Bitcoin Support on Opera Leaves Beta Testing + 7 More Crypto News

Crypto Briefs is your daily bite-sized digest of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related news – keeping you up-to-date with under the radar crypto news from around the world.

Adoption news

• The Opera web browser released a new version for Android, which, in addition to already existing support for Ethereum (ETH), is introducing support for Bitcoin (BTC). "You can now choose to add a Bitcoin card to your wallet, making it possible to send and receive money from the web," the company said. Also, they have added support for the Tron blockchain and Tron dapps (decentralized apps). As reported, these new features were introduced in the beta version of the browser in July 2019.

  

• One of the largest banks in Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, said it has successfully completed a PoC (proof-of-concept) utilizing Marco Polo, a blockchain-based trade finance platform developed by enterprise blockchain software firm R3. The bank expects to commence the use of the platform in Q3 FY2019.
• South Korean shopping mall apM will launch its cryptocurrency on the Bittrex Global exchange. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are illegal in South Korea, but there is no law prohibiting cryptocurrency usage in the country. The vast majority of apM’s customers are Chinese – and many are thought to have a strong desire to pay for items in cryptocurrency. Per a press release, the company plans to roll out its mobile apM Members app by the end of the year.

Trading news

• The chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Heath Tarbert says that Ethereum futures contracts are coming in the next six-12 months. CoinDesk quotes Tarbert as saying, “I’d say it is likely that you would see a futures contract in the next six months to a year […] The volume to which it’ll trade? No idea. That’s where the markets decide, but my guess is now that we’ve provided at least a little bit more clarity […] market participants will consider that.”

Stablecoins news

• Stephen Moore, a former Donald Trump nominee for the post of Federal Reserve chief, says he is planning to launch a stablecoin. Fortune reports that Moore, also a major adviser for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, will debut the USD-pegged Frax token. Moore’s partners in the venture include Sam Kazemian, the entrepreneur behind a blockchain technology-powered Wikipedia rival.

Digital fiats news

• The Bank of Japan is “unlikely” to issue a digital fiat, says its governor Haruhiko Kuroda. Per Reuters, Kuroda said that G20 nations were not currently considering central bank digital currencies – despite a recent report from the G7 actively advising central banks to step up digital fiat operations. Instead, the governor said banks should look at the possibility of “making more efficient cross-border fund settlements and remittances on a private basis.”

M&A news

• Bitcoin.com says that it has bought Japanese blockchain software startup O3 Labs for an undisclosed amount in an attempt to improve its Bitcoin Cash operations. Per a press release, Bitcoin.com’s move is something of an aqui-hire, and will result in the formation of a “single team dedicated to creating tools for realizing the full potential of the Bitcoin Cash network.”

Security news

• In an open letter to the U.S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, SIM swapping victim Michael Terpin, who allegedly lost USD 24 million in crypto during two SIM swap attacks, is asking the FCC to take three actions in order to "end this scourge quickly":

- Mandate that all US mobile carriers cover their PINS and passwords.
- Inform all US mobile carrier customers that they can opt-in to carrier high-security plans.
- Initiate an immediate, comprehensive study with recommendations for mandatory reforms by the carriers.