The biggest news in the recap from last week is Amazon (AMZN  ) patented a distributed ledger technology (DLT) system that can help prove the authenticity of consumer goods. Amazon's system compiles data from distributors, manufacturers, and shippers on an "open framework" that aggregates product provenance across information silos. The data can also be neatly provided to consumers. In a patent filing brief, the tech giant condemned the proliferation of "systems and databases that can often lack transparency, coherency, referential integrity or security" as potential actors that erode trust. Amazon argued distributed systems can protect data from alteration and eliminate single points of failure. Amazon said in the patent filing that Hyperledger could be one form of DLT used. On Tuesday the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved Amazon's nearly three-year-old distributed ledger certification filing.

Here is the rest of the week in review:

Goldman Sachs (GS  ) on Wednesday held an investor call to discuss current policies for Bitcoin (BTC), gold, and inflation in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The famed investment bank revealed it is still opposed to cryptocurrencies. In the call materials, Goldman noted that while coins like Bitcoin "have received enormous attention," it argued they are not an asset class. The bank's reasons include Bitcoin's innate lack of cash flow and its inability to generate earnings through exposure to economic growth. Two Goldman speakers on the call, its head of research and a Harvard economics professor, cited several hard forks, as "nearly identical clones" in an argument against ostensible scarcity. Goldman concluded by not recommend investing in Bitcoin "on a strategic or tactical basis for clients' investment portfolios," instead conceding its volatility might be interesting to momentum traders.

Facebook (FB  ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the tech giant can benefit from its Libra stablecoin project, if its users choose the stablecoin to buy goods off of Facebook's marketplaces. The firm treats its ads business as an auction, meaning entities can bid for the best prices. Zuckerberg said at Facebook's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday: "Millions of businesses around the world can participate, and the business can be very efficient." He added that combining ads with an effective payment tool for users can benefit businesses further, pointing to both Facebook Pay and Libra. He noted that if Facebook can make commerce better for businesses that run ads, then ad clickers will be more likely to buy goods with the Libra stablecoin. Zuckerberg also envisioned Libra as helping the economy and people across the globe.

Crypto prices climbed to $269 billion this week. For the majors, all coins except Tether (USDT) closed in the green, with Cardano (ADA), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) posting outsized gains. In the top 100, the biggest losers were THETA, down 25%, Hyperion (HYN), down 13%, and Unibright (UBT), down 13%. The biggest gainers were Cardano, up 50%, Zilliqa (ZIL), up 47%, and VeChain (VET), up 45%. Next week traders will see if crypto can record another big green week.

The author owns a small amount of BTC and LTC.