Blockchain technology is an important tool in addressing the data protection crisis, Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Brittany Kaiser believes. Kaiser, a former business development director at controversial British data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, has discussed global data privacy issues in an interview with Cointelegraph on Jan. 23. Currently serving as co-founder at digital intelligence startup Own Your Data Foundation, Kaiser first came into the spotlight during the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which revealed that the firm had collected raw data from up to 87 million Facebook profiles for the Trump campaign. Speaking with Cointelegraph’s head of news Dylan Love at the World …

Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of major encrypted messenger Telegram, argues that Apple’s cloud service iCloud is “now officially a surveillance tool.” Citing a Jan. 21 Reuters report, Durov claimed that applications like WhatsApp — which rely on iCloud to store private messages — are “part of the problem.” Telegram CEO delivered his verdict in a post on his official Telegram channel on Jan. 21: “iCloud is now officially a surveillance tool. Apps that are relying on it to store your private messages (such as WhatsApp) are part of the problem.” Apple dropped its end-to-end encryption plans for iCloud two …

London-based decentralized communication startup New Vector has raised $8.5 million to drive adoption for Matrix, a major alternative messaging protocol. Slack rival Riot.IM The Matrix protocol, which enables secure communication via end-to-end encrypted messaging applications such as Riot.IM, an alternative to WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack, will continue scaling and growing its network with the newly raised funds, New Vector announced on Oct. 10. Investors of the New Vector’s Series A funding round included London-based European seed fund Firstminute Capital, cloud computing and Software as a service (SaaS)-focused Notion Capital and enterprise software venture firm Dawn Capital, the firm said. As …

Many cryptocurrency analysts and industry representatives are predicting that the increasing integration of blockchain payments with messenger apps will comprise the catalyst for the next wave of mainstream distributed ledger technology (DLT) adoption. However, critics are warning that the blockchain payments integrated with messenger apps may undermine many of the core values underpinning cryptocurrency. They predict that the majority of individuals’ economic activities may occur with centralized mediation from a handful of large companies. In turn, they may be able to profit from the mass of financial data that will be yielded through the mass adoption of DLT payments integrated …

Coming every Sunday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link. Top Stories This Week Binance reveals “Venus” — its own project to rival Facebook’s Libra With Facebook tangled up in regulatory tape and putting Libra on ice, others are seizing the chance to leapfrog the social network and launch their own stablecoins. Walmart’s at it, the People’s Bank of China’s at it, and Binance is now throwing its hat …

Within the past 12 months, stablecoins have transformed from a niche idea to tackle the issues of a volatile market into methods of payment championed by some of the world’s biggest and most powerful tech companies. Facebook’s announcement that it would be supporting the launch of a reserve-backed stablecoin played a vital role in turning around the so-called “crypto winter” by boosting Bitcoin (BTC) prices above $10,000 for the first time in over two years. Since then, the world’s number one cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has thrown its hat into the ring with its own stablecoin development project, “Venus.” Binance launches …

Facebook-owned messaging service, WhatsApp, is purportedly in preliminary talks with multiple digital payments firms as well as a state-owned bank to launch digital payment services in Indonesia. Reuters reported that they had learned of this development from anonymous sources on Aug. 20. According to the report, WhatsApp is currently negotiating with transportation booking service Go-Jek, mobile payments provider DANA, fintech startup OVO and state-owned Bank Mandiri. Bank Mindri operates a digital wallet service, per the report. WhatsApp’s plan for Indonesia is to support payments through digital wallets in the region, according to Reuters’ sources. The report further speculates that Facebook’s …

Social media giant Facebook plans to launch its own payments-focused cryptocurrency “Globalcoin” in 2020, according to a BBC news report published on May 24. The BBC reports that tests for the forthcoming digital currency are planned to take place by the end of 2019. While Globalcoin is ostensibly the coin’s current name within the company, it has not been confirmed that it will retain the same name once development of the project is completed. According to the BBC, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg met Bank of England governor Mark Carney last month to discuss the prospects and risks involved in its …

A new strain of Trojan malware for Android phones is targeting global users of top crypto apps such as Coinbase, BitPay and Bitcoin Wallet, as well as banks including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. The news was reported by technology news outlet The Next Web on March 28. Based on research from prominent cybercrime analytics firm Group-IB, this is reportedly the first time the Trojan — now named “Gustuff” — has been reported or analyzed. The malware is described as being designed for mass infection and is spread by SMS messages with links to load malicious Android package …

Facebook is “hoping to succeed where Bitcoin failed” with its highly secretive cryptocurrency project, a New York Times (NYT) article published today, Feb. 28, argues. Citing multiple anonymous sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the Times pieces together the alleged contours of the project, which will reportedly aim to integrate cryptocurrency payments into its messaging services. Notably, Facebook plans to rehaul its messaging infrastructure and integrate its three wholly-owned apps — WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram — under one canopy. As the Times notes, this would provide a future crypto token with exposure across the combined 2.7 billion who …

On Dec. 20, Bloomberg reported that Facebook is making a stablecoin for WhatsApp users. The cryptocurrency will reportedly be used for money transfers made within the messaging app and will focus on the Indian market. The move provides a curious juxtaposition for the social media giant, which banned cryptocurrency-related advertising across its network back in January and then partly reversed it in June. Here’s how Facebook’s relationship with cryptocurrencies and blockchain has been developing in 2018 — overall, it has been a patchy road. January: Zuckerberg is being bullish about crypto; Facebook bans crypto ads On Jan. 4, Mark Zuckerberg …

Facebook is reportedly making a cryptocurrency for users of the messaging service WhatsApp, Bloomberg reports on Dec. 20. The token will purportedly be used for money transfers made within the app, and will focus on the remittances market in India. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg states that Facebook is developing a stablecoin. The sources further stated that the coin will not be released anytime soon, as Facebook is still working on a strategy for custody assets i.e. the asset to which the stablecoin will be tied. The Indian remittances market is significant. According to data from the World …