Crypto News, August 3 2018: Flat Day

Highlights: Starbucks to accept Bitcoin, Monero wallet bug, and a TV set that mines Bitcoin, because… why not, I guess?

Go Home, CMC, You’re Drunk

Source: Reddit | CoinPuffs

CoinMarketCap seems to be having some issues today. After we saw VeChain listed at a 90% loss, we found this post on Reddit documenting some other oddities. For comparison, check out the link to CoinPuffs above.

Starbucks to Accept Bitcoin

Source: CNBC

Starbucks has partnered with Microsoft and others to launch Bakkt, a new company that will convert cryptocurrencies to fiat to allow users to buy, sell, and make purchases with digital money. This could be a huge push for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies towards becoming a mainstream form of accepted payment, and certainly gives the community a solid answer to the question, “but what can you do with Bitcoin?”

You can read the official statement from Starbucks here.

Coinbase Commerce Launches Wordpress Store Plugin

Source: CoinDesk

Coinbase Commerce now has a plugin available for WooCommerce, a platform for WordPress which processes payments for online stores, allowing users to make payments in Bitcoin or Litecoin. Similar plugins do already exist, but adding the Coinbase name will likely help to drive adoption.

EOS Resource Rental Proposal

Source: Medium

EOS has put out a proposal for resource renting, with the goal of decreasing the cost of network and CPU resources. Currently, CPU power is divided evenly among EOS token holders who stake their coins for three days. Based on the math provided, our quick calculation tells us that we would have had to stake $1 million in coins to host ICOSim. The renting proposal aims to not only drive down the costs of using the network resources, but to decouple it from the speculative value of EOS.

Ledger Chrome Application Bug

Source: Twitter

There is an issue with the Ledger Wallet Ethereum application for Chrome, prompting Ledger to instruct users only to use Ledger Live for the time being. Ledger has confirmed that the bug is in the Chrome application, displaying a hard-coded address to which users began sending funds. Ledger says it will cover 100% of any losses incurred.

Monero Wallet Bug Causes Heavy Loss

Source: NewsBTC | Twitter

The Altex cryptocurrency exchange lost “a big amount” of coin due to a bug in the Monero wallet software, according to a recent report. The Monero wallet contained a vulnerability that allowed for easy double-spending and siphoning from exchanges. Specifically, the bug was in the display information, which exchanges use to confirm wallet balances. So, a user could deposit 1 XMR, falsify transaction data to display 2 XMR, and then withdraw that 2 XMR from the exchange. The bug was detected and fixed back in July.

Chinese Billionaire to Fund “FinTech Village”... In Connecticut

Source: Crypto Disrupt

Chinese billionaire Bruno Wu plans to launch a “cryptocurrency hub” in Hartford, Connecticut. Yes, that’s right, exotic Connecticut, the birthplace of suburbia, the prudish anchor of New England. While on the surface it seems an odd selection, Connecticut is of course in proximity to several Ivy League schools, which Wu plans to leverage in recruiting talent. The “FinTech Village” represents a $300 million investment and will include a FinTech college.

China Company Launches Bitcoin Mining TV

Source: Crypto Ground

Chinese Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer Canaan Creative has recently released the “AvalonMiner Inside,” a television set with bitcoin mining capabilities. The set can mine up to a rate of 2.8 trillion hashes per second, and any mined coins can be spent in the Canaan Creative store.

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Written content adapted/edited by @thepinkfreudian.