Operations

Govt. Pauses SEC Suit Against $30 Mln ICO Amid Parallel Investigation Concerns

Prosecutors have paused a United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against the alleged operators of a $30 million fraudulent ICO amid concerns that proceedings may impact the integrity of a parallel investigation into the defendants.The United States attorney’s office for New Jersey intervened in the case on April 2.SEC suit paused amid integrity concerns over the parallel investigationThe SEC action against defendants Boaz Manor, Edith Pardo, and the associated companies CG Blockchain Inc and BCT Inc has been halted to maintain the integrity of parallel criminal investigations into

Retail Bought $3.7K Bitcoin Price Dip on Record $76B Volume: Report

Although the Coronavirus pandemic has led many brick and mortar industries to close operations, cryptocurrency exchanges seem to have had their best month in a long time. According to an exchange report released by CryptoCompare, Bitcoin (BTC) trading volume saw record-breaking numbers throughout the month.Cryptocurrency market daily view. Source: Coin360The March 13 market crash that brought the Bitcoin price from $8,000 to a low of $3,800 in 24 hours registered the biggest day for crypto in terms of trading volumes registered at Bitcoin spot markets. On March 13 alone, total daily volumes

Crypto Community Largely Approves of Binance Acquiring CoinMarketCap

Despite markets all over the world facing ever-worsening economic troubles amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it seems as though the crypto industry has been able to weather the storm, at least thus far. In this regard, Binance — the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange — has recently reached an agreement to acquire CoinMarketCap, one of the most prominent crypto data websites.The official announcement was made by both companies on April 2, with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao telling Cointelegraph that CMC and Binance have from the very start been working to make

CFTC Requests Default After Failing to Find $147M Bitcoin Ponzi Operator

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has requested that the alleged founder of the crypto $147 million Ponzi scheme Control-Finance be declared a default.On April 3, the CFTC filed for a ruling of default after Control-Finance’s alleged founder and director, Benjamin Reynolds, did not respond to the regulator’s complaint.CFTC unable to locate Reynolds after 10 monthsThe CFTC’s complaint was filed during June 2019 — alleging that Reynolds misappropriated at least 22,858 BTC from more than 1,000 customers from May 1, 2017.In January 2020, the SEC requested additional time

Coronavirus & Bitcoin Price: Is China Losing Its BTC Mining Monopoly?

This week the price of Bitcoin (BTC) surged more than 15%, reaching a high at $7,200 before pulling back into the $6,800 range. Despite the recovery, Bitcoin still has a way to go in order to reach the $8,000 level seen before the coronavirus-triggered selloff on March 12.Cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360The drop had several consequences on the Bitcoin network. Having reached the $3,800 price range, the accentuated drop forced some Bitcoin miners to throw in the towel and shut down their operations due to mining becoming unprofitable.As miners have

Crypto Traders Allegedly Involved in a $35m Ponzi Scheme

Three alleged cryptocurrency traders ran a Ponzi scheme which scammed more than 100 investors for over $35 million, according to a lawsuit filed by an entity formed by the victims in a federal court of Florida, United States.According to an announcement published on April 2, Q3 Investment Recovery Vehicle, who represents defrauded investors, accused the trio of alleged crypto traders of cheating victims by promising them a winning trading formula. Former NYSE and Wells Fargo workers among the accused The federal securities fraud case names three individuals as the primary perpetrators of

As Malta Delays Regulatory Clarity, Fewer Firms Remain on ‘Blockchain Island’

It seems that Malta is becoming both less popular among and less populated with crypto firms. The European Union country attracted dozens of industry players in 2018 on the back of the “blockchain island” agenda championed by the local government, but the relevant framework has not yet proven to be effective. Meanwhile, the official rhetoric apparently started to shift away from the blockchain sector, as the government now aims to consolidate it with “other niche sectors.”Meanwhile, the Malta Financial Services Authority, continues to pluck out non-registered crypto agents — be

Staked Token Supply Doesn’t Correlate with Price, Says Messari Analyst

As cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile, crypto players can’t stop arguing about what really impacts the price of certain coins and what does not.Some crypto pundits believe a larger amount of tokens staked in Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains could push the price upwards by reducing the circulating supply, making the remaining tokens more valuable. But blockchain and crypto analytics firm Messari has crunched the numbers and reports that there is little correlation between the two.Announcements correlate with price thoughIn an April 1 blog post, Wilson Withiam, a researcher at the Messari

What to Expect When You’re Expecting… the Bitcoin Block Halving

Many industry experts hold varied expectations for Bitcoin’s price following the block reward halving in May, proving 2020 is anything but mundane. “On both prior occasions, Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high within 12 months, with the latest coming in December 2017 when the price reached about $20,000, which was followed by a massive decline,” Bill Herrmann, CEO of alternative investment banking firm, Wilshire Phoenix, told Cointelegraph in an email on March 10. Herrmann also pointed out that Bitcoin’s market has matured compared to past years, noting that information available to

Bitcoin in the Aftermath of COVID-19: Two Possible Scenarios

Futurist and author, Daniel Jeffries, shared with Cointelegraph his view on the future scenarios awaiting Bitcoin in the aftermath of COVID-19. Two possible outcomes In one particularly dark scenario,  the global economy will plunge into a severe recession and countries will turn to authoritarianism in order to survive. In such a scenario, world governments will impose capital control measures, curbing citizens’ financial freedoms. Authorities will then crack down on cryptocurrency to prevent people from circumventing their restrictions. Jeffries does not believe that Bitcoin would be able to survive in such a scenario. He

Confirmed! Brandon Chez Steps Down as Binance Completes Acquisition of CoinMarketCap

It all started out as a rumor and many thought it was just another April Fool’s prank, but it is now official. Binance has acquired the largest cryptocurrency data tracking site, CoinMarketCap (CMC), the exchange announced today. The coming together of the largest crypto companies is considered an industry milestone, as it could eventually result in significant opportunities, especially in the area of cryptocurrency data tracking, which will contribute to the growth of the industry. While commenting on the development, the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), said that the