ICO Round-Up: Social Media Influencers Bypass Ad Ban, Centra Tokens Deemed Securities

Three stories dominate this week’s initial coin offering (ICO) round up: It appears many ICO projects are reaching out to social media influencers in an effort to thwart advertising bans across leading platforms. A study published by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) suggested that the country develop a licenced-based regulatory apparatus that permits cryptocurrency activities including ICOs. A U.S. judge has found that CTR, tokens distributed through Centra Tech’s ICO that sought the promotional services of boxer Floyd Mayweather, demonstrate numerous attributes of a security under existing legislation.

A report by the LA Times has looked into the increasing prevalence of ICO promoters employing the services of social media influencers in the midst of the prohibition on cryptocurrency advertisements on a number of leading social platforms.

The report cites research conducted by Solume, which found that approximately 18% of cryptocurrency-related posts on Reddit, Twitter, and Bitcointalk.org now typically originate from bounty campaigns set-up by ICO promoters. In January, by contrast, the figure was 6%.

“It’s really a very cost-effective mechanism for developing a brand,” stated Saransh Sharma, the president of 4new – who are currently conducting an ICO. “Before you know it, there’s a snowball effect,” he added.

Whilst ICO promoters appear to have found a means through which they can advertise on social media platforms despite the ban, some are not convinced that the practice of paying social media influencers to promote ICOs will last for long.

Lex Sokolin, the global director of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research, stated: “Once it becomes clear that financial outcomes can be manipulated not just by trading but [also by] creating perceptions through social media, regulators will take a very hard stance.”

Why You Should NOT Buy Your Favorite Coin Now... Until You Understand These Risks

Yes BTC did come down and we expect a bull run up as per my report.

However, btc lately became incredibly bearish and it's a matter of time when some alts will realize they can't survive at all in those condions and not drop, but go to ZERO!

So, yes, these times might be GOLDEN to buy, if you believe your coin will survive.  Take that into account.

On the good note, where does the money from dipped coins go to?

Bitcoin!

So bitcoin is going to gain more on value when this phase begins.  And when it will begin, I don't know.

So, just take this into account when deciding whether you're aiming for another bullrun or not.  Yes, it probably will happen and you will make good gains, so buying is profitable, but without understanding the risks it is not smart.

This message is to inform you that this time, the risk is bigger than until now when you bought coin low to sell high... now the market has been ass fucked to much that some people (and remember not all professional, educated or experienced investors in this space!)... are losing hope.

And hope there is - a brilliant, shiny, richly profitable.

Union Square Ventures to Invest in Crypto and Blockchain Long-Term Without Dedicated Fund

Union Square Ventures (USV), a private equity and venture capital firm, has plans to invest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies over the course of the next 10 years, CNBC reports June 29. Those plans, however, do not include establishing a separate fund.

Albert Wenger, managing partner at USV, told CNBC that “we see a lot of upside to keeping it under the same roof.” Despite prevailing the bear market in cryptocurrency, the company has an optimistic long-term view of the industry. Wenger said:

“Investors are rationally pouring a lot of money into this sector, because I think people are seeing the winning blockchain here might be worth a trillion, or a couple of trillion dollars. It’s not at all crazy to think that.”

Though Wenger echoed Steve Wozniak’s statement, that blockchain is a bubble similar to that of dotcom era, he argued that the risk could be justified for those investors who diversify their investments. “Certainly, for any one particular project there's an extremely high chance it won't work. As a result, if it works, the rewards will be very high,” he said.

Speaking about initial coin offerings (ICOs), Wenger called them an "innovative new financing mechanism," though he said they are not suitable for every blockchain project. CNBC, with reference to research firm Autonomous Next, reported that in 2017, ICOs raised $6.6 billion and have reached $9.1 billion this year. Wenger asserted that the amount investors have raised in an ICO is not necessarily an accurate indicator of success. Wenger reportedly owns Bitcoin (BTC) and says that he is aware of the risks to retail investors:

“I don't think you should be in the space and say 'I'm only going to hold Bitcoin.’ At the moment, this whole space is a high risk space, and I don’t think anybody should be investing all of their life savings.”

New York-based USV specializes in startup financing, investing in organizations that apply technology-supporting applications, as well as Internet and web services that establish large networks. USV’s portfolio exceeds 100 companies, containing a number of crypto investments, which include digital currency exchange Coinbase and Ethereum-based virtual collective game CryptoKitties.

In April, USV and Andreessen Horowitz urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission  to consider a cryptocurrency exemption at a private meeting. The crypto investors argued that ICO tokens should not be considered as investments, but as products that can be used to access services of startup companies. It would reportedly allow startups to carry out token sales without observing formalities such as business reviews and financial reports.

How To Adapt Early To Crypto Market Changes

Take a look at BNB - Binance token. It remained almost unshaken in the last dips... and has pretty strong chart compared to btc.

It doesn't do well on btc bull runs though.

Now ask yourself why is that, and what does this tell us about the market. 

1) It is BTC resistent in the latest, worst dips... why?

Binance is one of if not the biggest strongest, crypto company of all. They handle stuff well, and they improve. They make more profit than mid sized banks, meaning their token has a REAL value.

Now this brings us to 

2) why it doesn't do well in crypto bull run?

Again, which coins did best in 2017? Shit coins — when market sentiment was super bullish. BNB doesn't stand a chance, noone believe that tomorrow bnb will turn one exchange into 10 exchanges... they are what they are.

How did the bull run happen in the first place?

In early days there was Satoshi and the crew — the last thing on their mind was to get rich quick, and they built something with passion that was valuable.

Then came guys who said: "hey this is great, we can do also this and that"... and they started building.... all good, passionate projects...

then as Bitcoin came on radars of more average folks, came the opportunists, who wanted to make money fast by developing anything, not caring about the product — and thus shitty icos came to light.

Those shitty icos went ballistic as people expected them to be the same quality projects like the ones until then.

2018 is the nasty surprise, they were shit, and the market was no longer willing to tolerate it... 

Binance token being resistent, shows us that the market screams for good projects again, and we are coming in the new phase of filtration — more strict, and more use-specific.

In that same run btc grew a bit faster than it was supposed, so this year was the correction... however, now that more money is exiting alts, it is entering bitcoin. My bitcoin analysis is still accurate, although the possibility of one week extension might happen. We will see. It's playing now dangerously in lower levels that are also accumulation on daily... however now, you're not investing in hyper overvalued bitcoin,you're investing in more mature, serious, meaning-business bitcoin that will grow.

Cryptocurrency calendar today

🚀 Today's Events : 30/6/2018 🚀

🗓 Shift ($SHIFT) – Blockchain Integration With IPFS Cluster

🗓 NPER ($NPER) – Airdrop

🗓 ClearPoll ($POLL) – Telegram Member Airdrop

🗓 Ontology ($ONT) – Tokyo Meetup

🗓 Nodium ($XN) – T-Shirt Design Competition Ends

🗓 Bitcoin Interest ($BCI) – Referral Program Contest Ends

🗓 StakeNet ($XSN) – Platform Launch

🗓 Experty ($EXY) – Application Market Release

🗓 Leviar ($XLC) – Hard Fork

🗓 Linda ($LINDA) – Mobile App Launch

🗓 SyncFab ($MFG) – Token Burn Phase 1

🗓 Titanium BAR ($TBAR) – Dedicated Blockchain Development Beta Release

🗓 ColossusXT ($COLX) – Higher PoS & MN Rewards Increase

🗓 SONM ($SNM) – Crypto-IaaS Full Version Launch

🗓 Lisk ($LSK) – Custom Tokens & DApp Registration

🗓 Banyan Network ($BBN) – AMA On Reddit

🗓 Utrum ($OOT) – To Be Listed On Coinexchange

Indian Exchange Zebpay Boosts Trading Support for 19 Cryptos Ahead of RBI Ban

Leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay has added new cryptocurrencies to its crypto-to-crypto trading platform. The exchange now supports 19 cryptocurrencies and over 35 trading pairs, as it prepares for the banking ban by the country's central bank to go into effect next week.

One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, Zebpay, announced Friday that it has added a number of cryptocurrencies to its crypto-to-crypto trading service. Zebpay claims to have over 3 million users.

The exchange launched its crypto-to-crypto trading service in late April with just one trading pair – ETH/BTC. In early May, it added six more markets, trading BTC against BCH, LTC, XRP, EOS, OMG, and TRX.

Then on Friday, June 29, Zebpay added 10 new crypto-to-crypto markets: NCASH, REP, BAT, ZRX, ZIL, GNT, VEN, KNC, CMT, and AE. The exchange wrote, "Zebpay announces the launch of 10 new crypto-to-crypto trading pairs. You can now trade 10 new tokens, supported by Zebpay, with BTC," adding:

The 2018 Crypto-Bear Market Less Severe Than 2014, At Least for Now

Bitcoin prices back in 2013 touched a high of $1,236 per BTC on December 4, and following that spike the price dropped for more than a year, all the way to $225 per coin on June 1, 2015. Last year in 2017 the price of BTC ran up higher, but this time reached $19,600 per coin, and it has lost considerable value since then. At the moment mainstream media (MSM) is reporting on how people who bought at the height in 2017 have lost quite a bit of their investment, but MSM has failed to report that this year's dip is less, percentage wise, than the losses in 2013 and the extent of $19K to $6K loss has been far less severe.

No Polish Regulations Prohibit Cryptocurrency Trading

The Polish Bitcoin Association asserts that the alleged restriction of financial services to cryptocurrency companies has occurred without a legislative mandate, emphasizing that there is no prohibitive regulatory regime concerning the exchange of cryptocurrencies.

Earlier this month, the Polish Financial Oversight Commission published a document seeking to clarify the legal status of cryptocurrency in the country, in which the watchdog stated that there are "no regulations prohibiting [the] trading […] of cryptocurrencies. The release also expressed the Polish Financial Oversight Commission's intention to develop and introduce a regulatory apparatus pertaining to bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies during July.

Earlier this week, a survey conducted by Ipsos for ING found that Polish citizens are among the most virtual currency-savvy in Europe – with 77% of respondents expressing familiarity with cryptocurrency. The survey found only one European nation to produce a higher percentage of respondents that had heard of cryptocurrency, with 79% of Austrians found the have been familiar with virtual currency.

Finland Government and Essentia.One Reveal Plans for International Blockchain Logistics Hub

Essentia.One – the decentralized interoperability protocol – has announced it's partnership with the Finland Govt. to develop a second pilot. This time Essentia will focus on building blockchain based solutions in the field of smart logistics.

Essentia co-founder Matteo Gianpietro Zago confirmed their move as a progression from their first pilot which began development back in April of this year to tackle unemployment rates and to track production chains.

"The success of our first e-government blockchain project with MTK meant we built a level of mutual trust, and as passionate believers in the underlying value in blockchain, we knew that we could adapt the technology to solve many more issues in different governmental departments"

Finland has now begun ventures to secure its place as one of the leading logistics hubs in the world. Industry representatives are seeking forward thinking solutions to combat the issues facing the ever-expanding administration and data management in logistics and transportation.

Essentia.One has teamed up with the governmental association 'Traffic Lab' to ensure information regarding end-to-end deliveries – such as delivery contents and contact information – are securely and safely accessible to authorized stakeholders.

"We envision the Essentia protocol completely revolutionizing the methods of data management. The proven power, and benefits of Blockchain technology will give Finland's international logistics hub that extra competitive edge," says Matteo speaking from the Amsterdam headquarters.

The pilot is set to be presented to Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish Transport Safety Agency Trafi, the Finnish Transport Agency, the Finnish customs, the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority and other members of the new Corridor as a Service (CaaS) ecosystem.

Banking Ban Reversal? India to Finalise Crypto currency Regulations in July

The head of the Indian government committee tasked to propose a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency sector has revealed authorities are close to finalizing a draft in July.

Nearly three months after the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, introduced a banking freeze on the cryptocurrency sector to adversely impact trading volumes, exchanges and investors have remained hopeful of legislation that regulates – in effect recognizes and legalizes – the industry.

Earlier this month, we reported that the Indian government committee responsible for overseeing and proposing a regulatory framework wasn’t in favor of a blanket ban of the cryptocurrency sector.

In a televised interview with India’s biggest financial news channel, the head of that government committee and the secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs Subash Chandra Garg confirmed that the authority is in the final stage of finalizing the regulatory draft framework for the cryptocurrency sector.

He stated:

`We are fairly close to developing a template [for crypto regulations] that we think is in the best interests of the country. We have prepared a draft which we intend to discuss with the committee members in the first week of July.”

First established in early 2017, the inter-governmental committee was expected to bring some clarity to the longstanding legal ambiguity of cryptocurrencies in the country. What followed has been anything but, with government ministries, the central bank, domestic banks and even the country’s finance minister weighing in with varying statements on cryptocurrencies.

Still, Garg insisted that the committee – which originally had three months to submit a report a year ago – had made significant progress in developing a draft framework which is now expected in July.

He added:

“We’ve actually moved quite a lot [in drafting regulations] in that, what part of the [crypto] business should be banned, what should be preserved and what not. That kind of detailed work has happened. Now should be in a position to wrap this up in the first fortnight of July.”

Meanwhile, Indian cryptocurrency exchanges have fast-tracked their petition to legally challenge the RBI’s ban of their banking services with a hearing on July 3rd.

The court hearing is scheduled two days before the RBI’s order comes into effect on July 5. In preparation to the ban, some Indian exchanges like Zebpay have proactively warned users that withdrawals of their fiat funds will become “impossible” in the event of a banking blackout, urging them to do so before the ban kicks in.

We’ll Treat Cryptocurrencies with Caution, Says Russian President Putin

The Russian government will continue to tread the subject of cryptocurrencies with caution, newly re-elected president Vladimir Putin said during his annual Q&A hotline session with the Russian public.

On Thursday’s live “Direct Line” session with president Putin, a citizen asked if Russia will have its own cryptocurrency and, if so, if it would be controlled by the government. Putin was also asked to offer his thoughts on cryptocurrencies’ disruptive potential to replace standard physical fiat cash.

In response, Putin said Russia cannot have a cryptocurrency since they “by definition” aren’t within the control of a state and are “beyond national borders”, he explained. While that explanation may fall short in the context of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Putin admitted the “phenomenon” of cryptocurrencies is growing globally.
Cryptocurrencies as payment instruments have been adopted in Japan but “it doesn’t work in other countries” Putin said, highlighting the views of Russia’s own central bank on the subject.

Putin said:

“In most countries, cryptocurrency is not a means of settlement. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation believes that cryptocurrencies cannot be a means of payment, settlement or store of value. These currencies are not secured by anything.”

The latest national ‘hotline’ was Putin’s 16th live Q&A session with a Russian public, a four-hour annual televised event with curated questions. Notably, it was the first session wherein the platform saw discussion surrounding cryptocurrencies and the sector’s expected regulations.

Putin even touched on cryptocurrency mining, stating it “is not regulated by us” but “we treat it very carefully”. An energy-intensive process, cryptocurrency mining sees blocks of validated transactions added to the blockchain wherein miners are rewarded with newly minted coins.

Avoiding Sanctions with Cryptocurrencies
As for its potential applications, Putin insisted that Russia should explore the possibility of using cryptocurrencies to “avoid restrictions in global finance and trade”, hinting at the possibility of using blockchain technology to avoid western financial sanctions led by the United States.

The Russian president’s remarks on the subject come within weeks of a Moscow meeting between Iranian and Russian officials discussing the usage of cryptocurrency for international trade.

Fidelity is Quietly Building a Cryptocurrency Exchange: Report

Multi-trillion dollar asset manager Fidelity Investments is building a cryptocurrency exchange, internal job postings have revealed.

According to Business Insider, the Boston, MA-based firm has advertised internally for a DevOps System Engineer “to help engineer, create and deploy a Digital Asset exchange to both a public and private cloud.”

Citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter, the publication further reported that Fidelity, which currently manages $2.4 trillion in assets, has been planning the initiative for approximately one year.

The company is also seeking staff to develop “first-in-class custodian services for Bitcoin and other digital currencies.”The latter position falls under the Fidelity Digital Asset Service division, which handles the firm’s limited cryptocurrency-related services.

At present, select clients can link their Coinbase accounts to their Fidelity portfolios, enabling them to view their cryptocurrency holdings on the Fidelity platform alongside their other investments. This new service would allow Fidelity to hold cryptoassets directly.

It’s not clear whether the cryptocurrency exchange would be made available on the main Fidelity platform or whether it would exist as a separate entity under the company’s umbrella. Nor is it clear when the venue would launch.

Under CEO Abigail Johnson’s leadership, Fidelity was one of the first institutions to give the nascent cryptocurrency asset class a serious look.

“I’m a believer,” she said at a cryptocurrency industry conference last May. “I’m one of the few standing before you today from a large financial services company that has not given up on digital currencies.”

The firm has made venture investments in several industry companies and reportedly even set up a small cryptocurrency mining operation that Johnson said was “actually making a lot of money” even though it had been established primarily for educational purposes.

The company’s charitable wing also allows donors to make contributions in bitcoin, and the fund has collected tens of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies over the years — including $22 million in 2017 alone.

Cryptocurrency exchanges have seen soaring valuations in recent months, and a number from this once-opaque industry have approached regulators about acquiring licenses that would help demonstrate their legitimacy to large institutions.

Circle, which recently acquired cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex, has revealed that it will pursue registration as a broker-dealer and alternative trading system (ATS) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and may ultimately pursue a banking license. Coinbase has reportedly discussed similar plans, though it has not given public confirmation.

However, if a firm as large and well-known as Fidelity launched a cryptocurrency exchange, it would undoubtedly go much further toward cementing the legitimacy of this asset class alongside other financial instruments.