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Fake ‘professors’ use phoney loans to trick victims in latest crypto scam

The scam often starts on a Facebook ad where those interested click the link and are met with a “Letter from the Professor” or “Letter from the Dean” on the company website.

Washington’s financial regulator has warned the public of an emerging crypto scam — where fraudsters pose as business “professors” to trick victims into depositing their hard-earned funds into a crypto scam or face “legal action.”

The “self-proclaimed professors” claim to be part of an “Academy,” “Business School,” or “Wealth Institute,” enticing victims with courses that can result in “exorbitant rates of return,” according to a July 16 statement by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). 

Victims typically come across the investment opportunity on a Facebook ad where they click the link and are met with a “Letter from the Professor” or “Letter from the Dean” on the company website.

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Grayscale files updated prospectus for its Bitcoin Covered Call ETF

Gary Gensler links crypto with cash in viral 2018 video — Crypto Twitter reacts

The 2018 MIT professor Gary Gensler didn’t think most ICOs triggered U.S. securities laws.

The crypto community is calling out the hypocrisy of Gary Gensler, the head of the United States securities regulator, after a 2018 video emerged of him stating that cryptocurrencies are on par with commodities or cash and are not securities.

The video came from a “Blockchain and Money” class in the Fall Semester of 2018 taught by Gensler, a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before he became chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

On the topic of initial coin offerings (ICOs), Gensler said that "three-quarters of the market are not ICOs or not what would be called securities" and named the U.S., Canadian and Taiwanese markets as the "three jurisdictions that follow something similar to the Howey Test."

"Three-quarters of the market is non-securities, it's just a commodity, cash,crypto,” Gensler then said.

While Gensler briefly acknowledged that ICOs may spark a securities debate, he concluded that “three-quarters of the market is not particularly relevant as a legal matter.”

Several members of the crypto community were stunned by Gensler’s remarks.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong commented a mere “Wow” in response to an April 26 Twitter post shared by cryptocurrency researcher “zk-SHARK.”

Erik Voorhees, the founder of crypto trading platform ShapeShift asked "When does someone get arrested for fraud?" in an April 25 Twitter post to his 658,900 followers.

Farokh Sarmad, the founder of Web3 podcast Rug Radio called Gensler “disgusting” in a tweet to his 346,200 followers, while a systems engineer, named “JD” called on the SEC Chair to provide an explanation behind the change in opinion.

Not everyone saw eye to eye though.

Related: Gary Gensler refuses to answer if ETH is a security: SEC hearing

U.S. lawyer Preston Byrne explained that professors and law enforcers work in “different capacities” and Gensler shouldn’t be held to the same views he had back then.

Another U.S. lawyer, Jonathan Schmalfeld, who specializes in blockchain technology, challenged Byrne’s opinion by stating that Gensler’s interpretation of the Howey Test shouldn’t change by virtue of his capacity. The response prompted a second explanation from Byrne:

“I mean when I talk with clients about this stuff there are three answers, what I think the law is, how I think enforcers will interpret it, and what the law ought to be. Right now he’s limited to giving only one of those answers by virtue of his position.”

Magazine: Crypto regulation — Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?

Grayscale files updated prospectus for its Bitcoin Covered Call ETF

FTX’s Bankman-Fried Is Allegedly Using Alameda Funds to Pay for Legal Defense

FTX’s Bankman-Fried Is Allegedly Using Alameda Funds to Pay for Legal DefenseAccording to two sources close to FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder, gave his father, Stanford Law professor Joseph Bankman, millions of dollars. The funds are reportedly being used to pay for legal costs. The sources said that Bankman-Fried allegedly gave “at least $10 million” from the now-defunct quantitative trading firm Alameda Research to his […]

Grayscale files updated prospectus for its Bitcoin Covered Call ETF

Ex-Stanford dean says SBF’s parents helped his family battle cancer

One of the previously undisclosed guarantors of Sam Bankman-Fried’s bond told Cointelegraph why he helped out the former FTX CEO.

A former dean of Stanford Law School who co-signed Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail said he did so because SBF’s parents have been “the truest of friends” and helped his family through a “harrowing battle with cancer.”

In an emailed statement to Cointelegraph on Feb. 16, Larry Kramer said he co-signed Bankman-Fried’s bail as a way to return the favor.

“Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried have been close friends of my wife and I since the mid-1990s,” said Kramer.

Screenshot of Larry Kramer bio on Hewlett Foundation website. Source: Hewlett Foundation

He said that over the past two years, Bankman and Fried provided food and moral support while “frequently stepping in at moment’s notice to help” during his family’s battle with cancer.

“In turn, we have sought to support them as they face their own crisis,” he added.

Kramer emphasized that he had not been influenced to act as guarantor by any payments made to him by any FTX-related entity, writing:

“My actions are in my personal capacity, and I have no business dealings or interest in this matter other than to help our loyal and steadfast friends.”

Previous statements by Bankman-Fried reportedly corroborate this claim, with the former FTX CEO said to have denied that either of the two previously undisclosed guarantors had received any payments from FTX or sister-firm Alameda Research.

Kramer refrained from commenting on the legal predicament faced by Bankman-Fried, noting that this “is what the trial will be for.”

The other guarantor is Andreas Paepcke, a senior research scientist at Stanford University. He did not respond to questions by the time of publication.

The crypto community has been searching the web looking for more details on Paepcke, but there appears to be little information connecting him to Bankman-Fried outside of their association at Stanford University, where Bankman and Fried used to be law professors.

United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan had allowed the identities of the two former law professors to be made public on Feb. 15, after being petitioned by eight major media outlets in a Jan. 12 letter.

Related: Charity tied to former FTX exec made $150M from insider deal on FTT tokens: Report

Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had sought to keep the two anonymous, arguing that the pair could be subject to intrusions, threats and harassment if their names were made public.

Kaplan disagreed, however, noting that the pair had voluntarily signed individual bonds in a “highly publicized criminal proceeding,” and had therefore opened themselves up to public scrutiny.

Grayscale files updated prospectus for its Bitcoin Covered Call ETF

Religious Ban on Cryptocurrencies Provokes Social Media Reproach in Ingushetia

Religious Ban on Cryptocurrencies Provokes Social Media Reproach in IngushetiaA decision by a prominent religious body in Ingushetia to prohibit dealings with cryptocurrency has sparked controversy in the predominantly Muslim Russian republic. Critics have taken to social media to express their disagreements with the ban, pointing out that the treatment of bitcoin in Islamic jurisdictions is not one-sided. Islamic Cleric Explains Reasoning Behind Crypto […]

Grayscale files updated prospectus for its Bitcoin Covered Call ETF

NYU Professor Says Elon Musk Is Attracting Regulators to Crypto — Regulatory Action Expected in 30 Days

NYU Professor Says Elon Musk Is Attracting Regulators to Crypto — Regulatory Action Expected in 30 DaysNYU Professor Scott Galloway says that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is drawing additional scrutiny and regulators to the crypto space. He expects the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to respond to Musk’s action in the next 30 days. Furthermore, the professor expects to see a Musk coin or a Tesla coin launching soon. Elon […]

Grayscale files updated prospectus for its Bitcoin Covered Call ETF