Mahi Sall, Advisor, Fintech-Bank Partnerships, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
January 25th, 2023
Mahi Sall is the CEO & Founder of FinXpair, a Berlin-based strategic advisory boutique firm focu[...]
Crypto CEO Dies Holding Only Passwords That Can Unlock Millions in Customer Coins
Bloomberg | Doug Alexander | Feb 4, 2019
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Without digital keys, clients lose access to coins, funds
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Board said last week that it was seeking creditor protection
Digital-asset exchange Quadriga CX has a $200 million problem with no obvious solution -- just the latest cautionary tale in the unregulated world of cryptocurrencies.
The online startup can’t retrieve about C$190 million ($145 million) in Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether and other digital tokens held for its customers, according to court documents filed Jan. 31 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Nor can Vancouver-based Quadriga CX pay the C$70 million in cash they’re owed.
Access to Quadriga CX’s digital “wallets” -- an application that stores the keys to send and receive cryptocurrencies -- appears to have been lost with the passing of Quadriga CX Chief Executive Officer Gerald Cotten, who died Dec. 9 in India from complications of Crohn’s disease. He was 30.
Cotten was always conscious about security -- the laptop, email addresses and messaging system he used to run the 5-year-old business were encrypted, according to an affidavit from his widow, Jennifer Robertson. He took sole responsibility for the handling of funds and coins and the banking and accounting side of the business and, to avoid being hacked, moved the "majority" of digital coins into cold storage.
See: CIBC Has Frozen $28 Million of Vancouver Crypto Exchange’s Funds Since January
His security measures are understandable. Virtual currency exchanges suffered at least five major attacks last year. Japan, home to some of the world’s most active digital-asset exchanges, has also hosted two of the biggest known crypto hacks: the Mt. Gox debacle of 2014 and the theft of nearly $500 million in digital tokens from Coincheck Inc. last January.
The problem is, Robertson said she can’t find his passwords or any business records for the company. Experts brought in to try to hack into Cotten’s other computers and mobile phone met with only "limited success" and attempts to circumvent an encrypted USB key have been foiled, his widow, who lives in a suburb of Halifax, said in the court filing.
"After Gerry’s death, Quadriga’s inventory of cryptocurrency has become unavailable and some of it may be lost," Robertson said, adding that the company’s access to currency has been "severely compromised" and the firm has been unable to negotiate bank drafts provided by different payment processors.
Quadriga CX’s directors posted a notice on the firm’s website on Jan. 31 that it was asking the Nova Scotia court for creditor protection while they address “significant financial issues" affecting their ability to serve customers. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, and Ernst & Young has been chosen as a proposed monitor.
See: Crypto Bear Market Gives UK Regulators Breathing Space to Finalize Crypto Regulation
“For the past weeks, we have worked extensively to address our liquidity issues, which include attempting to locate and secure our very significant cryptocurrency reserves held in cold wallets, and that are required to satisfy customer cryptocurrency balances on deposit, as well as sourcing a financial institution to accept the bank drafts that are to be transferred to us," the firm said. “Unfortunately, these efforts have not been successful."
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Coindesk | Aoyon Ashraf | Mar 28, 2023 Canada's national government said federally regulated pension funds in the country will need to disclose their crypto assets exposure to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), as Ottawa tightens its regulatory oversight on the volatile industry. "To help protect Canadians’ retirements, Budget 2023 announces that the government will require federally regulated pension funds to disclose their crypto-asset exposures to OSFI," the government said in the new 2023 budget plan. The federal government will also work with provinces and territories to discuss crypto-asset or related activities disclosures by the country's largest pension plans, which would ensure Canadians are aware of their pension plan’s potential exposure to crypto assets, the budget plan added. The move comes after several high-profile bankruptcies such as the FTX exchange and the recent collapse of crypto-friendly U.S. lenders Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank exposed the extreme volatility investors face in the industry. See: Digital Asset Experts School Senate Banking Committee Members on Silvergate Debacle Some of the pension funds in the country have already felt the burn of investing in crypto. Last year, Quebec-based pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec said that it ...
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March 29, 2023 Forex trading involves changing one currency into another. While some people undertake this action purely for tourism reasons, others make a living out of it. There can be many benefits associated with forex trading, such as low costs, easy short-term sales, and an abundance of currency options. However, forex investment can be risky, and you might like to align yourself with a forex trading broker for some of the following reasons. You’re New to Forex Trading We all have to start somewhere in the investment world, but the complexities surrounding forex methodology and forex markets can make it easy for beginners to make costly mistakes. Many beginner forex traders entrust their money with forex brokers to make sound investment decisions on their behalf. This can be a worthwhile decision when you lack the skills to undertake trading yourself but understand the many benefits of getting involved. You Don’t Have Time Forex trading takes a considerable amount of time and effort. While the investment itself can take just a few seconds, you also have to study and analyze forex market data to ensure you’re making wise investment decisions. Hiring a forex broker can sometimes be in your best ...
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Coindesk | Sam Reynolds | Mar 29, 2023 Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) are beginning to look like general partnerships in the eyes of U.S. courts. A U.S. court in California has ruled in favor of plaintiffs who alleged that the bZx protocol, and governance token-holding members of its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), were negligent and liable for losses resulting from a hack that drained its treasury. The putative class action against bZx, its founders, software developers Leveragebox LLC and Hashed Labs LLC was initiated in July 2022. Drained wallets: The case stems from the $55 million hack of decentralized finance (DeFi) lender bZx in 2021, which resulted because a developer downloaded an email attachment containing malware. Not only did the attacker drain the wallet of the BZRX token, but other digital assets like ether. This is on top of other hacks the protocol suffered in 2020, one of which was for $8 million, while two others that occurred were for $630,000 and $350,000. See: Sushi DAO Head Chef Served With SEC Subpoena While the court dismissed some of the claims, such as claims that founders Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner are personally liable for breaching fiduciary duty, the fact that ...
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Guest Post | March 28, 2023 Introduction Since the 1970s, global finance has seen significant changes that have impacted millions of people. The development of mobile phones and other technologies has enabled new ways to make and manage payments, invest money, and take out loans. But not everyone has been able to benefit from these technological advances. In particular, marginalized communities often lack access to financial services that can help improve their lives. The importance of financial systems The importance of financial systems is often overlooked in the development community. While there have been many innovations in technology and business models, we've failed to keep up with the rapid pace of change in the financial sector. As a result, millions of people still lack access to essential banking products and services, and even more so if you look at those living on less than $2 per day. What's most alarming is that this trend isn't new: it has been going on for decades. In fact, according to data from the World Bank Group's Global Financial Development Database (GDFD), only 1% of all adults worldwide had access to formal savings accounts as recently as 1990 - a number which rose by ...
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Team FFCON23 | March 27, 2023 Want to get insider access to some of the most innovative advances happening in #fintech. Grab an OPEN ACCESS ticket and enjoy a live virtual event at #FFCON23 with access to all on-demand content! On behalf of NCFA and our valued partners we look forward to seeing you there. More information can be found: https://fintechandfunding.com/ The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org ...
Read More
The Verge | Andrew Webster | March 23, 2023 Epic’s CEO, alongside executive VP Saxs Persson, talks about the future of virtual worlds and what needs to happen for the metaverse to really come to fruition. Epic’s outspoken CEO, Tim Sweeney, took some time to talk about one of his favorite topics, the metaverse, which is something the company is putting a lot of money into. Right after the event, I had the chance to sit down with Sweeney, as well as Epic’s executive VP Saxs Persson, to talk about just what the heck a metaverse is and how it might work in practice. See: What CEOs Should Know About the Metaverse Can you give me a clear definition of what the metaverse is? Tim Sweeney: It’s just an online social entertainment experience in a real-time 3D setting. You and your friends, going around having fun together, in a 3D world. What’s happening here is somewhat a phenomenon of scale. We now have enough people with access to powerful devices so that you can actually go out and do this with all of your friends. It’s no longer something for elite computer nerds. That makes you convinced that this is ...
Read More
CNBC | Hannah Ward-Glenton | Mar 27, 2023 The banking crisis today looks very different from 15 years ago thanks to social media, online banking, and huge shifts in regulation. So how is it different? Social media not only allows rumors to spread more easily, but also much faster. "What social media has done is increase the importance of reputation, perhaps exponentially, and that's part of this problem I think," Donavan added. Social media gives "more scope for damaging rumours to spread" compared to 2008, Jon Danielsson, director of the Systemic Risk Centre at the London School of Economics, told CNBC in an email. "The increased use of the Internet and social media, digital banking and the like, all work to make the financial system more fragile than it otherwise would be," Danielsson said. "There are a couple of tweets and then this thing [the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank] went down much faster than has happened in history," Fraser added. While information can spread within seconds, money can now be withdrawn just as quickly. Mobile banking has changed the fundamental behavior of bank users, as well as the optics of a financial collapse. See: Digital Asset Experts School Senate ...
Read More
Cato Institute | Jennifer J. Schulp | Feb 17, 2023 What little financial privacy you have when trading stocks is about to get even smaller next month. When you make a stock trade, your broker already is required by the Bank Secrecy Act to maintain records of it, monitor your trading activity, and report any suspicion of illegal activity to the federal government. Starting in March, your broker will be required to directly report all of your trades, including your personal information, to a massive government database. If the Bank Secrecy Act concerns you—and even if it doesn’t—just wait until you hear about the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). The Consolidated Audit Trail is intended to collect and accurately identify every order, cancellation, modification, and trade execution for all exchange‐listed equities and options across all U.S. markets, allowing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to track orders and identify who made them. See: Office of the Privacy Commissioner Announces Digital ID Ecosystem Resolution to Ensure Transparency and Privacy This massive surveillance database is a financial privacy nightmare: The CAT began collecting trading data in 2020, after years of development replete with challenges and controversies. It is scheduled to begin collecting customer information on March ...
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Coindesk | Nikhilesh De | Mar 22, 2023 The regulator alleged TRX and BTT are unregistered securities, and claimed Sun created an "extensive wash trading" program to boost their trading volume. The SEC said in a press release it was suing Sun, the Tron Foundation, the BitTorrent Foundation and BitTorrent (now known as Rainberry) over the sale of tronix (TRX) and bitTorrent (BTT) tokens, which the regulator described as unregistered crypto asset securities. The regulator further alleged the defendants "fraudulently manipulat[ed]" TRX's secondary market through an "extensive wash trading" scheme. See: SEC Warns Investors: Be Vigilant Regarding Crypto Asset Securities The SEC alleged, by having his own employees "engage in more than 600,000 wash trades of TRX between two crypto asset trading platform accounts he controlled." According to the court filing, Sun's Tron Foundation employees conducted the trades, the BitTorrent and Tron foundations controlled the accounts and Rainberry employees transferred funds for the trading. Celebrity influencers: The agency is also suing Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo, Akon and Michele Mason on illegal touting charges for their roles allegedly promoting TRX and BTT without disclosing they were paid to do so. The majority of these celebrities settled the ...
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Coindesk | Aoyon Ashraf | Mar 28, 2023 Canada's national government said federally regulated pension funds in the country will need to disclose their crypto assets exposure to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), as Ottawa tightens its regulatory oversight on the volatile industry. "To help protect Canadians’ retirements, Budget 2023 announces that the government will require federally regulated pension funds to disclose their crypto-asset exposures to OSFI," the government said in the new 2023 budget plan. The federal government will also work with provinces and territories to discuss crypto-asset or related activities disclosures by the country's largest pension plans, which would ensure Canadians are aware of their pension plan’s potential exposure to crypto assets, the budget plan added. The move comes after several high-profile bankruptcies such as the FTX exchange and the recent collapse of crypto-friendly U.S. lenders Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank exposed the extreme volatility investors face in the industry. See: Digital Asset Experts School Senate Banking Committee Members on Silvergate Debacle Some of the pension funds in the country have already felt the burn of investing in crypto. Last year, Quebec-based pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec said that it ...
Read More
Read More
March 29, 2023 Blockchain technology has been around for over a decade now and has the potential to revolutionize a wide variety of industries. However, using blockchain technology in the gaming industry is a relatively new concept for many people. Blockchain games use blockchain technology in their design and development, making them unique and potentially more valuable than traditional games. Top-notch blockchain technology gives gamers a whole new experience with some amazing features. So, if you’re looking for a profitable investment option, take a look at these ten reasons why you should definitely invest in blockchain games. 1. Ownership and Asset Monetization One of the most significant advantages of blockchain games is that they allow players to own and monetize their in-game assets. In traditional games, players invest time and money to acquire in-game assets but have no ownership over them. With blockchain games, players can own their in-game assets, which are recorded on the blockchain and become the player's property. This means players can sell, trade, or even rent out their in-game assets for profit, just like real-life properties. 2. Secured Environment Another reason to invest money in some of the best blockchain games is that they provide the ...
Read More
Read More
March 29, 2023 Forex trading involves changing one currency into another. While some people undertake this action purely for tourism reasons, others make a living out of it. There can be many benefits associated with forex trading, such as low costs, easy short-term sales, and an abundance of currency options. However, forex investment can be risky, and you might like to align yourself with a forex trading broker for some of the following reasons. You’re New to Forex Trading We all have to start somewhere in the investment world, but the complexities surrounding forex methodology and forex markets can make it easy for beginners to make costly mistakes. Many beginner forex traders entrust their money with forex brokers to make sound investment decisions on their behalf. This can be a worthwhile decision when you lack the skills to undertake trading yourself but understand the many benefits of getting involved. You Don’t Have Time Forex trading takes a considerable amount of time and effort. While the investment itself can take just a few seconds, you also have to study and analyze forex market data to ensure you’re making wise investment decisions. Hiring a forex broker can sometimes be in your best ...
Read More
Read More
Coindesk | Sam Reynolds | Mar 29, 2023 Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) are beginning to look like general partnerships in the eyes of U.S. courts. A U.S. court in California has ruled in favor of plaintiffs who alleged that the bZx protocol, and governance token-holding members of its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), were negligent and liable for losses resulting from a hack that drained its treasury. The putative class action against bZx, its founders, software developers Leveragebox LLC and Hashed Labs LLC was initiated in July 2022. Drained wallets: The case stems from the $55 million hack of decentralized finance (DeFi) lender bZx in 2021, which resulted because a developer downloaded an email attachment containing malware. Not only did the attacker drain the wallet of the BZRX token, but other digital assets like ether. This is on top of other hacks the protocol suffered in 2020, one of which was for $8 million, while two others that occurred were for $630,000 and $350,000. See: Sushi DAO Head Chef Served With SEC Subpoena While the court dismissed some of the claims, such as claims that founders Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner are personally liable for breaching fiduciary duty, the fact that ...
Read More
Read More
Guest Post | March 28, 2023 Introduction Since the 1970s, global finance has seen significant changes that have impacted millions of people. The development of mobile phones and other technologies has enabled new ways to make and manage payments, invest money, and take out loans. But not everyone has been able to benefit from these technological advances. In particular, marginalized communities often lack access to financial services that can help improve their lives. The importance of financial systems The importance of financial systems is often overlooked in the development community. While there have been many innovations in technology and business models, we've failed to keep up with the rapid pace of change in the financial sector. As a result, millions of people still lack access to essential banking products and services, and even more so if you look at those living on less than $2 per day. What's most alarming is that this trend isn't new: it has been going on for decades. In fact, according to data from the World Bank Group's Global Financial Development Database (GDFD), only 1% of all adults worldwide had access to formal savings accounts as recently as 1990 - a number which rose by ...
Read More
Read More
Team FFCON23 | March 27, 2023 Want to get insider access to some of the most innovative advances happening in #fintech. Grab an OPEN ACCESS ticket and enjoy a live virtual event at #FFCON23 with access to all on-demand content! On behalf of NCFA and our valued partners we look forward to seeing you there. More information can be found: https://fintechandfunding.com/ The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org ...
Read More
Read More
The Verge | Andrew Webster | March 23, 2023 Epic’s CEO, alongside executive VP Saxs Persson, talks about the future of virtual worlds and what needs to happen for the metaverse to really come to fruition. Epic’s outspoken CEO, Tim Sweeney, took some time to talk about one of his favorite topics, the metaverse, which is something the company is putting a lot of money into. Right after the event, I had the chance to sit down with Sweeney, as well as Epic’s executive VP Saxs Persson, to talk about just what the heck a metaverse is and how it might work in practice. See: What CEOs Should Know About the Metaverse Can you give me a clear definition of what the metaverse is? Tim Sweeney: It’s just an online social entertainment experience in a real-time 3D setting. You and your friends, going around having fun together, in a 3D world. What’s happening here is somewhat a phenomenon of scale. We now have enough people with access to powerful devices so that you can actually go out and do this with all of your friends. It’s no longer something for elite computer nerds. That makes you convinced that this is ...
Read More
Read More
CNBC | Hannah Ward-Glenton | Mar 27, 2023 The banking crisis today looks very different from 15 years ago thanks to social media, online banking, and huge shifts in regulation. So how is it different? Social media not only allows rumors to spread more easily, but also much faster. "What social media has done is increase the importance of reputation, perhaps exponentially, and that's part of this problem I think," Donavan added. Social media gives "more scope for damaging rumours to spread" compared to 2008, Jon Danielsson, director of the Systemic Risk Centre at the London School of Economics, told CNBC in an email. "The increased use of the Internet and social media, digital banking and the like, all work to make the financial system more fragile than it otherwise would be," Danielsson said. "There are a couple of tweets and then this thing [the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank] went down much faster than has happened in history," Fraser added. While information can spread within seconds, money can now be withdrawn just as quickly. Mobile banking has changed the fundamental behavior of bank users, as well as the optics of a financial collapse. See: Digital Asset Experts School Senate ...
Read More
Read More
Cato Institute | Jennifer J. Schulp | Feb 17, 2023 What little financial privacy you have when trading stocks is about to get even smaller next month. When you make a stock trade, your broker already is required by the Bank Secrecy Act to maintain records of it, monitor your trading activity, and report any suspicion of illegal activity to the federal government. Starting in March, your broker will be required to directly report all of your trades, including your personal information, to a massive government database. If the Bank Secrecy Act concerns you—and even if it doesn’t—just wait until you hear about the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). The Consolidated Audit Trail is intended to collect and accurately identify every order, cancellation, modification, and trade execution for all exchange‐listed equities and options across all U.S. markets, allowing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to track orders and identify who made them. See: Office of the Privacy Commissioner Announces Digital ID Ecosystem Resolution to Ensure Transparency and Privacy This massive surveillance database is a financial privacy nightmare: The CAT began collecting trading data in 2020, after years of development replete with challenges and controversies. It is scheduled to begin collecting customer information on March ...
Read More
Read More
Coindesk | Nikhilesh De | Mar 22, 2023 The regulator alleged TRX and BTT are unregistered securities, and claimed Sun created an "extensive wash trading" program to boost their trading volume. The SEC said in a press release it was suing Sun, the Tron Foundation, the BitTorrent Foundation and BitTorrent (now known as Rainberry) over the sale of tronix (TRX) and bitTorrent (BTT) tokens, which the regulator described as unregistered crypto asset securities. The regulator further alleged the defendants "fraudulently manipulat[ed]" TRX's secondary market through an "extensive wash trading" scheme. See: SEC Warns Investors: Be Vigilant Regarding Crypto Asset Securities The SEC alleged, by having his own employees "engage in more than 600,000 wash trades of TRX between two crypto asset trading platform accounts he controlled." According to the court filing, Sun's Tron Foundation employees conducted the trades, the BitTorrent and Tron foundations controlled the accounts and Rainberry employees transferred funds for the trading. Celebrity influencers: The agency is also suing Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo, Akon and Michele Mason on illegal touting charges for their roles allegedly promoting TRX and BTT without disclosing they were paid to do so. The majority of these celebrities settled the ...
Read More
Read More
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