Cali Haan

Billion Dollar Crypto Miner Walks Following Electricity Rate Hike in Norway

NTC Services, a consulting firm that assists “data centre” companies looking to establish themselves in Norway, says it has lost a billion dollar client thanks to a recent budget decision by the Norwegian government authorizing an electricity rate hike to local cryptocurrency mining farms, e24… Read More

Lawsuit Reveals Questionable Progeny of Major Israeli Crypto Figure and Associated Companies

  A lawsuit involving a prominent figure in the “thriving” Israeli crypto sector, Moshe Hogeg, has revealed that one of the country’s most famous crypto companies, Invest.com, was formed in part from from a failed Israeli binary options firm sanctioned internationally for fraud, Times of Israel reports. On… Read More

Texas Issues Emergency Cease-and-Desist Orders Against My Crypto Mine

  The Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) has issued an emergency cease-and-desist order against an accused serial fraudster, Mark Steven Royer. Mr. Royer is allegedly selling the “My Crypto Mine” project, which bears the features of a pyramid scheme. Earlier this year, Royer and two partners… Read More

Trading of Novogratz $GLXY Crypto Shares Halted in Toronto After 18.6% Drop

Yesterday was a tough one at Galaxy Digital, the cryptocurrency-focussed merchant bank started late last year by former Goldman Sachs partner and legendary hedge fund operator Mike Novogratz. At 11:25 am ET yesterday, November 27th, the Toronto Stock Exchange halted trading of Galaxy Digital’s $GLXY… Read More

Malaysian Finance Minister: Crypto Projects Must Seek Permission from Central Bank

Like many countries in Asia and elsewhere, Malaysia has had it share of crypto scandals and similar amounts of legislator reticence around explicitly regulating the sector. Yesterday, however, Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng broke rank and told fellow parliamentarians Monday that the public/private sector should refrain… Read More

Report: Favourable Crypto Reviews Often Bought

That favourable review of a favourite cryptocurrency project was likely bought, Reuters is reporting today in an extensive exposé. “Rating ‘experts’ will grade anything positively, for a price,” write the article’s co-authors, Anna Irrera and Elizabeth Dilts. The two say the story they uncovered in data and documents were confirmed… Read More

Korean Firm Signs Deal for Large Crypto Mining Farm and Guaranteed Cheap Electricity in Paraguay

Regardless of recent stories of bear markets and electricity rate hikes bankrupting small crypto miners across the globe, a Korean company called the Commons Foundation has announced it is opening, “the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining center and global cryptocurrency exchange,” in energy-rich Paraguay. Commons Foundation says… Read More

Bear Market or Not: Nasdaq Moving Forward on Plans to Sell Bitcoin Futures

Nasdaq is proceeding with plans to list a Bitcoin futures product on its exchange despite Bitcoin’s waning fortunes in 2017, sources to Bloomberg say. Nasdaq hopes to have its Bitcoin futures market up and running by Q1 2018 and is working now to meet expectations at… Read More

Three Charged in Bulgaria for $5 Million Cryptocurrency Theft

Bulgarian police have arrested and charged 3 people accused of stealing $5 million in cryptocurrencies, Reuters reports. The arrests were announced Monday by officials from the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior and local prosecutors. Police seized $3 million in cryptocurrency at the scene as well… Read More

Chainalysis: Use of Bitcoin for Retail Payments Declined Dramatically in 2018

Despite Bitcoin having achieved some of the price stability advocates have long said would facilitate its adoption at the retail level, the retail use of Bitcoin declined 80% in 2018, says blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. Currently, many Bitcoin transactions are settled directly to the blockchain, meaning… Read More

Young Israeli Jailed for Selling Bomb Threats for Bitcoin

A 19-year-old Israeli man with dual citizenship in the US has been sentenced in Tel Aviv to 10 years in prison for making and selling bomb and shooting attack threats against 2000 schools, hospitals, malls, airports, airlines, police stations, and Jewish community centres in the… Read More

Crypto Mining Giant Bitmain Sued for Commandeering Customer Machines

A class action suit against the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining equipment maker and cryptomining conglomerate, Bitmain, has been filed in Northern California. The suit will test rumours circulating in crypto circles for some time that allege Bitmain used customers’ newly-purchased machines to mine crypto at… Read More

Norway Cancels Electricity Subsidies to “Dirty” Crypto Mining Sector

Until now, “data centres” mining cryptocurrencies in Norway have qualified for the same reduced electricity rates enjoyed by other power-intensive industries- 0.48 øre per kilowatt, rather than 16.58 øre- but that is about to change, Aftenposten reports. The sector has reportedly raised the ire of the local Directorate… Read More

North American Crypto Mining Firm Giga Watt Files for Bankruptcy

A large cryptocurrency mining company based in Washington State filed for bankruptcy Monday, Wenatchee World (WW) reports. The company is reportedly also facing eviction in Douglas County, and, “The Port of Douglas County also started the eviction process…” According to WW: “The company filed for Chapter 11 protection… Read More

Report: Expressed Corporate Interest in Blockchain Declining

The word “blockchain” and other related buzzwords are being uttered less by corporate executives in earnings calls and in presentations to investors and analysts, says Axios reporter, Courtenay Brown. “Analysts are also asking about it less,” she writes. According to the chart, “Mentions of blockchain, Bitcoin… Read More

Acquisition of Hacked Japanese Crypto Exchange Zaif Now Complete

The transfer of the recently hacked Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Zaif to new owners has been finalized, says a release from the new owners, FISCO. For a time, the Zaif system will operate independently of the  Fisco Cryptocurrency Exchange (FCCE), which is already operating, but will… Read More

Will They or Won’t They? France Backpedals on Decision to Allow Bitcoin Sales at Tobacco Shops

The Bank of France says that a much-publicized decision by its offshoot, The Prudential Supervisory Authority, to allow 3-4000 French tobacconists to start selling Bitcoin “coupons” has not been approved by the central bank itself, Europe 1 reports. According to a statement by the Bank of… Read More

Counterfeit Trezor Crypto Wallets Found

One-to-one replicas of the Trezor cryptocurrency hardware wallet have been found for sale on the Internet, says the company in a recent blog post, and using them, “…can be a severe threat to your security.” A Toronto software developer, Amaha Alem, was also emphatic, and… Read More

Singapore Exchange Publishes Expectations for Listed Companies Also Planning ICOs

One of Asia’s largest stock exchanges is putting the breaks on any company already listed this is also looking to issue an ICO (initial coin offering). According to a recent blog post from the Singapore Exchange (SGX), companies already listing traditional equities on the SGX that… Read More

UK Financial Sector Regulator May Prohibit Crypto Derivatives

A representative from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told attendees at The Regulation of Cryptocurrencies event in London today that he is concerned that “Complex, volatile and often leveraged derivatives products” built on cryptocurrencies with “underlying market integrity issues” are being marketed to retail… Read More

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