Coinbase is expanding its legal team, hiring Christian Sabello, recent Director at the SEC, who joins Coinbase as head of cryptocurrency exchange’s capital markets work

Coinbase, the first major cryptocurrency broker to go public with an opening day valuation on the Nasdaq, is expanding its legal team, perhaps in anticipation of increased regulation by the US and other nations. It has hired Christian Sabella, who was recently acting director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division...
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Securities & Exchange Commission files major suit against BitConnect promoters for $2 billion digital currency offering without proper registration

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court in Manhattan alleging that five individuals promoted a global unregistered digital asset securities offering that raised over $2 billion from retail investors. According to the SEC's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern...
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Federal Court Judge orders Benjamin Reynolds Control-Finance Ltd. to pay $571 million for Bitcoin fraud of 1000 people including 169 in U.S.

A federal court Judge in New York has ordered Benjamin Reynolds of Control_finance to pay penalties totaling about $571 million, after finding that he acquired more than 22,000 bitcoin through a fraudulent online scheme. This was announced by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulator on Friday. The bitcoin handed over by more than 1,000 customers...
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Major Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Coinsquare ordered to hand over client info to federal tax authorities

A major Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Coinsquare of Toronto has been ordered to render its client information to federal tax authorities following a first-of-its-kind court ruling. The Federal Court issued an order compelling Coinsquare Ltd. to reveal customer details to the Canada Revenue Agency as it expands its enforcement among cryptocurrency holders and traders....
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MIT Media Lab begins major effort to strengthen Bitcoin security of its operating systems and networks, and penetration defenses

A new Bitcoin Software and Security Effort through the MIT Media Lab. The four-year research and development program will seek to harden the Bitcoin network and guide the industry's commitment to funding open source software. This will include contributing to Bitcoin Core development as well as  long-term research, such as investigations into the stability...
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Coinbase pays $6.5 million to settle charges by CFTC of fraudulent “wash trades” in Bitcoin and Litecoin

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday digital asset exchange Coinbase Inc paid $6.5 million to settle charges it reported misleading transaction data that potentially inflated the apparent trading volume on its professional GDAX platform. The fine was issued for  “wash trades” in litecoin and bitcoin by a former Coinbase employee...
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DOJ’s Cryptocurrency Enforcement Network to attack criminal activities as reports of fraud and theft mount

A new U.S. Justice Department report is taking aim at the “emerging threats and enforcement challenges” associated with digital currencies, establishing a “Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework” to address the massive uptick of fraud, criminal activity and theft in the Cryptocurrency trading including BitCoin and cybercurrency platforms. The Department of Justice says that while...
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