An angry mob in Ladysmith, South Africa has reportedly torched the residence of Sphelele Mbatha, known as Sgumza, a manager of alleged crypto Ponzi scheme Bitcoin Wallet. The mob was likely a collection of victims who lost money through Bitcoin Wallet, according to a report by local newspaper Ladysmith Gazette on July 10. The local police have been investigating an unnamed Ponzi Scheme in Ladysmith, as reported by major South African news site IOL. According to the report, however, Bitcoin Wallet minimally appears to have made get-rich-quick promises to prospective investors. An unnamed community member reportedly told the publication that …

South Korean technology behemoth Samsung announced the release of its blockchain and decentralized application (DApp) Software Development Kit (SDK) in a recent post on its website. Per the announcement, the Samsung Blockchain SDK allows for account management and backup, payment and digital signature facilitation, Samsung Keystore and other cold wallet support. The page dedicated to the SDK also explains that it is a superset of all SDKs, including the Samsung Blockchain Keystore SDK. As Cointelegraph reported in February, the new Samsung smartphone, the Galaxy S10, includes storage for private cryptocurrency keys. In May, rumors started circulating that the tech giant …

David Marcus, the head of Calibra at Facebook, has written a letter to Chairwoman Maxine Waters and members of the House Financial Services Committee in preparation for the upcoming Libra hearings, according to a report by The Hill on July 9. According to the report, Marcus wrote, "I want to give you my personal assurance that we are committed to taking the time to do this right.” In addition to being the head of the Calibra wallet, LinkedIn lists David Marcus as the co-creator of Libra. Marcus’ letter is only the latest in a lengthy rally between Congress and Facebook …

South Korean technology behemoth LG applied for the “ThinQ Wallet” trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on July 2, data published on the official office’s website shows. According to the filing documents, the trademark is for services concerning transaction and settlement services, mobile banking, “issuance of cyber money,” and “payment application software for mobile phones” among others. ThinQ is a brand first used for a smart refrigerator introduced by the company in 2011 at a consumer electronics show. Since then, multiple smartphones have been launched under the ThinQ brand. The trademark could signify that LG is …

Switzerland-based crypto exchange ShapeShift has launched its new non-custodial crypto platform operating across multiple blockchains, the firm announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on July 8. The new ShapeShift platform offers an integrated suite for digital asset management, enabling an end-to-end tool for secure storing, buying, selling, trading, and tracking cryptos, the company stated. The platform supports 50 cryptocurrencies including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and litecoin (LTC), ShapeShift noted, adding that it is targeting common international traders instead of institutional investors. As such, ShapeShift platform’s users can now integrate with the platform using their hardware wallets such as …

Blockchain software development BlockStream announced that its mobile wallet, Green Wallet, now supports the firm’s Liquid Network sidechain in a blog post published on July 5. Per the announcement, users of the wallet can now store, send and receive Liquid Bitcoin (L-BTC) and Issued Assets on the Liquid sidechain. The Liquid Network project, first discussed in 2015 and launched in October 2018, aims to allow for faster transactions with Bitcoin (BTC) between businesses and individuals with the use of its features. Bitcoin transactions on to the sidechain, where it moves as bitcoin liquid, are reportedly also more private: “L-BTC transactions …

The appearance of blockchain technology can be compared with the emergence of internet at the initial stage of its development: Users were cautious about a decentralized system and failed to understand many of its subtleties. But just as firms opened up to the internet, almost all corporations are now working on integrating blockchain into their processes — at least as a trial. And there are some reasons for this trend: With the acceleration of data transfers, globalization and the amount of information, the security questions concerning personal data are becoming more acute for users. Personal information, in a way, is …

Bitcoin (BTC) wallet Electrum will soon host support for the Lightning Network (LN), Russian cryptocurrency news outlet Forklog reported on Telegram July 5. In a social media update, the publication said founder Thomas Voegtlin had revealed the upcoming release at the ongoing BIP001 conference in Odessa, Ukraine. Electrum, one of the oldest bitcoin wallets on the market since 2011, said LN functionality would come as part of an impending major upgrade. The most recent version of the wallet came earlier this week. Electrum will be one of the first major wallets to bring LN to the mainstream, the technology itself …

David Marcus, the head of Calibra at Facebook, emphasized that Libra users will not have to put their trust in Facebook, in a post on July 3. Marcus reiterated that Facebook is not the only member of the Libra Network, and that they are relinquishing control of the network. In the post, he says: “Facebook will not control the network, the currency, or the reserve backing it. Facebook will only be one among over a hundred members of the Libra Association by launch. We will not have any special rights or privileges.” Relinquishing control over the infrastructure behind Libra is …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced that it is switching from Omni-based addresses to ERC-20-based addresses in customer wallets for the stablecoin tether (USDT), according to an official announcement on July 3. In order to make the switch, Binance says that there is a 30-minute downtime planned for USDT withdrawals and deposits on July 4, beginning at 08:00 a.m. (UTC). The announcement notes that Ethereum’s ERC-20 based addresses will be the standard from now on, and exchange users will not be able to withdraw Omni-based USDT; however, Omni-based USDT can still be deposited by sending tether to old Omni-based USDT …

The non-custodial crypto wallet solution ZenGo has created an open source project that purportedly provides proof-of-concept (PoC) for its ability to support social media giant Facebook’s virtual currency Libra, according to an official announcement by ZenGo on July 2. According to the announcement, this proof-of-concept project shows that it is possible to perform Libra transactions on the Libra testnet blockchain. However, the findings are limited, as the report cautions: “Obviously, this experiment is only based on a testnet and we will have to explore further once Libra makes its mainnet available. Additionally, there is no user interface in this PoC …

The IOTA Foundation has launched the Trinity wallet, as the organization announced in a press release on July 2. The announcement advertises the Trinity wallet as an improve to both ease-of-use and security for users conducting transactions in IOTA, with the purported goal of appealing to both new and advanced users. Reportedly, the wallet’s beta version has seen 160,000 downloads and transactions worth over $1.8 billion of IOTA. Cybersecurity firms SixGen andAccessec audited the application in advance of release. As a software wallet, Trinity is designed for compatibility with Ledger’s hardware wallets, as Ledger has worked alongside the IOTA Foundation …