Market Watch | Bitcoin | $17,961 | 7 day: +11.3% | | Ethereum | $475 | 7 day: +3.7% | | All crypto | $503b | 7 day: +9.8% | | Bitcoin dominance | 66.2% | 7 day: +1% | Prices as of 4:20 p.m. EST
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 T.I. Rapper T.I. and his associates to pay $103,000 to settle SEC charges regarding their FLiK ICO. - Rapper T.I. (Clifford Harris Jr.), social media manager William Sparks, and two other Atlanta-based associates have arrived at a settlement with the SEC for misleading investment pitches about FLiK during 2017.
- The ICO turned out to be a scam, and the coin is now practically worthless.
- Further details regarding the SEC's complaint against T.I. and his associates are available here at Inside.
- The SEC charged Harris Jr. and four other participants, including film producer Ryan Felton, on Sept. 11, 2020.
- The SEC also alleged that T.I. endorsed and offered digital tokens through his social media account, posing as a co-owner of FLiK.
Law360 
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Malaysian cryptocurrency exchange Fusang delays its widely-publicized $3B blockchain bond offering with one of China's Big Five state-owned banks. - According to a statement dated Nov. 13, 2020, Fusang has delayed the listing of "Longbond SR Notes USD Feb 2021" with China Construction Bank until further notice, per the request of the issuer, Longbond Ltd.
- Fusang is a Hong Kong-based digital securities exchange. It was discussing the issuance with the Labuan unit of China Construction Bank to issue blockchain-based bonds worth $3B, which would have been securities.
- We covered the news in detail in this previous issue of Inside Cryptocurrency.
- The exchange authorities refuse to cite reasons for the postponement.
- Recently, Xi Jinping personally halted what would have been the largest IPO in history: Jack Ma's Ant Group.
- A spokesperson from the Labuan branch of CCB authorities revealed to the local news on Nov. 13, 2020, that the bank was not directly involved with the issuer(s).
- The first tranche of tokenized certifications reportedly involved about $58M.
TheBlockCrypto
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Galaxy Digital has acquired DrawBridge lending and Blue Fire Capital. Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO) has acquired the two cryptocurrency companies for an undisclosed sum. - DrawBridge offers digital asset borrowing and lending products.
- Blue Fire Capital is a market-maker on cryptocurrency exchanges, trading approximately $36B in annual notional volume.
- The deal would increase Galaxy's headcount by 50%. It would also add third-party structured products worth $150M atop Galaxy's $400m Assets Under Management (AUM), according to Forbes.
- Andrew Karos will remain Blue Fire's CEO. Jason Urban, DrawBridge's CEO, will join Galaxy Digital as co-head of trading and work alongside Peter Wisniewski.
- Galaxy's investments include Bakkt, BlockFi, as well as contentious ICO issuers like Block.one (EOS) Ripple (XRP).
Coindesk
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 Some of BlockFi's Investors Cryptocurrency lending company BlockFi plans expansion in Europe in 2021. BlockFi offers high-yield cryptocurrency savings accounts to mostly U.S. retail investors. BlockFi earns interest while lending out customers' cryptocurrencies to institutions, especially arbitrageurs and market-makers. - BlockFi is reportedly considering launching in Switzerland, Italy, and the Netherlands during Q1 2021, according to BlockFi's VP for Europe and Asia, David Olsson
- Olsson was hired in May to head international growth.
- Despite offices in London, Olsson does not plan on launching BlockFi consumer products in the U.K. due to regulatory concerns raised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
- The FCA banned almost all forms of cryptocurrency derivatives in Oct. 2020. The ban takes effect no later than Jan. 6, 2021.
- BlockFi has raised over $80m ($30m in a Series B and $50m in a Series C).
TheBlockCrypto
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 The Kyrgyz Republic Kyrgyzstan prepares legislation for the country's cryptocurrency industry. - The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic is forming draft laws according to an announcement dated Nov. 13, 2020. The central bank is concerned with facilitating favorable conditions for the market, encouraging technological innovation, decreasing risks, and protecting consumer rights.
- The central Asian country has incomplete statistical data on the number of entities based in Kyrgyzstan that are active in the crypto industry.
- A legislative framework would be beneficial to entrepreneurs as it would clarify the legal stance on digital assets, allowing foreign investment in legitimate enterprises.
- The proposal will be submitted for deliberation on Nov. 27. The deadline for public comments is Dec. 4.
Bitcoin mining since 2014: - The Kyrgyz Republic has reportedly advanced a cryptocurrency mining proposal in August 2019.
- The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic also made headlines in 2014 when it issued a statement criminalizing the use of bitcoin and other digital currencies under national law.
- Despite regulatory actions since 2014, Kyrgyzstan's head of the International Finance Centre Development Agency, Valery Tutykhin, affirms that investing in the Kyrgyz Republic's cryptocurrency industry is encouraged.
CoinTelegraph
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 Huobi Founder and CEO Leon Li Huobi is considering a bailout of South Korea's twice-raided crypto exchange, Bithumb. The exchange is defending itself in several lawsuits and has alleged connections to criminal activities. - Huobi Global, a cryptocurrency exchange claiming daily transactions of approximately $11B, is considering buying South Korea-based exchange Bithumb to bypass licensing requirements and expand operations in South Korea, according to a local news outlet.
- Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Intelligent Crime Unit raided Bithumb in a search for evidence of money laundering, fraud, and issuance of BXA tokens worth $25M.
- We covered the Seoul police raid on the exchange's offices here and here.
- Bithumb's founders and investors are reportedly involved in a power struggle.
- Huobi officials are eyeing the sale of shares held by Bithumb Korea, owner of the exchange.
- South Korea's robust regulatory framework allows only local businesspeople to operate cryptocurrency companies and demands comprehensive know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) practices.
China's Huobi: - A Chinese reporter tweeted that the Chinese government also investigated Huobi, which derives a substantial amount of its money from Chinese residents and diaspora, claiming that its founder Leon Li has not been permitted to leave mainland China since 2017.
- In a different tweet, the reporter indicated that Huobi is also in talks to acquire Japan's Bitflyer exchange for $500M.
Decrypt
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QUICK HITS: - Bridgewater Associates' Ray Dalio admitted his problems with perceiving bitcoin as an effective currency in a series of tweets on Nov. 17. Dalio notes that bitcoin's high volatility (store-of-wealth) and regulatory uncertainties remain its main drawbacks.
- DeFi project Value suffered from a flash loan attack on Nov. 14, 2020. An attacker took out an uncollateralized loan worth 80,000 Ethereum (ETH) from Aave (LEND), another DeFi lender. The attacker returned assets equal to $2M, mocked the Value team in an encrypted message, and kept $5.4M.
- San Jose-based Visa expeditor Peninsula Visa enables users to pay with bitcoin (BTC) for certain passport services. Backed by Coinbase Commerce, Peninsula Visa offers passport renewals, name changes, and second passport services.
- See how brands like Discovery, Manscaped, Microsoft, and Gymshark use Attest to understand how their audience feels about their industry, how they shop, and what their pain points are.*
- Belarus' largest bank, Belarusbank, is preparing to launch cryptocurrency exchange services via Visa payment cards in collaboration with WhiteBird LLC. Fiat trading pairs will be made available to citizens of Belarus and Russia.
- Barry Silbert's Grayscale Investments increases its assets under management (AUM) to approximately $10.4B, according to a tweet dated Nov. 17, 2020. The New York-based company custodies bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC), Stellar (XLM), and Ripple (XRP).
- Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Mexico's second-wealthiest man according to Forbes, endorsed bitcoin in a video shared via Twitter, suggesting that the billionaire invested almost 10% of his liquid assets into bitcoin.
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 |  | Written and curated by wide-eyed bitcoin watcher since $1, Aaron Wise. Streaming headline junkie, Associated Press fanboy, eye-strained news terminal watcher, 2017 founder of Cryptocurrency Newsfeed. Temporarily based in Florida while awaiting the construction of cryptopia. |  | | Editor | Alexander Huls is a Toronto-based journalist. He has contributed articles about true crime and pop culture to The New York Times, Men's Health, Popular Mechanics, and other fine publications. Follow him on Twitter @alxhuls. | |
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