Welcome, it’s time for Moonday Mornings. If you don’t know what it is, where have you been? It’s Hard Fork’s wrap-up of the weekend’s top cryptocurrency and blockchain headlines.
Take a look.
1. Despite numerous Libra Association member companies getting cold feet over the regulatory challenges facing Facebook’s ‘cryptocurrency’ Libra, none have actually pulled out – until now. Payment services provider PayPal is the first to officially remove itself from the Libra Association, BBC reports. It announced the news last Friday, but didn’t give a specific reason for its departure.
2. Walmart is reportedly piloting a blockchain to trace shrimp, The Hindu reports. The system will trace shrimp that’s sourced in the Andhra Pradesh region of India, and shipped to select locations of US members-only retail chain, Sam’s Club. Walmart says it should help seafood farmers strengthen their supply chain and reinforce customer trust in their product. It’s not the first time shrimp has been “put on the blockchain,” IBM did something similar earlier this year.
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3. A hacker has returned the Ethereum domains that were stolen using a bug exploit during an Ethereum Name Service’s (ENS) auction, according to CoinDesk. The exploit allowed the hacker to steal 17 domain names for less than the maximum bid. The auction was overseen by digital-collectibles marketplace OpenSea. ENS and OpenSea reportedly asked the hacker to return the domains and said they would compensate the hacker by means of a bug bounty.
4. Another dark web drug and cryptocurrency dealer has been apprehended. In this case, the perpetrator is being denied bail as they are seen as a “flight risk” after they attempted to convert $200,000 in Bitcoin into US currency, The Block reports. Prosecutors said that they may have access to additional drug proceeds if released, so are keeping a close eye on the defendant.
5. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is going big on suspicious cryptocurrency businesses. The Financial Times reports that the number of investigations into cryptocurrency businesses in the past year has increased by 74 percent. There are 87 open cases at the time of writing, there were just 50 this time last year. The move comes after the UK regulator estimated that consumers have lost in excess of £27 million ($33 million) to cryptocurrency scams.
Well, there you have it. Now go get on with your week.
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