Protostarr is the first token to shut down due to the SEC, and also China is preparing to crack down on ICOs. Here are the cryptocurrency highlights of week 35:
- Regulators in China have reportedly made up their mind to crack down on initial coin offerings (ICOs), the nascent funding mechanism through which blockchain projects have now raised more than $1.8 billion. According to a report from Caixin, although the official statements have not been published yet, regulators have deemed ICOs to be violating fundraising laws, a determination that could lead to harsh regulations on the blockchain use case. Quoting an anonymous source, Caixin reported that researchers in PBoC have been studying ICOs and have reached a conclusion that many are covers for illicit activity.
- In what may be the first token to cease operations due to communication from the Securities and Exchange Commission, on Tuesday, decentralized application Protostarr closed up shop. The token, which was billed as a way for rising internet celebrities on YouTube, Twitch and other video and live streaming platforms to get funded by their fans, had its initial coin offering in August, raising 119.5 ether, which is about $47,000 as of press time. “After consultation with multiple lawyers, we have decided to cease further operations and refund Ethereum collected in our crowdsale that began on August 13, 2017,” it stated in a press release.
- The Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), which oversees the US investment market, announced yesterday Dalia Blass as a new Director of the agency’s Division of Investment Management, according to a press release. That division is in charge of ETFs in particular and the investment management industry more generally. Blass’s leaves Ropes & Gray LLP to join the SEC. Ropes & Gray is the firm advising the Winklevoss in their bitcoin ETF bid. For this reason, some are therefore seeing the chance of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF being approved increasing again.
- Bitcache, Kim Dotcom’s blockchain powered service for Megaupload 2.0, has announced a micropayment integration for YouTube. It will allow fans to donate Bitcoin to their favorite channels, even if they’ve been “demonetized” by Google. Kim Dotcom’s YouTube channel “MrKimDotcom” released a teaser trailer today for a YouTube plug-in from Bitcache that allows viewers to make donations. Donations can apparently be made via the Bitcache plug-in as people watch videos, giving them an option to directly support the content creators as they casually watch their videos.
- Compared to the previous week the price of Bitcoin has increased by around five percent, with the exchange rate currently at about $4,558 per BTC. The price of Ethereum increased by more than three percent over the same period, taking Ether up to a rate of $333 per ETH. Ethereum Classic gained about 25 percent, with the price increasing to $19.35 per ETC. Zcash lost six percent. One ZEC is now trading at roughly $259 per coin.
