Stream ICO to Launch on February 1 for Its Web3 Live Streaming Platform By CoinQuora

Stream ICO to Launch on February 1 for Its Web3 Live Streaming Platform Stream Coin, a Dubai-based live streaming project powered by blockchain, announced that it will be having a three-week initial coin offering (ICO) starting this February 1. Up to 1 billion Stream (STRM) will be sold during the ICO at a fixed price of $0.9 each. To ensure compliance with government regulations of different countries on cryptocurrencies, each investor must pass Stream’s Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirement before they are allowed to participate. According to Stream, this ICO will be…

US regulator charges Latvian man involved in $7M ICO scams

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against a Latvian man accused of orchestrating two digital currency scams. The first related to a digital currency debit card while the second was a fake block reward mining project token sale. In a press release, the SEC revealed it had filed a civil complaint in the Eastern District of New York against Ivars Auzins. According to the regulator, Auzins allegedly defrauded hundreds of investors and took off with at least $7 million through two unregistered digital asset securities offerings.…

South Korean regulator wants ICO ban reversed

In September 2017, at the height of the initial coin offering (ICO) mania, South Korea’s financial regulator banned all token sales in the country, taking after neighboring China. Now, the watchdog wants this ban reversed and is calling for regulation in the sector. A local outlet Money Today report reveals that the Financial Services Commission (FSC) may be changing its stance on ICOs. The vice chairman of the FSC Do Gyu-sang argued that the country should reexamine its hardline stance against ICOs and, rather than impose a blanket ban, it should regulate them. Do…

Rivetz ICO worth $18M charged in US over selling ‘worthless’ tokens

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged yet another 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) project over securities violation. The project, known as Rivetz, allegedly sold a security in its native RvT token without registering with the commission. Rivetz was one of the many ICO projects that sprung up during the great ICO fever of 2017, when each new blockchain project claimed to be solving every other major global challenge. However, the company had been founded four years prior in 2013 by Steven Sprague, according to the regulator. Between June and September…

Actor Steven Seagal must pay ICO promotion fines: US judge

One of the world’s popular action movie actors must pay the full penalty imposed for promoting a digital currency ICO, a U.S. federal judge has ruled. Steven Seagal got into trouble for touting Bitcoiin2Gen’s ICO and even though he agreed to pay over $300,000 in fines, he has since relocated to Russia and stopped the payment. The veteran actor caught regulators’ ire when he started touting Bitcoiin 2nd Generation (Bitcoiin2Gen) as an unmissable investment opportunity, and even went as far as issuing a press release to announce that he was…

DROP token creators plead guilty to $1.8M ICO scam, settle with SEC

Two Californian men have agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud charges in connection with an unregistered ICO they conducted in 2017. The two raised $1.9 million by selling over 600 million native tokens, all while issuing false statements, presenting fake profitability statements and making unattainable promises to the investors, authorities said. In a press release, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) said the two men from Orange County in California were each charged with one count of securities fraud. In addition to agreeing to plead guilty to the charges,…

‘The Game’ faces $12M judgment over unregistered ICO sale promotion

A U.S.-based musician is facing a $12 million judgment in a California court in connection with his promotion of an unregistered ICO project. Jayceon Taylor, popularly known as The Game, promoted ParagonCoin, a blockchain project that claimed to be out to change the world of cannabis. However, it has since then collapsed under the weight of legal battles and its founders have declared bankruptcy and fled the United States. ParagonCoin was one of the many ICO projects that sprung up during the unprecedented ICO craze of 2017. It targeted the…

ICO LOCIcoins and CEO hit with $7.6M fine over unregistered securities, fraud charges

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled charges brought against Loci Inc. and its CEO John Wise in connection with an unregistered securities offering in which they were said to have made materially false and misleading statements in connection with the sale of digital asset securities. In a press release, the regulator said it had settled the charges in exchange for accepting a cease and desist order against the firm and its CEO, an undertaking to destroy the unregistered tokens still remaining, publication on company social media channels…

Three Individuals Behind Alleged PlexCoin ICO Scam Charged with Fraud

Three Canadian citizens involved with an alleged initial coin offering scam from crypto project PlexCorps have been charged with fraud over conning investors out of $8 million. According to a July 24 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Ohio, PlexCorps owners Dominic Lacroix and Sabrina Paradis-Royer as well as former employee Yan Ouellet were indicted on five charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The three were found to be responsible for transferring millions…

ETH Activity in Q2 Similar to That Before 2017 ICO Market Boom

Though some on-chain activity for Ethereum is similar to the conditions before the price rallied to its all-time high in 2018, it failed to demonstrate the same bullish behavior in 2020. According to a July report from Xangle Research on Decentralized Finance (DeFi) in Q2 2020, research analyst Jehn Kim determined that on-chain transaction volume on the Ethereum blockchain increased roughly 62%, around a 52-week high on June 23. Transaction fees also rose approximately 688%.  The analyst noted that these on-chain stats “partially resemble the spike seen during the bull…