Tokyo Mulls Own Stablecoin + More Crypto Briefs
Crypto Briefs is your daily bite-sized digest of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Stablecoin news
- The Tokyo government has been talking up its local stablecoin plans, with two major pilots already planned.
- New York’s State Department of Financial Services gave its approval to Paxos’ PAX Gold cryptocurrency, a token backed by gold stored in a London vault, per an official announcement.
Cryptocurrency news
- Cryptocurrency Dash, ranked 17th by market capitalization, announced that it is now accepted at over 1,000 new merchants and more than 250 ATMs through its partnership with IQ CashNow, a full-service provider specializing in cryptocurrency ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and e-commerce websites.
- Crypto custody startup Casa said that after a recent update, their Sats App can now be used without their Casa Node device. “Anyone who downloads the app can use it to send and receive Bitcoin on-chain, and you can unlock Lightning Network features by connecting a Casa Node,” according to the company.
- Paxful has circulated a press release stating that it is teaming up with CoinLogiq in a plan to bring 20 Bitcoin ATMs to Colombia. The companies are also eyeing an expansion to Peru.
Security news
- ZenGo, a developer of a keyless crypto wallet, discovered that 4 out of the first 5 results presented when searching Google for “bitcoin qr generator” were leading to scammers site. These sites generate a QR code that encodes an address controlled by the scammers, instead of the one requested by the user, thus directing all payments for this QR code to the scammers, the company said.
Cryptocurrency exchange news
- Gemini said it launched Gemini Clearing, a fully-electronic clearing and settlement solution for off-exchange or over-the-counter (OTC) crypto trades. It allows trades that are negotiated off-exchange or OTC to settle between Gemini accounts.
Investment news
- Dapix Inc, the company behind the initial development of the FIO Protocol, said it has raised USD 5.7 million in Series A Funding led by Binance Labs, the venture arm of major crypto exchange Binance. Also, among investors are Blockwall Capital, NGC Ventures, LuneX Ventures and others.
Blockchain news
- South Korean travel bookings site Yanolja announces blockchain business plans, per a report from Hankyung. A slew of South Korean companies have announced similar plans this week, including K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment and streaming platform Watcha.
Mining news
- A Russian villager in the North Caucasus region steals USD 1.97 mill of electricity to power a mining farm. The miner was sprung by an energy provider in Plievo, a settlement with a population of under 6,000. The miner is also being blamed for causing a fire in the nearby city of Artem, per a Wek report.
Fake news
- A Twitter storm is raging over media coverage of America’s National Security Agency “quantum-resistant crypto” quotes. The journalist who posted the quotes that sparked the coverage was apparently using “crypto” as shorthand for “cryptography.” A Forbes contributor even reported that NASA (yes, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is working on its own cryptocurrency. A CNN journalist has his say.
