Telegram will offer users personal data storage
Telegram, Pavel Durov’s messenger app, has begun closed tests of Telegram Passport, a personal data storage service, Vedomosti reports, citing two well-informed sources. Originally created for the TON (Telegram Open Network) project, the service will allow users to verify their identity by uploading their data to the app, which can then be instantly shared with the project’s partners. Russian payment systems operator Qiwi has reportedly been interested in partnering with Telegram, although no official confirmation has yet been received.“Telegram Passport will be able to amass internal passports, international passports, driver's licenses, utility bills, bank account certificates and other documents, and request to take a picture of the user,” Vedomosti writes. The messenger won’t have access to the data, as it will be encrypted using two-factor authentication.According to a source close to the newspaper, Telegram Passport’s actual launch will likely happen in a few months’ time.
Reddit co-founder says cryptocurrencies can fuel a “potential new internet”
Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian shared his idea of cryptocurrencies acting as a "store of value not backed by a single country" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. According to Ohanian, cryptocurrencies give people the ability to control their own money without fear of government intervention, which is especially valuable in countries with unstable political and economic environments. As confidence in state financial protection is fading, people are turning to cryptocurrencies as a potential tool against hyperinflation, which could be fuel for a “potentially new internet”. Ohanian further added: “We sort of take it for granted the fact that we all have bank accounts, and we move money here and there, but for so many people in the world to have actually this security of knowing that what is yours is yours, because it is now digital, could be transferred with you wherever you are going, is actually pretty empowering.”
Bitcoin Billions Buried in Bunkers
Argentinian Wences Casares’ startup Xapo has gathered approximately $10 billion in Bitcoins in underground bunkers, Bloombergreports. Xapo was originally created to guard Bitcoin keys on offline servers in safe vaults with substantial amounts of digital safeguards.
Owning a Bitcoin means that you are responsible for the safety of its key (the code that lets you use it). While keys can be stored on regular computers, they remain vulnerable to hacker attacks. Cold-storage, keeping it offline on another device (such as a thumb drive), is a relatively more common option, although hackers can still potentially reach it when you plug the device into an online computer. Other methods of Bitcoin theft are also prevalent - less technologically adept criminals have been known to commit home invasions and kidnappings.
At Xapo, security is of the highest priority. It takes about two days to retrieve Bitcoin from the company’s vaults, during which a client’s ID is verified and multiple vaults approve your transaction request.
Reddit of the Day (By en.Insider.pro choice)
A post by u/IDCrypto featuring a selfie with Vitalik Buterin (founder of Ethereum), Joseph Lubin (co-founder of Ethereum) and Eric Schmidt (former Google executive chairman) after a "brainstorming" session, has made the rounds on Reddit. The selfie was originally posted by Kavita Gupta, founding managing partner of ConsenSys, a blockchain software company, with the photo being taken at the Future Makers talk in Toronto on May 9. “Incredible brainstorming, learning and sharing of ideas with 3 of the best tech brains in the world- let’s ramp up Web 3.0”, Kavita tweeted.
Total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $437 864 119 825
Bitcoin (Bitcoin) is up 2,89%% to $9377,20
Ethereum (ETH/USD) is up 5,22% to $765,55
Ripple (XRP/USD) is up 3,31% to $0,805100
Bitcoin Cash (Bitcoin.Cash) is up 9,02% to $1 664,52
EOS (EOS/USD) is up 2,70% to $18,11
By Nadya Astam