Crypto Tidbits: Ripple On Coinbase, Ethereum Constantinople Now Live, Facebook in Crypto

For the umpteenth week in a row, a viable argument can be made that the crypto industry saw a solid seven days. Save for one or two shortcomings, the news cycle remains more positive than not, while the Bitcoin price has continued to bounce around in a tight range. Funny enough, fundamentals have continued to drastically deviate from the market.

Over the past seven days, Samsung confirmed the existence of a native crypto wallet, XRP was (finally) added to Coinbase, and Ethereum’s much-awaited Constantinople upgrade went live.

Crypto Tidbits

• Samsung Crypto Wallet Confirmed: Last week, NewsBTC reported that there was a high likelihood that the “private key storage for blockchain-enabled mobile services” was Samsung’s euphemism for a fully-fledged cryptocurrency wallet. Just days after our report, media began to report that at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Samsung representatives took to the stage to divulge that yes, the Galaxy S10 lineup, had a built-in storage system for digital assets. In fact, it was revealed that the South Korean technology giant partnered with CosmoChain (COSM) and Enjin (ENJ) to embark on this venture. The two lesser-known altcoins posted double-digit gains (percentage-wise) as the news broke.
• XRP Added To Coinbase In Surprise Turn Of Events: After months, if not years of deliberation, Coinbase, the world’s most well-recognized crypto startup, added XRP to both its Pro and Consumer (.com) platforms. In the eyes of some industry commentators, this confirms that Coinbase believes that XRP isn’t a security token tied to Ripple, or that the startup determined that listing the asset would outweigh getting bashed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This wasn’t the only non-cut and dried facet of this listing. In the hours prior to the listing, the cryptocurrency unexpectedly rallied, as Bitcoin remained relatively flat, leading some to claim that there was a likelihood of insider trading.
• Hacked Crypto Startup Cryptopia To Commence Operations (Again): Cryptopia, a New Zealand-based exchange that was hacked in mid-January for a purported sum of $17 million, has finally given an update on its situation. In a number of Twitter comments, the disgraced firm noted that at maximum, it lost 9.4% of all cryptocurrencies under its possession in the aforementioned hack, and plans to restart operations in the coming week. Cryptopia users rejoice (or maybe not).
• Square Sold $166 Million Of Bitcoin In 2018: Per Square’s (SQ) most Q4 2018 earnings report, the company, headed by the only and only Jack Dorsey of Twitter, sold a jaw-dropping $52 million worth of Bitcoin from October to December. This means that over fiscal 2018, the company sold $166 million worth of the flagship cryptocurrency. The Block estimates that 10,000 BTC was sold. Square’s recent report comes after Dorsey claimed that he is looking into integrating the Lightning Network into his company’s facets.

• Singapore’s GIC Fund Revealed To Have Invested In Coinbase: Citing a number of sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that Singapore’s primary sovereign wealth fund, GIC, purportedly participated in Coinbase’s historic $300 million funding round that concluded in October 2018. For those who missed the memo, this round, which valued the now-XRP-friendly Coinbase at $8 billion, was led by Tiger Global and Andreessen Horowitz. So interestingly, Singapore’s involvement in the San Francisco-based company wasn’t initially disclosed.
• Facebook May Launch Crypto Asset In The Coming Months: Per a report from The New York Times, which cited information from five individuals privy to Facebook’s blockchain division, an asset created by the social media giant could see listing on traditional cryptocurrency exchanges, and in the upcoming months no less.

• Ethereum Constantinople Goes Live: At long last, Ethereum Constantinople, a blockchain upgrade centered around reducing Ether inflation and offering short-term scaling solutions, has gone live. Many argue that this upgrade is imperative for the long-term success of the popular smart contract platform, especially as competitors, like the yet-to-be-launched Dfinity and Cosmos, prepare to make a stand against Ethereum’s hegemony.

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