The Colorado Division of Securities has filed cessation orders against four Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) allegedly involved in fraudulent and illicit practices, according to an official announcement Nov. 20. Colorado Securities Commissioner Gerald Rome issued the new cease and desist orders following investigations by the Division’s ICO Task Force. Rome has issued 18 cessation orders to ICO projects offering unregistered securities since May, 2018. According to the announcement, at least two more orders are still pending. The recent orders affected four crypto and blockchain-related firms; Global Pay Net, Credits LLC, CrowdShare Mining, and CyberSmart Coin Invest. All the companies were …

SWIFT India has partnered with fintech firm MonetaGo to pilot a distributed ledger (DLT) network designed to improve the efficiency and security of financial products, according to a press release published Nov. 20. SWIFT India is a joint venture established by SWIFT SCRL (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and a number of major Indian and international banks, including HDFC Bank and the Bank of India. The organization provides messaging services to domestic market infrastructures, banks and corporates. Per the announcement, the new program based on MonetaGo’s financial services network technology will be integrated through standardized SWIFT financial messages. The …

Securities Commissioner Karen Tyler of North Dakota, U.S., has issued a cease and desist order against a Russian Initial Coin Offering (ICO) that posed as Liechtenstein Union Bank, according to a Monday, Nov. 19 press release. The state Securities Department’s ICO Task Force conducted an investigation and found out that the website of the fraudulent ICO mimicked Union Bank Payment Coin (UBPC) — an existing token launched by Union Bank in Liechtenstein back in August. As per the regulator, the project’s website claimed to become the “world’s first security token backed by a fully licensed bank” and stated that the …

The suspect at the center of the U.S.’ first Initial Coin Offering (ICO) fraud case has pleaded guilty in court, in part settling a case seen as a bellwether for the country’s securities laws, Bloomberg reported Nov. 15. Maksim Zaslavskiy, who faces a sentence of up to 37 months after lying to investors who put funds into two ICOs last year, confirmed he had lied about aspects of his operations. The court case involves REcoin and Diamond Reserve Coin, which had claimed to be backed by real estate and diamonds respectively. Investors lost money when both coins imploded, Zaslavskiy and …

Tokyo police have arrested eight men that are suspected of collecting a total amount of 7.8 billion yen ($68.4 million) in cash and cryptocurrency using a pyramid scheme, Japanese daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun reports Wednesday, Nov. 14. The suspects claimed to run a U.S. investment company dubbed “Sener,” conducting seminars with foreign speakers. The police report that at least one of the meetings has been recorded, with video uploaded on YouTube. During the seminars, the group of suspects promised monthly returns from 3 to 20 percent for the investments. The suspects also asked the participants to pledge to invite other …

U.S. citizen Joseph Kim of Phoenix, Arizona has been fined $1.1 million and sentenced to 15 months in jail for misappropriating Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC) from several people, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reports Friday, Nov. 9. The CFTC found out that Kim defrauded his employer, a Chicago-based proprietary trading firm, transferring approximately $601,000 worth amount of BTC and LTC to his own accounts in 2017. When asked about missing cryptocurrencies, Kim falsely claimed that security issues made him transfer digital currencies to several accounts. Shortly after, the misappropriation was discovered and Kim was fired. Kim reportedly …

The Ministry of Education (MoE) of Malaysia is establishing a University Consortium to combat degree fraud using blockchain, the ministry announced in a tweet Nov. 8. According to the ministry’s tweet, the system is designed to issue and verify the authenticity of university-issued degrees. The new government-backed consortium will initially be comprised of six public universities and their diploma-verifying system is set to operate using the NEM (XEM) blockchain. According to the ministry, the new system was developed by a team led by a professor from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). According to a local media report, the idea …

On November 2, details of a crypto lawsuit featuring major industry players: Bitcoin Foundation founder Charlie Shrem on one side, and the Winklevoss twins on the other, were made public. The case alleges that Shrem “stole” around 5,000 Bitcoin (BTC) from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss in 2012. Brief introduction to both sides of the conflict Charlie Shrem Charlie Shrem is an American entrepreneur and renowned Bitcoin advocate. He started investing in Bitcoin in 2011, when he was a college senior. Later the same year, he co-founded the now-defunct BitInstant, one of the first crypto exchanges. The service turned out to …

U.S. rapper T.I., also known as T.I.P., is being sued for $5 million by a group of people after his FLiK token has reportedly failed, according to court documents obtained by U.S. celebrity news media The Blast. As per the lawsuit cited by the outlet, the group of 25 persons claims that they have invested $1.3 million in “now worthless securities called FLiK Tokens,” promoted by T.I. and his business partner Ryan Felton. The plaintiffs state that the token was actively endorsed in social media both by celebrities and experts to create an impression of “a valuable liquid investment.” However, …

The Ethereum (ETH) developer that co-authored the ERC-20 token standard has introduced a new model for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), Czech business news outlet Kurzy reports Oct. 31. Speaking at Ethereum’s annual Devcon conference in Prague Oct. 30, Fabian Vogelsteller, also the main developer of decentralized application (DApp) browser Mist, proposed a new approach for running ICOs that he claims will better protect investors. Vogelsteller described the concept, dubbed a “reversible ICO” (RICO), as a fundraising model that allows investors to return their tokens – and be reimbursed – at any stage of the project, via a special-purpose smart contract. …

According to a new report from U.S.-based security firm Recorded Future published on Oct. 25, the North Korean government has sponsored at least two scam coins. In the report entitled “Shifting Patterns in Internet Use Reveal Adaptable and Innovative North Korean Ruling Elite,” Recorded Future’s research team Insikt Group mentions two alleged altcoin scams tied to North Korea. The first scam coin allegedly backed by North Korea is called Interstellar coin, and was found by Insikt Group in June 2018. The coin has reportedly been rebranded a number of times, going by various names such as HOLD, HUZU, or Stellar. …

A New York federal court has ordered cryptocurrency hedge fund Gelfman Blueprint, Inc. (GBI) and its CEO Nicholas Gelfman to pay over $2.5 million for operating a fraudulent Ponzi scheme, according to an official announcement published Oct. 18. GBI is a New York-based corporation and denominated Bitcoin (BTC) hedge fund incorporated in 2014. As stated on the company’s website, by 2015 it had 85 customers and 2,367 BTC under management. The order is the continuation of the initial anti-fraud enforcement action filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) against GBI in September 2017. The CFTC charged GBI for …