Hello Steemians,

Long time no see! The cryptospace is hot today with news both anticipated and out of the blue! Here are the top 4 news making rounds in the cryptocurrency industry over the past 24 hours;

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Ripple would invest up to $50 million in MoneyGram

Ripple (XRP) has struck a deal to buy a stake in money transfer giant MoneyGram.

Under the terms of the deal, Ripple will pay $4.10 a share to acquire an 8% to 10% stake in MoneyGram.

MoneyGram has the option to sell an additional $20 million worth of shares to Ripple at the same price.

The deal would also allow MoneyGram access to X-Rapids, a product by Ripple, that uses XRP as a faster means of remittance.

CoinTelegraph

Tension Between Tezos Foundation and OcamlPro might lead to hard fork

French engineering group, OcamlPro, is pursuing a Tezos (XTZ) hard fork after Tezos Foundation threatened to stop funding them.

OcamlPro has been receiving funding from Tezos as part of a grant program.

However, tensions began when OCamlPro did not fully open-source its software, which is one of the conditions for financing grantees.

The Tezos Foundation made it known that the funding, which expired in Q2 of this year, would be halted unless this criterion was met.

TheBlockCrypto

ZCash launches second software client to further boost network security

Zcash has launched "Zebra", an alternative software client to "zcashd".

The client, built by blockchain-development firm Parity Technologies, will ensure redundancy safety net should one client fail across the network.

The client will also help “detect implementation-specific bugs” and avoid consensus-related issues.

This client represents Parity's fourth major implementation, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Polkadot (DOT).

Parity Technologies Blog

Libra Blockchain Whitepaper finally Launched, here's what we know;

Our team at CoinGecko has read the 12-page document so that you don't need to, here's what we know so far;

• It is set to launch in "the first half of 2020", though a test-net is already available for developers.
• It is not a 1:1 peg to any currency. Libra promises "low-volatility" with its holdings of reserve assets.
• It will run on "Move", a new programming language for implementing custom transaction logic and “smart contracts” on the Libra Blockchain.
• It uses LibraBFT, a modified Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus algorithm.
• Running a Libra Node costs $10 million USD upfront, and will be entitled to ONE council vote. Initial node operators will be given "Founding Member" title.
• Transactions will be pseudo-anonymous, much like bitcoin and ethereum. Custodial services might require standard AML/KYC compliance.
• There will be an STO called Libra Investment Token, which is a securities only available to accredited investors.
• Regulatory compliance falls on developers, Libra Blockchain itself will not be regulated.