Google releases tools for probing Ethereum’s blockchain

Google isn’t slowing down with the new blockchain tech. A few months after releasing Bitcoin support for its BigQuery database tool, Google has debuted a new plug-in for analyzing the Ethereum blockchain.

Google has provided users with a new avenue for directly interacting with Ethereum data. Services already exist that show information about wallet addresses and transactions, but until now, investigating the full breadth of data stored on the blockchain has been a cumbersome process. BigQuery can also connect directly with the Parity client.

Regular Chrome users are now capable of reading all of the data stored on Ethereum’s blockchain. Take, for instance, this fancy new chart. BigQuery can show us graphs of all the Ethereum transfers, including transaction cost.

Graphs like these are most useful for making business decisions, even the development of the Ethereum architecture itself. With the new tool, checking to see if the Etheruem system is running at capacity and needs upgrading is made possible with a simple database query .

The Big G has also developed a new interface to visualize smart contracts. Google has used popular Ethereum dApp CryptoKitties as an example of how BigQuery can create interesting maps of Ethereum traffic.

Here’s an account overview of CryptoKitties breeders that own 10 or more digital cats; the size of the blobs indicate their breeding power.

This is quite literally an overview of the CryptoKitties pedigree. Is this creepy? I think it’s creepy.

Other use cases aren’t so frivolous.

BigQuery can also give us clean overviews of token activity. Below, a graph shows us data related to transfers, specifically of the ERC-20 token OmiseGO (OMG).

That big spike in blue activity corresponds to a recent airdrop , in which lots of OMG tokens were received by lots of wallets at once. We can infer that plenty of users kept the tokens they received, at least for that week.

Something completely new is the ability to compare smart contracts, particularly in their functionality. Ethereum’s integration with BigQuery brings the freedom that comes with a large suite of analytic tools.

The Ethereum data pulled by BigQuery is updated daily. To make full use of its functionality, a working knowledge of database programming is definitely helpful, as all queries are made using SQL.

Google is also prepping to release some other blockchain-related tools – it has previously announced a new development kit that should provide customers with an easy way to build smart contracts and deploy decentralized applications.

Coinbase Pro will soon let UK users trade cryptocurrencies in Pounds Sterling

Coinbase is adding further support for the pound sterling in an effort to make it easier for British users to trade cryptocurrency in their local currency.

In an announcement on its Medium blog, Coinbase revealed that starting from September 7 (9AM BST, to be exact) British users of its Pro trading platform will be able to exchange their pounds for Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

The popular exchange already offers trading pairs between Bitcoin (BTC) and the pound, but the new additions will give a little more choice to British users.

The roll out will be undertaken in three stages to ensure that there is a smooth and orderly adoption in the market.

In preparation for the launch at the end of this week, British users already have the ability to send pounds to their Coinbase accounts.

Earlier this year Coinbase announced that it would be adding support for Faster Payments on its site, representing another step in improving the user experience for British users.

Indeed, Faster Payments is available only to UK citizens. “Faster Payments is a UK scheme,” Coinbase told Hard Fork back in August. “It is not available outside the UK.”

US Department of Justice is investigating Tether for market manipulation

It seems US authorities aren’t yet done with controversial cryptocurrency Tether. The ‘USD-backed’ stablecoin is now being probed by the country’s Justice Department, according to a Bloomberg report.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) together launched a criminal probe into cryptocurrency market manipulation in May.

The investigations have now zeroed in on a possible nexus involving Bitcoin, Tether, and cryptocurrency exchange desk Bitfinex as being responsible for illicit trading practices that led to a massive surge in the cryptocurrency market late last year.

As part of the probe, the Justice Department is looking into Tether’s claim of being USD-backed, how new Tether coins are created, and why they enter the market predominantly through Bitfinex.

It is worth noting that the US authorities haven’t yet accused either Tether or Bitfinex of any wrongdoing, and no formal charges have been pressed.

This is not first time that Tether and Bitfinex are under the scanner of US agencies. The two companies run by the same management team were subpoenaed in January by CFTC.

In June, researchers also suggested possibility of wash trading with Tether on cryptocurrency exchange desk Kraken.