BITFINEX BULLY? Crypto exchange Bitfinex and its sister firm, stablecoin issuer Tether, have again been accused of working to manipulate the bitcoin markets, and indirectly bitcoin futures. It's the second class action lawsuit in the last two months to draw on allegations made by the New York attorney general in its case against the firms. Bitfinex called the latest case "mercenary and baseless" in a blog post. Full story
TWENTY-K TOKENS: Speaking at the launch of the Bluebook of Blockchain, a report published by the Chinese central bank that outlines illegal and fraudulent schemes in the blockchain industry, the president of the Beijing Blockchain Application Association said nearly 25,000 Chinese crypto companies may have tried to issue their own tokens. Full story
RUSSIA RISK: When Vostok, the enterprise branch of blockchain startup Waves launched last year, it was proud to showcase its Russian connections and debuted with the news of a partnership with state-owned mega-corporation Rostec. Now, the company is finding its Russian links may be a double-edged sword. CoinDesk's Anna Baydakova asks, what if a company's biggest client is its biggest reputational risk? Full story
POKER PLEA: A U.S. man has pleaded guilty to having embezzled £22 million from his former employer. Dennis Blieden committed his crimes while an accounting executive at StyleHaul Inc. – a firm that provides marketing services for social media “influencers.” Among other things, he traded in $8,473,734 of StyleHaul cash for crypto to fund his online gambling habit. Full story
BTC BIAS: David Weisberger, co-founder and CEO of CoinRoutes, looks at the U.S. SEC’s refusal so far to allow a bitcoin ETF, and concludes that the regulator, perhaps due to its bias against the asset, is improperly delaying an approval. Full story
SELLER EXHAUSTION: Bitcoin is looking oversold, having lost half its value in the last five months. As a result, the cryptocurrency may have found a temporary bottom near $6,500 and enter consolidation ahead. Some analysts are calling the current dip a buying opportunity, however, a rise to back to $10,000 and above will likely take some time. Full story
BTC REVOLUTION? In this episode of Let’s Talk Bitcoin! CoinDesk’s Nolan Bauerle speaks with economist, Thiel Capital managing director and a member of the “intellectual dark web” Eric Weinstein at Invest: New York 2019. Up for debate is when the bitcoin revolution will come, or if it’s already arrived. In Segment 2, podcaster Ruben Somsen digs into his idea for blockchain-agnostic “Statechains.” Full listen
Tether class action