The CEO of Delaware-registered blockchain firm Veritaseum LLC and New York-registered Veritaseum Inc., Reggie Middleton, was ordered to pay $8.4 million in disgorgement, according to a new court order. Additionally, Middleton is liable for a civil penalty of $1 million, fintech publication FinanceFeeds reported on Nov. 1, citing a court order issued on Oct. 31. According to the report, a judge at the New York Eastern District Court has approved a motion for a consent judgment in a securities fraud case against several defendants involved in Veritaseum. Specifically, the defendants are jointly liable for disgorgement of $7,891,600, which represents a …

After initially seeking to ban Bitcoin in 2013, Thailand has since developed a permissive regulatory apparatus for digital currencies and cryptocurrency fundraising methods. Thai financial services firm Seamico Securities recently announced that it has received approval from the country’s Securities and Investments Commission (SEC) to operate its subsidiary, SE Digital, as a regulated initial coin offering (ICO) portal. In doing so, SE Digital obtained permission to launch the first legitimate ICO in Thailand, with the company announcing that it hopes to raise between 2 billion and 3 billion Thai baht (between around $66 million and $99 million) through the token …

How can payment fraud be avoided? Introducing better verification measures can go a long way to protecting consumers. Amazon and eBay are often held up as good examples of how transactions should be handled in the wider economy. These sites often deliver impartial reviews based on the past activities of buyers and sellers, meaning it is easier for consumers to find someone reputable. Measures are also in place to protect both parties if a transaction doesn’t go to plan. A multitrader marketplace called Kuverit is aiming to bring this to the crypto and fiat world alike. The company claims it …

On Oct. 13, Canadian social media and messaging app Kik revealed it’s “here to stay.” This was an apparent reversal from what the company's CEO, Ted Livingston, said in a blog post — that it was considering shutting down. It became clear just five days later why it was “here to stay.” A Santa Monica-based holding company, MediaLab, had signed an agreement with Kik Interactive to buy its Kik messaging platform. From angel investment to $100M ICO Back in 2009, a group of students from the University of Waterloo in Canada came together to create new technologies for use on …

MediaLab, a Santa Monica-based holding company, has finalized an agreement with Kik Interactive to acquire the Kik messaging platform. MediaLab sees the long-term potential of Kik and Kin token On Oct. 18, in a blog post to the millions of members of the Kik community, MediaLab announced that it has acquired the Kik messaging app and explained how the acquisition will impact the app’s future. MediaLab said that the company is committed to Kik for the long term and believes that “Kik’s best days remain ahead of it.” While not providing many details regarding work on Kik’s native Kin (KIN) …

The second quarter of 2019 demonstrated a growing popularity of the initial exchange offering (IEO), which has replaced the outdated initial coin offering (ICO) model. The new trend — the key role of which is played by a cryptocurrency exchange auditing projects and organizing token sales — has established itself positively among startups. Crypto market stats show that over 65 IEOs have been launched in the past six months, with about 40 of them having reached their soft cap or even hard cap successfully. About 15 IEOs will be launched in the next three months. Notably, half of them are …

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has published draft regulations for crypto assets. Seeking feedback from the industry –According to an official statement from Oct. 15, the SCA will be collecting public feedback on the draft regulations until Oct. 29 before providing the final drafted legislation regarding the industry. All parties involved in the crypto industry — including investors, brokers, financial analysts, researchers and the media — are invited to provide their feedback on the document, with the SCA adding that the proposals will be taken into consideration for the final regulation. Providing guidance after enforcing …

Blockchain education platform Longhash has analyzed data from crowd-sourced sites to assess why certain cryptocurrency projects have wound up in the industry’s graveyard. Examining 700 crowd-sourced entries spanning 8 years from the website Cointopsy, Longhash’s Oct. 12 article found that the most common cause of demise was “death by abandonment,” accounting for 63.1% of failed cryptocurrencies. Even unused software dies slowly Cryptocurrencies whose fate culminated in death by abandonment — i.e. when investors stop trading an asset and its volume drops to zero — had an average lifespan of 1.6 years, according to Longhash. The next most prevalent category — …

Canadian social media and messaging app Kik has revealed it’s “here to stay,” in an apparent reversal of earlier plans to shut down amid legal difficulties. In an official tweet posted on Oct. 13, the company announced: “Great news: Kik is here to stay!!!!AND there’s some really exciting plans for making the app even better. More details coming soon. Stay tuned.” “More soon” and “stay tuned” As previously reported, Kik had been embroiled in a costly legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its initial coin offering’s designation, with the regulator suing the company for …

Late Friday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it is suing two offshore entities, Telegram and its wholly owned subsidiary, TON Issuer, for holding an unregistered token sale. According to the complaint filed in the federal district court in Manhattan on the same day, Telegram sold approximately 2.9 billion crypto tokens, called Grams (GRM) to 171 buyers for a total of $1.7 billion. Around a quarter of that sum, $424.5 million, allegedly belonged to 31 purchasers based in the U.S. As a result, the SEC has obtained a temporary restraining order against Telegram and TON, seeking …

Following a recent red flag from American regulators, a private Telegram channel for Telegram Open Network (TON) investors is taking a break. Temporary halt for more clarity On Oct. 12, TON Board channel on Telegram announced a temporary halt of work due to the increased level of regulatory uncertainty. TON Board has also deleted all previous posts on its Telegram channel, making the latest announcement the sole post on the channel at press time. As noted in the channel description, TON Board is a private channel created by investors and for investors in the TON as well as for future …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that Telegram and the forthcoming GRM token constitute an unregistered digital token offering. Per an Oct. 11 press release, the SEC has filed an emergency action and restraining order against Telegram and the Telegram Open Network (TON) in a complaint filed with federal district court in Manhattan. The allegations The full complaint alleges that Telegram and TON did not register their sale of GRM tokens, which the SEC considers securities. Because the Securities Act of 1933 requires that all securities be registered with the SEC, the agency considers the sale …