Twitter Beta Testing Bitcoin Lightning Network Tipping + More News

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Adoption news

• Social media giant Twitter is now beta testing a Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning Network tipping service, according to multiple reports. Bitcoin is not yet available to select as a tip option for beta users, but code in the beta suggests that Twitter is in the process of rolling it out, per MacRumors. Developer Alessandro Paluzzi shared an image of what the service will look like. The tipping function will use the Lightning Network to make smaller bitcoin payments, and it will support custodial and non-custodial wallets. The addition of this option comes after CEO Jack Dorsey suggested its arrival in July. It’s still unclear when the Bitcoin feature will be officially released. The CEO further implied just today that they will also be searching for partners in Africa in relation to this project.

  @gladstein @bernard_parah Def

  — jack⚡️ (@jack)

Exchanges news

• Three of South Korea’s “big four” crypto exchanges have announced that they will to co-launch a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule implementation platform. The platform, named CODE (short for Connect Digital Exchanges), is the brainchild of Korbit, Bithumb and Coinone. Per the Segye Ilbo, the trio has backed the platform with a combined USD 778,000 worth of investment and hopes to implement the rule on their own platforms ahead of a government deadline next year. Conspicuously perhaps, Upbit, the remaining member of the “big four” is no longer involved in the project, despite initial plans to work together on CODE.
• An engineering team at Coinbase said it plans to integrate Polygon (MATIC)’s layer-two (L2) scaling solution for Ethereum (ETH) with the exchange platform. The goal is to explore similar scaling initiatives with L2s such as Optimism, Arbitrum, and Starkware over time.

NFTs news

• Japan’s GMO, the operator of the GMO Coin crypto exchange, is set to debut a new non-fungible token (NFT) platform and marketplace – a fact that will likely pit it against similar new products from major crypto and business rivals the Monex Group-run Coincheck, Rakuten and Line. In a press release, GMO stated that its new Adam by GMO platform was now in beta testing, and teased the release of a K-1 (mixed martial arts) tie-in.
• CryptoPunks, a popular non-fungible token (NFT) crypto project from Larva Labs, has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA) for representation across film, TV, video games, publishing, and licensing, according to Hollywood Reporter. UTA will also represent Meebits and Autoglyphs, two other crypto-art projects created by Larva Labs.
• Dapper Labs, the NFT firm behind CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, has hired former Ticketmaster CIO Gui Karyo to lead the firm’s technical operations as CIO, as well as former PayPal alumna Amanda Schwartz who joins as vice-president of business operations and strategy. Karyo is tasked with scaling both the infrastructure and technical operations at Dapper Labs, while Schwartz is responsible for scaling the operations of the company through various growth strategies.

Mining news

• Major producer of Bitcoin mining equipment Canaan said it has secured a purchase order from Bitcoin mining firm Genesis Digital Assets Limited for 20,000 of its Bitcoin mining machines. In conjunction with the order, Canaan has granted Genesis Digital Assets an option to purchase up to 180,000 additional mining machines.

Investments news

• BabelFish, a stablecoin aggregator on Bitcoin-connected smart contract platform Rootstock (RSK), said it has completed a fundraise totaling USD 5.8m via a listing on decentralized bitcoin trading and lending platform Sovryn’s Origins launchpad. Funds raised will be used to enable BabelFish users to vote on protocol upgrades, reward the community for work completed, and conduct general research and development to sustainably increase assets under management (AUM) and integrations.
• Financial service platform Evrynet has confirmed that it concluded a USD 7m fundraiser for its decentralized finance app targeting institutional investors. The private investment round was led by Signum Capital, with participation from Petrock Capital, Ellipti Ventures, and others, while previous backers include HashKey Capital, Everest Ventures, Hanwha Investments and Securities, Seven Bank, and others.
• 23-year-old tennis superstar Naomi Osaka has been exploring where she can invest in the crypto space, Bloomberg reported. Osaka said in an interview, “I know that online, everything is getting bigger. I remember reading about Dogecoin … there’s going to be something new and interesting that’s going to pop up.” Osaka said the continuous stream of conversations around Dogecoin, especially on her Twitter feed, stoked her interest even before her agent approached her with the idea to invest. She also unveiled her own NFT last week.

Blockchain news

• The mastermind behind the Chinese Blockchain Service Network (BSN) project has stated that the South Korean company MetaverseSociety will become the first BSN portal operator to be based in an overseas territory. Per the BSN Twitter account, a deal will see the portal launch in South Korea in November and “will empower [South] Korean developers to build and operate blockchain applications quickly and effectively.”