Cryptocurrency Podcast by Coin.FM - Bitcoin, Crypto and Blockchain News

Episode #18 March 7th was one of the most active days we've seen in a while. The CFTC finally got it's ruling in Federal Court, the SEC made an official statement following up on subpoenas issued to ICOs, and Binance came down with a severe case of the bots. A U.S. district judge ruled in favor of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) definition of cryptocurrencies as commodities, which the regulator has observed since 2015. However, in it's own statement, the SEC announced that it would regulate ICOs and that any exchange that allows investors to buy and sell securities -- ICO's included -- needs to comply with existing SEC rules for exchanges. Yep, that means getting registered with the SEC just like the New York Stock Exchange. So, wait a minute -- the SEC say cryptocurrencies in fact securities? or just the new ICO ones? Huh? Meanwhile a pump and dump scheme was orchestrated on ViaCoin on Binance using bots designed to execute trades automatically. This caused ViaCoin to explode in value from $3 to $200 in just minutes. The exchange denied rumors of a hack, as Bitcoin tumbled over 15% to $9,400 at the time on Binance. All of this is causing uncertainty in the markets and, according to data.coin.fm, with the exception of Monero which is trading at $309.89, all of the top 10 cryptos are all in the red week on week. NEO is leading the plunge, to trade at just $96.81 at press time, 25.33% lower than it's value last week. So, it seems that the hotly-anticipated regulator armageddon has begun. Unfortunately, pump and dumps like what happened on Binance are just more proof for regulators, like the SEC, that oversight is necessary. But, which US agency will regulate the space ultimately -- the CFTC or the SEC? Only time will tell... Stay tuned.

Episode #26 Chad Barraford, CEO of Cryptocades.com, gave us the pleasure of stopping by the Coin.FM Podcast to discuss his latest project — a free-to-play blockchain gaming platform, where players use their skills and computer power to win Bitcoin. This hands-on founder leads a team of diverse globetrotting digital nomads and he’s best known for creating Project Jarvis, where he preceded today’s products like Siri or Google Home, and which is similar to Mark Zuckerberg’s more recent Project Jarvis clone. In this episode, Chad shares his technical expertise with insightful tidbits on wallets & browser mining. He also gives us the scoop on his upcoming game release, Asteroid Tycoon. For the first time in mining history, the money you earn from mining isn’t based solely on how powerful your CPU is, but is also based on how well you can strategize and play online games. Visit Cryptocades.com to join the fun!

Episode #25 According to data.coin.fm, Bitcoin Cash – which trades as BCH on many exchanges – has experienced an extraordinary 83% rise just in the past week. Since hitting a low this year of $610 USD on April 6th, the value of Bitcoin Cash has more than doubled to trade at $1440 USD, at current press time on April 23rd. The vertical breakout started at $759 price level on April 17th and has continued with steady double digit percentage point gains day on day. So what’s behind the bullish rise of Bitcoin Cash? Listen in to find out!   Another scheduled Bitcoin Cash fork is planned for November 2018 and unless there is major shift in people’s mindsets, we’ll likely see similar snowball of momentum then. If you’re planning a long-term strategy, definitely keep that in mind. How high do you think Bitcoin Cash will go by the May 18th fork?

Episode #24 Polish prosecutors may have seized around €400 mln from 2 bank accounts allegedly linked to top cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, according to unconfirmed reports from media outlets on April 7. Trustnodes.com published possible connections between Btifinex, Crypto Capital Corp, an alleged for-hire Panamanian company nominee director, and a tiny bank in the Polish country side, in November 2017 investigative report. (https://www.trustnodes.com/2017/11/22/bitfinex-reveals-new-polish-bank-account-panama-registered-company) The Panamanian national is alleged to have ties to Bitfinex and control over one of the accounts, where customers made deposits directed for Bitfinex through 2017. An unidentified man claims to have been questioned by Polish authorities, after receiving a payment from the alleged bank account in question, which apparently contributed to the allegations of money laundering.   Bitfinex’s cold storage holds roughly 1% of all bitcoins in circulation equaling about $1.5B USD in value, according to bitinfocharts.com, and remains one of the largest crypto exchanges. Legal authorities currently are investigating the misuse of cryptocurrencies for illicit purposes in over 30 countries worldwide and there have already been high profile arrests, including that the CEO of worldwide classifieds site Backpage.com. Money laundering is not a new issue created by or even limited to cryptocurrency. Earlier this year, the Chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlighted the need to develop anti-money-laundering (AML) strategies for cryptocurrencies within a global framework, but the a stern focus still needs to be placed on the world's banking giants. For decades, billions—possibly trillions-- of dollars in dirty money have been illegally moved through some of the biggest traditional banks in the world, including: • HSBC • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China • Standard Chartered Bank • Wachovia which is now a part of Wells Fargo From just these names alone, it adds up to a whopping $794 B USD. It would be so awesome if international regulators crack down on the banking institutions that continue to control the vast majority of the worlds assets. Until then, guard your coins and buy & sell only with trusted exchange partners. Shameless plug warning -- Did you know you can bitcoins with a credit/debit card at http://buy.coin.fm?

Episode #23 Early on the morning of March 22nd, the Nikkei Asian Review published an article with the headline "Japan to warn Hong Kong-based crypto exchange: Criminal charges to be filed if Binance fails to halt Japan operations." Yikes -- It certainly got our attention! The FSA has been clamping down on cryptocurrency venues after a $500 million theft from Japanese exchange Coincheck in January. CZ, the CEO of Binance, took to Twitter saying, "Nikkei showed irresponsible journalism. We are in constructive dialogs with Japan FSA, and have not received any mandates." Within minutes of the news story circulating, bitcoin took a swift nosedive, dropping over 5% from $9040 USD to trade at just above $8600 later in the day, at the time of reporting. Do you think there any truth to this or is it just another case of irresponsible journalism as CZ claims?