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PLAIN ENGLISH: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its long-anticipated "plain English" crypto guidance for token issuers Wednesday, outlining how it might apply the Howey test to initial coin offerings. The guidance, while not legally binding, nevertheless tells startups what factors to consider when evaluating potential token sales. Perhaps more notably, the SEC also published its first no-action letter, allowing TurnKey Jet, Inc. to launch a token sale, though under several key restrictions. Full Stories
COINBASE COVERED: San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase has revealed that it is covered for up to $255 million for cryptos held in so-called hot wallets – assets which are hosted online and open to potential hacks. The insurance policy was placed by Lloyd's registered broker Aon and sourced from a global group of U.S. and U.K. insurance companies, including certain Lloyd's of London syndicates, the firm said. Coinbase currently holds less than 2 percent of customers' assets in hot wallets, with the remaining 98 percent at arm's length from third-party attacks in offline cold storage. Full Story
TOP DOGE: A month and a half after calling bitcoin "brilliant," Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has lauded one of the crypto market's longest-running, and famously whimsical, alternatives. "Dogecoin might be my fav cryptocurrency. It's pretty cool," Musk tweeted Tuesday. His praise came in response to an April Fool's Day poll posted the day before by the official Dogecoin account asking who should be the cryptocurrency's next CEO. Musk won with 54 percent of the vote. His Twitter profile briefly read: "CEO of Dogecoin." Full Story
JAPANESE UNICORN: Crypto trading platform Liquid.com has been just closed a Series C funding round that, it says, makes it the latest crypto "unicorn." IDG Capital led the round, while Bitmain also participated, although the amount invested was not disclosed. Liquid, which is owned by Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Quoine, did say that, with the round now complete, its "over $1 billion" valuation makes it "one of only two tech unicorns in Japan's startup space." The funds will go toward global expansion and product development, as well as to support a move into the security token market, it said. Full Story |
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| RALLY DELAY? While bitcoin's longer-term outlook turned bullish with a convincing break above $5,000 yesterday, further gains above the crucial resistance at $5,200 may not happen immediately, as signs of bullish exhaustion are beginning to emerge on technical charts. On the hourly chart, the RSI has diverged in favor of the bears, so BTC could be in for a minor pullback, possibly to the ascending 50-hour MA, currently holding below $4,700. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST
NUKE FUNDING: North Korea's illicit activities in the crypto space are likely funding its nuclear capabilities, according to a report from Wired. After having targeted banks with weak security, the regime's notorious cyber group APT 38 is employing a number of ways to leverage the crypto space to bring in funding for the sanctions-hit nation – sums that Wired sources say are often diverted to military operations. APT 38 not only hacks crypto exchanges to bring in the bucks, but also sets up investment scams mimicking real token projects, the piece says.
THE REST
IN THE DARK: Most organisations need to be more aware of the threat of "shadow mining" – that's when insiders use the organisation's systems to mine cryptocurrencies – according to a piece by Security Brief. The article cites an Exabeam survey from March that showed 65 percent of organisations are unfamiliar with the term. The research also found that 42 percent of the 150 IT security professionals surveyed believed the larger threat comes from outside the organisation. The piece notes that the threat is real, and that "a system administrator needs very little additional expertise to deploy miners throughout their company."
TAX PERK: With cryptocurrencies not bringing a tax liability until sold under U.S. law , some are using the fact to sidestep the IRS, according to Bloomberg. The piece provides the example of Wall Street trader Edgar Fernandez, who used bitcoin as collateral to borrow almost $100,000. The loophole in the tax code meant he could hang on to his cryptocurrency and yet avoid tax on the borrowed cash. This might sound attractive, but the strategy brings risks – most notably that if the value of the crypto falls during the loan period, the borrower could face a shortfall and have to stump up more of their crypto assets.
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WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER
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