Hello and welcome to yet another Monday and with that, another Moonday Morning – Hard Fork’s selection of the top cryptocurrency and blockchain headlines from the past weekend.
Here’s what we’ve found.
1. Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has said the Ethereum Foundation made approximately $100 million after selling Ether during the cryptocurrency’s last all-time high, which saw it trade close around the $1,400 mark, CryptoGlobe reports.
Buterin made the comments on a podcast with Eric Weinstein, Thiel Capital’s managing director.
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“I did get the Ethereum Foundation to sell 70,000 ETH like basically at the top and that’s doubled our runway now, so it was one good decision that had a lot of impact,” Buterin added.
2. The QuadrigaCX saga continues. Lawyers representing users of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange have asked Canadian authorities to exhume the founder’s body based on “questionable circumstances” surrounding his sudden death, according to the BBC.
Geral Cotten passed away last year from complications relating to Chron’s disease. It’s been claimed that the founder was the only person who had the passwords to cryptocurrency wallets containing $137 million of users‘ funds.
3. The Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, has asked Accenture to handle the development of its digital currency pilot.
According to a press release issued last Friday, Accenture will take care of e-krona’s consumer-facing features and test them with “simulated stores.”
But don’t get too excited, because the country’s central bank is yet to commit to issuing an e-krona.
4. In other news, several cryptocurrency startups are closing down due to regulatory pressure from the European Union (EU), the Block reports.
UK-based cryptocurrency payments startup Bottle Pay said on Friday that it would cease operating on December 31, citing concerns over EU’s 5th Anti-Money-Laundering-Directive, which is due to take effect on January 10.
Cryptocurrency mining pool Simplecoin and Bitcoin gaming platform Chopcoin also announced their decision to shut down this morning, claiming the decision was also due to the incoming piece of legislation.
5. And last, but by no means least, A unit of ByteDance, the owner of video-sharing platform TikTok, has entered into a joint venture with a state-owned Chinese media group to develop business lines, including blockchain and artificial intelligence.
“The joint venture will focus on partnership in the digital rights of short videos,” a ByteDance spokeswoman told Reuters.
Bloomberg says that ByteDance’s unit will own 49 percent of the new firm — which has a registered capital of $1.4 million (10 million yuan) — and Shanghai Dongfang Newspaper Co will control the rest.
Well, there you have it: another exciting weekend in the cryptocurrency and blockchain world. Now, go and get on with the rest of your day.
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