March 29, 2019 @ 2:31 am By Cali Haan  |  

Spain’s Comision Nacional Del Mercado de Valores (National Securities Market Commission or CNMV) has issued a statement clarifying that, to date, it has not approved any ICOs fundraising within its jurisdiction. According to a release from the Commission processed [Google Translate]: “The CNMV has not… Read More

March 29, 2019 @ 2:22 am By Cali Haan  |  

LocalBitcoins, a global web-based service founded in Finland that allows sellers and buyers of Bitcoins to coordinate sales and meetings has announced that it will be requiring users to provide proper identification from now on. The announcement follows the implementation of new laws governing such… Read More

March 28, 2019 @ 1:01 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A hacker has been bragging on the Dark Net that he or she siphoned 200 bitcoins ($760 000 USD) from Dark Net websites by using an impersonation scam known as “typo-squatting,” cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows reports. On the Dark Net, “Typo-squatting” involves subtle alphanumeric bait-and-switch… Read More

March 28, 2019 @ 12:55 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Hackers have compromised the personal data of up to 120 000 police officers working in England and Wales, and are believed to be demanding a ransom of cryptocurrencies for the data’s safe return, UK news outlet The Sun reports. Data affected by the breach include… Read More

March 28, 2019 @ 2:56 am By Cali Haan  |  

Two speakers at this year’s World Bank Land and Poverty Conference in Washington DC have cautioned that blockchain technology’s true potential for land registry should not be overstated, Reuters reports. Tim Robustelli of New America, a “think and action tank” consisting of a “research institute,… Read More

March 28, 2019 @ 2:06 am By Cali Haan  |  

The disastrous demise of Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX has been well covered to date, including: the mysterious, sudden death of founder Gerald Cotten in India in early December 2018. the criminal past of Quadriga co-founder Michael Patryn. the alleged $190 million USD “loss” of client funds… Read More

March 28, 2019 @ 1:38 am By Cali Haan  |  

Patrick McDonnell, 46, also known as “Jason Flack,” has been charged with 9 counts of wire fraud in the State of New York. McDonnell operated CabbageTech Crop – a company that was doing business as Coin Drop Markets. A release from the US Attorney’s Office… Read More

March 28, 2019 @ 1:32 am By Cali Haan  |  

Police used “digital technology” to trace and capture 6 men who kidnapped an IT professor in Pakistan March 19th, but officials reportedly fear that the case could trigger a “boost” in the prevalence of cryptocurrency-related ransom and terror-financing events in Pakistan. According to Pakistani media… Read More

March 27, 2019 @ 7:44 am By Cali Haan  |  

Microsoft has stated in its “Ad quality year in review 2018” report that it, “ban(ned) cryptocurrency content from our advertising platform and blocked more than 5 million ads containing cryptocurrency content,” to prevent the platform from being used to transmit fraud.” The company says that while… Read More

March 27, 2019 @ 4:06 am By Cali Haan  |  

Cryptocurrency market data aggregator CoinMarketCap.com, a reported “top 500″ cryptocurrency website, has admitted that concerns about the accuracy of data on its site recently expressed in an ETF affiliated document at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC )”are valid,” Bloomberg reports. In order to reduce… Read More

March 27, 2019 @ 2:57 am By Cali Haan  |  

Bank of America has obtained more patents for “blockchain technology” than any other finance institution, but the company’s tech and operations chief, Cathy Bessant told CNBC she’s underwhelmed by blockchain’s prospects: “What I am is open-minded…In my private scoreboard, in the closet, I am bearish.”… Read More

March 27, 2019 @ 2:44 am By Cali Haan  |  

An IPO application submitted by Bitmain to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September has lapsed. Bitmain is the world’s largest crypto-mining consortium. The company operates numerous crypto mining and research facilities across the globe and also designs and manufactures some of the industry’s most… Read More

March 26, 2019 @ 2:07 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A group dedicated to the liberation of North Korea, Cheollima Civil Defence, is raising funds through the sale of 200 000 symbolic “visas” that promise holders they will be among the among the first to visit “Free Joseon upon liberation.” The group’s “Post-Liberation Blockchain G-VISAs”… Read More

March 26, 2019 @ 3:44 am By Cali Haan  |  

The General Manager for the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Augustin Carstens, told an audience in Dublin last Friday that central banks should not get into the business of issuing a central bank digital currencies or “CBDCs” to the public, mainly because tokens/”blockchains” do not… Read More

March 25, 2019 @ 6:30 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Nicholas Weaver, a senior researcher at the International Computer Science Institute at the University of California-Berkeley, called Bitcoin ‘bovine excrement’ during a recent episode of Bloomberg’s “Odd Lots” podcast. This is not the first time Weaver has panned Bitcoin and “blockchain,” distributed ledger technology that undergirds bitcoin… Read More

March 23, 2019 @ 12:30 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Alexander Vinnik, a 39-year-old Russian national accused by three countries of crimes involving bitcoins, including money-laundering and fraud, has filed an appeal with a court in Piraeus, Greece, asking that he be released from prison on humanitarian grounds and returned to Russia, Ekathimerini reports. Vinnik… Read More

March 23, 2019 @ 9:30 am By Cali Haan  |  

A comprehensive malware called “CardinalRAT” has been used to target two Israeli Fintech companies, “who write software relating to forex and cryptocurrency trading,” cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Network writes. Attackers appear to be motivated by financial gain. Once installed, CardinalRAT malware allows attackers to: Collect victim information  Update… Read More

March 23, 2019 @ 6:19 am By Cali Haan  |  

Legal intelligence newsletter JD Supra has published an article advising lawyers on what to do in the event that client files are compromised in a data breach. Data breaches attacks on public institutions and private businesses are becoming increasingly common as hackers find more and… Read More

March 22, 2019 @ 11:27 am By Cali Haan  |  

Bakkt, a cryptocurrency futures trading and custody platform being built by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in New York, has raised $740 million USD from Series A investors to date, The Block reports. The project raised $182.5 million last year, and new funds may have come… Read More

March 22, 2019 @ 5:53 am By Cali Haan  |  

A scammer is using subtle wording tricks to cause bets on crypto-based prediction platform Augur to default in his or her favour. The scam was revealed by users of Reddit on March 20th. In the post, “Augur is being gamed!” the poster “singlefin12222” claims: “Some… Read More