The Manitoba Securities Commission (MSC) has issued a public warning against cryptocurrency scams after reports of fraud involving two European firms. On March 20, the Manitoba securities watchdog published an investor alert regarding Jbcapitals and Halifax & Associated for defrauding a rural Manitoban of more than $5,500. The two firms are affiliated with each other and primarily operate in Switzerland and Denmark. Crypto scammers target victims on Facebook Senior MSC investigator Jason Roy stated that the victim was lured by a Facebook ad for Jbcapitals: “The company, Jbcapitals claimed to invest in Bitcoin/cryptocurrency markets on behalf of their clients with …

Canada-based company firm Hive Blockchain has announced that its legal representation is issuing a cease and desist request to the Hive community, which recently forked from the Steem (STEEM) network. According to a March 23 press release, the mining firm believes that the new blockchain’s use of the term ‘Hive’ creates confusion around its branding — asserting that many Hive Blockchain shareholders have sought clarification as to whether the company is associated with the hard fork. Hive Blockchain issues cease and desist to Hive community Hive Blockchain was founded in 2013 and claims the Steem fork is benefiting from “goodwill” …

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) has announced it will soon implement new anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations. The laws including updated guidelines for virtual currencies. In a departmental report published on March 10, FINTRAC emphasizes that the establishment of “an enhanced AML/[CTF] regime” for businesses operating with cryptocurrencies is “a major priority in the near term.” FINTRAC expands regulatory mandate regarding offshore crypto companies In the report, FINTRAC emphasizes the challenges arising from business and consumer adoption of new technologies such as cryptocurrency — adding that while most of the changes arising …

Two Canadian nationals have been sentenced to two years in a United States federal prison for stealing 23.2 Bitcoin (BTC) through a scam on Twitter in 2017. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, on March 17, 23-year-old Karanjit Khatar and 24-year-olds Jagroop Khatkar were formally sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years supervised release for money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Scammers impersonate HitBTC support staff on Twitter Beginning in October 2017, the British Columbia-residents were found to have impersonated customer service representatives from the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange HitBTC. Acting under the handle “@HitBTCAssist,” …

Canadian authorities have approved funding of two blockchain firms, Peer Ledger and Mavennet, to create a platform that enables steel traceability, reported Ledger Insights on March 9. The Innovation, Science, and Financial Development Canada (ISED), a government initiative in charge of promoting the research and development of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises, adopted the measure, granting both companies CAD $150,000. Strengthening digital traceability on the steel supply chain Peer Ledger (Halifax-based) and Mavennet (Toronto-based) will be working on a proof-of-concept (PoC) prototype for digital traceability of the entire steel supply chain process by using blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. According …

Although the Bank of Canada has no plans for issuing a digital currency immediately, the Central Bank is not ruling out the possibility of launching one due to potential mass adoption of private digital currencies — and the possibility of cashless societies. Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Tim Lane spoke at FinTech RDV 2020 in Montreal, and declared that although at the moment there is “not a compelling case” for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a prototype is on the way and the Bank plans to consult with a wide range of stakeholders to potentially design a central bank …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has appointed heads at the BIS Innovation Hub’s centers in Singapore and Switzerland. In a Feb. 19 announcement, the BIS revealed that Andrew McCormack — who currently serves as chief information officer at payment clearing and settlement firm Payments Canada — will now be the head of the BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Singapore. At the same time, Morten Bech, Head of Secretariat for the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) at BIS, will manage the Hub Centre in Switzerland. Fostering cross-border cooperation on fintech McCormack gained experience in policy and strategy with …

Canadian entrepreneur and software engineer Joseph Lubin helped spearhead the development of the open-source smart contract blockchain platform that came to be known as Ethereum. Lubin has long believed that this technology could serve “as an organizing principle for earth, the world, the planet.” As one of the wealthiest and most influential public figures in the industry, Lubin founded ConsenSys, a company that develops Ethereum-based products and tools to increase adoption of Ethereum applications around the world, taking the view that the decentralized future is already here — just unevenly distributed. Early life and career Joe Lubin was born in …

Major Canadian investment fund manager 3iQ and blockchain firm Mavennet co-launched a new regulated stablecoin pegged to the Canadian dollar (CAD). Developed by Canada Stablecorp, a joint venture between 3iQ and Mavennet, QCAD is the latest CAD-based stablecoin and was officially launched on Feb. 11. QCAD total supply accounts for about 150,000 CAD at the launch Based on the Ethereum blockchain, QCAD implements popular token standard ERC-20 and is targeting the mass market. While QCAD is not yet listed on major websites tracking crypto market capitalization like Coin360, QCAD transactions can be now tracked via Ethereum blockchain explorer Etherscan. According …

Six major central banks will meet in April to discuss the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The Japan Times reported on Feb. 6 that — according to a source familiar with the matter — the meeting will see the governors of several central banks discuss joint research on CBDCs. Furthermore, the group will share considerations on possible challenges such as cross-currency settlement and cybersecurity. The central banks of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland will reportedly meet in Washington D.C., when the participants will be there for an International Monetary Fund conference. The …

The results of a 300 megawatt (MW) energy allocation for cryptocurrency miners, run by Canadian provincial utility provider Hydro-Québec, has failed to attract expected demand from the local industry. A Request for Proposals (RFP) for power allocation was opened in June last year, supposedly based on huge demand of around 16,000MW from miners around the world that wanted to take advantage of Quebec’s hydroelectric power. Bid submissions closed on Oct. 31, 2019. According to a Jan. 22 report from Radio Canada, the results of the RFP or only released recently with Hydro-Québec granting one-fifth of total block set aside for …

The central banks of Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, European Union, Sweden and Switzerland created a group with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to jointly research central bank digital currencies (CBDC). According to a press release published by the Bank of England on Jan. 21, the aforementioned institutions will share their experience with other group members as they study potential use cases for CBDCs in their respective jurisdictions. The announcement states: “The group will assess CBDC use cases; economic, functional and technical design choices, including cross-border interoperability; and the sharing of knowledge on emerging technologies. It will closely coordinate …