Ripple’s investment arm and tech incubator Xpring has invested in Swedish cryptocurrency self-custody startup Towo Labs to build hardware wallet firmware. Xpring announced the news in a blog post on Oct. 16, stating that the startup plans to develop a new version of the XRP Toolkit and hardware wallet firmware supporting all XRP Ledger transaction types, as well as a non-custodial web interface. In a parallel announcement, Towo Labs said that the firmware will support signing cross-currency payments, escrows, orders, and trust lines, among other things. It will also enable users to prepare transactions from untrusted devices prior to auditing …

A crypto wallet says it ensures a higher level of security for its users by applying new custodian solutions and brings cryptocurrency to traditional payment methods. Today, the security of cryptocurrency accounts is mostly ensured by private keys, conventionally utilized by wallets and cryptocurrency exchanges. However, such an approach to the protection of users’ digital assets harbors certain risks. The point is that private keys can easily be forgotten, lost when written on a paper, or stolen from a computer or mobile device in the course of a hacking attack. That’s why it is essential to apply custodian solutions to …

The next release of major Bitcoin (BTC) wallet software Electrum will support off-chain scalability solution Lightning Network (LN). The Electrum official Twitter account announced the upcoming LN integration in a tweet sent on Oct. 14. The tweet announced: “The next release of Electrum will support Lightning payments. Our lightning node implementation has been merged into Electrum's master branch.” Electrum also confirmed that the wallet will employ a new implementation developed in-house, written in Python. High hopes for Lightning Network Lightning Network is believed by many Bitcoin proponents to be the solution to the network’s scalability limitations. Recently, the chief strategy …

The number of Bitcoin (BTC) addresses containing more than 1,000 BTC ($8.3 million) is growing at the same pace in 2019 as before 2014, new data shows. Woo “super bullish” on wallet trend Uploaded to social media by Bitcoin statistician Willy Woo on Oct. 11, a chart of Bitcoin address growth by balance shows the network is now repeating a trend from its earliest years. Source: charts.woobull.com “The rate of growth of 1000BTC addresses now matches the early growth in Bitcoin's network,” he summarized. Woo was expanding on original data from blockchain analysis resource Glassnode. According to him, fresh desire …

Cryptocurrency wallet MyCrypto and its recent acquisition Ambo have both announced major updates of their software — with MyCrypto adding a multi-account management system. A major overhaul According to a news release shared with Cointelegraph on Oct. 10, MyCrypto’s software has seen a major overhaul with a new user interface and a new homepage, dashboard, screen lock, an updated address book and outgoing transaction procedure. The new features have only been included in the beta (early access) version of the wallet so far, and there is no timeline for when they will fully go live. Ambo’s decentralized exchange integration Furthermore, …

Cloud-based instant messaging service Telegram has released the terms of use for its native cryptocurrency wallet Grams Wallet. In the Oct. 8 publication, Telegram said the conditions apply whether as a standalone application or as incorporated into the Telegram Messenger application. Here are five key takeaways: 1. Taxes, regulation In the statement, Telegram emphasized that the Grams Wallet should not be used in jurisdictions where its services are prohibited by any applicable law, regulation or rule, including embargoes, sanctioned countries and sanctioned individuals. Telegram also stressed that its customers are responsible for determining what taxes apply to use of Gram …

A Redditor has apparently spotted an imposter website for Bitcoin (BTC) hardware wallet Trezor. “Imposter site trying to steal your Bitcoin” On Oct. 4, Reddit user castorfromtheva posted about the website, stating that they conducted a test to confirm that it was not genuine. They said: “I just made a little 'typo' test and entered 'tezor[dot]io' where I obviously left out the 'r'. I was instantly redirected to a site called https://trezor[dot]run/start/ which is not the original trezor site (the correct size is http://trezor.io respectively https://trezor.io/start/).” The Reddit user said that a URL typo would indeed redirect the user to …

Major Slovakia-based antivirus software provider ESET has discovered a banking trojan that can steal cryptocurrencies and is especially widespread in Latin America. Primary targets Known as “Casbaneiro” or “Metamorfo,” the newly found malware family targets banks and cryptocurrency services located in Brazil and Mexico, ESET’s editorial arm WeLiveSecurity reports Oct. 3. According to the report, Casbaneiro uses a social engineering execution method, which displays fake pop-up windows misleading potential victims to enter sensitive information. The capabilities of the malware are typical of Latin American banking trojans that can take screenshots and send them to command and control server, simulate keyboard …

United Kingdom-based cryptocurrency data and wallet provider Blockchain.com has come under the spotlight after a string of exits by company employees. Citing sources familiar with the matter, an article published by The Information on Oct. 2 claims that Blockchain’s longest-serving senior executives — COO Liana Douillet Guzmán and Chris Lavery, executive vice president of finance — are both expected to leave. Their departures, if accurately reported, would be just the latest in a steady stream of team members calling it quits on the startup, The Information alleges. A series of swift executive departures According to the report, several executives have …

Major United States-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service Coinbase now allows holders of USD Coin (USDC) to earn a 1.25% annual percentage yield (APY). In a blog post on Oct. 2, Coinbase said that eligible U.S. customers will begin earning 1.25% APY rewards on every USDC they hold on Coinbase with rewards being distributed on a monthly basis. Interest earning is not available for customers in New York state. In the announcement, Coinbase described USD Coin as a stablecoin that offers price stability by being backed by a reserve asset. USDC was created by CENTRE, the Coinbase co-founded consortium that …

BlackRock and Goldman Sachs veteran Howard Surloff has joined major crypto wallet provider Blockchain.com as general counsel. Over 25 years in traditional finance After serving over 25 years in two of the world’s largest and most-respected financial institutions, Surloff will now be responsible for advancing Blockchain.com’s standard for legal, compliance and corporate governance within the crypto industry, the firm announced on Oct. 1. Prior to entering the crypto industry, Surloff worked at BlackRock for 12 years, the world’s largest exchange-traded fund provider, according to his LinkedIn page. At BlackRock, Surloff was long-serving deputy general counsel before he was appointed as …

Caitlin Long, a member of the Wyoming Blockchain Task Force, hinted at two new prospective state laws she believes will be highly popular among cryptocurrency developers and owners. In an interview during Peter McCormack’s podcast on Sept. 27, the 22-year Wall Street veteran and cryptocurrency activist reflected on the pioneering crypto legislation already passed — and reportedly planned — in her home turf, the United States state of Wyoming. New laws would protect blockchain developers as well as privacy of wallet keys According to Long, the first of the two new laws to reportedly be proposed will state that: “Anyone …