VeradiVerdict - Zero-Knowledge Proof - Issue #11
Hi, I am Paul Veradittakit, a Partner at Pantera Capital, one of the oldest and largest institutional investors focused on investing into blockchain companies and cryptocurrencies. I focus on early investments and want to share my thoughts and what’s going on in the industry in this weekly newsletter.
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Editorials
We recently participated in series A of StarkWare Industries. We also led their seed round where Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin participated. Our co-investors in series A include Paradigm, Sequoia and Consensys. StarkWare works on commercializing STARK zero-knowledge proof system, which was designed to improve scalability and privacy in blockchains.
To achieve that, this system will manage to help public blockchain networks to hide information while maintaining computational integrity. This feature was only available to privacy-centric blockchains like Zcash and Monero. In fact, StarkWare’s chief scientists were also founding scientists at Zcash.
In addition to this privacy feature that could be turned on and off, StarkWare also provides a unique feature to public blockchains, compressing large data sets into using its full proof stack with both software and hardware. The team is now focusing on what they do best, working to integrate their technology with public blockchains. They are not doing an ICO, and will trade their tech for existing tokens.
Advocates like Vitalik have spoken positively about the technology in the past. He was an investor in the project, and hinted that such a system could be deployed on top of “Ethereum 3.0.”
Digests
A New Model For Token Distribution - Multicoin Capital
Crypto networks are supposed to be decentralized. As Balaji Srinivasan, CTO of Coinbase, has written, decentralization can be measured in a number of dimensions.
The Ethereum-blockchain size has exceeded 1TB, and yes, it’s an issue
This is an indirect response to the following article by Afri Schoedon, a developer for the Parity Ethereum client, written less than a year ago: I want to make it clear that I have respect for…
In the Tweets
0/ The SEC took its first shot at an unregistered crypto exchange today, charging the founder of EtherDelta with a violation of the federal securities laws.
So much to unpack. I know I'm late to the party, but here are my thoughts on what happened & what it means.
Thread. 👇
6:27 PM - 8 Nov 2018
The BCH split is entertaining because it brings the BCH faction's hypocrisies to bear.
"forking is governance!" – enjoy your fork
"only hash power matters" – so you'll support SV if it wins then?
"big blocks at all costs" – so you'll support SV (128 mb) over ABC (32 mb)?
4:12 AM - 12 Nov 2018
"Regulatory clarity has a huge ability to drive digital asset and blockchain adoption" @bgarlinghouse and @IMFNews’ Ross Leckow talk #blockchain opportunities for ASEAN financial institutions. #SGFinTechFest https://t.co/5BCuh1QC9F
2:29 AM - 12 Nov 2018
News
Combined Class-Action Lawsuit Against Ripple Moves to Federal Court
Attorneys for Ripple Labs and its affiliated defendants filed to move a consolidated class-action lawsuit from its previous venue at the San Mateo Superior Court to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, according to court documents published Wednesday.
Venezuela to Present Petro Crypto to OPEC as a Unit of Oil
The Venezuelan government is reportedly going to present its oil-backed Petro cryptocurrency, to OPEC as a unit of account for oil.
Cryptocurrency Exchange Giant Binance Launches Research Division
Binance announced around midnight Chinese time yesterday that it is branching beyond being an enterprise-quality consumer token exchange with the launch of Binance Research, an investigative subproject which relays in-depth, objective information on upcoming tokens – presumably, tokens listed on the exchange.
Cities in China are Using Blockchain to Track Parolees
At least two Chinese cities are using blockchain technology to track offenders on parole, CCN has learned.
$43 Million in Bitcoin Trades Help Square Beat Q3 Earnings Estimates
Square, the digital payments firm, has posted its third-quarter shareholder report, and it includes $43 million in bitcoin revenue.
Regulations
SEC Charges EtherDelta Founder Over ‘Unregistered Securities Exchange’
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Zachary Coburn, the founder of crypto token trading platform EtherDelta, with operating an unregistered securities exchange.
Singapore’s Central Bank, SGX Develop Blockchain Settlement System
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the country’s stock exchange, Singapore Exchange (SGX), have developed a settlement system for tokenized assets that can work across different blockchains.
CFTC Fines Bitcoin Trader $1.1 Million for Crypto Fraud
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has jailed a bitcoin trader and fined him over $1 million for running a fraudulent bitcoin and litecoin scheme.
New Products and Hot Deals
'GoodDollar': eToro CEO's New Project Will Use Crypto to Fight Poverty
Yoni Assia, CEO of eToro, has created a crypto token called “GoodDollar” that will use blockchain to provide a universal basic income (UBI).
Hackers Exploit Tracking Service to Infiltrate Bitcoin Exchange Gate.io
Hackers exploited third-party tracking service Statcounter in an attempt to infiltrate Gate.io, a middling bitcoin exchange.
Meet with Me
I will be traveling this fall for certain events, and to meet with investors. Let me know if you and your colleagues would like to meet in person.
Macau, Sora Summit, November 13
Miami, November 20
Los Angeles, November 21
New York, Consensus Invest, November 27