On Dec. 19, the London-based company Stratis revealed to the public its project that includes sidechains, smart contracts, an ICO and STO platform, and distributed ledger technology (DLT), which simplifies transaction processing. The technology leverages the recently released Stratis C# Full Node, the company’s innovative software, whose codebase is built on the Microsoft .NET Core architecture. The service is aimed to make blockchain solutions mainstream, as developers can use existing languages in the familiar and well-populated ecosystem .NET Stratis recently became a member of the Microsoft Partnership Network, with silver competency as an ISV. The platform is written in the …

About $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency had been obtained via illicit means in 2018, according to research published by crypto analytics company CipherTrace on Jan. 29. Of that $1.7 billion, over $950 million was stolen from crypto exchanges, representing a 3.6 times increase over 2017. On the other hand, at least $725 million was lost in 2018 to scams such as ponzi schemes, exit schemes and fraudulent initial coin offerings (ICOs). CipherTrace also listed what the company believes to be the top ten cryptocurrency threats: the highest is SIM swapping, which is a kind of identity theft involving taking control over …

Tokenized social media startup Kik has warned United States regulators that they would fight back against a proposed enforcement action against the company, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Jan. 27. Canada-based Kik is facing a prospective enforcement action over an alleged securities infraction, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) judged its 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) to have involved the sale of unregistered securities. The startup is reported to have raised around $100 million in “kin” tokens for its chat-based social media network — which can be earned on the platform, traded or redeemed for goods …

This article was corrected to reflect the nature of the Polkadot protocol, which had been labelled a startup, and its second planned token sale, which had been reported as an ICO. Blockchain interoperability protocol Polkadot (DOT), created by Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Gavin Wood, is reportedly aiming to raise up to $60 million in an additional planned token sale. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the fundraising on Jan. 24. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the WSJ reports that, if successful, Polkadot’s token sale would bring the fully-diluted market value — or the value of all tokens in circulation, …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has prevented a local initial coin offering (ICO) from launching a security token offering (STO) in the country. The development was detailed in an announcement published Thursday, Jan. 24. Under the current rules, all STOs have to comply with Singapore’s securities laws and are obliged to register with the MAS. In case the owners want the offering to fall under an exemption, they should be aware of conditions, including advertising restrictions, the MAS notes. The issuer of the halted, unnamed STO intended to rely on the exemption that would allow them to launch an …

A blockchain solution has unveiled bold plans to make the United Kingdom’s medicine market safer by creating a system that prevents patients from ordering the same prescription from multiple pharmacies while stopping counterfeit drugs from making their way into the supply chain. MediConnect states that introducing new safeguarding for the public and the health care industry can save money and potentially lives. The motivation for the startup came after the company’s founders discovered the extent and impact of oversupply via the National Health Service (NHS) and private health care providers. A lack of data sharing means patients can make multiple …

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) completed in the first half of January have raised around $160 million. The figure was provided in a report by ICO rating service ICObench shared with Cointelegraph on Jan. 18. ICOs completed by Jan. 15 have managed to raise about 33 percent of the combined amount raised in the previous month of December. Half of that sum was secured by just one project, the report notes. According to ICObench, the number of fundraisers that are set to take place in January is more than 150, a figure similar to the past seven months, excluding December. In …

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has stated that global regulators should work together to facilitate the development of initial coin offerings (ICOs), according to a report released Jan. 15. The document calls for regulatory clarity and a supervisory framework for ICOs, defining such moves as “a stepping stone to their safer use for financing purposes.” The report also underlines the importance of standardized disclosure requirements, enhanced investor protection Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorist Financing (CFT) measures. A separate document dedicated to the highlights of the report states: “A delicate balance will need to be achieved in …

A company intends to change the ways of traditional advertising by creating a platform called WeBuy. The idea is to allow what the company calls "buyers" to decide when and how the sellers of different products can reach them on-demand. Shopper in the center WeBuy believes that annoying online ads are one of the problems of the modern advertising market. Instead of increasing the interest of potential buyers, they get the opposite effect. The company believes its product can change the way buyers and sellers currently communicate by putting the prospective buyer in the center of the process. The company …

The value of tokens that over a hundred of initial coin offering (ICO) teams have allocated to themselves has decreased by 54 percent from the initial figure of $24 billion , “due to coin price reductions.” This was revealed in the latest research by cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX published Jan. 16. BitMEX has conducted a research of the ICO market in collaboration with analytics firm TokenAnalyst, looking into treasury balances of more than a hundred projects on the Ethereum (ETH) network. The analysis reportedly made use of machine learning techniques and was based on the interpretation of smart contract data and …

Bitcoin Association Switzerland board member Luzius Meisser says he believes the next wave of crypto innovation will focus on stablecoins and security tokens. Meisser made his remarks during an interview with Cointelegraph’s correspondent during the Crypto Finance Conference in St. Moritz, Switzerland on Jan. 16. Meisser is a computer scientist and economist who co-founded the Bitcoin Association Switzerland in 2013, as well as an active figure in the local crypto industry, serving as a member of the board of directors for crypto-focused asset management and brokerage firm Bitcoin Suisse AG, among other ventures. In regard to the medium-term future of …

Malaysian cryptocurrency regulation comes into effect on Tuesday, Reuters reports on Monday, Jan. 14. The Malaysian finance minister, Lim Guan Eng, reportedly said today that the Capital Markets and Services Order 2019 would become effective on Jan. 15. According to Reuters, the new regulation classifies digital currencies, tokens and crypto-assets as securities, placing them under the Securities Commission’s authority. Starting from Tuesday, any person operating unauthorized initial coin offerings (ICOs) or digital asset exchanges in Malaysia will be reportedly facing a 10-year jail sentence and a 10 million ($2.4 million) ringgit fine. According to Malaysian news outlet The Star, Eng …