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From a new example of the power of Bitcoin and blockchain to a million-dollar donation from Ripple, here’s a look at some of the stories breaking in the world of crypto.

Why Bitcoin?

An ordeal over the purchase of a sandwich is highlighting why Bitcoin was invented: to eliminate intermediaries.

A Reddit user says the mobile payment service Venmo flagged his account for sending money to a friend who bought him a Cuban sandwich. Venmo’s compliance department asked for a “complete and detailed explanation” of what the payment was for, because the user placed the word “Cuban” in the description of the payment.

The Venmo inquiry shines a spotlight on the simplicity of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and peer-to-peer transactions.

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You can check out the full post here.

Ripple

Australian National University says Ripple has donated $1 million to research the legal implications of blockchain technology.

“The Australian National University has become the first in the country to secure $1 million to research and create courses around the legal implications for the law profession and governments from the emerging technologies of blockchain, smart contracts, and digital payments.

Scott Chamberlain, a Senior Lecturer in the ANU College of Law, has received the funds from US-based cryptocurrency exchange platform Ripple, as part of its $50 million University Blockchain Research Initiative.”

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Meanwhile, Ripple has released an extended clip of a speech from Euro Exim’s head of compliance and operations Graham Bright, who talks about its decision to become the first bank to adopt Ripple’s XRP-based xRapid.

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Ethereum

The Ethereum Foundation is revealing where it will allocate grant money for 2019. According to the Foundation, grants will be primarily handed out to companies focusing on scaling solutions.

However, the organization says it won’t abandon other ideas and projects, and will remain “open to any grant proposal which addresses urgent, important and unique improvements which further the Ethereum vision.

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Litecoin

Litecoin founder Charlie Lee says he just had a productive meeting with the head of WEG Bank. Last year, TokenPay handed the Litecoin Foundation a 9.9% stake in the German financial institution. Lee hints at new developments that are in the works.

Last week, I had an very productive meeting with Matthias von Hauff, CEO of WEG Bank. He flew all the way from Germany for 1 day just to meet me! Matthias is not your typical banker and really gets crypto. Stay tuned for some exciting products from WEG Bank! @tokenpay @derekcapo — Charlie Lee [LTC⚡] (@SatoshiLite) February 21, 2019

Stellar

The Stellar-based micropayments startup SatoshiPay says it’s received a $1-million grant from the Stellar Foundation.

According to Decrypt, the money will be primarily utilized for marketing and will allow SatoshiPay to give free credits to companies that sign up for its services.

Tron

Tron’s file-sharing platform BitTorrent is accepting pre-registrations for people who want early access to BitTorrent Speed.

BitTorrent Speed is expected to launch this summer, and will incorporate BitTorrent Token (BTT) to reward users who upload files on the network.

We are making giant leaps with #BitTorrentSpeed and we are thrilled to give you a chance to join our early access group! Visit our website, sign up and get a chance to use the largest DApp, enabling blockchain mass adoption & introducing $BTT to 100M users!https://t.co/Jm4TPrlYtU — Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) February 21, 2019

IOTA

The IOTA Foundation just posted a community Q&A from the IOTA Research Summit. The team answers questions about the platform’s progress, new priorities, reusable addresses and more.

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