{"id":9837,"date":"2018-09-06T21:17:22","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T21:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=9837"},"modified":"2018-09-07T07:31:05","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T07:31:05","slug":"news-shapeshift-kyc-kraken-halifax-shutdown-eu-ico-rules-uk-blockchain-appg-mones-failed-ico-kodakone-ethereum-analytics-bitcoin-crash-laurie-penny-doing-the-crypto-cruise-walch-schuster-r","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/09\/06\/news-shapeshift-kyc-kraken-halifax-shutdown-eu-ico-rules-uk-blockchain-appg-mones-failed-ico-kodakone-ethereum-analytics-bitcoin-crash-laurie-penny-doing-the-crypto-cruise-walch-schuster-r\/","title":{"rendered":"News: Shapeshift KYC, Kraken Halifax shutdown, EU ICO rules, UK Blockchain APPG, Mone’s failed ICO, KodakOne, Ethereum analytics, Bitcoin crash, Laurie Penny doing the Crypto Cruise, Walch\/Schuster recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Erik Voorhees’ crypto exchange Shapeshift, once famed for its no-login<\/a> access, now has user accounts<\/a> \u2014 and “Today, Membership is optional, but it will become mandatory soon.” That is, they are finally<\/em> going to do proper KYC per the Bank Secrecy Act.<\/a> The ideological bitcoiners are not happy<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 but their opinion doesn’t matter if Shapeshift wants to have US links.<\/p>\n

The Shapeshift change comes after FinCEN’s director Kenneth A. Blanco’s remarks last month<\/a> on virtual currencies \u2014 that “individuals and entities engaged in the business of accepting and transmitting physical currency or<\/em><\/strong> convertible virtual currency from one person to another or to another location are money transmitters subject to the AML\/CFT requirements of the BSA and its implementing regulations.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Kraken exchange’s Halifax, Nova Scotia office just shut down.<\/a> Jesse Powell insists everything is fine, fine<\/a> \u2014 ’tis just a seasonal dip!<\/p>\n

EU Lawmakers Weigh ‘Standard’ for ICOs Under Crowdfunding Rules<\/a> \u2014 this is actually more bad blockchain promotion from Greek MEP Eva Kaili’s group, in the wake of her motion in committee<\/a> to get a pile of blockchain hype voted through. This particular discussion was driven by UK MEP Ashley Fox, who also does the blockchain conference circuit.<\/a><\/p>\n

After Grant Shapps’ minor embarrassment over the OpenBrix ICO,<\/a> leading to him resigning the group \u2014 the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain<\/a> continues! They appear to see their job as helping their mates skin retail investors.<\/p>\n

Baroness Michelle Mone<\/a>‘s ICO for Equi Capital went south, taking the bounty hunters’ payment<\/a> for promotion with it. Mone then repeatedly threatened to sue the Financial Times for investigating. You’ll be amazed to hear that this doesn’t work out well.<\/a> See also earlier coverage in Wings Over Scotland.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ian_Fraser\/status\/1036562084740431872<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KodakOne a.k.a. <\/em>KodakCoin has made its 10 million image target<\/a> in one swoop, with a new deal<\/a> with photo agency Lobster! Well, not actually KodakOne or WENN Digital \u2014 the deal’s with parent company Ryde GmbH.<\/a> But it’s near<\/em> KodakOne.<\/p>\n

Google releases an analytics tool for the Ethereum blockchain.<\/a> Now, who could put this to good use?<\/p>\n

“dude”
\n(takes MAHOOSIVE lungful)<\/em>
\n“what if we
\nlike
\nput Ethernet itself<\/em>, right<\/a>
\non like
\na \u00a0\u00a0 b l o c k c h a i n
\nwith like
\ns m a r t \u00a0\u00a0 c o n t r a c t s
\nduuude”
\n(chokes on bong water)<\/em><\/p>\n

Quinn DuPont\u2019s academic book Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains<\/em> (US<\/a>, UK<\/a>) is out in December. Facebook gave him advertising credit and nagged him to use it to promote his book page<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 then blocked the ad<\/a> for being about cryptocurrencies.<\/a><\/p>\n

Bitcoin dipped $400 in fifteen minutes on Tuesday morning, and again on Wednesday evening. Bloomberg<\/a> attributed this to Goldman Sachs dropping its plans for a crypto desk,<\/a> and the whole rest of the press copied them \u2014 even the Financial Times,<\/a> who really should know better. Finance journalists need to stop treating crypto as an efficient market that responds to concerns, when it’s a thinly-traded unregulated playground for whales and their tethers,<\/a> out to wreck the margin<\/a> longs. A $400 DIP IN FIFTEEN MINUTES IS NOT A RESPONSE TO A MARKET SIGNAL\u00a0\u2014 IT’S A DELIBERATE DUMP. The following price chart, from Coinbase, is not organic trading\u00a0\u2014 except insofar as BS is an organic material:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bitcoiner wins a Lightning Network gambling game! They can’t receive their winnings via Lightning, because\u00a0their channel is too full.<\/a> \/r\/bitcoin has many helpful suggestions<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 including that you shouldn’t expect the LN to actually work<\/em>,<\/a> and anyway OP is a filthy Bcasher.<\/a><\/p>\n

UK social justice journalist Laurie Penny<\/a> is covering the CoinsBank 2018 Mediterranean Blockchain Cruise<\/a> \u2014 yes, the one FT Alphaville wrote about.<\/a> Jack Graham notices<\/a> that this bears disturbing similarities to the start of The Basilisk Murders<\/em> by Andrew Hickey.<\/a><\/p>\n

How crypto public relations works,<\/a> from the journalists’ side. I can confirm that all of this holds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Experienced this wandering around a 'Blockchain Expo' too.<\/p>\n

Them: Magical claims, no tradeoffs!<\/p>\n

Me: Uhhh, proof? Explanation? What about these potential issues \/ vulnerabilities?<\/p>\n

Them: Oh our CTO spontaneously combusted, come back later.<\/p>\n

— Parallel Industries \ua66e \ud83d\udc7b \ud83d\udca4 (@parallelind) September 3, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n