As the SEC lawsuit against Telegram Open Network (TON) forced it to postpone mainnet launch, working blockchain explorers are already available for the testnet. Blockchair announced the creation of a user-friendly alternative to Telegram’s own explorer. A stalled launch has not stopped blockchain explorers In 2018, TON raised more than $1.7 billion in a private initial coin offering (ICO). On a technological level, it aims to replace Bitcoin and Ethereum by featuring a transaction throughput that is reportedly competitive with Visa and MasterCard. As per its white paper, it will…
Month: January 2020
SEC Charges ICO Operator Who Used Alias After Past Conviction
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged CG Blockchain Inc., BCT In. SEZC and their operators Boaz Manor and Edith Pardo with fraud, alleging he raised $30 million through an initial coin offering (ICO). The SEC alleged in a press release Friday that Manor hid a past criminal conviction by working under an assumed name, passing himself off as an employee of Pardo’s to raise funds for BCT. As part of this effort, Manor allegedly “darkened his hair [and] grew a beard” out of concerns that his actual identity might…
Ripple-Backed Crypto Wallet BRD Launches Blockchain Toolbox for Enterprise Apps
Mobile wallet provider BRD is making something of a pivot, launching a suite of tools aimed at allowing blockchain developers to more easily build apps for enterprises. Called Blockset, the new offering – announced Friday – is described as a blockchain data integration platform with a suite of tools that allow coders to create “enterprise-grade” blockchain applications. These bring the ability to automatically pull in on-chain data via an API and, BRD says, conduct transactions in “near real-time” on multiple blockchains. Nodes can be hosted “out of the box,” BRD…
Grayscale Marks Record Year, Bitcoin Sentiment Aloft
Grayscale Investment, the world’s largest crypto asset fund manager, has had a record-breaking 2019, pulling in as much investment as they have from 2013-2018 cumulatively. This data supports the narrative that the correction hasn’t killed optimism in the Bitcoin market. Institutions and high net-worth individuals using Grayscale are still very much in the game, January 17, 2019. Growing in a Corrective Market Anyone of the belief that the ongoing seven-month correction has hindered Bitcoin’s growth potential is in for a surprise. Grayscale Investments brought in $607.7 million of new investments…
Swedish Crypto Exchange BTCX Plans IPO in 2020
One of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in Scandinavia wants to go public later this year, hoping it will enable traditional investors to participate in “new finance.” Oskar Soderstrom, CEO of Stockholm-based BTCX, confirmed to CoinDesk that they are looking to deliver an initial public offering (IPO) before the end of Q3 2020. Corporate financial advisory firm Eminova Partners has been engaged to help file the offering, expected to take place in Sweden. “Our aim is to bring bitcoin to the masses and to bridge the gap between new and traditional…
Blockchain Dispute Resolution Firm to List On London Stock Exchange
A company that uses smart contracts to manage arbitration and dispute resolution around blockchain transactions announced on Jan. 17 its intention to list on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Proof of Trust Ltd did not give any financial details or timetable for the listing, but CEO Dean Armstrong said that the company was excited at the prospect of the listing and “look[s] forward to providing investors with the opportunity to share in this groundbreaking project.” Insurance protocol for smart contracts and blockchain transactions The company describes its…
Bitcoin Short Sellers Are in Big Trouble For This Reason, And Strong Rally is to Ensue
The bitcoin price is up by 10 percent in the past four days and after such a big rally, a short-term pullback follows. But, a top trader says it will take a lot for short sellers to hunt for longs in this environment, which could push BTC for an ever bigger rally. It will be hard for shorts to hunt longs, maintaining bitcoin momentum As one well-known trader pointed out, even if an investor longed bitcoin near the top in the $8,900 to $9,000 range, the liquidation price would likely…
Alethea to Launch Decentralized Network for Deepfakes and Synthetic Content
Alethea AI is launching a decentralized Synthetic Content Network to track the usage and intellectual property of AI-generated content. The company plans to offer a wide selection of content, including but not limited to face-swapped deepfake videos. Alethea is a production studio for AI-generated content, having previously released a video featuring Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao’s face in a martial arts setting. Other content includes a video on climate change, made to challenge the negative reputation of deepfakes. Synthetic content is often criticized for its potential impact on fake news. These…
Canadian Regulator Issues New Guidance for Cryptocurrency Exchanges
Canadian authorities have issued new guidance to determine which digital currency trading platforms fall under derivatives law. The Canadian Securities Administration (CSA) explained new provisions in the “Guidance on the Application of Securities Legislation to Entities Facilitating the Trading of Crypto Assets” published on Jan. 16. In general, the agency drew a line between trading platforms that make an immediate delivery of a crypto assets to its users, and those that hold the transaction of crypto assets until the user makes a later request. To what exchanges do securities laws…
Tron to Include Zcash-Based Privacy Features, Announces Trusted Setup Ceremony
Tron (TRX) is set to feature zero knowledge-based privacy through the work of the TRONZ team. A trusted setup ceremony is set to be conducted soon, which Tron claims in a Jan. 17 blog post will “set a new Guinness World Record.” TRONZ is a privacy initiative that is set to integrate Zk-SNARKs, the core privacy technology of Zcash (ZEC), in the Tron blockchain. While the team claims its implementation is the “most efficient, and least resource-consuming privacy protocol in the world,” no technical details were released. Built with the…