Russia’s largest darknet marketplace is looking to raise $146 million in a token offering that would allow it to go global. As Forklog reported on Dec. 11, the token sale is almost certainly illegal — in this case not merely for flouting securities laws or other financial regulations. “A new era in the West” The operators of the marketplace, known as “Hydra,” have ambitions to roll out their model of anonymized, rogue trading for illicit substances at a massive scale. An investment memorandum, accessible only via dark web browsers like Tor, claims the platform’s global expansion “will start a new …

The New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James announced the conviction of Shopin founder Eran Eyal for orchestrating a fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO) following his guilty plea. As the NYAG announced on Dec. 12, the former CEO of Shopin pleaded guilty to felony charges for running a fraudulent initial coin offering that raised more than $42 million between August 2017 and April 2018. Eyal also pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of $600,000 by misrepresenting the staff and clients of his previous startup, Springleap. Quick turnaround in court Yesterday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Eyal for …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Eran Eyal, the founder Shopin, with orchestrating a fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO). In a press release on Dec. 11, the SEC alleged that the businessman and his company defrauded hundreds of investors in an ICO that raised more than $42 million from August 2017 to April 2018. According to the SEC, Shopin’s actions constituted an unregistered securities offering of Shopin Tokens. Eyal told investors he would use the funds from the token sale to create blockchain-based shopper profiles. These profiles would then track customer purchase histories across online retailers …

United States regulators believe they have adopted a “measured yet proactive approach” to cryptocurrency regulation which aids both retail and institutional investors. That was the formal view of Jay Clayton, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who updated lawmakers on official policy on Dec. 10. Clayton: SEC fosters innovation Speaking in testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Clayton highlighted the potential of blockchain technology in helping market participants amass capital. “As I have previously stated, I am optimistic that developments in distributed ledger technology can help facilitate capital formation, providing promising investment …

Two global financial giants, BNY Mellon and Credit Suisse, were reportedly involved in Telegram’s $1.7 billion Gram (GRAM) token sale in 2018. Telegram allegedly informed its investors that it was using BNY Mellon and Credit Suisse to move and store fiat currency raised in the GRAM sale, industry publication Coindesk reports, citing court filings released on Dec. 10. A Telegram employee reveals the details in a series of messages attached to the filings Shyam Parekh, a Telegram employee who is expected to give a deposition before the New York Southern District Court today, Dec. 10, reportedly provided details on how …

Ripple has filed a motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit alleging that it held an unregistered securities sale of its XRP tokens. In court documents filed on Dec. 4, Ripple argues that the plaintiffs’ case is contradictory and “self-defeating.” Alongside a reiteration of previous arguments, the company now also claims that, even if XRP were a security, the statute of repose had passed before the lawsuit was brought to court. Ripple says that XRP is not a security, but even if it were... In what is reportedly Ripple’s last attempt to get the case thrown out before the scheduled hearing …

For businesses about to embark on periods of rapid growth, access to capital is essential. That said, traditional methods of fundraising sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Initial public offerings can help boost the profile of fledgling brands, but they are often costly — with middlemen taking a sizeable cut out of the money generated. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain have upended the status quo, removing intermediaries from a plethora of businesses that we all use every day. Their impact is also being felt in the private equity sector — with entrepreneurs getting an opportunity to connect with consumers directly in …

Lawmakers in Thailand plan to reform cryptocurrency laws after voicing concerns that they have made the country uncompetitive. As local English-language news outlet Bangkok Post reported on Nov. 25, Thailand’s regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants to reconsider its crypto policy in 2020. SEC must be “flexible” on crypto The reason, it says, lies in poor uptake of its certification and licensing scheme by cryptocurrency businesses. Since it came into power last year, only five companies have completed certification, and of those, just two have launched. Now, amendments are on the table, but the SEC has not yet …

Distributed cybersecurity startup Gladius dissolved without complying with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reimburse investors. The firm’s co-founder and chief technology officer Alex Godwin announced the dissolution of the company in a message sent to the project’s official Telegram group on Nov. 22. “The company no longer has funds to continue” The message — collectively signed by the Gladius team — reads: “We regret to inform you that Gladius Network LLC has ceased operations effective immediately and has filed for dissolution. Despite our best efforts, the company no longer has funds to continue operations.” The message …

A Spanish financial watchdog has issued a warning against Ethereum (ETH)-based token dubbed AlyCoin. As Financial Magnates reported on Nov. 18, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores warned the public against AlyCoin as it the coin is registered neither in Spain nor in the corresponding registry and thus promotes unregulated initial coin offerings (ICOs). Specifically, AlyCoin purportedly provides its customers with financial services in violation of the second paragraph of Article 17 of the Securities Markets Law. 82 million of independent tokens AlyCoin describes itself as an independent token based on Ethereum. The company’s ICO phase is scheduled to …

Several firms that collectively raised about $40 million through unregulated initial coin offerings (ICOs) in 2017 missed their deadlines to repay investors following charges by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Wall Street Journal reported on Nov. 14 that the firms agreed to repay investors or provide more transparency in exchange for lower fines, but did not follow through. The tardy firms Airfox and Paragon Coin missed the original deadline to repay investors who bought their tokens, which was set for Oct. 16. A third startup is over five months late on providing its investors the information …

Earlier this week, a story published by Chinese state-run media outlet Xinhua featured some pro-Bitcoin comments that referred to the flagship digital currency as being the world’s “first successful application of blockchain technology.” This latest endorsement comes against the backdrop of China’s stringent anti-crypto stance, wherein the country’s lawmakers implemented a blanket ban on its local cryptocurrency exchanges as well as initial coin offerings back in 2017. The aforementioned Xinhua article takes a balanced approach toward crypto tech, outlining the history of Bitcoin’s development and its overall evolution. It starts off by asking readers the question “Does BTC present the …