From Bitcoin’s surge past $9000 to Craig Wright’s copyright claims to Facebook’s digital Zuck buck, here are some of the last seven days’ top stories from around the cryptoverse.

Bitcoin: Over $9000…aaaaaaaand it’s gone

Bitcoin certainly sent investors on an exciting roller coaster ride this week. Starting out at $8300, everybody’s favorite cryptocurrency jumped by more than $500 before dropping slightly to close out Sunday at $8728.

Bouncing around between $8600 and $8900 through much of the week, on Thursday Bitcoin briefly spiked to $9005 — a new YTD high — before dropping more than $780 in less than six hours.

It has since recovered some lost ground and is currently trading at around $8423 according to CoinMarketCap.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

A Tale of Two Satoshis

Who knew that copyright law could filled with such high drama and excitement?

Last week, was stunned when Craig Wright boldly announced that he had filed copyright registrations for both the Bitcoin whitepaper and its source code.

Not only that, but the press release claimed that it marked the “first government agency recognition of Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.”

The crypto community was divided, with those drinking the Craig-Wright-is-Satoshi kool-aid claiming that this was proof, that the US government had investigated and determined that CSW was, in fact, Satoshi Nakamoto.

On the other side, those who actually read up on what copyright does and does not mean, pointed out that it wasn’t really proof at all and that the US Copyright Office doesn’t do any due diligence on claims — even those that paid extra for ‘special handling’.

As if this saga couldn’t get any crazier, this week a second person had a copyright registration for the Bitcoin whitepaper approved.

Wei Lui, CEO of crypto market research firm Coinsummer, filed the copyright registration to highlight how easy it is to do and how little weight it carries.

“I filed it just to let people know anyone can register a copyright. Everyone can be Satoshi Nakamoto,” he told CoinDesk.

Wright, once again showing his true litigious nature, implied that he plans to challenge Liu’s registration in court, noting, “Now we can both show our credentials and see who ends up wearing an orange suit!”

Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash

Bitcoin SV Rides High on Hype and Fake News

Launched by Craig Wright in November 2018, the pretender to the Bitcoin throne has largely been trading in the $50 to $80 range for most of 2019.

As news of Wright’s copyright registrations broke and false interpretations became highly publicized as “fact”, the price of BSV climbed more than 75% — from $62.01 to $108.53 — in less than three hours.

Then on Wednesday, after continuing to meander upward through most of the week, Bitcoin SV shot up another 67% — from $114.85 to $192.33 — in less than nine hours.

The craziness doesn’t stop there.

Overnight, from Wednesday into early Thursday morning, BSV prices spiked to a new all-time high of $250.38.

The reason behind the staggering price increase appears to stem from fake news that went viral among crypto enthusiasts on Chinese social media outlets.

The “news” not only claimed that Binance was re-listing Bitcoin SV, but that its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, agreed to publicly apologize to Wright for doubting he is Satoshi Nakamoto.

For those who don’t remember, back in April CZ threatened to — and ultimately did — delist BSV from Binance if Craig Wright didn’t stop squawking about being the real Satoshi Nakamoto and threatening to sue anyone who publicly disagreed with him.

Photo by Con Karampelas on Unsplash

Facebook Enters the Cryptocurrency Arena

Out of Silicon Valley this week comes the news that Facebook will be launching its own cryptocurrency.

Zuck’s buck, dubbed GlobalCoin, is set to roll out for testing by the end of 2019 and is expected to be released to the public in 12 countries around the world by Q1 2020.

According to the BBC:

Facebook wants to create a digital currency that provides affordable and secure ways of making payments, regardless of whether users have a bank account. The social networking site, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, is hoping to disrupt existing networks by breaking down financial barriers, competing with banks and reducing consumer costs.

Facebook may have more of an uphill battle than it realizes, however, as a report published by research firm Diar points out that the majority of the social media giant’s userbase is either too old to “get” crypto or to young to have the disposable income to purchase and use it.

And then there’s the privacy issue.

Given Facebook’s less than stellar track record where user privacy is concerned, the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban affairs had some serious questions for Zuckerberg.

This week’s Crypto News Roundup is brought to you by Micky.com.au — Australia’s biggest crypto and blockchain news outlet.