Neil Walsh, chief of the cybercrime and anti-money laundering arm of the United Nations’ department on drugs and crime, has stated that the “anonymizing and pseudo-anonymizing” aspects of cryptocurrencies have made it extremely difficult to combat terrorist financing, money laundering, and cybercrime.
<h1>SEC Settles With Crypto Exchange Bitqyck And Its Founders</h1>
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled with crypto exchange Bitqyck and its founders Bruce Bise and Sam Mendez over what the SEC believed was an unregistered token sale that raised $13 million. Bitqyck will pay a civil penalty of $8.5 million on top of disgorgement and prejudgment interest. For the two founders, Bise will pay $890,254 and Mendez will pay $850,022.
<h1>Alleged Capital One Hacker Used Servers To Mine Crypto</h1>
Yesterday, August 28, Paige Thompson was indicted after allegedly hacking Capital One and 30 other entities. Along with being charged with wire fraud and computer fraud and abuse, court documents state Thompson used Capital One’s cloud servers to mine cryptocurrency.
<h1>Craig Wright Ordered To Forfeit Half His BTC Fortune</h1>
Federal court has entered case-ending sanctions against Craig Wright in the long-running court battle between Wright and the estate of his deceased developer partner, Dave Kleiman. Judge Bruce E. Reinhart has ordered Wright to give up half of his $10 billion bitcoin fortune and half of the intellectual property the two developed together to the Kleiman estate.
<h1>Central Bank of Brazil Adopts IMF Crypto Classification Guidelines</h1>
The Central Bank of Brazil has adopted the International Monetary Fund’s crypto classification guidelines, meaning traded cryptocurrencies within the country will be classified as non-financial products and, as such, will be counted as goods on the central bank’s balance sheet.
<h1>Kunal Kalra Pleads Guilty To Running Unlicensed Bitcoin Exchange And ATM</h1>
Westwood, California, resident Kunal Kalra has pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed bitcoin exchange and ATM. Kalra allegedly took part in $25 million worth of trading without obtaining a money-remitting business license or implementing any anti-money laundering processes.
<h1>Switzerland Meeting Does Little To Quell Libra Doubts</h1>
Last week, six members from the US House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee met with Swiss regulators, including the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner and the Financial Market Supervisory Authority, to discuss Facebook’s Libra project. According to Representative Maxine Waters, the meetings did very little to convince US lawmakers that the Libra Association could control the Libra network responsibly.
<h1>Crown Sterling Sues Black Hat USA Conference For Being Heckled</h1>
Crypto startup Crown Sterling has filed a lawsuit against security conference Black Hat USA for reportedly being booed and heckled while the startup gave a presentation. To be fair to the hecklers, Crown Sterling’s presentation was on the discovery of “quasi-prime numbers” and featured the startup’s announcement of its “legitimate multi-dimensional encryption technology.”
<h1>FINMA Releases KYC, AML Guidelines For Blockchain Payments</h1>
Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority has released updated know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering guidelines, requiring blockchain service providers to conduct KYC checks and notify the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland should they identify suspicious activity on their platforms.
<h1>British High Court Recognizes Bitcoin As Property</h1>
Though the decision is subject to ratification, the British High Court claims to now recognize bitcoin as property, making it easier for victims of hacks to claim cryptocurrencies locked away in exchanges.
<h1>Securitize Becomes SEC-Approved Digital Security Record Keeper</h1>
Blockchain startup Securitize says it has been approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to become a registered transfer agent, allowing the startup to act as an official record keeper for all digital securities registered with the SEC.
<h1>White House Suggests Crypto-Fentanyl Link</h1>
Two White House advisories addressing financial institutions and digital payment platforms state that cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, Ether, and monero, can and have been used to purchase illicit substances including fentanyl.
<h1>Tether Responds To NYAG Jurisdiction Ruling</h1>
Stablecoin issuer Tether has responded to the New York Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the New York attorney general’s investigation into Bitfinex and Tether’s alleged cover-up of an $850 million loss. iFinex, Bitfinex and Tether’s parent company, will appeal the court’s ruling.
<h1>The European Commission Opens Antitrust Probe Against Facebook</h1>
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is currently investigating whether Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency would monopolize the payments industry.
<h1>India’s Supreme Court Asks RBI To Justify Its Crypto Banking Ban</h1>
India Supreme Court Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman has ruled that the Reserve Bank of India has not responded appropriately to concerns from the country’s crypto industry regarding the RBI’s ban on banks providing services to crypto firms. Justice Nariman gave the RBI two weeks to justify its actions to the court.
<h1>ICO Rating Agrees To Pay SEC Fine</h1>
Russian cryptocurrency ratings site ICO Rating has agreed to pay an undisclosed fine to the US Securities and Exchange Commission after allegedly shilling illegal token sales on its site from December 2017 to July 2018.
<h1>Reginald Middleton Responds To SEC Freeze Of Veritaseum Assets</h1>
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an emergency lawsuit against Reginald Middleton and his two companies, Veritaseum LLC and Veritaseum Inc., alleging Middleton had held a fraudulent ICO. Middleton has since responded to the lawsuit, claiming that the Veritaseum assets have always remained in control of the two companies.
<h1>New York Supreme Court Denies iFinex Motion To Dismiss NYAG Lawsuit</h1>
The New York Supreme Court has ruled that the New York attorney general does have jurisdiction over Bitfinex, Tether, and their parent company, iFinex, meaning the investigation into an alleged $850 million cover-up will continue.
<h1>Blockchain Voting Platform Horizon State Shuts Down</h1>
Horizon State, an Australian-based blockchain voting platform, has shut down after a lawsuit brought against the firm, which has resulted in mounting legal costs.
<h1>Maryland Joins ‘Operation Cryptosweep'</h1>
Maryland is the most recent state to join the crypto enforcement initiative, which is led by the North American Securities Administrators Association.