Must-reads for August 28, 2018

Tether (USDT) New Intervention Lifts Bitcoin (BTC) to $6,800 (Cryptovest)
In answer to the question, “Why is bitcoin trading above $7,000”, note that $50 million in tethers were sent to Bitfinex just a few hours before the rally, though $30 million went back shortly thereafter.

Bill Cosby Using Bitcoin To Keep Creditors, Government & His Wife From $500M Fortune (Radar)
This is a kind of weird story that seems to rely on “sources.” Nonetheless, if true, it means the 81 year-old star of “Leonard Part 6,” who made millions of dollars selling sugary snacks like Jell-O and Coca-Cola to children, is hiding his money. Hey, Bill, your money can’t be used in hell. Just sayin’….

84% of companies are dabbling in blockchain, new survey says (CNBC)
PwC says the vast majority of the 600 executives they survey insist their companies are involved in blockchain technology. Or, at least, they think they are. Or maybe they want everyone to think they are. Perhaps they have a tech guy who bought a book about it. Hey, this blockchain stuff is hard!

Ethereum Co-Founder Wood Sees ICOs Evolving (Bloomberg)
Gavin Wood talked to Joe Weisenthal, the Bloomberg host who is generally excited to talk about crypto. Or a lot of other things. He’s generally excitable. Anyway, this is a good 6-minute video.

The next bitcoin gold rush is brewing — and it’s in the last place you might expect (CNBC)
This is part of the CNBC documentary on crypto that aired Monday night. South Africa has people in some of the poorest neighborhoods mining Bitcoin and using it to send money to family. But Bitcoin isn’t exactly cheap.

Where’s The Beef? Wyoming Ranchers Bet On Blockchain To Track It (NPR)
In case you missed it, this is a good story that discusses how you may soon track your beef.

Lori Beer, CIO global de JP Morgan: “blockchain reemplazará la tecnología existente” (Infobae)
The title translates to: “Lori Beer, JP Morgan’s global CIO: “blockchain will replace existing technology.” According to the article, the executive said at a conference in Buenos Ares that blockchain is one of three focuses for the company this coming year (APIs and AI being the other two). CEO Jamie Dimon, long a critic of crypto, recently called Bitcoin “a scam”.

Gruppe Deutsche Börse weitet Partnerschaft mit HQLAx durch Minderheitsbeteiligung aus (Gruppe Deutsche Börse )
Translation: “Deutsche Börse Group expands partnership with HQLAx through minority stake.” Per the press release, “This collaboration gives us the opportunity to develop a blockchain-based solution for the post-trade area,” said Philippe Seyll, Co-CEO of Clearstream Banking SA.

Is Amazon Getting Serious About Blockchain? (Investopedia)
Maybe?

New RBI unit to track blockchain and AI (Economic Times/India Times)
The Reserve Bank of India, which is fairly hostile to crypto, is said to be forming a group that will “research and possibly draft rules and supervise new emerging technologies in the future, two people familiar with the central bank’s plans said.”

The Associated Press signs on with journalism blockchain startup Civil (Digiday)
Civil has a bunch of crypto news websites. They’ll be taking in AP content. However, the interesting part is that they’ll be using blockchain tech so their newsrooms will “track the flow of their content and enforce licensing rights.”

Daines: Colstrip closures could hurt Montana’s Bitcoin mining business (KURL8)
While the environment may matter little to Bitcoin maximalists, it’s a big deal for a lot of other, less paranoid people. A coal-powered crypto mine in Montana are slated to close in 2027 and the operating company is complaining that their business could be hurt.

Report: North Korea to Hold a Crypto Conference (Bitcoin.com)
Run a crypto-related company? Come to Pyongyang and attend this conference in October. Go ahead and use the Wi-Fi at the hotel. What’s the worst that could happen?

Layer 1 Should Be Innovative in the Short Term but Less in the Long Term (Vitalik Buterin)
An interesting read for developers from Ethereum’s co-founder.