{"id":7115,"date":"2018-05-15T20:30:53","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T20:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=7115"},"modified":"2018-05-15T20:30:53","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T20:30:53","slug":"news-zimbabwe-crypto-ban-crypto-lambos-quinn-dupont-bitmain-and-circle-with-usd-coin-anime-girls-on-the-blockchain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/05\/15\/news-zimbabwe-crypto-ban-crypto-lambos-quinn-dupont-bitmain-and-circle-with-usd-coin-anime-girls-on-the-blockchain\/","title":{"rendered":"News: Zimbabwe crypto ban, crypto Lambos, Quinn DuPont, Bitmain and Circle with USD Coin, anime girls on the blockchain"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><i>Good<\/i> news for Bitcoin in Zimbabwe!\u00a0\u2014 the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techzim.co.zw\/2018\/05\/cryptocurrency-ban-full-statement-rbz\/\">banned it completely.<\/a> Financial institutions have 60 days to stop working with cryptocurrency exchanges, or allowing account holders to trade in &#8220;virtual currencies.&#8221;<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Actual Lambos sighted outside the Consensus blockchain convention in New York! \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2018\/05\/14\/those-lambos-parked-at-the-bitcoin-conference-are-just-a-promotion.html\">they were rented.<\/a> &#8220;I never made money with crypto but I have ten lambos,&#8221; said Jon Nouri of Broadway Supercars, who rents Lamborghinis out for $1,000 a day. Cryptocurrency is <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Secret_(2006_film)\">&#8220;The Secret,&#8221;<\/a> but on the blockchain. <i>Dream it!<\/i><\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/iqdupont.com\/\">Quinn DuPont<\/a>&#8216;s book <em>Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains<\/em> has its page up on <a href=\"http:\/\/politybooks.com\/bookdetail\/?isbn=9781509520237&amp;subject_id=3\"> Polity Books<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wiley.com\/en-us\/Cryptocurrencies+and+Blockchains-p-9781509520237\">Wiley<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2L3bsri\">Amazon UK,<\/a> and will officially be released in December! Includes useful new original research, including actual blockchain success stories \u2014 such as the Walmart supply chain pilot where the blockchain bit added nothing, <em>but<\/em> the people on the ground took the opportunity to use the funding to modernise and digitise stuff that had been waiting years &#8230;<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Bitmain are expanding their <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/05\/14\/from-sia-an-incendiary-post-on-the-state-of-cryptocurrency-mining-in-2018\/\">hard-won financial reach<\/a> \u2014 they&#8217;ve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/9b1cf5dc-582e-11e8-bdb7-f6677d2e1ce8\">invested $110 million in Circle<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/HLEr6\">archive<\/a>). Circle says Bitmain are interested in Circle&#8217;s forthcoming stablecoin, &#8220;the USD Coin, backed by fiat currency reserves.&#8221; No relation to any of the many other cryptos called &#8220;USD Coin.&#8221;<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Coinbase are adding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/5a46b3f2-585d-11e8-b8b2-d6ceb45fa9d0\">high-speed trading<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/u5s23\">archive<\/a>), hoping to attract the big money investors. And Gemini have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-new-york-cryptocurrency-gemini-winkle\/winklevosses-bitcoin-exchange-wins-ny-approval-to-expand-services-idUSKCN1IF1YX\">gained permission to trade ZCash,<\/a> with Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin coming in the future.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/03\/08\/kodak-pt-5-kodakcoin-ico-light-paper-released\/\">KodakCoin<\/a> will finally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/kodakcoin-fundraising-to-begin-later-this-month\/\">start its ICO<\/a> on Monday 21 May. I&#8217;ll keep you updated.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Bitcoin&#8217;s merchant story in 2018 \u2014 the experience of <a href=\"https:\/\/np.reddit.com\/r\/CryptoCurrency\/comments\/8je1sc\/community_alert_do_not_trust_overstockcom_with\/\">using Bitcoin to buy a shirt from Overstock.<\/a> Overstock messed up the order, cancelled it, and told the customer he could collect his refund from Coinbase! A company he didn&#8217;t have an account with. Rather than just reinstating the order and sending him his shirt.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ftalphaville.ft.com\/2018\/05\/15\/1526356800000\/Bitcoin-cash-is-expanding-into-the-void\/\">Bitcoin Cash is expanding into the void<\/a> \u2014 FT Alphaville on <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2017\/11\/20\/there-can-only-ever-be-21-million-forks-of-bitcoin-a-survey-so-far\/\">B Cash<\/a> (to use the project&#8217;s official <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2017\/11\/20\/there-can-only-ever-be-21-million-forks-of-bitcoin-a-survey-so-far\/\">logo stylisation<\/a>) raising a number in the code from 8 megabytes to 32 megabytes, and never mind that their blocks rarely go over 100 kilobytes. Because nobody uses Bitcoin Cash, not even traders\u00a0\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/support.okex.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/360002258531\">OKex dropped Bitcoin Cash in March<\/a> because of &#8220;inadequate liquidity.&#8221; The article doesn&#8217;t cover the new smart contract functionality, but I expect that&#8217;ll be worth writing up when someone does something useful with it. CryptoFelons?<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;Guys, no one&#39;s using our 8 lane highway.&quot;<br \/>&quot;We need 32 lanes.&quot;<br \/>&quot;You\u2019re a genius.&quot;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Overheard?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Overheard<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TransactionSuperhighway?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TransactionSuperhighway<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bcash?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Bcash<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RriMsWlz33\">pic.twitter.com\/RriMsWlz33<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Samson Mow (@Excellion) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Excellion\/status\/993748924392390657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>And the latest CryptoKitties is Crypko.AI \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/crypko.ai\/#\/\">generative adversarial network-created anime girls, on the blockchain.<\/a> The <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AXAouosx95Y\">video<\/a> is one of the creepier things I&#8217;ve seen today. &#8220;100% the cryptocurrency of future school shooters&#8221; \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/996296050028830720\">@Buttcoin.<\/a><\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"735\" height=\"414\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AXAouosx95Y?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@jimmysong\/why-blockchain-is-hard-60416ea4c5c\">Why Blockchain is Hard<\/a> by Jimmy Song\u00a0\u2014 a very good article on why &#8220;blockchain&#8221; is not widely applicable in business, and for the most part I heartily concur with it.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Luke Kanies on all the good parts of blockchain \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/lukekanies.com\/blockchain-without-blockchain\/\">all the parts that aren&#8217;t blockchain.<\/a> Part 1 in a series.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>I found out the name of the routing problem the Lightning Network has to solve, to get money from arbitrary person A to arbitrary person B across a mesh of unknown connections of varying usability (liquidity) \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Canadian_traveller_problem\">Canadian Traveller Problem.<\/a> Finding the best path is <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/PSPACE-complete\">PSPACE-complete.<\/a><\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>My piece on eMusic has been <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hypebot.com\/hypebot\/2018\/05\/emusic-dont-go-blockchain-david-gerard.html\">reprinted in Hypebot.<\/a> Please give them a click.<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">So <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jpwarren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jpwarren<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dobes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@dobes<\/a>, the last sentence of this grab from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidgerard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@davidgerard<\/a>\u2019s \u201cAttack of the 50ft Blockchain\u201d is a technique we should adopt as standard practice. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hmyv4Tzt4l\">pic.twitter.com\/hmyv4Tzt4l<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Stilgherrian (@stilgherrian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stilgherrian\/status\/992632715693309952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/ncweaver\/status\/994548848512004097<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sometimes I wish bitcoin had come out slightly earlier so all the weirdos would be guzzling colloidal silver and turning blue instead of being mommy\u2019s little carnivore and refusing to eat vegetables.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buttcoin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/995503537365843969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">hi just a reminder that this thing lives next door to one of you <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BU3l3EEjeB\">pic.twitter.com\/BU3l3EEjeB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buttcoin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/995825442195234816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<br><br><div align=\"center\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\"><img src=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/become_a_patron_button.svg\" alt=\"Become a Patron!\" title=\"Become a Patron!\" width=217 height=51><\/a><br><p style=\"align:center;\" class=\"patreon-badge\"><i>Your subscriptions keep this site going. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\">Sign up today!<\/a><\/i><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Quinn DuPont&#8217;s book is going to be a good one, and you should get it when it&#8217;s out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[21,42,343,74,650,288,649,654,571,652,41,655,371,648,233,6,656,653,106,182,651,255],"class_list":["post-7115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-bitcoin","tag-bitcoin-cash","tag-bitmain","tag-blockchain","tag-circle","tag-coinbase","tag-consensus","tag-crypko-ai","tag-emusic","tag-gemini","tag-hypebot","tag-jimmy-song","tag-kodakcoin","tag-lamborghini","tag-lightning-network","tag-links","tag-luke-kanies","tag-okex","tag-overstock","tag-quinn-dupont","tag-usd-coin","tag-zimbabwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7115"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7149,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7115\/revisions\/7149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}