Altcoins July 18, 2018 Daily Hodl Staff

Crypto News Flash: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Augur, Litecoin, Qtum, Tron and Ripple

From a fast start at Augur to a bold prediction on the future of Bitcoin and Ethereum, here’s a look at some of the stories breaking in the world of crypto.

Augur (REP)

Augur is off to a fast start after launching its mainnet a week ago.

The Ethereum-based app lets users bet on the outcome of just about any event imaginable, and according to the Augur tracking website Predictions.Global, Augur has already crossed $729,030 in total money at stake.

Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin founder Charlie Lee is clarifying his involvement in the recent partnership between the Litecoin Foundation and TokenPay, an agreement that transfers TokenPay’s 9.9% equity stake in Germany’s WEG Bank AG to Litecoin.

“This partnership is between LF and TP,” says Lee. “The deal is that LF receives the 9.9% stake in the bank in exchange for technical work and marketing support for TokenPay, eFin decentralized exchange, and integration with the bank. To be clear, LF did not pay any money for this stake in the bank. The plan is also for me to get a board seat at the bank.”

I posted some clarifications on the @LTCFoundation and @tokenpay partnership on reddit. Sorry for the wall of text! If you have any questions, please ask on reddit. https://t.co/8HSLAA4P36 pic.twitter.com/Sc6iuWEUbk

— Charlie Lee [LTC⚡] (@SatoshiLite) July 17, 2018

Qtum

Qtum has released a new community and development update. The China-based Ethereum competitor says since it launched its mainnet in September, the platform has progressed through 25 iterations to improve the underlying infrastructure and create more efficiency and stability.

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“We hope the next blockchain killer app could be built on Qtum,” says lead developer Wenbin Zhong. “In order to achieve this vision, Qtum is designed to combine advancements from mature ecosystems, using Bitcoin’s UTXO model to ensure the security and implementing the EVM for better flexibility. In addition, due to the limited compatibility, Qtum innovated a lot to maintain these functions and healthy operations.”

I just published “Qtum Community & Developer Updates — July 16th” https://t.co/Xgmuy128hx

— QtumOfficial (@QtumOfficial) July 16, 2018

Ripple

Ripple has hired Dan Morgan as its new head of regulatory relations for the company’s European division.

Morgan is a former specialist at the UK’s Department for International Trade which acts as a mediator for trade agreements between the UK and other nations.

Thrilled to share that @danmorgan1 has joined Ripple from the UK Dept. for International Trade to lead our European regulatory relations. He’ll be key to our growth in Europe and brings deep expertise in fintech and digital assets.

— Ryan Zagone (@RyanZagone) July 16, 2018

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH)

Shark Tank star and prominent Canadian investor Kevin O’Leary says Ethereum may end up overtaking Bitcoin to become the de facto leader in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

In an interview with CNBC’s Fast Money, O’Leary gave his take on Bitcoin. “It’s starting to sound like the pioneer with arrows in its back because people are saying it’s not the definitive platform anymore, that maybe Ethereum is becoming the new platform. Then all of the sudden: Bitcoin? What’s Bitcoin? That is not good for Bitcoin investors. That is the yesteryear story on something changing. Just a personal opinion, that if I were long Bitcoin right now, I would start to worry about it because that is not the hot, de jure story on crypto anymore.”

Tron (TRX)

With Tron’s new proprietary blockchain up and running, the platform is burning its old, unnecessary Ethereum-based tokens at a rapid rate.

With at least 19 exchanges completing the TRX token transfer, Tron has now eliminated nearly a billion ERC20 tokens, ensuring they will never be accessed again.