KIK REVELATIONS: One of Kik’s board members referred to its pivot to crypto as a “hail mary pass,” according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s complaint against the messenger app company. The complaint details how and why Kik allegedly launched an unregistered securities sale, noting that it had no revenue, no investors and supposedly knew its (then) pending token sale would violate securities law. That did not stop the company from raising $100 million through its kin token sale, which in turn led to the SEC to file a securities violation complaint. Full story
ENFORCEMENT FIRST: The facts above and other evidence have resulted in a fairly strong case against Kik, according to several legal experts. What might be most notable about the case, however, is the fact that it’s the first contested enforcement action that is strictly based on a registration violation charge – there are no allegations of fraud or other illicit activity. And while it’s far too early to determine how the case may end, the onus seems to be on Kik to argue the law. In an initial response, Kik even claimed that the SEC is not applying the Howey test properly. Full story
SCALING 2: Tadge Dryja, one of the original authors of the paper describing the lightning payments network, has published a research paper outlining a new scaling solution. Released Monday, Utreexo would make the UTXO set, also known as the “state” on bitcoin full nodes, smaller and easier to run. Through the use of cryptographic proofs, nodes would be able to store less data without compromising security, thereby requiring fewer resources. Full story
BLOCKCHAIN OS? Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of Mt Gox, now plans to develop a secure operating system based on blockchain, that should be faster than existing OS products. Speaking to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, Karpeles says he hopes to restore Japan as a global technology leader. His announcement comes just a few months after he was found innocent of embezzlement and breach of trust charges, but guilty of manipulating Mt Gox’s data after the exchange announced it had lost some 850,000 bitcoin. Full story |
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BEARISH OUTLOOK: Bitcoin's $400 recovery from 2.5-week lows seen on Tuesday might be short lived. The immediate outlook has turned bearish with the price witnessing first UTC close below the 30-day average of price since Feb. 8. Add to that a number of bearish developments on the daily and three-day charts, and the cryptocurrency looks set for a deeper drop to $7,000. Full story |
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