OTC’s Weekly Retrospect 29/08–02/09/2021

Every week we take a look back over the week’s biggest Bitcoin and Digital Asset stories making waves in the cryptosphere.

Major news stories this week;

1. Metamask Surpasses 10 Million Monthly Active Users, Climbing 1,800% in 12 Months.
2. Money Trail From Liquid Exchange Hack Points to Wasabi Privacy Wallets.
3. Bitcoin law protests break out in El Salvador as Central American. neighbours wait to see its success.
4. Microsoft is Awarded US Patent for Crypto Token-Creation Service.
5. Ripple wants to know whether SEC employees held any XRP in latest motion.
6. MG to roll out New SUV with Blockchain Digital Passport

Story Summaries;

1. The noncustodial digital currency wallet Metamask announced that the platform has surpassed 10 million monthly active users (MAUs). Year-to-date, Metamask has seen 19x growth since July 2020 as MAUs climbed 1,800% in 12 months.
2. Hackers who stole about $97 million in cryptocurrency from the Liquid exchange used the non-custodial, privacy-focused Wasabi wallet to protect some of their gains, according to sleuthing firm Crystal Blockchain. Bitcoin from the wallets Liquid identified as belonging to the hackers has been on the move over the past two weeks, public blockchain data shows.
3. El Salvadorans took to the streets on Friday to protest against the adoption of Bitcoin as an official currency, a move that made waves in June when lawmakers voted to adopt it as legal tender. The new crypto law would put Bitcoin on a level pegging with the US dollar, a move that has been criticised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
4. Microsoft has been awarded a U.S. patent for software it says can help users develop blockchain applications by making it easier and more efficient to create crypto tokens for different distributed ledgers. According to the patent, creating and managing tokens is currently “difficult and cumbersome” due to the lack of standardisation across different blockchains.
5. Ripple has filed a motion seeking to compel the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reveal if its employees held any XRP or other digital currencies. The company is seeking to lay its hands on the regulator’s internal trading policies as part of its lack of fair notice and regulatory clarity defence.
6. Automotive company MG, owned by Chinese auto company SAIC Motor, has integrated blockchain technology with its newly fashioned car, MG Astor. The new SUV utilised blockchain-powered “Digital Passport” to record the user’s driving data, according to a LiveMint report. MG has partnered with a blockchain-based Indian agency, Koinearth, for the project. According to reports, the agency will facilitate the commercialisation of the new SUV.

There you have it, another week’s virtual asset news! We wish you a great weekend and if you’re trading digital assets, make sure it is with a licensed and registered broker… Happy Thursday!