US senators target cryptocurrency use in child abuse trade

April 26, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Thai SEC bans exchanges from handling certain token types including NFTs

June 11, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Local exchanges now have until July 11 to update their rules for listing tokens in order to be in compliance with SEC guidelines.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has approved guidelines prohibiting crypto exchanges in the country from supporting four different types of tokens in certain cases.

In a Friday announcement from the Thai SEC, the regulatory body said that Secretary-General Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol had approved crypto exchange guidelines, Notification 18/2564 on “Rules, Conditions and Procedures for Undertaking Digital Asset Business,” on Wednesday to go into effect. The new rules ban Thai exchanges from handling meme-based tokens, fan-based tokens, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and exchange-issued tokens.

Source: Thai Securities and Exchange Commission

For tokens issued by exchanges, the SEC said that any cryptocurrencies had to precisely conform to the descriptions in their respective white papers as well as any existing guidelines for digital assets. If exchanges cannot meet these conditions, the regulatory body said they would have to delist the token. According to the SEC, Thai exchanges have 30 days to update their rules for listing tokens to be in compliance with the new guidelines.

This change in policy would purportedly affect tokens including Dogecoin (DOGE), a meme-based cryptocurrency whose price has risen significantly since last year, as well as Bitkub Coin (KUB), the native token of the local crypto exchange of the same name.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a number of guidelines and statements for individual traders and crypto firms this year, sometimes with harsh backlash from the public. The regulatory body proposed a 1 million baht — roughly $32,000 — minimum annual income requirement for crypto investment in Thailand, and officials have hinted that investors should be required to attend a cryptocurrency trading training course or pass a test to prove their knowledge.

The Southeast Asian country has had a complicated relationship with crypto for years. In February, Thailand’s tourism board focused on targeting Japanese crypto holders, seemingly in an effort to revive the industry during the pandemic (many nationalities are unable to enter the country without quarantining.) However, the government has also proposed stricter Know Your Customer requirements in the country, requiring exchanges to physically scan chips embedded in Thai citizen ID cards.

Sygnia CEO criticizes Elon Musk for alleged Bitcoin pump and dump

June 11, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Price

“What we have seen with Bitcoin is price manipulation by one very powerful and influential individual," said Magda Wierzycka.

Magda Wierzycka, one of the richest women in South Africa and CEO of financial services company Sygnia, said Tesla CEO Elon Musk would likely have been investigated by authorities regarding recent allegations over his manipulation of crypto prices — if his target had been almost anything other than Bitcoin.

In an interview with Bruce Whitfield at the Money Show this week, Wierzycka said Musk’s recent social media activity on the price of Bitcoin (BTC) should have made him the subject of investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, if Bitcoin were more of a traditional company. The SEC previously accused the Tesla CEO of fraud for issuing false and misleading tweets in 2018, and was rumored to be investigating him for his pro-Dogecoin (DOGE) tweets earlier this year.

“The [Bitcoin] volatility we have seen is an unexpected function of what I would call market manipulation by Elon Musk,” said Wierzycka. “If that happens to a listed company, he would be investigated and severely sanctioned by [the] SEC.”

According to Sygnia CEO, Musk knowingly pumped up the price of Bitcoin (BTC) by writing tweets including those mentioning Tesla’s $1.5 billion BTC purchase, then “sold a big part of his exposure at the peak.” Musk’s public statements on Bitcoin as well as him reversing Tesla’s position on accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment constitutes price manipulation.

Many have criticized Musk for allegedly manipulating the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like DOGE through his Twitter posts and public appearance on Saturday Night Live — the Tesla CEO appeared as a character named “The Dogefather” and referred to the token as “a hustle.” Last week, he also mentioned the project CumRocket (CUMMIES) in a series of tweets that likely pushed the price of the token 366%, from $0.06 to $0.28.

Though many crypto traders have made gains investing in some of the projects Musk pumps, the allegations over the price manipulation of Bitcoin — with the largest market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies — are particularly concerning for some. The price of the crypto asset has fallen more than 43% since reaching an all-time high of $64,899 in April, and is $36,870 at the time of publication. However, the Bitcoin price dipped as low as $30,000 last month.

“What we have seen with Bitcoin is price manipulation by one very powerful and influential individual,” said Wierzycka.

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