This article was published on November 19, 2018

Moonday Mornings: The SEC has issued its first ever fines for ICO violations

Hard forks, SEC fines, sim-swapping, and communism


Moonday Mornings: The SEC has issued its first ever fines for ICO violations

There’s one thing that keeps us warm on cold days, Moonday Mornings. If you’re feeling a bit frosty this morning, here’s a wrap-up of the weekend’s cryptocurrency and blockchain news.

1. South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Zeniex is going to shut its doors and cease operations a mere five months after it launched. The company claim the decision was motivated by difficulties facing its proprietary token, ZXG. The worst part is that Zeniex might be the first of many as South Korean lawmakers look to regulate initial coin offerings (ICOs) this month.

2. One of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Huobi, is setting up a communist party committee. This committee will be responsible for ensuring Huobi promotes the official Chinese communist party line. It will no doubt help build a closer relationship between the exchange and the Chinese government, which has historically been averse to supporting cryptocurrency.

3. Sim-swapping has been marked as “high priority” by California police. Earlier this year, professional gamer “Doublelift” had $200,000 worth of cryptocurrency stolen through an alleged sim-swap hack.

4. Chelan County in Washington, US is proposing a new pricing scheme for its energy suppliers that would see cryptocurrency miners charged more for the electricity they use. It’s all in the name of trying to ensure the county’s grid isn’t overloaded.

5. For the first time ever, the SEC has issued penalties to two ICOs that had violated securities registration regulations. It looks like it worked too. Both companies have paid the fines, registered their tokens as securities, returned funds to investors, and will report to the SEC. With so many ICOs thought to be operating illegally, this is likely to be the first of many that are hit with fines from the regulator.

6. After last week’s tumultuous Bitcoin Cash hard fork, some top exchanges are already accepting both coins that spawned as a result. But it seems Coinbase are still waiting until it thinks the time is right.

So the Bitcoin Cash hard fork war has simmered down to just a dull roar, but there’s still lots going on in the world of magic internet moon money. Proof that this wild ride ain’t over yet.

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Published
Back to top