The cryptocurrency space is having the biggest conference week of this year featuring long term staples like Consensus, Ethereal and new comer Magic Crypto Conference. As every conferences has major announcements, this article will summarize what has been announced so far and how it may impact the future of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies

eBay to Accept Cryptocurrencies

Update: eBay has denied that they are accepting cryptocurrencies on their site. Official comments stated that there is a misunderstanding and eBay does not accept cryptocurrenies nor is cryptocurrencies part of their strategy. In fact, “virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies” are prohibited according to the eBay’s listing rules. When questioned regarding the Consensus photos, eBay claims this is a “misunderstanding” as mining equipment is being sold on eBay.

“Cryptocurrency is not accepted as a form of payment on the eBay platform, nor is it part of our payments strategy,” eBay’s official response to Cryptonews.com

Advertising space from around the Consensus venue is show that eBay bring cryptocurrencies to 179 Million active buyers. We are waiting to hear the official confirmation details about how and which cryptocurrencies will be used on eBay. Adoption on the eBay front would mean major benefit for sellers who have to pay up to 4.4% + a fixed fee when accepting with PayPal .

@boxmining I got sent this from Consensus. Might be an interesting play pic.twitter.com/00ivTy9tTl — Sugartits McCrypto (@SugartitsCrypto) May 13, 2019

Whole Foods and Other Major Retailers Now Accept Bitcoin

Consumer merchants accepting crypto is finally here!

Big name retailers— Whole Foods (owned by Amazon), Nordstrom and Gamestop now accept Bitcoin and three other types of digital money. This integration is done via the Flexa Network with the help from Gemini.

BAKKT sets July date for Bitcoin Futures Contracts

BAKKT is preparing for User Acceptance Testing

BAKKT futures contracts for Bitcoin is expected to launch in July. New updates from BAKKT describes the user testing phase for Bitcoin futures which involve their own custody solutions. BAKKT has been heavily anticipated since it was announced by ICE (Intercontinental Exchange), and as seen as one of the major methods for institutional investors acquire cryptocurrencies.

Microsoft is using Bitcoin for Identity

Microsoft is launching the first decentralized identity Tool directly on the bitcoin blockchain. This tool, currently called Ion, allows different companies to accept universal logins without compromising user data. This marks Microsoft’s first major development in this space (previous developments primarily focused on promoting Microsoft’s cloud service Azure).

There are systems that we have at Microsoft that give you permissions in an enterprise context, a product called Active Directory, that we think need to be able to recognize these DIDs as well. Rhodes, Digitial Identity Foundation

Binance Maintenance (Trading, Deposit and Withdraw Suspension)

Binance will undergo a scheduled system maintenance on May 15th to improve system security (something that was drastically improved after the Binance Hack). Many expect this to impact the price of varies altcoins due to the size and influence of the Binance Exchange.

Binance will perform a scheduled system upgrade starting at 2019/05/15 03:00 AM (UTC). The upgrade will take approximately 6-8 hours. Binance Announcement

Samsung to Roll Out Crypto Features on Budget Galaxy Phones

Earlier this year, Samsung added hardware-wallet grade security onto its Flagship S10 phones (along with Enjin Wallet support) that cost in the expensive $1000 USD range. Samsung is now expending this to budget phones, exposing the Samsung Blockchain Keystore to more budget conscious users.

“We will lower barriers to new experiences by gradually expanding the number of Galaxy models that support blockchain functions. We will also expand our service target countries after Korea, the United States and Canada.” Chae Won-cheol, senior managing director

SEC is looking at Initial Exchange Offerings

This should come as no surprise to anyone – the SEC is now looking to the legality of Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs). Token sales have been under been placed under a microscope last year as there may be security elements that require registration with the SEC. IEOs are essential token sales sold on a centralized exchange, with access to thousands of potential buyers.