Stories by Frank Cardona
More Bitcoin than ever was just made private with this technique
More Bitcoin than ever was made private this month through an anonymization strategy known as CoinJoin. And if you own Bitcoin, but use centralized exchanges or other similar services, privacy experts say you should probably consider doing it too. Bitcoin mixers that use the CoinJoin technique, such as Wasabi and Samurai Wallet, have seen huge growth in recent months, according to open source data shared by Wasabi contributor and educator Max Hillebrand. Non-custodial wallets (i.e. wallets whic
CryptoKitties scratch Ethereum, find new life on Flow blockchain
CryptoKitties, pioneers of the crypto collectible craze, are getting a blockchain makeover. Dapper Labs, the creators of CryptoKitties, today announced that the digital collectibles will be migrating away from the Ethereum network and moving on over to its own custom-built blockchain, Flow, which launched last year. The move to Flow will see CryptoKitties get new features, such as animated 3D attributes, the ability for these digital assets to be playable within other games on Flow, and—perhaps
Libra member Shopify adds another way to pay with crypto
Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify will now give its merchants the option to accept payments in more than 1,000 cryptocurrencies. (Who knew there were that many?) Cayman Islands-based crypto payment processor CoinPayments today announced a deal with Shopify that will see its platforms integrated, bringing more crypto payment options for Shopify merchants. According to a release, this will allow vendors to “get paid faster in any of the 1,800 cryptocurrencies supported by CoinPayments.” The idea
BlockFi data breach could have been prevented, Bitcoin experts say
Another day, another prominent Bitcoin service breached. News broke out this morning that hackers had compromised accounts belonging to crypto lending firm BlockFi by using SIM swaps, a common tactic hackers use to essentially steal the identities of cell phone users by fooling cell providers. And the crypto community isn’t taking the news well. The company said in an incident report sent to users that sensitive information from accounts, such as names, email addresses, dates of birth, physical
Privacy, antitrust drums beat again as Facebook acquires Giphy
Facebook has US regulators talking anti-trust again, as the social networking giant has acquired another prominent photo app, Giphy. And the merger of Facebook with the popular GIF search engine may have serious data privacy implications for its users as well. Last Friday, news broke that Facebook had agreed to purchase Giphy for $400 million. The database of GIFs is already integrated into dozens of popular apps, such as Twitter, Signal, Slack, iMessage, Tinder, Tik Tok, Snapchat, and the entir
Hackers demand crypto ransom for secrets about Trump, Lady Gaga, more
Hackers have targeted the law firm of a famed showbiz attorney, demanding a ransom paid in cryptocurrency. If the firm doesn’t comply, the hackers said they’re prepared to air the “dirty laundry” of various celebrities—and that list now includes US President Donald Trump. Hacker group REvil doubled its ransom demand on Thursday from showbiz attorney Allen Grubman and his firm, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks’, after adding Trump to its list of targets, according to Page Six. The law firm confir
Bitcoin battle royal Lightnite adds in-game assets to Liquid Network
CryptoKitties took the crypto world by storm in late 2017, even famously crashing the Ethereum network. Now these kinds of non-fungible tokens and crypto collectibles are coming to Bitcoin. The creators of the Bitcoin Battle Royal game, Lightnite, and Bitcoin infrastructure giant Blockstream, announced Tuesday that they have added the game’s tokens to the Liquid Network. “The game is currently in development, but there is a public pre-alpha version available,” the founder of Satoshi Games and L
CryptoKitties creators want to bring crypto to a billion NBA fans
Dapper Labs, the firm behind the CryptoKitties crypto craze, is on a mission to scale its new smart-contracts blockchain to over a billion users. And it’s starting with crypto collectibles—and a partnership with one of the most popular sport leagues in the world, the NBA. “NBA Top Shot is meant to be a revolutionary product,” said Dapper Labs VP Caty Tedman today at CoinDesk’s Consensus Distributed online conference, referring to the blockchain-based collectibles game the company announced last
Flash crash! Whales sink price of Bitcoin
Here we go again. Bitcoin (and just about everything else) crashed 15% during a 7 minute period when a whale or whales unloaded their BTC. At around 5:26 PM PST, Coinbase went down as well, but service was restored by 6:14PM. The top 10 coins by market cap, as usual, saw similar declines, with Ethereum plummeting from $210 to $191. Apparently, whales started liquidating their BTC positions in $2 million chunks just as the clock struck 5 PM in California. Bitcoin dropped from $9561 to $8570 in
Facebook’s new oversight board is cover for censorship, critics say
As the battle between free speech and censorship festers throughout the Internet, Facebook is taking steps to distribute its power to police content away from its own executives through the introduction of a new Oversight Board. But the move is causing some to raise alarm bells, and could be a sign of the growing need for decentralized alternatives to the Web2 platforms of old. Earlier this week, Facebook announced the first members of its new oversight board who are tasked with making decisions
Keybase users revolt following Zoom acquisition
In a bid to assuage privacy concerns, video conferencing giant Zoom today acquired encrypted messaging and file-sharing platform Keybase. But Keybase users are not happy—and some are even threatening to delete their accounts. Zoom announced the deal earlier today, signifying that the video chat service—which has seen a massive surge in use in the midst of worldwide coronavirus lockdowns—is now serious about boosting its privacy through encryption. (In other words, no more Zoom bombing.) Big new
BlockFi releases mobile app for Bitcoin savings and loans
BlockFi clients looking to invest in or loan out Bitcoin can now do it from the comfort of their phones. BlockFi today announced it released a mobile app for retail investors. The app is currently in public beta. Users can try limited features like account signups, deposits and management of interest accounts, and monitoring transactions, loans, and profile settings. Screenshot of the new BlockFi mobile app. Image: BlockFi The final public release, slated for June, will expand its functionality
Stellar invests $5M in crypto wallet Abra to launch new XLM products
Ripple rival Stellar is quietly expanding its network, on a mission to build an “inclusive” financial system. The Stellar Development Foundation today announced a $5 million investment in Abra, a crypto wallet service based in Silicon Valley. As part of the new deal, Abra will further integrate Stellar’s blockchain tech in its payment and investment products. Today, we announced our second enterprise fund investment in @AbraGlobal — a step that will facilitate Abra’s integration to Stellar and
Justin Sun’s new stablecoin sells out in under five minutes
If you wanted in on Tron’s latest stablecoin, you missed it. Tron CEO Justin Sun announced earlier today on Twitter that his new stablecoin JUST (or $USDJ) sold out in under five minutes. $JST Token sale is complete. Finished in 4 minutes 26 seconds. @Poloniex — Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) May 5, 2020 🚀$JST tokens sold out in 4 minutes 26 seconds! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/FvjwWjACbI — Poloniex Exchange (@Poloniex) May 5, 2020 The stablecoin, which is pegged to the US dollar, was the first token
Here's why Tyler Winklevoss wants to bankroll a Web3 social network
With gatekeepers increasingly policing coronavirus content, discontent with legacy social media platforms is festering online. Is now the time for decentralized and uncensorable alternatives to finally get traction in the mainstream? Tyler Winklevoss thinks so—and he's willing to put some money on it. “A central party should not play referee,” Winklevoss told Decrypt. ”Rules should be made by a platform's community of creators and users, not a small group of executives cloistered in Silicon Vall
Crypto lender BlockFi poaches American Express, Credit Suisse execs
BlockFi, the financial services company behind Bitcoin savings accounts and loans, is not just taking a page out of the traditional finance industry, it’s taking some of its executives now too. The company today announced a new round of hires. And among them are former executives from investment banking giant Credit Suisse and American Express. Wittney Rachlin, who “drove consumer and commercial growth” as the vice president of credit cards and global commercial payments for American Express, is
Stellar (XLM) transactions can now be monitored by Elliptic
The Stellar Foundation announced Thursday that it has partnered with blockchain forensics firm Elliptic to detect and prevent illicit transactions on the Stellar network. Elliptic, backed by Wells Fargo, works with a number of big players in crypto, but its role within crypto is not without controversy. Nevertheless, Stellar is joining its growing list of partners. “Elliptic analysts will engage in ongoing dark web research, identification of money laundering patterns and the collection of high
Valiu's Bitcoin dollars are changing remittances, starting in Venezuela
Sending money across borders into places like Venezuela can be difficult. The local currency suffers from historic hyperinflation, and US dollars are restricted. But Valiu, a cross-border payments startup in Colombia, might just have found a new way—powered by Bitcoin. Valiu today revealed on Twitter that testing is underway for its new Bitcoin-backed synthetic dollar savings account. Last year, the company had launched a service for people in Colombia to send cross-border payments directly to V
“Trigger event” will drive flight to Bitcoin, new survey claims
Could a “trigger event” like the coronavirus crisis push people to Bitcoin as a safe haven? According to a new survey from peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange Paxful, a large number of Americans believe that it could. Paxful today released results of a One Poll survey of 500 Americans, aged 18 to 55, with “an understanding of cryptocurrency,” even if not crypto users necessarily. Of those surveyed, almost 50% said they believe a “trigger event in the traditional finance system will drive people to Bit
What the oil crash means for crypto: The experts weigh in
Oil manufacturers could sure use a difficulty adjustment right about now. If that comment makes no sense, you might want to read up on #Bitcoin. — Preston Pysh (@PrestonPysh) April 20, 2020 First everyone in crypto became coronavirus experts. Then stock market and financial policy experts. Now crypto experts are chiming in on the oil crash, where a once thriving and essential commodity turned negative. Here’s what some experts in crypto have said: End the War in Iraq? Anthony Pompliano of M
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