How Telegram quietly snuck its blockchain past regulators

Regulators are furious with Facebook's Libra. All this focus on Libra has diverted attention away from the Telegram Open Network, or TON, Telegram’s upcoming Proof-of-Stake network that promises to integrate blockchain payments to the 365 million users of Telegram’s encrypted messaging app by the end of October. 

Despite raising $1.7 billion, Telegram has barely acknowledged the project, and, for years, all the public has to go on is outdated, ‘leaked’ whitepapers and the Russian rumor mill. On September 8, Telegram dumped half a million lines of code for TON, hundreds of pages of new documentation, and a beta, but with less than six weeks to go, there’s no time to prove it’s fit to handle hundreds of millions of users. If TON delivers on promises of high speeds and decentralization, it’d be the largest blockchain launch in history. 

Bitcoin Lightning Network hits 10,000 nodes

The number of nodes on the Bitcoin Lightning Network has risen above 10,000 for the first time. Nodes are the computers who help to keep the network running.

According to data site 1ml, the number of Lighting nodes has increased by 3.1 percent over the last 30 days—to reach an all-time high of 10,000. Which is small compared to Bitcoin’s 100,000-odd nodes, but significant for the network.

Here are the biggest stories in the cryptoverse:

• Overstock invests $2 million in blockchain ID firm.
• Bitcoin's popularity grows in Africa.
• European bankers optimistic about Libra.  
• Ex-UBS head champions blockchain's potential.

SoFi pivots to crypto, launches Bitcoin and Ethereum trading

What you need to know

With student debt in America exceeding $1.6 trillion, you’d think lenders and other companies involved in the student loan biz would be feeling pretty comfortable right about now.

But not SoFi.

The student-loan refinancing company is stepping out of its comfort zone and jumping into the crypto world, today announcing the launch of a new trading platform for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, according to Fortune.

Why it's important

SoFi customers (except those in New York and New Jersey) can now buy, sell, and trade crypto through a partnership with Coinbase, the largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. 

Why Bitcoin's hashrate didn't crash

Yesterday, Bitcoin’s hashrate dropped a worrying 30 percent, causing exclamations of fear across the market—and widespread panic that the network may not be so secure. 

But, not to worry, there’s a simple explanation—it just so happens to be a little complicated to explain. Here goes:

Bitcoin’s mining hashrate is a measure of the current amount of computational power expended to mine new blocks—to earn newly minted Bitcoin. Miners crunch these things called hashes, trying to find one that meets a set criteria. At the same time, the computing power expended on doing this secures the Bitcoin blockchain and processes transactions on the network. 

Read more here.