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Vaigha Varghese

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Cryptofirms Alleging Sale of Unregistered Cryptocurrencies

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As per the reports, the class action lawsuits filed at the Newyork federal court on 3 April were targeted against the best-known Crypto companies.

The 11 suits name several parties like Binance, KuCoin, BiBox, BitMEX, HDR Global Trading Limited, Block.one, Quantstamp, KayDex, Civic, BProtocol and Tron Foundation. The lawsuits argue that companies are eluding investors by selling unlawful securities without proper licensing in the form of digital tokens and market manipulation. It is also alleged that in order to ascertain their token sales, these exchanges have also hidden some parts of information from the investing parties. It also claims that token issuers have benefited from a lack of awareness and knowledge of how cryptocurrencies work, and alleged illegal securities have been sold to US residents.

And also claim that the token issuers took advantage of buyers lacking awareness and knowledge of how cryptocurrencies worked and alleged unlawful securities were sold to US residents. The suits argue that the companies have marketed their tokens as utility tokens and say that they were not required to register as securities. Some of the companies have compared their tokens with those of Bitcoin and Ether (the native token of Ethereum), which are not considered securities. The investors were not aware of the need to file these tokens with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The plaintiffs argue that tokens issued by the defendants fail to pass the Howey Test. The “Howey Test” is a test that the Supreme Court created to decide if certain transactions qualify as “investment contracts.” Simply put, The Howey Test determines that a transaction represents an investment contract if “a person invests his or her money in a common undertaking and expects profit only from the promoter’s or a third party’s efforts.

The 11 suits were filed on Friday by the New York “litigation boutique” company Roche Cyrulnik Freedman. Roche Cyrulnik Freedman was the same law firm behind Bitfinex’s market manipulation suit in October 2019 and Kleiman’s billion-dollar lawsuit against self-professed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright.

Due to its location outside the United States, some non-US defendants would need to be represented by the Hague Convention. Also, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic many Asian and European nations are under complete lockdown, which would prolong the court proceedings.

SC gives approval for the Crypto Trading Platform to Operate in Malaysia

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Malaysia securities regulator has granted full approval to Tokenize Xchange, a cryptocurrency exchange operator, to operate legally in the country.

Malaysian regulations allow local cryptocurrency exchanges to register with the SC, after which they would have just nine months to meet the SC’s regulatory standards. Tokenize Xchange received full approval from Malaysia’s Securities Commission (SC) after a 9-month probation period. The authorities have recognized the companies cryptocurrency platform as a legally approved and regulated platform, and clients can now be accepted as a fully licensed digital assets Exchange.

According to Hong Qi Yu, Chief Executive officer and Chief Technology Officer of Tokenize Malaysia:

“It’s a crucial moment we have been looking forward to. We are now able to go ‘live’ in Malaysia and it is perfect timing – as we have received many interested enquiries from individuals aged 24 to 50 years old who are keen to invest in digital assets.”

The SC has licensed the cryptocurrency exchange, amid the country’s continuing coronavirus pandemic crisis. The nationwide lockout was extended until at least April 14.

Tokenize Malaysia was founded by a Malaysian entrepreneur, Hong Qi Yu, while operations began in October 2017 in Singapore.

Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysian news agency SoyaCincau had quoted CEO Hong Qi Yu as saying:

“The digital asset industry is by far one of the best equipped and it is business as usual for us as the industry is used to working and communicating effectively across time zones and managing teams remotely.”

Blockchain for Charity Fundraising to Help Vulnerable People in London

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Blockchain is a groundbreaking technology that will have a significant effect on the charity and philanthropy industries, helping to safely and transparently control and distribute funds. Businesses and governments already use blockchain technologies in wide-ranging use-cases, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis

On 31 March 2020, the Bank Account Based Blockchain (BABB) and CryptoAM.io announced a joint fundraising campaign. The blockchain charity will support the elderly and some of the most vulnerable people who live in London’s Canary Wharf, Poplar and Isle of Dogs. BABB uses its native BAX tokens for this project and donations can easily be made on the platform without the donors being charged for the transaction.

David Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer of BABB, said he hopes that Canary Wharf should become a hub for all financial services worldwide and that BABB will be able to offer as much support as possible to vulnerable sections. So far the people have contributed more than £ 5000 ($6100) for the cause.

Blockchain and the philanthropy industry

Blockchain is among the 21st century’s most hyped innovations. Blockchain enthusiasts expect that the system will absolutely change the environment over the next few years. The main advantage of blockchain for philanthropy is that it allows greater transparency and accountability and can thus provide “evidence of impact” for the goals achieved.

Since any transaction made on the blockchain is recorded in near real-time and is open to everyone, blockchain will help to dramatically reduce the expense of annual reporting on the budget and expenditure of a charitable entity, thus can its overall transparency. Transactions made on the blockchain will hit recipients more easily and at a lower cost than if they are executed using other transaction methods since all transactions are immediately posted.

Some of the most appealing advantages blockchain have for philanthropists is that it allows easily transparent and traceable transactions, enabling donors to monitor all of their transactions from start to finish and check where their funds went. And also by tracking the entire transaction process, donors can easily find out if their funds have met their intended target.

Donors ‘opportunity to watch their contributions happen is a powerful way of building trust, but it also comes with disadvantages. “It can bring advantages in terms of increasing trust rates but it will also pose real challenges. The more confidence an organization has, the better its donations can be, the more transparency there will be because most donors usually want to see their contribution go ‘to the front line’ of a cause, and not be spent on supporting problems or office work, which is less attractive but just as essential to pay for.

Secondly, With increasing volumes of transactions flowing via blockchain frameworks, it will become harder to track where the money is going. Hence, this may be tempting to more perpetrators as a way to commit a crime. They can use blockchain for tax evasion or ransomware and illegal markets to sell everything, including drugs, counterfeit passports, and weapons, etc.

 

Etisalat and Noor Bank launch eWallet International Remittance Services in UAE to 200 Countries

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Etisalat and Noor Bank announced the launch of eWallet – an international remittance service that will allow financial transactions between UAE individuals and 200 countries worldwide.

The joint venture assured eWallet customers would be able to send money to relatives abroad in real time, in partnership with MoneyGram International, without having to visit a branch or go outside during the Covid 19 pandemic.

An eWallet consumer may either send funds directly to a recipient’s bank account or to a mobile wallet, depending on the destination of the recipient. Now eWallet customers can make real-time, international money transfers from their homes.

Transfers of money can now be made digitally to more than 350,000 locations, consisting of banks, counter agents and international mobile wallet operators in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Ahmed Al Awadi, Chairman of eWallet, said, “eWallet continues to be an innovative solution that uplifts the way UAE residents conduct financial transactions today. We understand that in light of the current global situation, people are increasingly choosing to send money digitally from the comfort and safety of their homes. As people work to support their family and loved ones across the globe, we aim to enable them to safely and instantly remit money to over 200 countries and territories worldwide.”

Regulated and licensed by the UAE’s Central Bank, Like other mobile wallet services, eWallet is not contingent on having a bank account credit card or debit card to make digital payments.

All customers need to register for the eWallet account is a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile phone.

‘League’ of cybersecurity Experts band together to fight against the hospital ransomware

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Group of cybersecurity experts, incident responders and industry experts have teamed up to help organizations combat hacking and phishing attacks related to COVID-19.

Named the COVID-19 CTI League,  the restricted -invite members will prioritize efforts to assess and neutralize all threats, but prioritizes medical services and vital infrastructure on the front line.

The main focus will be on helping hospitals and health care facilities to avoid ransomware and other threats from attackers who try to exploit the general havoc caused by the COVID-19 health crisis.

But the goal of the COVID-19 CTI League is broader than just supporting health-care agencies. According to a brief summary of the group’s website, it will also seek to neutralize other cyber threats to exploit the current pandemic.

Why are Hospitals the Perfect Ransomware Target?

For more than a decade, Ransomware has become an Internet threat but it has only recently made headlines for mainstream media. And hospitals around the world have seen a significant rise in cyber attacks over the past year.

The malware works by locking your device to keep you from accessing the data before you pay a  ransom, which is normally demanded in Bitcoin. Hospitals are the perfect mark for this kind of blackmail because they provide medical care and rely on up– patient record records. Without easy access to prescription records, procedure protocols and other information, medical treatment can be postponed or halted, making hospitals more likely to pay a ransom rather than tolerate delays that could lead to death and litigation.

To conclude, the best protection against ransomware attacks requires a proactive approach: ensuring that applications and infrastructure are up-to-date, conducting secure cloud backups on a regular basis, and collaborating with a managed security service provider to track corporate networks, conduct risk assessments and make recommendations unique to the data environment of your organization.