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In a fresh crackdown on cryptocurrency-related activities, China has blocked several blockchain-related news accounts on WeChat, one of its top social apps. WeChat Crypto Accounts Shuttered In 2017, China had imposed a ban on ICOs because of their unregulated nature and the scams associated with them. The recent ban has been imposed due to the accounts’ non-compliance with “national interests” and “public orders”, as the concerned accounts were found to be publishing information on Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrency trading. The ban includes the accounts of some of the biggest cryptocurrency platforms of the country such as Jinse Caijing, Shenlian Caijing, Huobi News according to reports  though their sites and apps are still functioning. These company’s leveraged WeChat’s large user base of over a billion members to reach out to their own niche audience segment. Their revenue models included sponsored content about upcoming ICO projects. The information offered ...

Vague statements in Chinese mining giant Bitmain Technologies ’ investor deck ambiguously and potentially misleadingly list investors ahead of its rumored Initial Public Offering (IPO). In a Bitmain pre-IPO investor deck acquired by Cointelegraph, DST Global is listed as an investor, with claims that the investment is “recently completed.”  Henry Wu, a lawyer and legal expert at Chinese law firm L&Y Law Office, spoke with Cointelegraph, explaining that the document’s wording in the original Chinese is left vague. While it is possible to dispute the meaning, to the layperson or an uninitiated potential investor, the language would suggest Bitmain has acquired funds from DST Global. Earlier today, John Lindfors, a managing partner at DST Global, said in an email to Cointelegraph that he “can confirm that DST has never invested in Bitmain.” Wu said that if an investor used the information that DST Global invested in Bitmain to decide whether to contribute their own fund...

With the development of the crypto industry, unprecedented issues arose. The industry is still in its nascent stages and does not have proper systems to aid investors. This has resulted in a divided market, where dozens of different exchanges are operating without intra-exchange communication. This causes a problem for the institutional investors – the big guns. Professional and institutional investors employ the strategy of diversification to reduce risks and therefore, invest in different exchanges according to their strategies. In the contemporary market, there are numerous applications providing unified access to different exchanges. That means investors can easily access multiple exchanges, different markets from one application. This reduces the time and effort required to register trades and also reduces confusion. On the contrary, in the crypto market- at least before Caspian there was a lack of applications which provide access to the diversified crypto market from a singl...

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in an August 14 interview with Bloomberg that it was signing up 50,000 users per day in 2017. Speaking at the Bloomberg Players Technology Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday, Armstrong said that the “technology [ Bitcoin ] is going through a series of bubbles and corrections, and each time it does that, it’s at a new plateau.” He added that “people’s expectations are all over the map, but real-world adoption has been going up,” stating that he sees “real world adoption pretty steadily increasing each year.” When asked about his expectations for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Armstrong said that ICOs are “an important innovation in the world” as they provide an opportunity for people around the world to raise funds for new ventures without relying on personal networks of angel investors.  “It’s a huge breakthrough,” he said. While there are legal questions to consider, Armstrong said that he expects the ICO trend to...

ICO exit scams over the last two years have left people $96.8 million out of pocket, according to data compiled by blockchain intelligence firm Diar. However, this is only a drop in the ocean with regards to the influx of investment the cryptocurrency space is receiving. For context, blockchain start-ups have raised over $6.8 billion from ICOs in 2018 alone. Nonetheless, $100 million is an eye-watering amount. Let’s look at the top 5 ICO exit scams. 1. $60,000,000 – ACChain, Puyin, and BioLifeChain The Chinese company Shenzhen Puyin Blockchain is responsible for $60 million of all thefts. The company raised funds for three ventures – ACChain, Puyin, and BioLifeChain – none of which materialized. Shenzhen police have since arrested six suspects involved in the fraud. 2. $12,000,000 – Cryptokami Cryptokami promised to be, “The New 3 rd Generation Blockchain Infrastructure for Global Financial Services.” It would do so by giving “a biological community foundation to outsid...

SIX Network have announced that they are launching the ‘SIX Blockchain startup fund’. The fund will use $15 million to nurture a digital ecosystem in the creative industry. SIX network uses blockchain technology and smart contracts to reinvent the digital economy by building a better infrastructure. Core features within the SIX network include the SIX Digital Asset Wallet, Decentralized Financial Services, and Wallet-to-Wallet (W2W) Decentralized Commerce. With this economic infrastructure, SIX aims to create an ecosystem that is transparent, fair, secured, and efficient for all stakeholders in the digital and creative economy. The company is looking for startups that have built a prototype and established a strong product-market fit. SIX will provide capital, industry connections, and consultants who will help push the startups’ products to market as quickly as possible. SIX offers 2 funding tracks: Seed Track and Growth Track: The Seed track is for early-stage startups that h...

ICO failure rates are increasing. However, there seems to be a trend of fewer projects receiving bigger sums. Due to regulatory pressure, ICO bans, and a bear market, investors seem to be taking a new strategy to funding blockchain projects. ICO Failure Rates Surge There is new evidence to suggest that one in two Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) failed in Q2 of 2018, while those that succeeded suffered huge loses. This is according to the agency, ICORating , whose data suggests 55% of ICO’s failed to complete in Q2 of 2018. The difference in returns between Q1 and Q2 is significant. In Q1, ICOs enjoyed an average return of almost 50%. In Q2, returns equaled -55%. According to Michael Spencer, Editor of Future Sin, this as a sign of blockchain projects deteriorating in quality . But, he believes there is more than meets the eye. Other factors are at play. In particular, regulatory pressure from the SEC, ICO bans, and the Bitcoin price slump. “While ICOs exploded fro...