Bitconnect Promoter Convicted | Key Points | July 16, 2024
GM. Welcome back to BitPinas Key Points: easily digestible news in concise formats for easy reading. In today’s recap: Bitconnect.
Here are the latest crypto news stories in the last 24 hours.
Market Analysis and Updates 📈
Crypto Price Update
Here are the crypto highlights of the day:
- Bitcoin (BTC): $64,643.42, up 6.0% over the last 24 hours.
- Ethereum (ETH): $3,474.68 up 6.0% over the last 24 hours.
- Solana (SOL): $159.39, up 5.9% vs the previous day.
Trending Coins Update
- Rocky: $0.0219, up 59.8% vs the previous day.
- Mdex: $0.0582, up 78.0% over the last 24 hours.
- PacMoon: $0.0445, down 13.9% vs the previous day.
For the daily price update, check out our post on Facebook.
📺 BitPinas Webcast Announcement: The Launch of PHPC on Ronin
Join us in the next BitPinas webcast featuring Wei Zhou, the CEO of Coins .ph, and Jeff Zirlin, the Co-Founder of Sky Mavis, as they discuss the launch of PHPC (Peso Stablecoin) on the Ronin blockchain!
1. What is its implications to the current PH crypto landscape?
2. What is the potential impact on web3 gaming?
3. Exciting developments on Coins and Ronin as well as what’s next for both organizations.
Feature News: Bitconnect Promoter Convicted for Unlicensed Financial Advice
John Bigatton, a promoter of the defunct Bitconnect platform, has been convicted for providing unlicensed financial advice.
- Bitconnect faced regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries, including the Philippines. (Check out previous articles here.)
Key Points:
- Bigatton promoted Bitconnect in Australia without a financial services license, resulting in a five-year ban from managing corporations, Cointelegraph and Reuters reported.
- He promoted Bitconnect from August 2017 to January 2018 via seminars and social media.
- Bigatton claimed BitConnect Coin was superior to traditional term deposits and would reach $1,000.
Bitconnect was a cryptocurrency investment platform launched in 2016. It offered a digital token called BitConnect Coin, which could be exchanged for Bitcoin.
- Bitconnect was later exposed as a Ponzi scheme, with promises of high returns for investors that were unsustainable.
- Bitconnect gained notoriety during a 2017 event in Thailand, where promoter Carlos Matos famously exclaimed “Bitcoooonect!”
- The event became a meme:
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Deputy Chair Sarah Court emphasized that unlicensed financial advice damages trust in Australia’s financial services industry.
- In 2018, ASIC set a new precedent by freezing Bigatton’s assets, including cryptocurrency holdings, marking the first instance of such action over digital assets in the country.
Still: Bitconnect’s founder, Satish Kumbhani, remains at large despite a 2021 U.S. SEC lawsuit for fraudulently raising $2 billion.
Philippine Crypto News 🇵🇭
- Ben&Ben’s official YouTube account, along with those of other artists like SB19 and Rico Blanco, were hacked to livestream a fraudulent XRP promotion.
- ICP Hub PH announced its 1st Regional Blockchain Conference 2024 at Holy Angel University to be held on July 19.
- Coinex Filipinoshared the highlights of its participation in the University Tour in Baguio City.
Educational Corner 🎓
Aside from article BitPinas also offers learning opportunities in video format through the interviews and webcasts. Check them here.
Regulation Watch 📜
Stay informed about the latest regulatory updates and what they mean for you:
- South Korea‘s right-wing People Power Party proposed delaying the implementation of a 20% tax on cryptocurrency gains from 2025 to 2028.
- A judge granted Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s request for a three-month trial delay, originally set for September 23, 2024, now postponed to December 2.
- Hong Kong is enhancing its ability to trace and disrupt illicit crypto activities, leveraging expertise gained through recent cases such as a kidnapping involving a ransom demand in Tether (USDT).
- The US SEC concluded its three-year investigation into the Stacks blockchain and its developer, Hiro Systems, without taking any action.
Community Spotlight 🔦
Meet Joniel “JB” Bon: JB is the founder of NFTxStreet, a web3 service provider guild and a subguild of YGG.
- In February, NFTxStreet unveiled its physical game hub in Quezon City, which aims to onboard traditional or web2 gamers into web3.
- He also guests in the BitPinas webcast, his last appearance was in the 40th episode “Pixels, Airdrops, and Art Fair PH”.
More Web3 and AI News 💡
Discover the latest in web3 and AI innovation.
- Top VCs invested $85 million in AI-crypto startup Sentient, impressed by its strong founding team and ambitious vision to create an open-source, monetizable artificial general intelligence platform.
- Partior, a blockchain settlement network, raised $60 million in a Series B funding round; to enhance its real-time, cross-border, multi-currency clearing and settlement capabilities.
- Wirex and Visa expanded their partnership to enhance the adoption of digital currencies in the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA), focusing on integrating innovative Visa cards to streamline payment experiences.
Web3 Gaming Section 🎮
The future of web3 is gaming, and here are the latest news.
- Pixelverse raised an additional $2 million in private funding, totaling $7.5 million, to expand its cyberpunk-themed game and enhance accessibility to cryptocurrency through gaming mechanics.
- Eden Games, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, launched Cosmic Royale, a Web3 kart racing game within Animoca’s Motorverse ecosystem.
- Catizen is preparing to launch its Game Center by the end of 2024, aiming to support and accelerate Web3 game development.
Event Announcements 📅
Don’t Miss Out: Upcoming events, webinars, and meetups in the crypto space!
Our Davao meetup is happening this July 25th, see you there!
- Regional Blockchain Conference 2024 – July 19, 2024
- Solana Blinks Buidlstation – July 20, 2024
- BitBulaga “Portfolio Construction in a Bull or Bear Market”: July 27, 2024
Noteworthy 🌟
Key updates and announcements from around the crypto and blockchain world:
- A dormant Bitcoin wallet containing 1,000 BTC, worth about $12,000 in 2012 and now valued over $60 million, transferred its funds to a new address after nearly 12 years of inactivity.
- Celsius reached a settlement with KeyFi founder Jason Stone, agreeing to liquidate tokens and hundreds of valuable NFTs transferred from KeyFi.
- CoinStatsreported a June hack that resulted in the theft of $2.2 million worth of cryptocurrency from 1,590 wallets, with the North Korea-affiliated Lazarus Group identified as the likely attacker.
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This article is published on BitPinas: Bitconnect Promoter Convicted | Key Points | July 16, 2024
