Top Crypto News of the Week in 6 minutes

Blockchain and crypto world is full of innovations, assumptions and sometimes wildly wrong predictions. If you’ve missed the top stories of this week, this post provides a comprehensive look at the top crypto news that made headlines. A lot has happened in the cryptocurrency and blockchain world. Here is a quick round-up of this week’s related stories you may have missed:

KYC Data From Crypto Exchanges is Available on The Dark Web

A hacker is selling hacked KYC documents from top cryptocurrency exchanges on the dark web market called Dread. A vendor known as “ExploitDOT” is trying to trade user KYC data(know-your-customer) data hacked from top cryptocurrency exchanges. The hacker has claimed that he has collected this data from some of the top cryptocurrency exchanges such as Poloniex, Bittrex, and Bitfinex.

The data is apparently for sale for $10 per 100 records or more, with exemptions for those people who purchase in quantity, all the way up to $1 per 1,000 for orders above 25,000. The hacker has an advertisement that has been online from July 2018, in which he professes to have hacked records utilized in KYC notes – such as identification cards and drivers’ licenses – from users of top exchanges like Bittrex, Poloniex, Bitfinex.

Proof-of-Stake Could Lead to Crypto Banking

A new hard fork Constantinople is about to happen in the Ethereum chain. It is a result of a greater battle within the crypto community about consensus algorithm. Unlike traditional file systems, in a blockchain, the data is distributed among many computers, this means that there is no single point of attack. But there is a catch. When trying to update a distributed system, consistency becomes a problem. This is called the Byzantine problem. This is where the consensus algorithm comes into play. Any update in the network is agreed upon by everyone in the network, thus maintaining consistency. The current battle happening within the crypto community is over which consensus algorithm is better.

Most people do not have their own nodes running in their homes but rather, they buy cryptocurrencies and store them in a wallet. The cryptocurrency is actually kept with a third party. This third party could, in turn, use this cryptocurrency as a stake to take part in proof of stake, and in return, the customer receives an interest. Now we have returned to traditional banking. As proof of their assets that are kept by the third party, a certificate can be issued. At first, the certificate will be issued at 1:1 ratio, i.e. if one Bitcoin is taken for proof of stake the entity who takes the Bitcoin for staking issues a certificate.

Is Apollo (APL) a Massive Scam?

Crypto world is an amazing world where market always goes upward and downward. Sometimes a particular cryptocurrency arrives and rules the market for quite some time. A fork of NXT cryptocurrency identified as Apollo (APL) is now in the news and it has been called out by one Reddit user as a scam. According to the user, the APL founder is only utilizing the cryptocurrency for a pump and dump. He also said that the cryptocurrency is nothing but NXT with another name.

According to the Reddit user known as RozzyPoffle, the APL community will tell people all about Apollo’s amazing features such as smart contracts, sharding but it has definitely none of those things right now and it is all commitments from a dev team that has not established one portion of a competency yet. Their website is even created on Wix.

Is Ripple (XRP) Market Cap Exaggerated?

According to a report from crypto research firm, Messari, Ripple’s XRP market cap is exaggerated and it is wrongly reported by many sources. The report said that Ripple’s XRP market cap should truly be at $6.9 billion, versus $13 billion, as displayed by coinmarketcap.

According to the report, Ripple’s liquid “circulating supply” and “market cap” could be exaggerated by 46%, which would place inclusive XRP “market cap” at $6.9 billion vs. $13.0 billion publicly listed at prevailing USD-XRP market rate. Further, Messari elaborated that it holds that the distribution price comprises 5.9 billion XRP guaranteed by Ripple co-founder to a public-service object called RippleWorks, a price that it disputed hasn’t been released. As well, Messari recognized 2.5 billion XRP kept by RippleWorks that are also directed to regular trading limitations.

Bitcoin ETF? Proposal Withdrawn!

The Cboe BZX Exchange has withdrawn a bitcoin ETF application in the middle of US government shutdown. If passed, would open the door for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) supported by VanEck and SolidX. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC’s permission is required before VanEck and SolidX associates would be ready to pitch their stock on Cboe’s BZX exchange.

On June 20, 2018, Cboe BZX Exchange (BZX) had filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, following the Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 a suggested rule modification to pitch and trade shares of SolidX Bitcoin Shares distributed by the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust under BZX rule Commodity-Based Trust Shares.

Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any cryptocurrency. It is not a recommendation to trade. The crypto market is full of surprises and overhyped assets. Do your research before buying anything. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose.

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