Just a few days ago, Chinese courts cleared up a few 'grey areas' - and ruled that Bitcoin ownership is legal, merchants can choose to accept it as a form of payment, and it should be treated legally as property of the owner.

Which is a step in the right direction.

But after reading comments from people in some of the cryptocurrency communities i'm a member of, things along the lines of "this is huge" and other comments expecting this to lead to market movement, I think some clarification is needed.

Still in place is the full ban on participating in cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs.

So another way to look at this is - currently in China people can possess and spend the Bitcoin they acquired on exchanges before the ban, or through mining, with all the legal protections of someone spending money.

But mined Bitcoin, and Bitcoin purchased long ago simply changing hands within China won't have any effect on the markets as a whole.

This still leaves us with at least a reasonable hope that Bitcoin spending activity officially being legal ignites more demand to be allowed back into the global cryptocurrency markets.  A task much easier if Chinese businesses can present a case for increased profitability through use of cryptocurrencies.

We've been tracking this story since yesterday, and as soon as we think it's reached a point where we could publish an article - the story takes another wild turn.  There's surely more to come, but what we know so far is pretty interesting.

The exchange is called "MapleChange" and is based in Canada, and the problems all began yesterday when users of the exchange noticed all of their tokens were gone.

That's when they made the following announcement on Twitter:


At this point, while their users weren't happy, they seemed to be patiently waiting to see what MapleChange would do next, and find out what the results of their 'investigation' would be.

But before receiving any updates on what happened to their funds they noticed MapleChange deleting their social media accounts, starting with their Discord chat channel. At this point their Twitter account was still active and users started publicly slamming the company.

Accusations varied from saying MapleChange was simply trying to run away from the problem, to saying they were the ones behind the whole thing, that MapleChange stole the funds themselves, and were currently in the process of executing an "Exit Scam" - something both ICO's and small exchanges have been caught doing in the past, where they raise funds, then fake being victims of hackers as an excuse to then steal those funds.

MapleChange responded to these accusations on Twitter with:


Then - their Twitter account disappeared as well.

I thought this was all we would hear for awhile, but things took another turn - as Reddit users got on the case and tracked down the personal information of the exchange's CEO and began posting it everywhere MapleChange was being discussed, as shown in this Tweet from a Twitter account created just to troll MapleChange:


Suddenly, MapleChange re-activated their accounts - both their Twitter and Discord channel were now back online.

Many are saying it's more than a coincidence that as soon as the CEO was 'hunted down' - MapleChange suddenly returned. But MapleChange offered this explanation:


This brings us to what's happening now - it appears all Bitcoin and Litecoin are gone forever, the rest will be returned once they can "properly identify customers and hand back the proper amount" according to MapleChange.

Still unknown is the value of Bitcoin and Litecoin stolen. While initially accused of losing 919 BTC, MapleChange insists "We have NEVER had 919BTC in our wallet".

Also still unknown is what happens next as far as Canadian law enforcement, and civil actions against MapleChange that will surely follow. 

Here in the US, the FBI would be examining the exchange's servers, and users would be preparing their lawsuits. But this is a first for Canada and we'll soon be learning how they respond to such incidents involving cryptocurrency.

If anyone has additional information, contact us or reach out on Twitter @GlobalCryptoDev.

Ripple has confirmed their latest heavyweight hire is Google's (now former) Vice President of Products, Amir Sarhangi.

Sarhangi is now in charge of development for Ripple's global payments network known as RippleNet.

Dispite a bear market for 2018, Ripple has been beating the odds - boasting $73.53 million in revenue in the 2nd quarter of the year, and following that up by doubling that amount and hitting $163.33 million in the 3rd quarter.

His title from Google, 'Vice President of products' will be Sarhangi's official new title at Ripple as well.

A reality-style television event, a hackathon, a job fair, and presentations and panel discussions featuring leading innovators in the dynamic blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, are just some of the highlights expected at the 4th World Blockchain Forum (WBF) that will take place in New York, November 8-9, 2018.

“We are witnessing an unprecedented digital migration of wealth onto blockchains of various forms so we need to start working towards a global blockchain industry consensus,” WBF Co-Founder Zhao Sheng said. “And the best way to achieve consensus is to gather all stakeholders together within an ecosystem founded on consensus, which is why we organise the World Blockchain Forum.”

Everyone is welcome to attend WBF. In particular, WBF extends an invitation to anyone who is sceptical about blockchain and cryptocurrencies to come along, express their concerns, ask questions, and learn more about the positive benefits of blockchain from the movers, shakers, and beneficiaries of the technology.

More than 2,500 people are expected to attend WBF New York, including representatives of 150+ companies and 200+ speakers; experts are from various areas, such as blockchain finance, cryptocurrency, token economics, and consensus, Ethereum apps, the EOS ecosystem, the future of crypto, and AI trading.

Confirmed speakers include Celsius Network Founder & CEO Alex Mashinsky (a pioneer of peer-to-peer decentralized borrowing & lending platform), Agentic Group Founder Rik Willard (representing a federation of more than 50 blockchain and related companies on five continents), and Everipedia Founder Mahbod Moghadam (who is putting human knowledge on the blockchain). These speakers and many more will bring their powerful insights into blockchain technology and its applications.

WBF is dedicated to bridging the Eastern and Western worlds in an interactive setting. The conference will discuss the current state and future prospects of blockchain, including trends, opportunities, challenges, regulations and their long-term implications.

WBF is expecting more than a million global impressions from coverage of WBF New York, making it the blockchain event of 2018.

Investor sharks sniff out new blood
WBF will work with television producer SharkChain during the first day of the Forum to produce a competition show onsite in which a shortlist of innovative blockchain companies will pitch their business proposals to a panel of investors.

To be named WBF · New York City Series, the event will be broadcast on mainstream media including NASDAQ, NETFLIX, HULU, WebRTC, OTT, SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS, ROKU, and APPLE TV.

“Great ideas stand up to pressure tests,” Mr Zhao said. Representatives of promising projects will pitch their ideas to experienced investors and answer probing questions while getting invaluable global media coverage and exposure.


This will be compelling viewing for anyone interested in the blockchain sector, especially new investors and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Explore opportunities to join the revolution
Popular Chinese recruitment firm liepin.com is working with WBF to host a job fair during the event to help attendees learn about and connect with opportunities for employment or professional collaboration.

Hacking the future
As part of Blockchain Week 2018 (November 8-13), tech-oriented not-for-profit IDEAS will work together with WBF to host a global blockchain hackathon immediately after the Forum on November 10-11.

IDEAS is the largest tech non-profit and boasts the widest developer community in North America with more than 200,000 members. The organization is active not only in the blockchain industry but also in data science and AI.

About the World Blockchain Forum
The World Blockchain Forum (WBF) Corporation was registered in New York in 2017 and its first WBF event took place March 26-27, 2018 in London.

From the outset WBF positioned itself as the premier event at the cutting edge of global distributed ledger technology (DLT or “blockchain”), an interconnecting platform for global blockchain stakeholders, and a place where leading authorities and innovators can listen and be heard.

As the blockchain sector’s leading event, WBF is able to invite, inform, and influence leaders in government, academia, media, and business who may still view blockchain with scepticism.

Now an established event, WBF has set out its primary objectives as follows:

●Influence the culture and direction of the blockchain industry by bringing all stakeholders together within a single trusted DLT-enabled ecosystem
●Become the premier venue for investors to find new blockchain projects
●Become investors’ most trusted guide on worthy new projects
●Become a reliable source of news on the blockchain industry and projects
●Become the biggest stage for the launch of new blockchain projects
●Offer ICO services to new blockchain projects
●Offer investment services for blockchain investors
●Offer a meeting place for developers, experts, advisors, professionals, service providers, and prospective employees and team members

We invite you to join the 4th World Blockchain Forum, November 8-9, 2018 in New York at the New York Hilton Midtown.

Keep an eye on our social media channels and official website, WBF.io, to get all the details and reports first.

Official Website: http://www.wbf.io

Ticket Sales: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wbf-new-york-blockchain-conference-tickets-48224210913

In this month's IRS Information Reporting Advisory Committee Public Report, they dive into the topic of collection of cryptocurrency taxes, citing research conducted by Fundstrat:

"...estimated cryptocurrency-related U.S. tax liabilities at $25 billion. That is based on approximately $92 billion of taxable gains for U.S. cryptocurrency investors, who, according to Fundstrat, comprise around 30 percent of cryptocurrency investors worldwide. Globally, the cryptocurrency market grew from about $19 billion at the start of January 2017 to more than $500 billion at the end of December 2017, according to data from CoinMarketCap"

Also in the report, their estimate that up to 50% of people could attempt to not properly report their cryptocurrency earnings, adding:

"Because transactions in virtual currencies can be difficult to trace and have an inherently pseudoanonymous aspect, some taxpayers may be tempted to hide taxable income from the IRS."

The full report can be viewed on the IRS website here.

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On Sunday's episode of ABC's "Shark Tank" we saw Dmitri Love pitch his company Bundil, a mobile app for investing in cryptocurrencies to the sharks - landing a $100K investment and a 50/50 business partnership with Kevin O'Leary, AKA "Mr. Wonderful".

The concept behind the app works by automatically investing a users spare change into the cryptocurrency market.  If you spent $9.50 somewhere, the app will automatically round up to the nearest dollar, investing $0.50 into your crypto portfolio in the app, which currently features Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin.

We spoke to Dmitri about what the experience was like, and what to expect from his company moving forward.

- What's your professional background before this, and what got you into cryptocurrency?

Good question. I'm a self taught software engineer. I studied biochemistry in college and in my third year I had a horrible knee injury playing competitive soccer.

I was on crutches for about 9 months and during that time I taught myself how to code! I ended up dropping out and going head first into software development. My uncle and business partner, is a successful futures trader so he kind of got me into the investment scene. It didn't take long to discover crypto and once I understood the underlying technology, I fell in love with the concept. 

-  What motivated you to go from a crypto trader, to developing the Bundil app and working in this space full time?

 I saw other micro-investment apps doing well and immediately saw the gap in the market. No one was applying the approach to crypto and I knew it would be a powerful tool to engage people that are less educated about crypto. During last years boom, a lot of my friends and family kept asking what the easiest way to invest was. From there I knew I was on to something. 

- Before you presented to the Sharks, how did you think they would receive it?

I predicted the outcome almost exactly besides my pitch. I knew Lori wouldn't understand it enough to invest, and I knew Mark had a competing company that would put both of them on the fence. I didn't expect Daymond to be so bearish about crypto either. Kevin, and the guest shark Matt were my main targets. Matt went out because he is an investor in Coinbase, which we use for our system. 

- Kevin O'Leary AKA Mr. Wonderful ended up investing, we covered his views on cryptocurrency before - so far all we really know is he's a fan of Ethereum, (read that article here) has he shared any of his other thoughts on the future of the space?

He thinks it's volatile currently, as he should. But I know that he is very interested in the underlying blockchain technology. Back in May he participated in that mysterious real estate ICO. Even I don't know much about that. He also has an in on the legality of crypto. He said during my pitch he is going to help me with litigation and legality regarding SEC upcoming regulations.  

- You took a deal that that gave up a lot of equity in your project, 50% - which means you must believe Kevin O'Leary has a lot to offer, now with him on board - whats your road map looking like? 

Kevin is a great partner. His track record is amazing with 50% deals. And I know if he doesn't put in his work, the business fails. So I know he will do all he can to ensure our success. Which is really cool and one of the key reasons I accepted the offer. He wants to help bring us to the top, and shares our vision on bringing crypto to the masses.


The Bundil app is available already on iOS and Android platforms, find out more on their website at https://EnjoyBundil.com

CDRX is taking on what is probably the biggest complaint when it comes to investing in cryptocurencies - you don't actually own any of the company you're investing in, you only own their token, which functions as a separate fully independent product.

CDRX is enabling the ability to trade equities and bonds as securitised tokens though "Crypto Depository Receipts" or CDRs. This now opens the $600+ global securities market to anyone experienced in trading cryptocurrencies - by making them one in the same.

So, imagine a CDR token that represents a share of Facebook stock, purchasing and owning this token comes with the legal rights to share of Facebook stock - including dividends, voting, and all other typical shareholder rights.

The advantages being shorter transaction times, lower costs, and the ability to have fractional ownership, which means if you buy 25% of a token (0.25) you now have 25% of the rights that come with holding that equity.

To facilitate the trading of these tokenized equities and bonds, CDRX is launching their own platform and exchange - which won't just hold these assets, but also offer trading of other cryptocurrencies and utility tokens - their road map has the launch of this coming in the first quarter of 2019.

They've already shared this sneak peek:

The CRDX CEO David Ward says “It has been more than a year since we first adapted American Depository Receipts to create a bridge between incumbent and developing technologies. We are gratified to see large broker/dealers also now embracing our idea. ADRs are a 90-year-old proven and trusted approach, which when combined with technologies perfect for use in financial markets, will drastically increase efficiencies for investors and issuers alike. We are at the forefront of these developments and subject to regulatory approvals, look forward to launching CDRs on household names, in selected jurisdictions, from early 2019.” Ward's previous experience includes portfolio management, and commodities trading.

The CDRX pre-sale goes live at the beginning of November, with the public sale at the end of the month.

For full information visit https://cdrx.io

Previously on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Elad L. Roisman took his position as the new SEC Commissioner just last month, and the rumor is - he's pro-cryptocurrency.  However, it's not exactly to clear to what extent.

What we do know, is when given the chance to speak on cryptocurrencies while at the Senate banking committee - he wasn't among the few who didn't grasp the topic entirely, saying.

“The SEC must examine and re-examine its rules, regulations and guidelines to ensure that they are still working as intended to accomplish the SEC’s mission. This is most recently manifested in areas such as data protection and cybersecurity, as well as the emergence of new investments and technologies such as initial coin offerings and blockchain. It is essential that the SEC approach these new challenges in a fair and transparent manner, provide clarity and certainty to the markets and investors, and enforce the laws and regulations that hold market participants accountable.”

Now in newly obtained documents outlining a meeting he took on October 9, we see he's been talking to the companies many believe are "most likely" to pull off getting approval for a Bitcoin ETF.  In that meeting there were representatives from all three - CBOE, SolidX, and VanEck.

Document outlines who was in attendance at a recent meeting with the Commissioner...

Today Coinbase and Circle announced an alliance under what they're calling the "CENTRE Consortium".  In this arrangement, Coinbase has added the first stable coin to their platform - Circle's "USD Coin" which officially launched in May of this year.

"Starting today, Coinbase customers in supported jurisdictions can buy, sell, send and receive the USD Coin stablecoin (USDC) at Coinbase.com and in the Coinbase iOS and Android apps. US customers outside New York state can buy and sell, and customers around the world can send and receive. More geographies will be available in the future." says CoinBase in a blog post.

Stable coins are intended to always be worth $1 US Dollar, and each one issued backed by $1 sitting in a bank.

The current top stable coin, Tether (USDT) is accused of not having that money in the bank to back up the USDT sitting on cryptocurrency exchanges, and last week these fears lead to a massive dumping of the token that had it trading below the $1 "stable" price.

Circle and Coinbase are encouraging other exchanges to join them in offering USD Coin, between this announcement, and the story I broke last week of Binance looking to add more stable coins to their platform - I believe we're looking at exchanges implementing a smooth transition away from Tether, just in case the worst of the rumors are true.

Now if the criticisms of Tether end up to be true, by the time we find out - it won't matter.  The more cryptocurrency is backed by stable coins that could pass an audit, the less impact bad news from Tether could have. At least I believe that's the plan we're seeing in motion now.