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DRUG BUSTS: Five drug dealers were sentenced Monday to prison terms ranging from 5-20 years for their roles in distributing illegal drugs, in part using cryptocurrencies. The citizens of Arizona and California pleaded guilty to selling narcotics on dark web marketplaces such as AlphaBay, Hansa and Dream Market. In a statement, Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Doug Coleman said “Drug traffickers using the dark web feel a sense of security with the anonymity to sell their poisons throughout the world,” adding, “This investigation clearly demonstrates they aren’t safe, they aren’t anonymous, and they can’t evade justice.” Full story
HALF HIS HOLDINGS: Florida Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart confirmed that Craig Wright, the self-declared inventor of bitcoin, must forfeit half his crypto mined prior to 2014 to Ira Kleiman as well as half his intellectual property, corroborating previous reports of Monday’s final sanctions and contempt hearing. Additionally, Wright is ordered to pay the plaintiff's attorney’s fees and related expenses incurred in this motion. The court found Wright had argued in bad faith, perjured himself and admitted false evidence during the motion. Though the liability cuts to the heart of the ongoing trial, a District judge may amend the “atypical” decision. Full story
LEE’S WAY: Litecoin creator Charlie Lee remains committed to funding the Litecoin Foundation, amid a period of decreased donations attributed to a wider bear market during the year’s first quarter. That being said, since 2017, Lee’s donations have accounted for some 80 percent of the foundation’s funding. “The goal, of course, is to get Litecoin Foundation to be self-sustaining from donations, partnerships and merchandise sales,” Lee said. “Until we get to that point, I have and will continue to support the Litecoin Foundation financially as necessary.” Full story
STILL IN: Coinbase, Xapo, Anchorage and Bison Trails said they all remain committed to the Libra Association, following press that two unnamed members of the 28-member body behind the eponymous cryptocurrency were getting cold feet due to regulatory scrutiny. The crypto-native contingent said they remain optimistic about the project. “We always knew this was something that was going to be hard,” one such source told CoinDesk. Full story
CRYPTO PAC: A political action committee (PAC) dubbed BitPAC wants to conduct an initial coin offering (ICO) to support candidates for public office. The political organization plans to raise campaign funds through offering its cryptocurrency, politicoin, in exchange for donations. The token will remain valueless except for potential voting rights granted to token holders “down the road.” BitPAC’s initial aim is to support a single candidate: Dan Bishop, a North Carolina state senator running for the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election, though the committee envisions a platform where voters can show support for any candidate registered with the U.S. Federal Election Commission. Full story |
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| DEEPER DROP: Bitcoin’s price has remained relatively stagnant for seven straight days, hovering around the $10,100 point on Wednesday. While the price did test the 100-day moving average of $10,047 earlier in the day, there appears to be minimal liquidity. The 100-day moving average could provide some strong support, though if the bulls lose the stalemate, bitcoin’s price risks falling to lower weekly supports around the $7,500 range. Full story |
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| PRIVACY NEEDED: Modern payment systems (ie credit cards) leak a lot of potentially personal and private information today, writes Washington Post technology columnist Geoffrey Fowler. He confirmed this by purchasing a banana using a credit card. He found that the bank backing the card, the card network, the store he went to, the merchant banks processing transactions for point-of-sale systems (and the point-of-sale system providers themselves), and potentially financial apps or mobile wallets all collect data from a single transaction, which may then be used to build a profile of a buyer or for marketing purposes. Opting out of this “surveillance capitalism” is not easy either, though there are certain actions consumers can take to safeguard their privacy. |
WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER
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