Tech World: Bitcoin price drops, Airbnb gets political and more

Hello, I’m Yessi and Welcome to Tech World, your quick roundup of some of the top technology stories from the past month.

In this episode, we bring you bitcoin’s latest price movements, Airbnb’s political drama and more.

For this month’s Hot Topics Interview, we spoke to EY’s Natalie Langley about tax advice for startups.

First though, here are you top international stories.

Bitcoin price drops

It’s been a while since we last told you about bitcoin, and we can report that the cryptocurrency’s value has suffered a significant blow.

Bitcoin’s value fell below the $5,000 mark for the first time since October 2017, meaning the total value of all bitcoin in existence dropped to below $87bn.

The news comes after Bitcoin Cash – an offshoot of bitcoin – split into two different cryptocurrencies, which are now in competition with each other, earlier this month.

Some commentators have blamed this for creating turmoil in the crypto market, with many of the digital assets experiencing falls.

Instagram targets fake accounts

Facebook-owned photo sharing platform Instagram is launching a new scheme that will see it target fake likes and comments.

Launched in 2010,the company claims it’s developed tools that can identify accounts using third-party services and apps to boost their popularity.

Any accounts found to be doing this will be warned and asked to change their password.

Airbnb gets political

Sharing economy giant Airbnb will remove from its listing all the homes based in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The company said it had come to the decision because settlements were at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.

Airbnb’s decision has been welcomed by Palestinians, but Israel has described it as shameful and threatened legal action.

That’s all for this month’s top tech headlines, but keep watching to see this month’s Hot Topics Interview.

We spoke with EY’s Natalie Langley about tax advice for startups.