Brave browser, developed by Mozilla co-founder Brendan Eich, has filed privacy complaints in Ireland and Britain against Google, Reuters reported September 13. Brave is an open-source blockchain-powered browser, which blocks ads and website trackers. The browser is designed to improve online privacy by sharing less personal data with advertising customers, yet targeting web ads by analyzing anonymized user browsing behavior. The complaint reportedly states that Google and the advertising technology (adtech) industry practice “wide-scale and systematic breaches of the data protection regime” in the way they publish personalized online ads. The complaint further explains that while a user is visiting …

The MEGA Chrome extension version 3.39.4 has been compromised and can now steal user’s Monero in addition to other sensitive information, according to recent posts on Twitter and Reddit. MEGA Chrome extension is a tool that claims to improve browser performance by reducing page loading times, in addition to providing a secure cloud storage service. The official Twitter account of Monero (XMR) posted a warning, advising XMR holders to steer clear of MEGA. PSA: The official MEGA extension has been compromised and now includes functionality to steal your Monero: https://t.co/vzWwcM9E5k — Monero || #xmr (@monero) September 4, 2018 Another user …

The Google Cloud team has officially made the Ethereum (ETH) dataset available in BigQuery, the company’s big data warehouse for analytics, according to a post published on Google’s official blog August 29. The Ethereum blockchain data is posted in the dataset and updated on a daily basis. As the team explains, the tool was created to help make business decisions, prioritize improvements to the Ethereum architecture itself (for example, to prepare updates), and balance sheet adjustments, e.g. how quickly a wallet can be rebalanced. As Google explains, the Ethereum blockchain contains APIs for random functions such as checking transaction status, …

A policy advisor for the Netherlands’ central bank has claimed that Bitcoin price changes coincide with Google searches for the cryptocurrency, CNBC reports Friday, August 31. In an interview with the network Wednesday, De Nederlandsche Bank’s Joost van der Burgt said that the trend became clearer last December with the advent of the first Bitcoin futures hitting the market. “Every time bitcoin was in the news, be it positive or negative, the price went up accordingly,” he said. Bitcoin’s failure to compensate for losses which began in the last weeks of 2017 has sparked various theories about its future prospects …

According to a report by the Next Web published on August 28, several cryptocurrency mining apps remain in the Google Play Store despite the ban. On July 27, Google banned crypto-mining apps from its Play Store. An update to Google’s developer policy read that "we don't allow apps that mine cryptocurrency on devices." The company gave mining app developers a 30-day grace period to revise their products in order to comply with the new terms. The deferral period has passed, but some apps that enable on-device mining are still available on the Play Store, according to the Next Web. The …

Android’s Google Play Store has recently become a spot for hosting another reported Ethereum (ETH) scam application, The Next Web reports August 21. Lukas Stefanko, a malware researcher from Slovakia, found a fraudulent “Ethereum” application on Google Play that had been allegedly offered for purchase at price of €335 or around $388, according to The Next Web. In an August 20 tweet, the researcher noted that buying the app is “not the same” as an Ethereum purchase, implying that his recent discovery is a crypto scam intended to defraud users by mimicking the original altcoin Ethereum, which is worth around …

Blockchain marketing platform Atlas Protocol (ATP) has concluded a seed investment round of several million dollars led by SoftBank China Venture Capital (SBCVC), according to an August 20 press release. The multi-million dollar investment round, whose final amount was not disclosed, also included participation by Baidu Ventures (BV), Danhua Capital, and Fenbushi Digital. Atlas Protocol was formed by Nebulas Labs and the xGoogler Blockchain Alliance (xGBA), with co-founder of Jide Technology and the “first engineer” of Google Adwords Jeremy Zhao, as well as Professor Ronghui Gu of Columbia University, acting as technical advisors for Atlas Protocol, according to the press …

MetaMask, a browser extension for interacting with the Ethereum network, was pulled from the Google Chrome Web Store, it announced in a tweet Wednesday, July 25. The app has since been listed again, the company confirmed in a post five hours later. MetaMask is one of the oldest and widely used decentralized apps (DApps) on the Ethereum network, serving as an important gateway for the network’s users. According to MetaMask’s official Twitter account, the company is “unsure” of the reasons for Google Chrome’s decision to temporarily delist its extension from the store: “PSA: MetaMask has been delisted from the Chrome …

Google is joining the list of tech giants to deploy blockchain technology to offer customers fintech and cloud service solutions, according to an official statement Monday, July 23. Google announced that the company has partnered with two blockchain-focused firms, Digital Asset and BlockApps, to offer new distributed ledger technology (DLT) solutions on Google's Cloud Platform (GCP), which would allow users to "explore ways [customers] might use distributed ledger technology frameworks.” Digital Asset is a supplier of distributed ledger software for the fintech industry, while BlockApps offers a blockchain platform to launch decentralized apps (DApps). In the statement “Building a better …

Five major crypto innovators have clinched four spots on Fortune’s “40 Under 40” annual rankings for the most powerful young disruptors in global business, released for 2018 on July 19. The first incarnation of Fortune’s under 40 list ran from 1999-2003 and ranked the new titans of the dot-com boom purely based on their wealth. Post-2008 financial crash, the list has been reinvented to take the pulse of figures’ wider achievements, power, and influence on the global stage. This year, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin, 24, has sealed a spot on the list for the third year running, ranked 22nd …

Sirin Labs, a Swiss-based smartphone developer, will release a blockchain-based phone in November this year, the company told Cointelegraph on July 11. In December 2017, Sirin Labs raised $157.8 million for the project during their Initial Coin Offering (ICO), with $110 million gathered over the first 24 hours. Sirin Labs had also previously released a privacy-focused smartphone in 2016, with a market price of $16,000. The new blockchain-based phone, called Finney, is scheduled to go to market with an expected price of $1,000, Sirin Labs told Cointelegraph. Based on the Android system, Finney will run on SIRIN OS and include …

Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin made the surprise revelation that he is an Ethereum (ETH) miner at the Blockchain Summit in Morocco Sunday, July 8. Brin is currently the president of Alphabet, Google’s parent company which formed as part of the tech giant’s restructuring back in 2015, but his “side hustle” is apparently mining the world’s second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, together with his 10-year old son. Brin attributed the success of Google’s search engine and email services as down to taking the possibilities of emerging technologies “seriously” - recognizing a potential “leap” - something he credited the developers and minds behind …