This Week In Cryptocurrency - Friday, June 7

Cryptocurrency market update: Cryptocurrency markets saw a slight correction this week, however, some tokens still saw their time in the sun.

The losers: Bitcoin down 4%, Ethereum down 3%, EOS down 16.44%.

The winners: Litecoin is up 7.55%, Tron up 6.54%, Cosmos up 12.6%, Chainlink 21.1%, Zilliqa up 26%.

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cryptocurrency markets 

Blockstream Developers Accused of Being Paid $850,000 Annually: Blockstream, the Bitcoin Core development company, has allegedly been paying its employees up to $850,000 per year due to an agreement in which employees are paid 20% of their salary in BTC pegged to its 2014 price. This infers that employees are being paid 85 BTC annually, which is about a $680,000 bonus on the year. However, it’s worth taking this information with a large grain of salt, as it was released in a hit piece by Cashbleed, a site registered this week, which fires some inflammatory shots such as accusing Blockstream of having “siphoned millions worth of Bitcoin to personal wallets.”

Cryptocurrency has been a contentious subject in India, with predictions that the country is planning to ban all cryptocurrency setting an undertone of uneasiness. This week, an Indian lawyer named Varun Sethi received a response to his Right to Information (RTI) request with India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI denied having sent or received any official communication to other departments “for this matter.” However, the cryptocurrency climate seems to be fairly apprehensive with a slight chance of ban, as a few government departments such as the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) have all supported the idea of completely banning the purchase, sale, and issuance of all cryptocurrency.

Former Mt. Gox CEO Reveals New Blockchain Startup: Mt. Gox getting hacked for $460 million was a pivotal moment in cryptocurrency’s history, as well as the life of CEO Mark Karpeles. Some would say it’s difficult to bounce back after a $460 million hack, especially when faced with embezzlement charges in Japan, a country with a 99% conviction rate. In March, Karpeles got off relatively clean, with a suspended sentence of 2.5 years, which he wouldn’t have to serve if he doesn’t get into any trouble. This week, Karpeles announced he’s jumping back into the cryptocurrency world to launch a venture called Tristan Technologies, with claims of wanting to help Japan become a powerhouse within the blockchain economy.   

Darknet Drugs on the Rise: The Global Drugs Survey questioned over 123,000 people from over 30 countries and found that darknet drug purchases have been growing rapidly. The survey found that 87% of respondents were white, 59% were male, and a mean age of 29, with the most popular illegal drugs used in the last year, were cannabis, MDMA, cocaine, amphetamines, LSD, and psilocybin mushrooms. Many people purchasing drugs on the darknet used BTC, although popular threads on onion forum encourage the use of Monero. Cryptocurrency antagonists often point to the ease and anonymity to transact with cryptocurrency on the darknet.

Facebook Targets Cryptocurrency Debut for June 18th: Last name, Libra. First name, Facebook’s cryptocurrency project people won’t stop talking about called. According to TechCrunch, multiple investors briefed on Project Libra were told that Facebook plans to release the Libra whitepaper on June 18th.