Weekly Blockchain News, August 23, 2021

Welcome back in the weekly summary of leading developments in the crypto/blockchain space, presented from Billon's point of view. Check what happened in the last days when it comes to CBDC and other enterprise uses of blockchain. Enjoy the read!

More than $90 million in cryptocurrency stolen after a top Japanese exchange is hacked.   Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid said some of its digital currency wallets have been “compromised" and $97M in crypto assets have been received by hackers. It’s the second major crypto heist to take place in little over a week.

Microsoft wants to use Ethereum blockchain to fight piracy. In a new paper released by Microsoft’s research department, with the participation of researchers from Alibaba and Carnegie Mellon University, the Redmond-based software giant studied a blockchain-based incentive system to bolster anti-piracy campaigns. As the title of the research, “Argus: A Fully Transparent Incentive System for Anti-Piracy Campaigns,” suggests, Microsoft’s new system relies on the transparency aspect of blockchain technology. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Argus aims to provide a trustless incentive mechanism while protecting data collected from the open anonymous population of piracy reporters.

Ukraine’s digital ministry plans to pay employees with digital hryvnia in pilot project. Employees of Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation may become the first in the country to get their salaries in digital currency. The National Bank of Ukraine is developing an electronic version of the Ukrainian hryvnia and the ministry is considering the option of using the state-issued coin for remuneration.

Bank of Jamaica mints and makes $230M of its CBDC available to public. Jamaica has officially rolled out its central bank digital currency. The Bank of Jamaica unveiled the CBDC in a recent ceremony, revealing that it had availed $230 million of the digital currency to the public. The bank becomes the latest in the Caribbean to unveil its CBDC, with the Bahamas being the most advanced in the CBDC race in the region.

Britney Spears allegedly had to use bitcoin to hide purchases from dad. Tess Barker and Barbara Gray, the hosts of the “Toxic” podcast that investigates Britney Spears’ highly controversial conservatorship case, claim that the singer dabbled in bitcoin all the way back in 2014 based on the materials they’ve obtained. Britney allegedly had to resort to using the cryptocurrency in order to hide even small purchases from her father and conservator Jamie Spears.

How will blockchain and crypto improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people? Emerging technologies, including blockchain, play an important role in the process of protecting minorities like LGBTQ+ people and providing them access to healthcare and financial services. Here 16 LGBTQ+ blockchain entrepreneurs and experts discuss, how this technology can help their community live a better life. 🏳️‍🌈

And that's it for now. See you next week!