset Management, owned by billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard, is planning to launch a $1 billion venture that will invest in cryptocurrency hedge funds. The new arm helps investors select quality funds according to their risk return profiles and liquidity requirements. Elwood has been screening crypto hedge funds and has identified up to 50 that it could potentially invest in. Earlier this year Elwood also launched a blockchain ETF on the London Stock Exchange. Link. 

- Facebook is working with HackerOne on a bug bounty program for applications built on its upcoming cryptocurrency project, Libra. The company is offering up to $10,000 for security experts who find flaws in code in projects developed on Libra's test net. The move comes even as government regulators have called for the company to suspend the project while they assess its legality and its potential impact on the global financial system. Link. 

- Cielo, a Brazilian payments giant, announced support for bitcoin and cryptocurrency purchases via its 1.4 million point-of-sale devices, making crypto easily accessible for the country's 200 million people. Brazil has become a hot spot for bitcoin, with the number of bitcoin investors surpassing the number of individuals registered on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange. In February the country's largest investment bank also announced it would raise $15 million via a token sale.Link. 

- McAfee Labs released its August 2019 Threats Report, which showed that crypto mining malware campaigns climbed 29 percent in Q1, across both MacOS and Microsoft Windows systems. Link. 

- Chief of cybercrime and AML at the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime made comments earlier this week that cryptocurrencies make global efforts to fight cybercrime significantly harder, due to their pseudonymous nature. He warned that criminals are using cryptocurrencies for payments in global child sexual exploitation networks among other illegal activities. Link.