From an imminent mainnet launch to pirates with a hunger for digital cash, here’s a look at some of the stories breaking in the world of crypto.
Augur (REP)
Augur is preparing for its upcoming mainnet launch. The platform, which aims to let people create prediction markets on the outcome of just about any and every future event, is scheduled to begin its departure from the Ethereum network on July 9th.
Monero (XMR)
Notorious torrent search engine The Pirate Bay is now mining Monero by using CPU power from visitors. A small notice at the bottom of the homepage lets users know what’s happening.
Bitcoin (BTC)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reviewing an application for Bitcoin ETF license from Cboe Global Markets. If approved, it would be a first. A number of investment firms have already tried to list Bitcoin ETFs, but so far the SEC has rejected every request. An ETF would expose Bitcoin to a new class of investors, with speculation that it could trigger a bull run.
Status (SNT) and OmiseGo (OMG)
Status and OMG are partnering “to ensure seamless integration of their decentralized exchange (DEX) as well as collaboration in scalability research.” Status is working to build a decentralized browser for iOS and Android that lets people connect to the Ethereum network from their smartphones.
IOTA
IOTA and the European smart city consortium +CityxChange say they’ve gotten the green light from the European Commission to implement a new smart city project in Trondheim, Limerick, Alba Iulia, Pisek, Sestao, Smolyan and Voru. The initiative is designed to give the cities a way to leverage distributed ledger technology for peer-to-peer energy trading and manage local renewables.