Welcome back to CryptOsint! 

Check out past issues from our archive. Please let me know if you want a particular topic featured or a specific question answered. All feedback, suggestions, and questions can be sent to brenna@bellingcat.com.

The Libra Update

In an effort to win over lawmakers, the Libra Association significantly scaled back its plans for the digital currency. Instead of attempting to revolutionize the global financial system, Libra will now be a more traditional method of payment, where coins are tied to a single fiat currency instead of multiple. Despite these changes, some U.S. lawmakers are still dissatisfied with the project.

Here’s Coindesk’s Brady Dale with more:

The consortium set up last year by Facebook now plans to develop a handful of stablecoins each representing a different fiat currency. One libra coin could be tied to the U.S. dollar, for example, another to the euro and so on.

Libra still intends to issue a multi-currency stablecoin, but it would be backed by the new stablecoins, rather than directly by fiat currencies held in a bank. The new model arguably limits Libra’s flexibility, since adding (or removing) a currency from the basket requires issuing (or retiring) another digital token.

The pivot, announced Thursday, represents a major concession to governments and central bankers around the world who balked at Libra's original plan, partly out of concern it could undermine their monetary sovereignty.

Other Libra News:

• Facebook plans to hire 50 people in Ireland for its Libra project [Yogita Khatri // The Block]

• G20 sets ground rules ahead of Facebook's Libra stablecoin [Huw Jones & Tom Wilson // Reuters]

• CryptoKitties and Libra teams join forces for developer-friendly system [Ibiam Wayas // Cryptopolitan]

Coronavirus and Crypto

• Square, the company behind the crypto-friendly Cash App, announced it will be participating in the U.S. government’s stimulus lender program in reaction to the coronavirus. [Leigh Cuen // Coindesk]

• With the pandemic in full swing, there has been an uptick in the sale of counterfeit N95 masks. This blockchain company has found a way to sniff out the fakes. [The Street]

• In one country, bitcoin miners are “essential.” In others, they aren’t. Coindesk unpacks the disparate designations. [Leigh Cuen // Coindesk]

• A new coronavirus relief bill reintroduced the idea of a digital dollar, but digital dollar advocate and ex-CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo is skeptical of the idea. [Liam Frost // Decrypt]

• Bitcoin ATM use is up during COVID19 and no one is quite sure why. [Daniel Kuhn // Coindesk]

• HDR Global Trading Limited, the operator of Bitmex, donated $2.5 million to coronavirus relief efforts. [Yogita Khatri // The Block]

• Spanish researchers are racing to develop an app that predicts the spread of the coronavirus backed by blockchain technology. [Sebastian Sinclair // Coindesk]

The Privacy Battle

The privacy debates over efforts to develop coronavirus tracking apps continue! 

• Apple and Google contact tracing app: As we discussed last week, some privacy experts are ok with the new app and others are far from convinced. Here’s an update on that whole debacle: 

  • Jaap-Henk Hoepman fell into the not a fan camp and made a compelling argument about why we shouldn’t be too quick to trust the tech companies’ endeavor. 

  • Wired’s Andy Greenberg wrote a comprehensive Q&A on the topic, concluding that the app will ultimately not be that anonymous. [Andy Greenberg // Wired]

  • Coindesk found that the whole project’s success will be dependent on Americans choosing to trust Google and Apple as well as an increase in testing. [Benjamin Powers // Coindesk]

  • On a related note, Google and Apple are apparently limiting the ability for contact tracing apps to operate on their smartphone app stores in the name of privacy. [Alex Hern // Guardian]

• Russia developed a COVID19 application to “provide electronic services potentially needed during the outbreak of the coronavirus” and to issue electronic permissions to go outside. Citizens are not amused and are trying to get the application removed from online stores. [Anna Baydakova // Coindesk]

• India’s government has developed a coronavirus contact tracing app, but experts have found the application to have problematic privacy implications. [Liam Frost // Decrypt]

• The website for the European Union’s contact tracing system has removed all mentions of the decentralization protocol previously proposed for the project. [Benjamin Powers // Coindesk]

Blockchain in Beijing

• By May, local government employees in Suzhou will receive half of their transportation subsidies in China’s digital currency. [Celia Wan // The Block]

  • Chinese state-owned television network CCTV also reported that government officials are claiming the nation’s digital currency could be used in the 2022 Winter Olympics. [Yogita Khatri // The Block]

• China’s national blockchain platform will launch this coming Friday. The government-backed platform will help companies implement blockchain applications quicker and cheaper. [Yogita Khatri // The Block]

• The Chinese government also launched the National Blockchain and Distributed Accounting Technology Standardization Technical Committee, featuring members Huawei, Tencent, and Ant Financial. [Arjun Kharpal // CNBC]

• Additionally, Beijing banned state-backed blockchain firm Tus Data Asset from exporting medical supplies to other countries. [Felipe Erazo // Cointelegraph]

• Hong Kong’s first regulated bitcoin fund launched last week. [ [Yogita Khatri // The Block]