Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has explained during a shareholder meeting how the social media giant will make money with the Libra cryptocurrency project that is expected to launch later this year.

BitClave, an Ethereum-based search engine funded via an initial coin offering in 2017, has agreed to pay back its nearly 10,000 investors a total of $25.5 million it raised at the time, in a settlement agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has revealed it has been integrated into Samsung’s cryptocurrency wallet, which is available for select Galaxy smartphones. The integration is for users in North America.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Libra Can Boost Facebook’s Ad Revenue, CEO Mark Zuckerberg Says
• Ethereum-Based Search Engine to Pay Back $25 Million in Settlement With SEC
• Samsung Blockchain Wallet Offers Integration With Gemini Exchange in North America

At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $9,532.60 (3.79%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $3.69 bn. As for ether (ETH), it is trading at $221.81 (7.48%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $1.67 bn. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index is currently tracking at 3,122.27 (2.51%).

Libra Can Boost Facebook’s Ad Revenue, CEO Mark Zuckerberg says

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was, during a shareholder meeting, was asked how Libra, the stablecoin project the social media giant has been working on, could help it financially., and how it could help Facebook make money.

In response, Zuckerberg went into Libra’s potential impact on e-commerce activity on Facebook and its potential impact on advertising revenue. According to the CEO, Facebook doesn’t charge a set price for ads and instead works with a bidding system that allows it to offer “any business the lowest possible price.”

He added that combining ads with an effective payment tool can benefit businesses further as it could make commerce more efficient:

“If we can make commerce be more effective for businesses if when they run an ad, somebody who clicks on that ad is now going to be more likely to buy something because they actually have a form of payment that works that’s on file.”

Advertising on Facebook then becomes more worthwhile for the business, which will then be likelier to bid higher on ads and increase ad prices overall.

Ethereum-Based Search Engine to Pay Back $25 Million in Settlement With SEC

Ethereum-based search engine BitClave, which raised $25.5 million in an initial coin offering back in 2017, has agreed to pay back its 9,500 investors in a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Earlier this week the SEC announced charges in tandem with an order that called BitClave’s Consumer Activity Token (CAT) an unregistered ICO. While the Ethereum-based search engine project neither admitted or denied it broke the law selling the tokens, it agreed to return all of the funds to investors and pay an additional $4 million in fines and fees.

The SEC’s order said CAT tokens were investment contracts because investors had a reasonable expectation the tokens would appreciate in value as the search engine matured. The order quoted BitClave’s whitepaper:

“As more service providers join, the amount of CATs required for an equivalent service will gradually decrease, corresponding to a CAT value increase.”

BitClave will now transfer 1.32 tokens that weren’t in circulation for “permanent disabling," and ask exchanges to delist it.

Samsung Blockchain Wallet Offers Integration With Gemini Exchange in North America

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, founded by the famous Winklevoss twins, has announced it has been integrated into the Samsung Blockchain Wallet, which is available for select Samsung phones.

The integration will, according to Geminin co-founder and CEO Tyler Winklevoss, make it easier for Samsung Blockchain Wallet users in North America to buy and sell crypto on their smartphones. Tyler was quoted as saying:

"By connecting their Samsung Blockchain Wallet to Gemini, users can buy and sell crypto, view their Gemini account balances, and also transfer their crypto into cold storage with Gemini Custody for the highest level of security."

The Gemini CEO went on to add crypto “is not just a technology, it is a movement.”

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