The cryptocurrency market never closes, and the industry itself is growing faster than ever. This means there’s more breaking news, and more vital information emerging than ever before. This Week in Crypto is Covesting’s weekly news recap aimed at providing the most complete coverage across the cryptosphere.

Samsung Galaxy S10 Smartphone Could Ship With Crypto Wallet

Leaked images appear to suggest that the new Samsung Galaxy S10, Samsung’s flagship smartphone will launch with a cryptocurrency wallet through an application called Samsung Blockchain KeyStore.

The Samsung Blockchain KeyStore will allow users to send and receive crypto, sign transactions securely, and explore each cryptocurrency’s transaction history. The leaked images only show Ethereum as a supported cryptocurrency but reports suggest that the app will also support Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and various ERC-20 tokens.

Levi Strauss Taps Harvard University, ConsenSys for Blockchain Pilot

In a new blockchain pilot program, iconic American clothing company Levi Strauss & Co. have enlisted the help of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, think tank New America, and blockchain firm ConsenSys in an attempt to provide more transparency around the work conditions of factory workers owned by Levi’s.

The pilot will require factory works to self-report health and work conditions, that’ll help Levi Strauss & Co. improve their work environment and bolster operations.

CBOE Withdraws Bitcoin ETF, Blames US Government Shut Down

CBOE has withdrawn its VanEck and SolidX-based Bitcoin ETF proposal. The status of the ETF proposal had repeatedly made headlines throughout 2018, and was among the crypto community’s brightest glimmer of hope for the bear market to end.

The United States government shut down is to blame for the withdrawal. The SEC was the government agency in charge of reviewing the proposal. Rather than risk the proposal be rejected due to lack of resources to conduct the review, or risk “trying to slip through,” VanEck CEO Jan van Eck said they “had the application pulled and we will re-file and re-engage in the discussions when the SEC gets going again.”

New Hampshire State Bill Proposes Tax Payments in Bitcoin

Legislators in the state of New Hampshire have put forth bill NH HB470 which will legally allow residents to pay their taxes in Bitcoin.

If approved, the bill will become law starting in July of 2020. Paying taxes in Bitcoin isn’t a new proposal for the state, however, previous bills from as early as 2015 fell dead in their tracks.

Overstock’s tZero Trading Goes Live

Online retail giant Overstock has recently focused a great deal of effort into the cryptocurrency space, doing everything from supporting cryptocurrency payments for e-commerce, to developing its own crypto aimed at tokenizing various securities.

Starting this week, accredited investors can trade tZero through broker-dealer Dinosaur Financial Group. A digital securities brokerage account is required to trade tZero.

Mobile Game Dev Kit Unity Enables Cryptocurrency Payments with Kin

Unity, a popular software development kit used to create mobile games has been updated to add tools that will allow developers to implement the Kin cryptocurrency token.

Kin, which has been working on creating a crypto ecosystem for mobile devices through its Kik messenger app, can now be used to monetize mobile apps that are built on Unity’s SDK.

Crypto Influencer John McAfee Plans to Run for President While in Exile

John McAfee, of McAfee anti-virus fame, has earned himself a nod on our top 10 cryptocurrency influencer’s list. The crypto project promoter is currently on the run from the United States government, who is charging McAfee with using cryptocurrencies in “criminal acts.”

McAfee, who already previously announced his 2020 Presidential bid alongside a crypto-backed fiat currency, will be running his campaign while in exile, he revealed in a video he posted on Twitter while making his escape from the US on a private boat.

As if the story wasn’t bizarre enough, McAfee also says that he has “hundreds” of masked look-alikes who will help him evade the IRS.