PRICE CHANGE WTD/YTD

- BTC ($4,188): +29%  / -69%
- ETH ($148): +72%  / -80%
- LTC ($35): +35%  / -84%
- XRP ($0.41): +37%  / -79%
- Crypto Market Cap ($142B): +37% / -76%
- BTC dominance: 52%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- Coinbase moved $5 billion of retail traders' crypto assets to an upgraded storage model last week. The migration included 5 percent of all bitcoin, 8 percent of all ethereum, and 25 percent of all litecoin in circulation. The new security protocol involves a cryptographic technique that divides keys into parts  and spreads them among multiple secret locations, requiring multiple Coinbase employees to work together over the phone in order to  unlock the cryptocurrency. Link. 

- Facebook is reportedly working on a cryptocurrency that will allow users to transfer money on WhatsApp, focusing first on the remittances market in India (people sent $69 billion home to India in 2017 according to the World Bank). The company is developing a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and will include a plan for custodying assets. WhatsApp is very popular in India with over 200 million monthly active users. Link. 

- Coinbase launched Coinbase Earn, a new system where Coinbase users can earn 0x tokens by completing various educational tasks, including watching videos and taking quizzes. The platform is invite-only at launch, though anyone can sign up to a waiting list. Link.

- Leading global banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Barclays have slowly retreated from bitcoin initiatives. Goldman Sachs has only 20 clients for its flagship bitcoin product, while Morgan Stanley has yet to trade even one contract on its bitcoin swaps offering. Citigroup has similarly left all its crypto trading products on a back shelf. The banks are citing a lack of institutional client interest as well as lack of regulatory clarity as key reasons crypto products have yet to take off on Wall Street. Link. 

- Two US Congressmen are introducing the "Token Taxonomy Act" bill into the House which would change the SEC's securities definition to exclude cryptocurrencies. To date the SEC has been using the "Howey Test" to determine whether or not a cryptocurrency is a security, much to the chagrin of the crypto ecosystem. The bill would amend the Securities Exchange Act and add a new definition for "digital tokens" and create a new regulatory framework. Link. 

- Two crypto firms, CoinVantage and Picks and Shovels, are merging in a bid to make crypto-asset management easier for institutions. The new entity, called Interchange, will create software or front and back-office systems for managing crypto portfolios. Link. 

- Layer1, a crypto investment and infrastructure platform, announced it had raised $2.1 million in seed funding from investors including Peter Thiel, DCG, and Jeffrey Tarrant. Layer1 calls itself an 'activist fund for cryptocurrencies' and plans to take concentrated bets on protocols and build technology to support their growth. Unlike ConsenSys which focuses on Ethereum, Layer1 isn't focused on one blockchain and instead selects projects through a mix of financial analysis and thesis development. Layer1's first investment was in Grin, a completely private and censorship-resistant transaction medium. Link. 

- Coinbase finally adds support for direct crypto-to-crypto conversions. Rather than converting crypto to fiat to purchase another cryptocurrency, users can now exchange tokens directly. The feature works with bitcoin, ethereum, ethereum classic, litecoin, 0x, and bitcoin cash. Link. 

- Abacus (YC S18) raises $2 million to build a platform for institutional investors where tokenized securities can be as easily tracked, traded, and exchanged as traditional stocks. Investors include Justin Kan, YC, and Coinbase. Abacus can automate compliance for tokenized security transactions and keep track of the chain of custody of private securities, making it simple for the SEC to audit the entire history of securities transactions. Link. 

- Crypto data startup Nomics announced $3 million in Series A funding from investors including Coinbase Ventures, DCG, and BitGo co-founder Ben Davenport. The capital will be used to invest in engineering resources, and continue indexing data pertaining to how crypto assets are traded. The Nomics API provides historical and teal-time financial data on different tokenized assets including price quotes, trading indicators, and seeks to unify data from different exchanges. Link. 

- Bakkt, a Bitcoin futures trading platform backed by ICE, the parent company of the NYSE, will unlikely meet its target launch date of January 24, 2019, marking the second launch delay for the platform. The US CFTC has yet to give ICE the necessary approvals for Bakkt to launch, specifically an exemption for Bakkt's plans to custody bitcoin on behalf of its clients in its own warehouse. Typically the CFTC requires customer funds to be held by a third-party intermediary / custodian. Link. 

- Wealthfront, the automated investment service startup, announced it was adding tracking support for Coinbase so that users of Wealthfront could now monitor the value of their crypto holdings. Link. 

- According to research from McAfee, instances of crypto-mining malware increased by over 4,000 percent in 2018. Cybercriminals have begun focusing on leveraging IoT devices for cryptomining, including routers, cameras, and videorecorders. Though these devices don't have CPUs as powerful as those in computers, cybercriminals benefit from volume over CPU speed. A recent survey by Citrix showed that almost 60 percent of UK businesses had been hit by crypto mining malware in August. Link.