Hurray! US SEC declares ETH not security. The question of whether or not bitcoin, ETH and other cryptocurrencies are securities finally gets an official answer from SEC. According to the Commission, digital tokens, regardless of how they are offered are securities, while cryptocurrencies are not. Cryptocurrencies have been categorized as commodities similar to rice or gold.
In Estonia, a mysterious company, through a lawyer filed a $180 million ICO with the country’s SEC, to sell some even more mysterious “GoWeb” tokens. SEC is yet to review the submission.
This week, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a notice where they officially declared tokens are securities. Criteria for evaluating tokens are similar to the US Howey test. If tokens are sold with the intention of trading in future at a profit, then they are securities.
Plans are currently going on that would allow an internet company pay its workers in bitcoin. But first, Spot.IM needs permission from the Israel Securities Authority (ISA). Agreements has to be reached over issues like exchange rates. Is this a step higher in mainstream adoption or just some tech firm trying to retain tech-savvy brains?
To regulate blockchain and crypto in Nigeria, here are three recommendations for the government. First is the government approaching the novel area from an emphatic angle; second is balancing consumer protection and innovation; and third, using policies rather than legislations.
Does the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have the authority to fight against crypto-related fraud? Lawyers to Randall Crater, founder of My Big Coin, responsible for a $6 million fraud, are arguing that cryptos are not commodities and therefore do not come under the regulatory oversight of CFTC.
Bitcoin deal gone bad in Dubai as court arraigns four men for assaulting 28-year old twins. The twins had contacted a virtual currency broker asking for 200 Bitcoins to which both parties agreed Dhs7m. However, the broker called a gang who stole the money from the twins, including their smartphones.
Update: “Bitcoin Maven” sentencing postponed by court. While prosecutors are clamouring for a 30-month incarceration, her lawyers are asking for a one-year community service sentencing.
How blockchain can help advance Intellectual Property law. From creating unique hashes for individual IP creations to tagging products with an RFID; blockchain has numerous applications in the IP industry.
The state of Michigan is on a roll this week as it introduces two bills that have some relations to DLT and cryptocurrencies. Soon, it will be a crime to alter “a record made utilizing distributed ledger technology.” Also, the definition for “Financial transaction device” was expanded to include “Any instrument…or other means of access to a credit account or deposit account including through the use of cryptocurrency or distributed ledger technology.”
Japanese authorities are investigating a Monero Cryptojacking malware from the Coinhive crypto mining software.
As Russia keeps working on its crypto regulation draft, it would be ditching terms like digital currency, virtual money and even cryptocurrency for “Digital Rights”. The bill is yet to become law and currently going through the appropriate stages.
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