Bitcoin Daily: Facebook Posts More Blockchain Jobs; New Coinbase Programs Look To Collect Interest On Parked Crypto

The former CEO of defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox is planning to appeal his conviction on data manipulation charges.

Mark Karpeles said he decided to appeal because the Tokyo District Court did not fully look at his defense arguments in the Mt. Gox case.

“During the opening of my trial in 2017, I swore to God that I am innocent of all charges. I believe appealing to the judgment is appropriate so that I can be judged again in full consideration of all the facts,” he said, according to The Associated Press.

Earlier this month, the Tokyo District Court cleared Karpeles of embezzlement and breach of trust charges. However, he was found guilty of dubious data charges and faces 10 years in prison.

In other news, Facebook continues its blockchain hiring spree, positing five additional jobs based at the company’s Menlo Park HQ in California.

According to CoinDesk, the jobs are for production manager, business operations manager, data scientist, software engineer and growth product manager.

The company added that the blockchain team “is a startup within Facebook, and we’re exploring lots of areas of interest across all facets of blockchain technology.”

In order to boost business, Coinbase is launching a program for institutional investors that will pay them interest.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the program, called “staking,” will probably offer between 5 percent and 8 percent — but only for customers holding certain cryptocurrencies. In addition, the staking interest will be paid in that particular crypto.

“The industry has to evolve from just holding these things to doing interesting stuff with them,” said Sam McIngvale, head of product at Coinbase’s custody division.

And the “Big Four” professional consulting firms are also in the top five for posting blockchain job ads.

New data from Indeed.com revealed that Deloitte is at the top of the list, with IBM and KPMG in second and third place, respectively. EY and Accenture came fourth and fifth, respectively, according to CoinDesk.

“We envision that [Deloitte’s] ever-evolving and nimble team will build upon our past success in helping our clients, which includes 92 percent of the financial service companies listed on the Fortune 500 list, to hone their blockchain-backed offerings,” the company has previously said.