Tag: U.S

Former presidential candidate Ron Paul published an article titled “Trump Is Right, the Fed Is Crazy” in November 2018, pointing out for the immediate detaxation of cryptocurrencies and precious metals in the United States. Abusing Power to Manipulate Finance According to Paul, the U.S. Federal Reserve is abusing its position to manipulate interest rates and the stability of the dollar….

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Steven Peikin, the co-director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement gave a speech at the Harvard Law School’s Program on the importance of international cooperation in pursuing fraudulent ICOs on December 3, 2018. Peikin highlighted the need for global assistance when it comes to fighting fraud in the ICO and cryptocurrency sector, as many of the sponsors and founders are…

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VAKT, a blockchain-based consortium formed by leading oil and energy sector companies announced the launch of its commodity post-trade management platform through a press release dated November 29, 2018. The launch entails the birth of the world’s first enterprise-grade DLT platform in the oil and energy industry. Improved Security and Efficiency in Crude Oil Business BTCManager reported on November 14,…

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It’s the first time the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has linked Bitcoin addresses to specific individuals. According to Bloomberg’s article published on November 29, 2018, the Treasury Department mentioned in a statement on Wednesday that the two Iran-based individuals, Mohammad Ghorbaniyan and Ali Khorashadizadeh, were responsible for facilitating ransom payments made in Bitcoin. Identifying Illicit Actors in…

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It is no secret that crime has moved online. Cybercrime has been identified as one of the biggest risks to society by the World Economic Forum Global Risk Report 2018. One of the primary drivers behind the boom in cybercrime is the ease of availability of hacking tools as well as a rising Crime-as-a-Service industry found on the dark web….

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According to a report by Bloomberg, published November 13, 2018, U.S. resident named Joseph Kim has been fined $1.1 million and sentenced to 15 months in prison for orchestrating fraudulent schemes related to bitcoin (BTC), and litecoin (LTC), thus duping his employer and several other customers of their money. Illegal Transfers and Fund Misappropriation In 2017, the U.S. Commodity Futures…

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a suspension of trading in the Securities of Nevada-based American Retail Group, also known as Simex Inc. According to a press release published October 22, 2018, the company falsely claimed that they partnered with an SEC-qualified custodian and had registered their token offering in accordance to SEC requirements and regulations. American Retail…

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The European Union’s securities watchdog has followed suit of its U.S. counterpart SEC, as the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said on October 8, 2018, that it is observing every initial coin offering (ICO) to decide whether it should be regulated or not, according to a report published by Reuters. Analysing ICOs and their Implications An initial coin offering…

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The price of bitcoin remained stable around the $6,500 mark through the week to close effectively unchanged versus last week’s close. This marks the fourth consecutive week that bitcoin has found a footing around the $6,500 level, which has prompted several bitcoin community members to refer to bitcoin as the “new stablecoin.” While bitcoin bulls would prefer for BTC to…

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A Justice Department indictment against seven Russian military officers filed in July 2018 contains new allegations that  Russia used bitcoin to fund its cyber attacks, MarketWatch reported on October 4. Russians Meddled with the 2016 Presidential Election The Justice Department indictment against seven Russian military officers for a series of alleged cyber attacks contained another allegation that Russia turned to…

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