Saturday, 1 June 2019
PULLING THE PLUG: Top crypto mixer voluntarily shuts down @MICKYNewsOz #Cryptocurrency #Bitcoin Blender #cryptocurrency #Mixer #TOR
Leading crypto mixing service Bitcoin Blender has voluntarily ceased operations, making it the second Bitcoin mixer to shut down in less than two weeks.
Users were alerted to the shutdown on Monday when a message appeared on the front page of the platform’s website asking customers to withdraw their funds.
Caught by surprise
While the message appeared on the Bitcoin mixer’s Tor website as well as its alternate clearnet website, many users were unaware of the service impending shutdown.
Bitcoin Blender also announced its closure on the BitcoinTalk forum, but it appears quite a few users were unable to withdraw their funds in time.
One customer posted, “I still had funds on account on Blender! I was on holiday and saw just now! please help!”
The service did come back online for a short time on May 30th, posting on BitcoinTalk that it was “in the process of wiping servers but brought it online now, it will be on for a few hours.”
As of now, it appears that users who still had cryptocurrency on the service are completely out of luck.
Choosing to shut it down
In operation since 2014, Bitcoin Blender was considered to be one of the top mixing services.
It offered users a way to ensure the anonymity of their cryptocurrency ownership by mixing it with other people’s crypto or converting the funds into another form of cryptocurrency.
On its website, the service declares that it is a “Tor hidden service that uses smart technology to erase your Bitcoin history and make your transactions 100% anonymous.”
The platform had websites on both Tor and the clearnet, but the actual mixing servers were located on the Tor site while the clearnet version only offered information.
No official reason has been given for the Bitcoin mixer’s decision to call it quits; the site had been successfully running for five years, earning a commission from one to three percent for their tumbling work.
However, law enforcement has taken a dim view of cryptocurrency mixers lately, viewing them as a money laundering instrument for criminals.
The multi-million euro cryptocurrency laundering service https://t.co/O7CW4i1srq, considered one of the three largest in the world, taken down by @FIOD with the support of @McAfee and in close cooperation @PoliceLux and #Europol: https://t.co/L0ODhaKoxi pic.twitter.com/J3gPHE4Czg
— Europol (@Europol) May 22, 2019
It was just last week that Europol, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), and law enforcement in Luxembourg worked together to shut down Bestmixer.io, one of the three largest cryptocurrency mixing – or “tumblers” – services in the world.
The seizure of six servers belonging to Bestmixer.io occurred after a year-long investigation.
Investigators maintain that the service mixed together Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC) on behalf of criminal groups to mask the illicit origin of the funds tumbled.
The post PULLING THE PLUG: Top crypto mixer voluntarily shuts down appeared first on Micky.
source https://www.tokentalk.co/Micky/pulling-the-plug-top-crypto-mixer-voluntarily-shuts-down-5cf28b7225e47a2259b27786
Offchain Labs co-founder Ed Felten: focus on the value proposition and build from there @decryptmedia #Interview #dan felten #interview #offchain #profile
The former deputy CTO to President Obama explains why focusing on what your product solves will help give your business a better roadmap.
The post Offchai...
The former deputy CTO to President Obama explains why focusing on what your product solves will help give your business a better roadmap.
The post Offchain Labs co-founder Ed Felten: focus on the value proposition and build from there appeared first on Decrypt.
source https://www.tokentalk.co/Decrypt/offchain-labs-cofounder-ed-felten-focus-on-the-value-proposition-and-build-from-there-5cf274f125e47a2259b27781
British Businesses Lured to Bitcoin Amid Falling Pound While Libdems Shockingly Top Poll @trustnodes #Bitcoin #News #Politics
A new start-up is trying to capitalize on the falling pound by offering businesses the ability to accept bitcoin and receive the payment in pounds. “Now is the right time...source https://www.tokentalk.co/Trustnodes/british-businesses-lured-to-bitcoin-amid-falling-pound-while-libdems-shockingly-top-poll-5cf286c125e47a2259b27785
Binance DEX to geo-block U.S. customers and 28 other countries starting in July @TheBlock__ #DEX #Regulation #binance #Binance DEX #block #decentralized exchange #non-custodial #non-custodial exchange #regulation #USA
Binance DEX, a non-custodial exchange which launched in April, announced to its users that it will start geo-blocking 29 countries including the USA starting from Jul...
Binance DEX, a non-custodial exchange which launched in April, announced to its users that it will start geo-blocking 29 countries including the USA starting from July 1. Trading and accessing wallets through binance.org will no longer be available to users with IP addresses from the affected countries. It will still be possible to circumvent the block by using a VPN or by using one of the compatible wallets that already support native trading.
The caution could be connected to the SEC charging the founder of decentralized exchange EtherDelta with operating an unregistered securities exchange in November. Binance theoretically could not prevent anyone from issuing a security token.
source https://www.tokentalk.co/The Block/binance-dex-to-geoblock-us-customers-and-28-other-countries-starting-in-july-5cf284e025e47a2259b27784
Former limited partner in Polychain files suit against company after receiving a redemption of his capital account @TheBlock__ #Legal #Crypto Caselaw Minute #Polychain #redemption #SAFTs
Disclaimer: These summaries are provided for educational purposes only by Nelson Rosario and Stephen Palley...
Disclaimer: These summaries are provided for educational purposes only by Nelson Rosario and Stephen Palley. They are not legal advice. These are our opinions only, aren’t authorized by any past, present or future client or employer. Also we might change our minds. We contain multitudes.
As always, Rosario summaries are “NMR” and Palley summaries are “SDP".
[related id=1] Greenhouse v. Polychain Fund I Lp & Polychain 2030, 2019 Del. Ch. LEXIS 194[NMR]
The teeny State of Delaware is where many corporations and other business ventures are incorporated in the U.S. What people may not be aware of is that Delaware has a specific court system called the Court of Chancery that handles all corporate litigation in Delaware. That court is extremely influential in the corporate world. This case involves Polychain, a blockchain fund incorporated in Delaware, and Greenhouse a former limited partner in their fund. If you have been paying attention to crypto for awhile Polychain should be familiar to you, because at one point they had a $1 billion in assets under management. So, what’s this dispute about? $$$$. Records. Standing.
At one time, Harry Greenhouse was a limited partner in Polychain. On Nov. 13, 2017, Polychain requested that their limited partners consent to the use of side pockets (these are accounts that typically hold hard to value and often illiquid assets) to hold certain investments. What investments? SAFTs, obviously. For those that don’t remember a SAFT is a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens that was designed to be akin to the SAFE, a Simple Agreement for Future Equity that was created by Y Combinator. Two weeks later Greenhouse informed Polychain he wanted out, and requested a full redemption of his capital account. Greenhouse claims he was told his account would be redeemed one way, Polychain says it was another way. The valuation dispute was focused on those illiquid assets, i.e. SAFTs. There was some back and forth between the parties, and a wire transfer to Greenhouse that he accepted, a demand see the books, a refusal, and ultimately Greenhouse files this lawsuit.
What is the real issue here? Well, during the back and forth Greenhouse made a formal demand to inspect Polychain's books. Why would he do that? So, that he could determine if his redemption amount was what it was supposed to be. Polychain ignored this initial request, and once the lawsuit was filed stated that Greenhouse didn’t have standing to inspect their books.
Standing is the legal concept that a party has to have sufficient connection to a case and harm at issue to bring the lawsuit in question. Limited partners in Polychain have a right, read standing, to inspect their books and records. This is common in partnerships of all types. Looking at the timeline of events shows where Greenhouse went wrong.
Greenhouse didn’t make his demand to see the books until after he was wired his money redeeming his account, with 5% of his funds held as an audit holdback per the limited partner agreement, on Jan. 25, 2018. Over a month later Greenhouse made a formal demand to inspect Polychain’s books and records. Polychain did not respond. Greenhouse filed this lawsuit in March 26, 2018, and the lawsuit got stayed (put on hold) pending a determination of arbitrability. The arbitrator determined that the Chancery Court should answer the standing question pertaining to the record request, and the defendants filed a motion for the court to decide the case on the pleadings, which brings us to the present day.
Deciding a case on the pleadings, that is the allegations in the complaint, is generally possible when the court takes the facts in the complaint as true and view them in a light favorable to the nonmoving party. Here that means taking the facts as true and favorable to Greenhouse. In doing that the court still found that Polychain was entitled to a judgment in their favor on the standing question. Why? Simply put, Greenhouse made his records request too late. He didn’t ask to see the books to determine if the valuation of his account redemption was sufficient until three months after he informed Polychain that he wanted out, and over one month after he was informed his account had been fully redeemed. Greenhouse tried to claim that his audit holdback meant he still had an equity stake in the fund and he was thus still a limited partner, but the court was not convinced. His audit stake may entitle him to rights as creditor of Polychain, but not a partner. Ultimately, Greenhouse accepted the redemption, and didn’t request the records until it was too late.
Don’t feel bad for Greenhouse though. The arbitration proceeding is still pending, and he may get what he thinks he is due there.
The Block is pleased to bring you expert cryptocurrency legal analysis courtesy of Stephen Palley (@stephendpalley) and Nelson M. Rosario (@nelsonmrosario). They summarize three cryptocurrency-related cases on a weekly basis and have given The Block permission to republish their commentary and analysis in full. Part II of this week's analysis, Crypto Caselaw Minute, is above.
source https://www.tokentalk.co/The Block/former-limited-partner-in-polychain-files-suit-against-company-after-receiving-a-redemption-of-his-capital-account-5cf278b025e47a2259b27783
Crypto Market Primed For Gains: Bitcoin Cash, EOS, TRX, ADA Analysis @newsbtc #Analysis #Technical #BCH #Binance Coin #Bitcoin Cash #btc #Cardano #eos #Litecoin #ltc #TRON
- The total crypto market cap tested the key support area near $245.0B and bounced back.
- Bitcoin price jumped sharply after testing the main $8,000 support area.
- EOS price is up more than 10% and i...
- The total crypto market cap tested the key support area near $245.0B and bounced back.
- Bitcoin price jumped sharply after testing the main $8,000 support area.
- EOS price is up more than 10% and it broke the $8.00 and $8.20 resistance levels.
- Bitcoin cash price tested the $420 support level and bounced back above $440.
- Tron (TRX) price is up more than 12% and it recently broke the $0.0350 resistance.
- Cardano (ADA) price is currently trading near the $0.0900 and $0.0905 resistance levels.
The crypto market cap, bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), EOS, and Tron (TRX) recovered significantly. BCH, ripple, ADA, BNB, and other altcoins are also gaining traction.
Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis
Recently, we saw a sharp downside correction in bitcoin cash price from well above $475 against the US Dollar. The BCH/USD pair traded below the $450 support level. The pair tested the $420 support area, which acted as a strong support.
The pair bounced back and moved above the $430 and $440 levels. The next key resistance is near the $450 level, above which the price could trade above the $465 level.
EOS, Tron (TRX) and ADA Price Analysis
EOS price performed really after it tested the key $7.000 support area. The price recovered significantly and traded above the $7.800 and $8.000 levels. The price is up more than 13% today and it is currently trading above the $8.200 level. The next important resistance for the bulls is near the $8.450 and $8.500 levels.
Tron price also recovered sharply and climbed back above the $0.0340 and $0.0350 resistance levels. TRX price is currently trading with a positive tone above the $0.0350 level and it might continue to rise above the $0.0365 levels. On the downside, the main supports are near the $0.0342 and $0.0340 levels.
Cardano price recovered after testing the $0.0800 support level. ADA price broke the $0.0860 and $0.0880 resistance levels and it is currently trading near the $0.0900 level. The next key resistance is near the $0.0920 level, above which the price could trade towards the $0.0950 level.
Looking at the total cryptocurrency market cap hourly chart, there was a solid downside correction from the $277.4B swing high. The market cap declined more than $30.0B. It even broke the key $255.0B support area and tested the next support at $240.0B level and the 100 SMA. The market remained well bid near the $240.0B level and bounced back sharply above $255.0B. It is currently above $260.0B and facing a couple of important resistances near the $265.0B and $270.0B levels. Overall, there could be more gains in bitcoin, ETH, XRP, TRX, ADA, bitcoin cash, litecoin, EOS, stellar, IOTA, ICX, WAN, and other altcoins in the near term.
The post Crypto Market Primed For Gains: Bitcoin Cash, EOS, TRX, ADA Analysis appeared first on NewsBTC.
source https://www.tokentalk.co/NewsBTC/crypto-market-primed-for-gains-bitcoin-cash-eos-trx-ada-analysis-5cf26f5125e47a2259b27780
This analyst says there’s a “high chance” Bitcoin may never fall under $5k again @cryptoslate #Analysis #Price Watch
Once Bitcoin (BTC) started to incur strong losses in the second half of 2019, analysts were once again making extremely low price prediction...
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The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced yesterday that the Coffee Board in the country is integrating blockchain into the cof...
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App-enabled cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider, Zebpay, has announced that it is enabling Lightning Network payments for all its ...
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Disclaimer: These summaries are provided for educational purposes only by Nelson Rosario and Stephen Palley... Disclaimer: These summaries...
