Russia’s Telegram app, the U.S. SEC and the ICO Wild West
Russia’s Telegram has had a terrible, horrible, no-good week. But the last time a similar case happened, it wasn’t that bad.
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By all appearances, Russia’s Telegram has had a terrible, horrible, no-good week, taken to court for an allegedly unsanctioned initial coin offering (ICO).
The company behind the eponymous messaging app says it needs five to seven weeks for gathering the information requested by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Meanwhile, the commission has filed documents it says proves its case, and Telegram distances its app from the ICO.
Telegram, popular among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, had raised $1.7 billion, among the highest in the world, through selling its own cryptocurrency to private investors. But its ensuing planned public ICO had been thwarted by the SEC.
But the last time a similar case happened, it wasn’t that bad. The American maker of the EOS blockchain computing platform raised more than $4.1 billion in its ICO, but ended up with only a $23-million SEC fine.
The advent of ICOs, beginning in 2017, had heralded a Wild West of financing, bypassing the rules of traditional fundraising, such as that of an IPO (initial public offering). Even as regulators now step in, given negligible penalties, it appears little has changed.
Price: shallow price bounce ahead; future beyond that uncertain
Bitcoin could be in for a move to $8,400-levels, but it’s anyone’s guess if it can go above that level to confirm an ascending trend, technical analysis suggests. Bitcoin is at $8,151 (C$10,640) as of noon Sunday, Eastern Time, up almost 10 per cent, buoyed by geopolitical tensions as Iran retaliated against a U.S. assassination, and a plane crashed in that Middle Eastern country, killing everyone on board.
News: Chinese giant Bitman’s terrible, horrible, no-good week
China’s Bitmain, among the largest Bitcoin-mining-machine makers, has cancelled a partnership to operate a facility in Texas for generating cryptocurrency. Bitmain has also laid off half its people amid an internal power struggle. Interestingly, the perceived victor in that struggle, the co-founder Jihan Wu, is no longer listed as a legal representative of the company.
The Ethereum research scientist Virgil Griffith, accused of teaching North Koreans how to use cryptocurrency to evade sanctions at a conference in that country, has finally been released on bail after being formally indicted.
A South Korean finance committee recommends the integration of cryptocurrency into mainstream finance, among the strongest yet of any governmental comments in support of the new sector.
Canada: media say Toronto’s Bitfarms in tough over debt and executive departures
The New York-based The Block, a prominent news outlet, analyzes the publicly traded mining company Bitfarms, of Toronto, which has lost staff including its president. As well, locals near its Quebec sites are complaining about the noise. Given all that and a $20-million debt, The Block says “concerns loom.”