Facebook’s Libra continued to dominate coverage this week. (Well, aside from the Bitcoin price, which got CNBC back into the crypto news game.) Reporters pored over how profitable being a Libra Association member could be and just how reliant the association has been on Facebook so far. And there’s talk about Binance and Ethereum joining the Libra Association.

Be sure not to miss this week’s Unconfirmed, which Ben Mezrich, author of, now, two books on the Zuckerberg-Winklevosses rivalry. Mezrich talks about why he absolutely believes that Facebook’s foray into crypto is partially motivated by CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s personal animus toward Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

Other than that, stablecoins continue to be the trend, even infiltrating the likes of Goldman Sachs and piquing the curiosity of Congress. Plus, multi-collateral Dai appears on the horizon.

Take the Unchained/Unconfirmed survey!
Help make Unchained and Unconfirmed better! Take our survey and enter the giveaway for a free Bitcoin lightning node and a yearlong Casa Gold membership, — including a multisig security app for iPhone and Android, a Trezor hardware wallet, a Casa faraday bag, and 24/7 support! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/unchainedsurvey2019 

This Week’s Crypto News…

Libra Roundup

  • Explainer: The WSJ offers a basic breakdown of the differences between Libra, Bitcoin and Paypal.
  • The NYT: Some announced Libra partners are wary, but the Libra Association says they have a lot of interest from companies wanting to join.
  • But the WSJ points out joining Libra could be quite profitable for members; it estimates they could earn 40% returns annually on their initial investment.
  • The Information talks with David Marcus on how Facebook has had an outsized role in the formation of Libra; it also denies the NYT article asserting that banks had declined to participate.
  • Michael Casey does a deep dive on what Libra could mean for the adoption of crypto overall and what it could mean for Bitcoin and how it should be regulated.
  • The Block breaks down what impact the coin could have generally on the various partners, digital wallet adoption, and what’s in it for Facebook.
  • Mustafa Al-Bassan, the only cofounder of Chainspace who did not join Facebook when the social media network acquired the startup, gives his analysis: “My concern is that Libra could end up creating a financial system that is *less* censorship-resistant than our current traditional financial system.”
  • Wired UK looks into why Facebook didn’t use more of Chainspace’s code.
  • Ameen Soleimani of Spankchain and MolochDAO floats an idea: What if Ethereum joined Libra?
  • Binance appears to be talking to Libra about a listing; reports say Binance is mulling becoming a Libra node.
  • And it wouldn’t be an event in crypto if it didn’t draw out the scammers.

Goldman Sachs Looking at Creating Its Own Stablecoin

The CEO says it is “absolutely” exploring stablecoins and tokenization.

The SEC’s Crypto Czar on Whether Stablecoins are Securities

House Rep. Tom Emmer asks Val Sczcepanik whether stablecoins are securities, but the answer isn’t cut and dried.

Multi-Collateral Dai ‘In Sight’

Speaking of stablecoins, MakerDAO is in the final stages of launching multi-collateral Dai, a stablecoin that would be backed not only by ether but also by other assets. The assets being considered are Augur (REP), Basic Attention Token (BAT), DigixDAO (DGD), Ether (ETH), Golem (GNT), OmiseGo (OMG) and 0x (ZRX).

How Active Is the Kik Ecosystem?

Coinmetrics gives us a fuller picture of Kik’s on-chain activity: much of it is creating empty addresses or making small-value transactions.

Bitfinex About to Launch Product with 100x Leverage

“There’s nothing wrong inherently about 100x. But as a commercial hedger you want lower leverage margin,” says Max Boonen, CEO of trading firm B2C2.

Is TaTaTu a Blockchain Business? ‘Not at All.’

This isn’t exactly funny (especially for anyone who put money into this ICO) but shows just how crazy one of the biggest ICOs of 2018 was: “What started as a $575 million token sale is now a rewards program for watching videos,” Leigh Cuen writes