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CANADIAN CRACKDOWN: Canadian police have frozen assets owned by the founders of blockchain services company Vanbex as part of a fraud investigation into a 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) that raised $22 million. Vanbex told investors that its FUEL token would be usable in a forthcoming smart contract system called Etherparty, and that “the value of the FUEL token would increase dramatically,” says a civil forfeiture action filed in British Columbia. However, Vanbex “developed no usable products” and its founders – who deny the allegations – “did not intend to develop the products” but rather misappropriated the funds “for their own personal benefit,” according to another filing. Full Story
FUTURES BOOST: Since the Kraken crypto exchange acquired Crypto Facilities – a firm that provides crypto derivatives, as well as bitcoin and ether reference data for CME Group – trading volume in its altcoin futures markets has jumped dramatically. In particular, its litecoin futures contracts went from an average of around $15 million in notional volume monthly to around $100 million. Meanwhile, bitcoin cash contracts have skipped from roughly $10 million per month to just under $50 million. Onboarding Kraken users was key to the positive figures, the firm told CoinDesk. Full Story
SEC HUNT: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to hire a “crypto specialist” attorney advisor. According to a job posting on USAJobs, an official government jobs portal, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets plans to hire the new legal expert in order to help develop a “comprehensive plan” to address crypto and digital asset securities. One of the key responsibilities of the new hire would be to apply their “knowledge of federal securities laws to digital asset securities and crypto matters.” Full Story
EXCHANGE RULES: Today, Pakistan is putting in place regulations for the cryptocurrency industry as part of a plan to combat illicit uses of the tech. Citing finance ministry sources, a local news source reported that the nation's federal government has decided to bring in rules for so-called Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) following recommendations from the international money-laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force. While the new framework is not yet public, draft regulations published in October would require EMIs to meet certain requirements to be licensed, with firms that break the rules facing suspension or cancellation of licenses. Full Story |
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| SLOW GOING: Bitcoin’s price is gradually grinding its way higher, having seen a bullish close above $4,055 on Friday. The case for a re-test of February highs near $4,200 looks stronger if we take into account last week's bullish engulfing candle. The bulls, however, need progress soon, as repeated failure to find acceptance above Saturday's high of $4,130 could yield a pullback to $3,900. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST
TOUGH TIMES: The ICO boom of 2017 and early 2018 is officially over, and its impact may lead to increased skepticism in the future, reports the Wall Street Journal. During their peak, startups that launched ICOs held some $24 billion in their respective treasuries, a number which has fallen to just $5 billion today due to the ongoing bear market. Despite this decline, it may still be worth exploring the idea of a token sale, but one that is compliant with state or federal regulations.
THE REST
TACKLING FAKES: A startup called Arteïa plans to launch a provenance tracker for art on the ethereum blockchain, according to a piece in the South China Morning Post. Intending to provide digital lists of artists’ certified works, the firm says using an immutable blockchain ledger for the system will help tackle forgeries, as well as prove an artwork’s provenance and value. It’s also launching a custom token that artists, buyers and dealers can use to pay for subscriptions to the service.
WHAT WINTER? While “crypto winter” has put many off trading or investing, terrorist groups are not deterred, says a piece from Forbes. The military wing of Palestinian organization Hamas, which launched a campaign for bitcoin donations in January, has again appealed for crypto funding in a video last week. The group seems to be learning from its mistakes too. While previously it provided a single bitcoin address, contributors are now given a unique address via its website – a move that makes the cryptos harder to track. |
WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER  |
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Illicit behavior