Must-reads for August 6, 2018

Wells Fargo says hundreds of customers lost homes after computer glitch (CNN)

One of the nation’s biggest mortgage lenders is under fire yet again. This time, it acknowledged that 625 people were kicked out of their home because Wells Fargo’s computers allegedly had a “glitch” (Ah, yes, the “dog ate my homework” excuse). Not indirectly related to blockchain, but crypto enthusiasts are collectively tut-tutting and saying “See? I told you so. This never would’ve happened with blockchain tech.”

Goldman Sachs Is Considering a Custody Offering for Crypto Funds (Bloomberg)

Funds looking for a bank to hold their crypto may one day have Goldman Sachs as a custodian, according to Bloomberg. Well, maybe. It’s an idea that is supposedly being floated around. What’s actually being floated around is a Goldman report saying Bitcoin isn’t money and the party is over for Satoshi Nakamoto’s brainchild. However, Goldman Sachs is an investment bank. Research and trading are separate from each other (hey, they required to be). That means analysts can say they’re bearish on Bitcoin even though Goldman is toying with setting up a crypto trading desk. Who says established financial institutions aren’t flexible?

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Returns to Bitcoin Bashing, Calls Cryptocurrency a ‘Scam’ (CoinTelegraph)

Sometimes investment banks have two opinions about Bitcoin. And sometimes bank CEOs have two opinions about Bitcoin as well. Case in point: Jamie Dimon, the JP Morgan Chase’s top guy. One minute, he’s calling it a “fraud” and “stupid”. The next, his bank looks into Bitcoin futures. Now Dimon is calling it a “scam”. Apropos of nothing, remember when JP Morgan Chase got a $12 billion bailout from Uncle Sam?

America Needs a Blockchain Strategy ASAP (Foreign Policy)

Not only does the U.S. mass produce mediocre beer, the country also has a lackluster blockchain strategy. According to Ripple board member Anja Manuel and her colleague at RiceHadleyGates, Leo Carter: “But so far, little has been written about the blockchain’s potential uses in the national security space, where blockchain technology could be enormously useful. If mishandled, however, it could also pose dangers. To maximize the former and mitigate the latter, it would be wise for the United States to take advantage of its early technological lead before competitors inevitably catch up. Fortunately, there are myriad ways it could do so.”

Hope, hype and heresy as blockchains enter the energy business (The Economist)

Blockchains are notorious energy suckers but perhaps there’s a way it can be used to improve how electricity is used. That’s the hope of Energy Web Foundation (EWF) and member companies such as Japan’s Tepco.

Bitcoin mine brings hope to Central Texas town devastated by job losses (WXAN)

A Chinese company is planning on turning part of an old Alcoa plant in Rockdale, Texas, into a bitcoin mining operation. That’s setting up a lot of residents for some high hopes after big employers left the place years ago.

Bitcoin Donations To Neo-Nazis Are Climbing Ahead Of This Weekend’s Unite The Right Rally (Forbes)

Crypto has gone a long way from being the currency of choice for neckbearded basement dwellers and drug lords. Unfortunately, it’s also a way for cosplaying neo-Nazis to collect money and they’re increasingly doing so just before they show up in DC next week. One of the wonders of a distributed ledger, though, is that one can keep track of the bitcoins they take in and spend. A Twitter account—@NeonaziWallets—is doing just that.