Ethereum-Based Augur Enhancement App Veil Closes Up Shop

The Ethereum-based predictions platform Veil is shutting down, according to an official Medium post on July 11. As of July 11, no new markets will be added to the platform. Trading will be disabled entirely on July 24. Veil co-founder Paul Fletcher-Hill recommended that users redeem open positions, withdraw positions from active markets, and withdraw Veil Ether and convert it to Ether.  Veil was a type of extension to the Ethereum-based predictions market Augur. Augur is a predictions market — that still exists — that uses smart contracts to let…

Bitcoin ATMs Undermine EU Anti-Money Laundering Efforts, Says Spanish Police

Spanish law enforcement says Bitcoin ATMs enable criminals to circumvent anti-money laundering (AML) regulations according to a report by Bloomberg. This statement comes following calls from officials in Canada for crypto cash machines to be banned over money-laundering concerns. Meanwhile, the number of crypto kiosks worldwide has crossed 5,000 and continues to increase. Bitcoin ATMs Enable Circumvention of AML Rules According to Bloomberg, Spanish authorities while trying to apprehend a drug syndicate discovered that Bitcoin ATMs provided a loophole for circumventing AML laws instituted by the European Union (EU). The…

Miners Flock to Iran Where Bitcoin Mining Is Set to Be Sanctioned

According to regional reports, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is planning to allow licensed cryptocurrency mining as long as operations are charged for electricity based on the price of export. The CBI governor, Abdol Nasser Hemmati, explained that mined cryptocurrencies should flow back into the Iranian economy. Also read: Bitcoin Miner Recounts Struggle to Obtain Cheap Iranian Power Chinese Miners Negotiate With Iranian Leaders to Set Up Mining Operations in the Free Trade Zones In December 2018, there were reports of miners stemming from China, Spain, Ukraine, Armenia, and…

Co-Founder of Now-Defunct BitFunder Gets 14 Months Imprisonment

The operator of now-defunct Bitcoin (BTC) exchange BitFunder, Jon Montroll, has received a 14 months prison sentence following federal charges of obstruction of justice and securities fraud, finance and trading industry news outlet FinanceFeeds reported on July 12. The proceedings against Montroll began last year. In July 2018, Montroll pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, admitting that he provided false balance statements to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in an investigation of the fake 6,000 BTC BitFunder hack in 2013. The proceedings against Montroll ended on July 11,…

Ethereum Co-Founder Mihai Alisie Concerned Over Libra Centralization

Ethereum’s co-founder Mihai Alisie is extremely concerned that Facebook is attempting to hoodwink regulators into approving a centralized “cryptocurrency,” according to a report by Bloomberg on July 11. In an interview with Bloomberg, Alisie stressed that Facebook is attempting to get regulator approval for its yet-to-be-released virtual currency Libra by claiming that it will not be centrally controlled by Facebook, or other business giants, five years down the line. Alisie reportedly said that Facebook intends “to mislead the regulators who have learned in the last few years that blockchain is…

Ex-Hollywood Exec Indicted for Stealing and Pumping $22 Million into Bitcoin  

Dennis Blieden, a former executive at StyleHaul Inc., a marketing services, media, and technology firm that represents influencers on YouTube and Instagram, has been arrested for embezzling $22 million from the company. Blieden allegedly invested the money in bitcoin and other personal expenses, according to a press release on July 11, 2019. StyleHaul Exec Arrested  Per sources close to the matter, Dennis Blieden, a 29-year-old resident of Nevada who functioned as the controller and vice president of accounting and finance for StyleHaul Inc., between 2015 and March 2019, has been…

Bitpoint Hacked for $32 Million, Another Example of Crypto’s Volatility

A Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange called Bitpoint has suspended operations after it lost $32 million to a hacking last night. The company that runs the exchange, Remixpoint, discovered that ¥3.5 billion worth of various digital currencies had disappeared under its management. Bitpoint Hacked and Suspends Operations According to the exchange, the funds went missing from a hot wallet (a wallet connected to the internet), but other funds held in cold wallets or offline haven’t been affected. The hacking was brought to light when an error appeared in the exchange’s outgoing funds…

Bitpoint Hacked for $32 Million, Another Example of Crypto’s Volatility

A Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange called Bitpoint has suspended operations after it lost $32 million to a hacking last night. The company that runs the exchange, Remixpoint, discovered that ¥3.5 billion worth of various digital currencies had disappeared under its management. Bitpoint Hacked and Suspends Operations According to the exchange, the funds went missing from a hot wallet (a wallet connected to the internet), but other funds held in cold wallets or offline haven’t been affected. The hacking was brought to light when an error appeared in the exchange’s outgoing funds…

Ripple (XRP) Slips Below $0.34 Mark as Selling Intensifies

Ripple (XRP) has been very volatile since the beginning of this week. After showing positive price movement on Monday, Ripple has been correcting since Tuesday and has slumped 20% since then. At the time of writing, XRP is trading lower by 5% at $0.3310. Key Supports & Resistances If the digital asset maintains the declining momentum and panic continues to make people sell, then XRP prices will dip massively and close below $0.34, which will invalidate prior XRP/USD trade plans. Currently, prices have gotten back to consolidation in the $0.15…

Prasos Secures Payment Institution License From Finnish Watchdog

Finland-based cryptocurrency firm Prasos has secured a payment institution license via the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FFSA). The news comes by way of an official announcement via its crypto exchange website on July 12. According to the announcement, Prasos is now the third crypto firm in Europe to secure a payment institution license. According to its website, Prasos operates a crypto exchange, a crypto investment platform, and Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs. Prasos stated that, thanks to its new license, its crypto investment platform Coinmotion is now capable of supporting a payment service…