[2018-06-12] London Stock Exchange’s Plans First Blockchain Company Listing

[Thadeous]

Crypto Mining Firm Argo Set to Become London Stock Exchange’s First Blockchain Listing

Cryptocurrency mining outfit Argo Blockchain will likely become the first blockchain company to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Business Insider reported June 11.

After launching its subscription service for mining contracts the same day, the company says it plans to hold an IPO, following a $2.5 mln funding round it completed in January of this year.

The LSE has generally remained a more traditional environment when it comes to blockchain offerings.

While Coinsilium launched the UK’s first cryptocurrency-related IPO on London's junior stock market AIM in 2015, the U.S. has stolen the spotlight more recently.  Last month, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) operator Intercontinental Exchange revealed its plans to allow clients to buy and hold Bitcoin (BTC).

Argo says it aspires to “democratize” the mining landscape for four altcoins – Bitcoin Gold, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and Zcash – by renting computing power from an eco-friendly facility located in Quebec.

“More than 90 per cent of crypto-mining is done by elites on industrial scale because it is technically very difficult to do,” Argo co-founder Jonathan Bixby told Financial Times June 9, adding:

   “It is incredibly expensive to buy, up front, the hardware you need at $5,000 a machine. We want to be the Amazon Web Services of crypto.”

Cryptocurrency mining is facing mixed reviews from regulators in jurisdictions offering power cheap enough to sustain Bitcoin-focused business models. Quebec is no exception, with authorities visibly critical of plans for Bitcoin mining businesses to set up shop and last week halting applications altogether.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-mining-firm-argo-set-to-become-london-stock-exchange-s-first-blockchain-listing

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[HappyWhiteHuman]

Bitcoin Stock Exchange Operator Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud
 
The founder and operator of two shuttered online crypto investment platforms, including bitcoin stock exchange BitFunder, has pled guilty to securities fraud and obstruction of justice.

The guilty plea was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York this week wherein 37-year-old Texan Jon Montroll aka ‘Ukyo’ admitted to deceiving investors and the SEC during the course of operating and the subsequent investigations into bitcoin exchange ‘WeExchange’ in Australia and securities investment platform BitFunder.

While WeExchange functioned as a bitcoin wallet service and an exchange platform, BitFunder operated as a crypto stock exchange enabling users to purchase and trade virtual shares of businesses in bitcoin.

As reported by CCN earlier in February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that Montroll failed to disclose a 2013 hack leading to the theft of 6,000 bitcoins from customers’ funds from WeChange. Montroll attempted to conceal the hack altogether by transferring some of his own bitcoin to hide the losses while soliciting more customers by pretending to run a successful operation, according to SEC charges filed at the time.

Montroll has also been accused of siphoning a ‘portion’ of users’ bitcoins at WeExchange to spend them on ‘personal expenses, such as travel and groceries’, according to the statement.
https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-stock-exchange-operator-pleads-guilty-to-securities-fraud/