Image of The Week, March, 11 — 15: News BTC, Fortune, Quartz and Others
QuadrigaCX Imbroglio Takes a Turn After Widow Claims CEO Mixed Personal and Company Funds (News BTC)
All the crypto community has long been stocked with popcorn, awaiting the continuation of the mysterious story of Gerry Cotton’s sudden death and the funds that disappeared from the QuadrigaCX exchange that he headed. And it was not long in coming. According to the recent statement of his wife, problems with her husband's business began long before his death. Due to the legal battle with the CIBC Bank, a significant part of the funds of the exchange was frozen. In order to ensure the withdrawal of funds by users, Cotton had to contribute his personal funds. In addition, Ernst & Young’s recently found out that the cold wallets of QuadrigaCX are empty and it looks like Cotton was transferring user funds to his accounts on other crypto exchanges. These wallets have yet to be tracked. Their discovery may give some hope to the users of the ill-fated QuadrigaCX.
A Big Bet on Blockchain and Gaming: Ripple and Forte Announce $100 Million Fund (Fortune)
On Tuesday, Ripple announced a new ambitious project, which involves the integration of blockchain technologies in video games. For example, its implementation will help to track the exchange and sale of digital assets between users, such as game characters or their weapons. The secondary market is not something new for popular online games, but the sale of such assets is often not in accordance with their rules or simply unsafe in terms of fraud. Forte will manage the $100 mln fund. This fund will allocate grants to developers of online games who wish to integrate XRP tokens backed by Ripple into their products.
Are cryptos securities or commodities? Even the SEC isn’t sure (Quartz)
Jay Clayton, US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman believes that the regulator’s attitude towards cryptocurrency may change as the project evolves. He stated this in a recent letter to one of the congressmen. Clayton’s opinion is of paramount importance, since the distinction between securities and commodities is critical. The nature of the asset determines which agency will have regulatory jurisdiction over it — SEC or CFTC. So, if the token is considered a security, and it will be in the area of responsibility of the SEC, and its creators may be responsible for an illegal placement of securities. Penalties and fines can throw the project back or completely close it. In 2015, Bitcoin was recognized as a commodity by the CFTC, but there is still no decision on the ETH, the second most popular currency.
The trailer for 'CRYPTO' just dropped, and cryptocurrency is good now (Mashable)
Jack Morse of Mashable, hastened to express harsh criticism of “Crypto”, the film starring Kurt Russell. Since the film has not yet come out, the first object of the author’s attacks was the trailer. The story spins in the wake of the anti-money laundering expert’s trip to a small American town and the subsequent clash with the Russian mafia. The author of the review is obviously an opponent of cryptocurrency, since he calls them just as “drag”, recalling all the exit-scams and frauds, calling crypto enthusiasts fanatics without an exclusion. The creative solutions, such as cliches with zeros and ones running around the computer screen, as well as scenes with a total disregard for the cybersecurity techniques by the characters, also came to be. However, the author notes, watching the "Crypto" movie is much safer than buying real cryptocurrencies. The financial ruin does not threaten the tickets owner. The film will be released in the United States on April 12th.