Techmeme
June 18, 2019, 2:50 PM

Top News

Facebook:
Facebook announces plans to launch Libra, a new cryptocurrency, and Calibra, a newly formed Facebook subsidiary to oversee financial services for Libra  —  A New Digital Wallet for a New Digital Currency  —  Today we're sharing plans for Calibra, a newly formed Facebook subsidiary whose goal …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook says user Libra transaction data will not be shared with Facebook and will not be used for ad targeting or ranking users' News Feed  —  The use cases, technology, and motive behind the new digital money  —  Facebook has finally revealed the details of its cryptocurrency Libra …
Alastair Marsh / Bloomberg:
French Finance Minister calls on the Group of Seven central bank governors to review Facebook's Libra, citing concerns it may become a “sovereign currency”  —  - French finance chief says it can't be a ‘sovereign currency’  — Germany's Ferber sees Facebook becoming a shadow bank
CoinDesk:
Facebook announces an independent consortium, Libra Association, with 28 founding members including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Uber, Lyft, Coinbase, and others  —  You don't have to have a Facebook account to use Libra.  —  That's the hands-off approach the social media giant is working toward …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Facebook's Calibra subsidiary will launch a digital wallet for Libra, as a standalone iOS and Android app and within WhatsApp and Messenger  —  It's called Calibra, and it's a new subsidiary of Facebook the company is launching to build financial services and software on top of the Libra blockchain.
Binance Info:
An in-depth first look at Facebook's new Libra cryptocurrency, due to be rolled out in the next 18 months, and its impact on the broader crypto ecosystem  —  On June 18th 2019, Facebook released details about Libra, a stable cryptocurrency backed by a basket of financial assets, which runs on its own blockchain.
The Keyword:
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Amazon's Twitch has acquired social networking platform Bebo, source says for $25M, to bolster its esports business  —  While Facebook makes a bold move into cryptocurrency to capitalise on its multi-billion user base, a social network that was once a credible competitor to it has quietly been snapped up by a subsidiary of Amazon.
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Apple adds a feature in iOS 13 beta 2 that tells users about ongoing subscriptions for apps they are about to delete  —  ‘Do you want to keep your subscription for this app?’  —  Apple has added a warning in iOS 13 beta 2 that appears when you try to uninstall an app which still has an active subscription.
Jon Fingas / Engadget:
Palm opens preorders for an unlocked version of its tiny $350 3.2-inch smartphone with Snapdragon 435, expected to ship in the next six to eight weeks  —  As much as Palm's tiny phone has improved over the past several months, there's still been one glaring limitation: you've had to use it on Verizon …
Biz Carson / Forbes:
CEO of parenting support app Cleo, which raised its $27.5M Series B in May, has resigned after it came to light that her resume contained falsehoods  —  On a Monday in April, Shannon Spanhake stood at the front of Cleo's office as her executive team lined up beside her.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Top500: China has 219 of the world's fastest supercomputers, with the US still lagging behind at 116; Lenovo edged out IBM and Cray as the top vendor  —  To kick off the festivities at the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) in Frankfurt, Germany this morning, the Top500 …
Mike Butcher / TechCrunch:
London-based Zego, which offers flexible insurance policies with pricing based on usage data from vehicles, raises $42M Series B led by Target Global  —  A couple of years ago London-based startup Zego realised gig-economy workers would need insurance, and went on to raise a very healthy £6 million …
More: Tech.eu and FinSMEs
Jeff John Roberts / Fortune:
Ripple to take a 8-10% stake in the money transfer service MoneyGram, which will use the digital currency XRP as part of its day-to-day operations  —  Cryptocurrency company Ripple on Monday announced a major partnership with MoneyGram, which will see the money transfer service use …

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Tony Romm / Washington Post:
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Earlier Picks

Bloomberg:
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