Top Stories This Week
Yahoo Finance Integrates Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin on iOS App
Yahoo Finance has integrated BTC, ETH, and LTC on its iOS app this week, with a version briefly appearing and disappearing on its desktop version despite Yahoo noting that the desktop, mobile web, and Android version won’t be available for several weeks. A Yahoo Finance press release notes that users that wish to trade crypto on Yahoo Finance will have to link a broker account via integrated third party service TradeIt.
“Operation Cryptosweep” Produces More Than 200 Crypto-Related Investigations
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced this week that their “Operation Cryptosweep,” which is a probe into potentially fraudulent crypto investment programs that was introduced in may, has resulted in over 200 investigations of ICOs and crypto-related investment products. The NASAA noted that investors should perform their own due diligence before investing in crypto-related projects, and stated that any project qualified as a security should be registered with the appropriate regulatory agencies or apply for an exemption from registration.
Report: North Korea Attempted to Mine BTC, While Local Firm Develops BTC Exchange
According to a report from South Korea’s state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), North Korea (DPRK) has attempted to mine Bitcoin (BTC). According to a local news outlet, the mining attempt – which was reportedly conducted on a “on a small scale” between May and July 2017 – seems to have been unsuccessful. KDB’s research team also reported that North Korean tech firm Chosun Expo is allegedly now in the process of developing a BTC crypto exchange, without any further details provided.
JPMorgan CIO Thinks Blockchain Will “Replace Existing Technology” in Short Time
Lori Beer, the chief information officer at JPMorgan, believes that blockchain tech will eventually replace the current technology in the span of a few years. According to an Argentinian media source, Beer noted that JPMorgan uses blockchain technology to “simplify the payment process and to store customers’ information related to KYC (Know Your Customer) policy.” Beer also added that the bank currently only supports what is regulated in terms of cryptocurrencies, and has specialists who are “evaluating what is happening.”
Bitcoin Mentioned on Eminem’s New Album “Kamikaze”
U.S. rapper Ryan Daniel Montgomery, better known as Royce Da 5'9’, mentioned major cryptocurrency Bitcoin on rapper Eminem’s new album, “Kamikaze.” In "Not Alike," the ninth track on the new album, co-star Royce Da 5’9” sings:
"Remember everybody used to bite Nickel, now everybody doing Bitcoin." Forbes describes the line as an important sign of Bitcoin’s presence in mass culture and the realization that the cryptocurrency has a range of use cases beyond criminal.
