Facebook Dives Deeper Into Payments + More News

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Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.

Payments news

  • Social media giant Facebook created Facebook Financial (called F2 internally), a new group to pursue payments and commerce opportunities, Bloomberg reported. David Marcus, co-creator of its Libra project, is in charge of the initiative but will continue running Novi, the division that is building a digital wallet for Libra. Facebook wants to keep its users inside the company’s apps longer, while purchases on Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp can make Facebook’s advertising more valuable, the report said, adding that one priority will be getting payments running inside WhatsApp in India and Brazil.

Exchanges news

  • Bittrex and Poloniex have lashed out at the parties bringing a class action suit against them. The parties made “a second attempt at framing a legitimate complaint” alleging market manipulation against the crypto exchanges. But in a joint statement shared with Cryptonews.com, the exchanges dismissed this as “a failure, just like the first.” The firms dismissed what they called a “nonsense claim” that is part of “a fantastical conspiracy.” The exchanges stated that tokens mentioned in the class action lawsuit did not belong to Bittrex or Poloniex – but added that they expected the plaintiffs to return with more “dreamed-up” accusations.
  • Binance said that its Binance Futures arm has launched a bitcoin (BTC) perpetual futures, “inverse swap”-type offering that is “margined and priced with bitcoin.”
  • South Korean crypto exchange operator Dunamu said that its subsidiary and blockchain mainnet operator Lambda256 has partnered with VerifyVASP to create a Financial Action Task Force Travel Rule-compliant solution for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The company runs the Upbit exchange and its Upbit APAC subsidiary is now set to join a VerifyVASP alliance “along with 11 other blockchain and virtual asset service providers.”
  • Bithumb is set to donate financial support to flood victims and flood aid charities – after the nation was hit with flood damage due to torrential downpours. Per Hanguk Kyungjae, the exchange said it had raised the funds from its own capital, as well as employee donations – and would hand over an undisclosed amount to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association, which is now working with flood victims.
  • LVC Corporation, a subsidiary of LINE Corporation and operator of messaging firm LINE‘s crypto asset and blockchain-related businesses, started offering LINK on the Japan-based crypto asset exchange BITMAX, said the press release. The token was launched as a rewards incentive in 2018 for over 84 million monthly active users, as LINE said.

Investment news

  • Adamant Capital, the Bitcoin fund operated by crypto advocate Tuur Demeester has “quietly shut down,” per The Block. The media outlet said that Adamant’ co-founder Michiel Lescrauwaet confirmed the move, adding that Demeester’s decision was motivated by “personal and family reasons.” The fund’s assets were worth some USD 10 million at the time of closure, stated the Adamant co-founder.

Blockchain news

  • The South Korean government-run tech agency, the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), has signed a deal with seven IT providers for expansion of contact-free tech development in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, including blockchain, per Metro Seoul. KISA’s agreement involves co-developing remote learning platforms, as well as a blockchain-based electronic document issuance authenticity and ID verification service.
  • The federal executive Government of Australia led by the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, has teamed up with Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) to pilot a blockchain-based app developed by the country’s patent and intellectual property office, dubbed Smart Trademark. Per the announcement, the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Karen Andrews, said the technology
  • could be a great tool in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.

Regulation news