The Technion Israel Institute of Technology has filed a civil suit against a faculty member for allegedly establishing of a zero knowledge proof technology company and making use of the knowledge developed by him while working at the institute. The news was published by local media outlet Calcalist on April 22. The Technion has filed a suit against senior lecturer Prof. Eli Ben-Sasson with the Haifa District Court for allegedly violating the institute’s intellectual property rules. Per the lawsuit, Ben-Sasson founded a company dubbed Starkware with a doctoral student at the Technion, wherein "the intellectual property on which the company …

An indictment has been filed against Afek Zard in Israel over the alleged theft of 74.990.74 Dash (over $9 million) from his roommate, local media News1 reports on April 18. According to CoinMarketCap data, the amount of coins stolen is equivalent to over 0.85% of the total circulating supply of Dash. News1 states that the reported victim, Alexei Yaromenko, was reportedly an early cryptocurrency investor who has accumulated crypto assets since 2013. Yarmolenko reportedly taught Zard about cryptocurrencies and trading them himself before the theft allegedly took place. Per the indictment document filed by attorney Giora Hazan, Zard was in …

Israeli cryptocurrency developer KZen has raised $4 million from backers including South Korean electronics giant Samsung, industry news outlet The Block reported on April 17. The company’s product, smartphone wallet app ZenGo — currently in beta phase testing — aims to simplify custodial wallet usage for entry-level cryptocurrency users. Using a combination of split key storage and biometric security features, the company hopes users will be able to benefit from a simple wallet user interface while not relying on a third party or themselves to hold their private keys and other sensitive information. A smartphone and cloud storage form the …

This article has been updated to include an official response from Sirin Labs. Blockchain smartphone startup Sirin Labs laid off a quarter of its workforce, Israeli business media Globes reported on April 15. Per the report, the startup admitted to having laid off 15 of its 60 employees and having overestimated the sales of their Finney blockchain smartphone. A spokesperson for the company reportedly said that it will now focus on software development and distribution. When contacted by Cointelegraph for confirmation, Sirin Labs noted that the crypto markets has led to many companies changing the size of their staff: “All …

This article formerly read that Bitfarms was being delisted from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Following clarification from a Bitfarms spokesperson, the article has been amended to accurately reflect the developments. Israeli cryptocurrency mining firm Bitfarms is currently seeking a listing with the Toronto Stock Exchange, a company spokesperson told Cointelegraph on April 2. Local reports earlier this week suggested that the firm would be delisted from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) as a result of losses incurred in the crypto bear market. Bitfarms Director of Public Relations Bahador Zabihiyan explained that this is not the case. Zabihiyan told …

Singapore-based crypto exchange KuCoin has partnered with Israel-based payment processing company Simplex to let its users purchase crypto via credit card, an official announcement revealed on March 27. The exchange has already added the service to its assets page, the announcement reports. Now users can purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHABC) and Litecoin (LTC) for both dollars and euros. The service is reportedly available in more than 100 countries. As the release notes, Simplex — which also has offices in the United Kingdom, U.S. and Lithuania — has already provided its “fraud-free” payment processing services …

Israeli fintech companies that work with forex and crypto trading are being targeted by malware, according to a blog post from threat research department Unit 42 of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks published on March 19. Per the report, Unit 42 first encountered an older version of the malware in question, Cardinal RAT, in 2017. Since April 2017, Cardinal RAT has been identified when examining attacks against two Israel-based fintech companies engaged in developing forex and crypto trading software. The software is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT), which allows the attacker to remotely take control of the system. The updates …

An Israeli court has ruled in favor of a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company after a local bank closed its account over money laundering concerns. Israeli daily business news outlet Calcalist reported the development on March 17. Israminers, which sued Bank Igud (the Union Bank of Israel Ltd.) in May 2018, had faced problems with cash flow due to the bank blocking deposits which it said was against its terms. Following a lengthy appeals process, a Tel Aviv district court judge argued that the bank’s policy on cryptocurrency clients was too broad, and should not include automatic rejections. “I believe that …

The Marshall Islands’ government upcoming digital currency, which will be launched in partnership with Israeli startup Neema, still needs work in order to placate United States financial regulators. English-language Israeli media The Times of Israel reported on the currency’s progress on March 9. While the release of the coin, dubbed the Sovereign (SOV), is scheduled for later this year, The Times of Israel notes that the U.S. regulators are concerned about a possible negative impact on the existing banks in the country, as well as potential for money laundering. More precisely, the article mentions that every SOV account will be …

The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has published its final report on cryptocurrency regulations, local financial newspaper Globes reports Thursday, March 7. A special committee formed in 2017 to develop proper regulations for cryptocurrencies has presented its report to ISA chairperson Anat Guetta. Commenting on the recommendations, Guetta said that they were designed both to develop the crypto sector and protect the rights of investors. She further added that the technology is “here to stay” despite the fact that excitement in the industry has cooled. The ISA recommends imposing disclosure requirements for crypto offerings that qualify as securities and states that …

Gibraltar-registered Israeli blockchain application platform First Digital Assets (FDA) will fire most its employees in a major restructuring process, the company confirmed to Israeli English-language news resource Globes on March 4. FDA, which operates multiple spin-off companies in the blockchain space, will merge all but one of them into their parent company. Its research arm, One Alpha, will reportedly close entirely. The latest company in the blockchain industry to perform a drastic cost-cutting exercise, FDA said tough market conditions lay at the heart of its decision. “The cryptocurrencies market experienced an earthquake last year, which forces us to be brave …

Blockchain finance company Circle will use digital financial services company Nice Actimize’s market monitoring tools to fight manipulation, a press release confirmed on Feb. 27. Nice Actimize, which forms a branch of Israeli enterprise software giant Nice Ltd., offers professional client tools in the areas of financial crime, risk and compliance. Circle will use Actimize’s Cloud Markets Surveillance (CMS) to proactively prevent and detect malicious trading activity on its own platform, including insider trading, layering and even so-called pump and dump schemes. “Adapting innovative technology solutions, such as the financial markets compliance solutions from Nice Actimize, to meeting the potential …