Day: July 5, 2017

Cash reforms in India could lead to a digital payments revolution in the country this year, data shows.

Most cryptocurrency enthusiasts remember the Mintpal exchange. It was the world’s largest altcoin trading platform until October of 2014, when the company suddenly disappeared. The company claimed they were “hacked”, but many people immediately suspected this was an exit scam by Ryan Kennedy. After many years of trying to bring him to justice, Kennedy has been officially charged with money laundering and fraud. The question remains whether or not the Mintpal victims will ever see their money again.

Ryan Kennedy Finally Gets Charged

The cryptocurrency world received a rather nasty surprise in October of 2014, as the popular Mintpal exchange was shut down during that month. Thousands of cryptocurrency users saw their virtual wealth disappear into thin air, and hardly any of the money has been recovered. The main culprit being Ryan Kennedy. After MintPal disappeared, Kennedy may have stolen over 3,700 Bitcoins from his customers.

The history of MintPal is peppered with scandals and setbacks. The company had already lost thousands of coins in a “hack” earlier that year. It took several months to successfully relaunch the trading platform. Behind the scenes, Ryan Kennedy bought a 35% stake in Mintpal through his Moolah company. This deal also saw Moolah take full control of the exchange’s day-to-day operations. It was a red flag for some users, but many people ignored it.

Once the platform opened its doors again in October, it only took a week before it was shut down again. Moolah declared bankruptcy – which in hind sight is not surprising  – and all of Mintpal’s bitcoins were stolen by a “hacker.” We know now that “hacker” was Ryan Kennedy, who then went by the alias Alex Green. Further investigation uncovered that Kennedy was selling the stolen currency through the LocalBitcoins platform.

Luckily, it did not take long for Ryan Kennedy to get arrested by the UK police. He and his “partner” Chelsea Hopkins were in custody by early 2015. Many assumed the whole incident would be rectified and affected users would get their money back. Unfortunately, that never happened and no developments about this case emerged until late last week. People had almost forgotten about the whole Mintpal debacle.

According to the Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Ryan Kennedy has now been officially charged with fraud and money laundering. Kennedy is scheduled to appear at Bristol Magistrates Court on July 5th. It will be interesting to see how this court case will play out. It took the Economic Crime Team a total of three years to build up a case and collect solid evidence of Kennedy’s money laundering activities. Kennedy’s stolen Bitcoins were worth over 1 million GBP, and propped up his lavish lifestyle.

This case is an example of how conducting criminal activity with Bitcoin will ultimately lead to one’s arrest. Bitcoin does not facilitate or encourage criminal activity any more than cash or banks do. Ryan Kennedy will finally be brought to justice, which is the silver lining in this horrible story in Bitcoin’s young history. Whether or not any of his victims will be reimbursed, remains to be seen. It is very likely Kennedy has spent most – if not all – of the stolen funds.

Developer Jimmy Song has sought to provide a no-frills accessible explainer for the increasingly contentious SegWit debate.

Alpari Group, Russia’s largest native forex broker, has announced the launch of two bitcoin trading pairs, with the company now offering BTC/USD and BTC/EUR CFDs to traders. Alpari Group joins a growing list of international forex and CFD brokers that have introduced cryptocurrency trading markets in recent weeks.

Also Read: Investment Funds That Offer Cryptocurrency Exposure See Big Gains

The Introduction of Bitcoin Derivatives Trading Is of Prescient Timing for Alpari

Alpari Group is a forex and contracts for difference (CFD) broker that is licensed in Belarus, Belize, Mauritius, and Russia. Alpari has launched BTC/USD and BTC/USD trading pairs this week, joining a growing list of international derivatives markets that have begun to offer cryptocurrency trading products.

The company was founded in 1998, and since 2014 it has been recognized as the largest Russian Forex broker based upon monthly turnover and number of clients. Despite its Russian success, Alpari has seen significant struggles in recent years – following the insolvency of its UK entity and the revocation of the company’s United States National Futures Association and subsequent exit from the US markets.

The introduction of bitcoin derivatives trading is of prescient timing for Alpari, following recent announcements that Russia is developing a regulatory framework for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Many commentators are skeptical that Putin’s Russia will fully embrace bitcoin, as cryptocurrency has the potential to further erode the Russian state’s ability to exercise centralized control over financial circulation.

Alpari Group Has Become the Latest Major International Forex Broker to Introduce Bitcoin Trading Pairs

From the perspective of the Russian state, encouraging bitcoin-based trading could facilitate growth in Russian fintech firms like Alpari – allowing such to cash in on the growth of cryptocurrency without promoting the disruptive potential of free and direct cryptocurrency trading, or risking encouraging direct competitor to the national cryptocurrency that Russia has announced it is developing.

Alpari has joined a growing list of international forex and CFD brokers who have recently launched bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading pairs. Israeli-based Panda Trading Systems also announced the introduction of seven cryptocurrency CFD products this week, with Panda’s Ori Hazan stating that Panda is “very pleased to be a part of this exciting new direction the online trading industry is taking. Cryptocurrencies have been on our radar for quite a few years now, but they finally seem to be moving into mainstream adoption and we’re ready for this change.”

In recent weeks HYCM has launched bitcoin derivatives trading to UK, Dubai and Cyprus customer, with Ayondo, Etoro, Plus500, and many other CFD brokers also introducing cryptocurrency CFD markets in recent months.

Do you think that Russia will encourage cryptocurrency trading through derivatives whilst attempting to limit the direct use cryptocurrency by its citizens? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Apari

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The post Major Russian Forex Broker Alpari Launches Bitcoin Trading Pairs appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Hacking exchanges are not all that uncommon in the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, such incidents have caused millions in damages over the past few years. Korean news sources now claim the Bithumb exchange has been hacked as well. The total damage remains unknown, but it is expected tens of millions of KRW have … Continue reading Korea’s Bithumb Exchange Allegedly Loses Millions of Korean Won due to Hack

The post Korea’s Bithumb Exchange Allegedly Loses Millions of Korean Won due to Hack appeared first on NEWSBTC.

A subsidiary of French bank BNP Paribas has announced that its blockchain securities platform has reached a new milestone.

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The world’s “first 100% honest” Ethereum token UET has debuted on HitBTC despite having no purpose whatsoever.

Blockchain startup Setl opens up about its strategy for the Australian post-trade system, a market long dominated by a monopoly.

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South Korea’s Bithumb is yet to recognize the extent of funds lost in a hack last week, offering customers $87.