Top Headlines
- Coinbase and Ripple See Future in Securitize
Coinbase and Ripple’s investment subsidiaries have invested in Securitize, a comprehensive digital securities service provider that provides companies with a framework for tokenizing securities and assets across industries. (TechCrunch)
- Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled Fined by SEC
Boxer Floyd Mayweather and recording artist DJ Khaled have been fined by the SEC for unlawfully promoting an initial coin offering. Both received payment from fraudulent ICO organizer Centra Tech, with Mayweather failing to disclose his $100,000 promotional payment and DJ Khaled failing to disclose his $50,000 fee. Both agreed to pay various fees and restrictions in accordance with a settlement, and both are banned from promoting securities for two or three years, respectively. (Coin Telegraph)
- NYSE Chairman Confident in Staying Power of Digital Assets
Are digital assets part of a viable and sustainable economic future? Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange Jeff Sprecher is confident they’re here to stay. Speaking at the Consensus: Invest conference this week, Sprecher answered with confidence, saying “the unequivocal answer is yes”. (CNBC)
- CEO of AriseBank Charged with Fraud
Jared Rice, CEO of fraudulent crypto platform AriseBank, has been arrested by the FBI and charged with three counts of securities fraud and three counts of wire fraud. The charges stem from allegations that Rice lied to investors about the platform’s ability to offer FDIC-insured bank accounts, banking services tied to its own AriseCoin, and Visa-linked debit and credit cards. (Coindesk)
- Intel Gets Patent for Energy Efficient Crypto Mining
Tech giant Intel has been granted a patent for a processor that engages in energy-efficient crypto mining. As controversy mounts surrounding the high impact that crypto mining has on the environment, innovations such as this one are key to crypto’s sustainability. (Coindesk)
- Amazon Launches Quantum Ledger Database
Amazon has officially joined the blockchain world with the launch of its new service called Amazon Quantum Ledger Database. (QLDB), which is designed to be a “fully managed ledger database with a central trusted authority”. More detailed information can be found here on QLDB’s website.
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Security Token Corner
- Harbor Launches Real Estate Offering with Tokenized Equity
Harbor, a blockchain startup launched to tokenize commercial real estate and other traditional investments, has launched a real estate offering with tokenized equity available for purchase. Investors can buy their part in 955 tokenized shares being offered by the company for an apartment complex located in Columbia, South Carolina. (Coindesk)
- Securitize Partners with Thailand Based Firm to Tokenize Real Estate
?? Above, we mentioned the investments made by Coinbase and Ripple into security token startup Securitize. This week, Securitize also announced a partnership with Thailand-based asset management company Elevated Returns to tokenize real estate offerings in Southeast Asia. (Crowdfund Insider)
- Thai SEC Rules Against Security Token Offerings
?? The news comes as the deputy secretary of the Thai SEC declared Thai-related security token offerings that are launched in any international market are not legal and do not fall within regulatory bounds. (Coin Telegraph)
- UAE Authorities Quietly Create STO Friendly Framework
?? The financial authorities in the United Arab Emirates have created an STO-friendly framework “under the radar”, as regulators foresee the growing popularity of security tokens potentially overwhelming more traditional regulatory guidelines currently used for securities offerings. (Crypto Briefing)
Cryptocurrency Spotlight
- Judge Denies Injunction Against BlockVest
A judge in California denied the SEC’s request for an injunction against token company BlockVest as the SEC seeks to charge the company for conducting unregistered security offerings. The offering was conducted via an air drop; therefore, the tokens were given freely without an expectation for return on investments and therefore are not investment contracts, at least according to US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel. (NASDAQ.com)
- Ohio to Accept Cryptocurrency for Tax Payments
The State of Ohio plans to accept tax payments in cryptocurrency as they seek to engage more businesses and residents in interactions with the state government. (Coin Telegraph)
- Fidelity Plans Expansion of Asset Trading Platform
Fidelity has plans to expand their digital asset trading platform to trade more than just Bitcoin and Ethereum, as demand for the next-highest grossing cryptocurrencies grows amongst its registered investors. (Coindesk)
- BP and Shell Launch Blockchain Based Oil Trading Platform
The blockchain-based oil trading platform created by BP and Shell has launched, with first goals being the digitization of all paperwork and future plans to add a financing feature using financing platform Komgo later next year. (CCN)
- SEC Chairman Nixes Bitcoin Futures
Speaking at the Consensus Invest Conference this week, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said that no Bitcoin futures will launch until exchanges become more transparent and have greater monitoring standards. (CCN)
- VanEck, Cboe and SolidX Continue Push for Bitcoin Futures
This news comes as officials of VanEck, Cboe and SolidX met with regulators to again discuss the potential of launching Bitcoin futures, as they did in August of this year. (Bitcoin Magazine)
- Coinbase Creates OTC Desk for Institutional Investors
Coinbase has created an OTC trading desk exclusively for institutional investors, as the company has “found a lot of institutions were using OTC as an on-ramp for crypto trading”. (Bitcoin Magazine)
International Spotlight
- ?? EU Users of WorkChain.io Eligible for Stablecoin Backed Paychecks
European Union users of the blockchain payroll platform WorkChain.io can receive their paychecks backed by the EURS Euro stablecoin. (Bitcoin Magazine)
- ?? Blockchain Clashes with EU’s GDPR
Companies subject to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations that went into effect in May are struggling to reconcile their use of blockchain technology with the regulation’s requirements for deleting personal data once the need for its storage expires. (Forbes)
Equity Crowdfunding
- Australia Still at the Forefront of Equity Crowdfuding
Australia has seen tremendous success in their adoption of equity crowdfunding, with the country’s largest book retailer launching a $10M campaign with goals of expanding and optimizing their distribution network to compete with Amazon. This is the largest raise ever launched on fundraising platform Equitise, and the largest raise ever launched in Australia. (Business Insider)
- Is Equity Crowdfunding the Silver Bullet for Small Business?
Co-founder of Australian crowdfunding platform Birchal calls equity crowdfunding the “silver bullet” for small businesses, as more traditional routes of financing have been historically difficult to secure. Unlike in the United States, the cap on how much companies can raise using equity crowdfunding is much larger which allows for more substantial raises. (Crowdfund Insider)