TL;DR: Welcome to In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), a daily crypto news update. South Korea legalizes cryptocurrencies. Nike and Macy’s to use blockchain and RFID-based supply chain solution. Power plant in New York runs its own mining operation. BitGo launches institutional lending services. Uphold debuts Mastercard physical debit card, and Unstoppable Domains launch Chrome extension to browse the decentralized web.

South Korea Legalizes Cryptocurrencies

South Korea has taken a definitive step in legalizing cryptocurrencies, including them in the new amendment to the Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Information. With the new rules now in place, all cryptocurrency-related businesses and institutions like exchanges, wallet providers, and ICOs will have to get a real name partnership with a bank that will issue accounts to every user to minimize the risk of using the system to launder money. Exchanges from South Korea will also have to comply with the Korea Internet Security Agency standards to keep information from customers safe.

Nike and Macy’s to Use Blockchain to Manage Supply Chain Solutions

Giant brands like Nike and Macy’s are teaming up to use a blockchain system to control their supply chain that will make them save billions of dollars annually. The project, codenamed CHIP (Chain Integration Project), combines the usage of RFID tags and the Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain to share information from the chain supply without giving ownership of it. The Proof of Concept included several big retail stores such as Nike, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Walmart and FedEx. The companies expect to solve the counterfeiting problem without human involvement using this solution.

Power Plant in New York Runs Own Mining Operation

Atlas Holdings LLC, a private equity firm based in Greenwich, New York found the way of combining power and cryptocurrency by installing a mining facility inside the Greenidge power plant in Dresden, NY. The mining ASICs are able to run at “off the meter” power prices, paying just for the production of the gas at the plant that produces 106 megawatts, of which 15 will be used to power the mining operation. Tim Rainey, CFO at Greenidge, declared they have a “unique position” in the whole mining segment, letting them “make money in down markets so that we’re available to catch the upside of volatile price swings.”

BitGo Launches Institutional Lending Services

BitGo, one of the most important custody solution providers, will now enter the market of institutional lending, after having refined their lending operation for over a month. According to their PR, the goal of BitGo is to provide lending services in the same way that such businesses do for attending traditional markets. BitGo claims their services are tailored by Wall Street and familiarized with the needs of institutional customers. Mike Belshe, BitGo’s CEO, stated they mixed “the best of Wall Street’s understanding of how to work with institutional investors, and the best of Silicon Valley’s technology and innovation.”

Uphold Launches Cryptocurrency Debit Card

Uphold, a UK based cryptocurrency exchange and investment wallet, in alliance with MasterCard, the credit card giant, launched its new physical debit card in the US, allowing users of the exchange to spend any of the platform’s supported cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services wherever MasterCard debit is accepted. “If you’ve ever wanted to buy a bicycle or groceries with assets held in crypto and gold, now you can,” declared Uphold’s CEO, J.P. Thieriot. The card will be paired with an app that will let users review their expenses and change their passwords.

Unstoppable Domains Launches Chrome Extension to Access Decentralized Web

Unstoppable Domains, a company that develops decentralized domains hosted on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchains, released a Chrome extension that lets users access the decentralized web seamlessly, instead of using the Unstoppable Domains Special Browser. The extension simplifies all the process, and now adopters must only type the name of the .crypto domain to access its data. Unstoppable Domains co-founder Brad Kam stated that “the decentralized web should work just like the regular web, with the applications you are accustomed to using,” and this move is a step in that direction.

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