Day: September 12, 2018

US Judge Rules ICO Frauds Fall Under Securities Law

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A U.S. federal judge has ruled that a criminal case against two reportedly fraudulent initial coin offerings fall under securities laws. District judge Raymond Dearie ruled Tuesday that the case against a pair of allegedly fraudulent ICOs conducted by Brooklyn resident Maksim Zaslavskiy would proceed, denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss. Bloomberg first reported the news. As previously reported, Zaslavskiy has been accused of committing securities fraud for selling tokens which represented shares in a real estate venture and a separate diamond business. However, prosecutors claim that neither of these…

SEC Hits Crypto Asset Fund and ‘ICO Superstore’ With Penalties

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Tuesday that it has charged and reached agreements with two companies and their owners that operate in the cryptocurrency space. The securities regulator alleged that Crypto Asset Management LP (CAM) and its principal, Timothy Enneking, had marketed itself under false pretenses, alleging that Enneking raised more than $3 million in late 2017 and claimed that the company was “the first regulated crypto asset fund in the United States.” According to the SEC statement, Enneking and the company agreed to the SEC’s cease-and-desist…

Major Crypto Companies Form DC Lobbying Group

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A number of blockchain funds, exchanges and startups plan to lobby Washington, D.C. lawmakers with the new Blockchain Association. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that this new organization would focus on both education and legal changes as part of an effort to normalize relations between crypto startups and lawmakers. Coinbase, Circle, Digital Currency Group, Polychain Capital and Protocol Labs are among the association’s founding members. One of the association’s first employees is former Senate aide and Overstock.com blockchain lobbyist named Kristin Smith. She told the Post that she would “guide”…

The Bank of Russia Says Its ICO Experiment Was a Success

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The Bank of Russia has successfully conducted an experiment on token issuance, an official said Monday during the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, news agency TASS reported Tuesday. Ivan Semagin, deputy director of the financial development department of the bank, told attendees of the forum that the regulator had tested conducting “an experimental ICO based on the existing infrastructure” in the Bank of Russia’s sandbox. Though the experiment was a success, there are still some issues, he said. “In the framework of the ‘sandbox’ … technically everything went well,…

OKCoin’s Star Xu Questioned as Police Investigate Bitcoin Futures Allegations

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Crypto exchange OKCoin’s founder Star Xu has been released from a police department in Shanghai after 24 hours assisting an investigation into investors’ accusations that OKEx manipulated bitcoin futures on its platform. Chinese business media outlet Caixin reported on Tuesday that, since the night of Sept. 10 (China time), Xu had been answering questions at the Shanghai police’s Weifang Xincun precinct. Another business news source Cailian Press further reported Tuesday night that Xu was released after 24 hours and the case had been transferred to the police department in Beijing, together…

Inside Bitewei: The New Bitcoin Miner Being Hailed as a Serious Bitmain Rival

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Things haven’t been easy of late for Bitmain. After CoinDesk revealed the China-based crypto mining giant was planning an initial public offering (IPO) for September, the company has faced a wave of perhaps unprecedented scrutiny. On social media, allegations emerged Bitmain was everything from insolvent to presenting a rosy outlook for its financials, all the while investors linked to the funding effort backed away from the deal. Now it appears Bitmain is facing a new and well-capitalized competitor. Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, Bitewei, a Shenzhen-based mining chip manufacturer led by Yang Zuoxing, the…

Softbank Completes Blockchain Test for Cross-Carrier Mobile Payments

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Japanese telecoms giant Softbank Corp. has completed a blockchain proof-of-concept (PoC) that allows P2P mobile payments across different carriers. Softbank said on Wednesday the technology was developed in partnership with blockchain startup TBCASoft, as well as Synchronoss, a Nasdaq-listed firm that delivered a SMS-replacement communications protocol called Rich Communication Service (RCS) in Japan. Based on the announcement, the partners jointly created the blockchain-based PoC, which notably integrates RCS with a distributed network deployed across participating carriers. The system is intended to be deployed among mobile carriers in an effort to…

Is Bitcoin Building a 2015-Style Price Bottom?

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Bitcoin’s price action this year may be dismal, but it might not be without precedent. Having hit a record high near $20,000 in December, the world’s largest cryptocurrency began 2018 backed a wave of optimism. Since then, however, it hasn’t translated this into gains for investors. Rather, the price appears to be following a pattern last seen ahead of a bullish reversal from September 2015. Why is that important for traders now? When the bull market ended last time around, we saw a violent drop in price whereby bulls were unable…

Crypto Billionaire Di Iorio Seeks New Start for Jaxx as All-in-One Wallet

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One mobile app to rule them all. That’s how Anthony Di Iorio sees the new Jaxx Liberty crypto wallet. As one of the cryptocurrency industry’s wealthiest entrepreneurs, Decentral CEO Di Iorio said he aims to attract up to 100 corporate integrations to his new wallet to make it the most versatile app in the ecosystem. Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, Decentral is launching Jaxx Liberty today, after several months of beta testing. “It’s almost like an app store,” Di Iorio told CoinDesk, speaking to how consolidation could make transactions faster and simpler. “Our…

Carbon Becomes Latest Startup to Launch a Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin

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Following an eventful week that saw the release of dollar-pegged stablecoins from both Paxos and Gemini, crypto project Carbon has now launched one of its own, dubbed CarbonUSD, that is based on ethereum. Starting Wednesday, the new “compliant, price-stable” coin is being made available for institutional accounts, hedge funds, traders, and exchanges. Carbon said in a press release that it is “actively pursuing” exchange listings for CarbonUSD. Although CarbonUSD will launch less than a week after the Gemini dollar and Paxos Standard hit the markets, the team believes the coin’s unique algorithmic…