ICO Regulations Round-Up: Fundraising Law, Jeju Island, Self-Directed IRAs

In recent news pertaining to initial coin offerings (ICO) regulations, an EU report has advocated the regulation of ICOs according to crowdfunding legislation, the governor of Korea’s Jeju Island wants his jurisdiction to become a special economic zone regarding cryptocurrencies and blockchain, and the U.S. SEC has warned consumers regarding the risks of self-directed Individual … Read more

The Daily: Coinbase Introduces GBP Pairs, Hitbtc Adds EURS, Bitpanda Offers EOS

In today’s Bitcoin in Brief, we cover several decisions made by leading cryptocurrency exchanges regarding new trading options offered to clients. UK customers of Coinbase will be able to purchase cryptocurrencies with British pounds, Hitbtc has added support for the new euro-pegged stablecoin, EURS, and European exchange Bitpanda offers EOS. Also in The Daily, US … Read more

Swissquote Reports 44% Increase in Profit After Adding Crypto Services

Swiss online banking group, Swissquote, has benefited greatly from the addition of cryptocurrency investing to the set of services it offers, reporting a significant increase in its H1 2018 profits. The news comes while Switzerland is debating over how to keep crypto businesses in the country when the majority of Swiss banks refuse to provide … Read more

The Daily: Twitter Blocks Bots Mimicking Musk, Coinvault Hackers Sentenced

In Friday’s edition of The Daily, Twitter has taken measures against crypto scammers imitating the profile of Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and a Dutch court has sentenced the operators of the Coinvault ransomware. Also, crypto has been labeled as ‘junk’ by Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, and Wirex has reported $2 million worth of XRP deposited … Read more

German Bank Offers Special Accounts to Cryptocurrency Firms

The Berlin-based Banking-as-a-Platform (BaaP) institution Solarisbank has recently announced the launch of their new banking service plan that’s focused on clients from the blockchain and digital currency industry. The newly featured resource called the ‘Blockchain Factory,’ will offer financial management services to companies whose business operations deal directly and indirectly with cryptocurrency solutions and blockchain technology. … Read more

EOS Decentralization Questioned as Block Producers Freeze Accounts

On June 17, 2018, the 21 block producers or nodes that run the EOS network chose to freeze seven accounts that were allegedly stolen from EOS community members. According to reports, all 21 block producers unanimously decided to freeze the compromised assets but the decision was met with controversy from the EOS community, and possibly … Read more

South Korean Government Agency Seeks Direct Supervision Over Crypto Exchanges

The South Korean government is reportedly seeking to bring cryptocurrency exchanges under the direct supervision of the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit. This will obligate crypto exchanges to follow anti-money laundering directives like banks do. This is the first time a government agency has said it will oversee crypto exchanges. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into … Read more

Bitflyer Contests Reports of Insufficient Customer Verification Process

Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bitflyer has contested media reports that the Japanese financial regulator has deemed its user verification process to be insufficient. Nonetheless, the exchange admitted to being in talks with the authority and has implemented additional measures. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Reports of Financial Regulator’s Concerns The largest … Read more

Three South Korean Crypto Exchanges Raided for Diverting Funds

South Korean prosecutors have searched the offices of three cryptocurrency exchanges suspected of buying bitcoin with money stolen from customers’ accounts. According to authorities, the companies turned up on the radar during investigations of dubious transfers in January. The raids have been conducted this week. Also read: Growing Number of South Korean Crypto Exchanges Participate … Read more