The Ethereum ICO: Where did all the tokens go? | OpenNode raises $1.25M to make it easier for merchants to accept bitcoin | The dark milestone in the evolution of money
Bitcoin $3,577
▲
Ethereum $94.89
▼
Crypto Mkt Cap $115B
▲
BTC Dominance 54.20%
OpenNode raises $1.25M to make it easier for merchants to accept bitcoin
Nomics raises $3m in Series A round as demand for crypto data surges
“We had an idea that Ethereum might be useful obviously, we believed it would be, and we knew bitcoin was worth money, but not for a second did anybody expect the kind of growth we saw.” — Mathias Grønnebæk, early Ethereum contributor
The Big Block
One nagging question hanging over the crypto space is whether ether, the native token of Ethereum and the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap is—or was—a security.
Bill Hinman, director of the division of corporate finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in June brought more clarity to the question, saying he did not consider ether a security in its current “decentralized” form. This, however, is not an official ruling, and the SEC itself has not said anything definitive.
Ultimately, the decision will likely to be made by a federal district court, an appellate court or even the Supreme Court. If that happens, a judge will apply the Howey test, a basic rule for deciding whether something fits the definition of a security, and other guidance to make a decision.
If legal experts do start digging into Ethereum, one of the first places they will look is the project’s crowdsale, or initial coin offering. In light of that, it makes sense to revisit the way by which the Ethereum team distributed the first 72 million ether (more than half of the 130 million ether currently in circulation) in the early days of the project.
Read More on The Block (14 Minutes)
Around The Block
OpenNode raises $1.25M to make it easier for merchants to accept bitcoin
OpenNode, a Tim Draper-backed startup, announced it raised $1.25 million on Tuesday and it’s hoping that its new platform will change the way people view bitcoin. In most corners of the market, bitcoin is viewed primarily as a store of value, rather than an everyday medium of exchange. OpenNodes is building a bitcoin payments platform with a focus on ease of use, the firm says. It’s plug-and-play offerings enable merchants to sign up with an email and immediately begin accepting bitcoin. — More
The dark milestone in the evolution of money
Mrs. Soto had endured three hours in the supermarket line when she got the second text message that left her scratching her head.
Her back ached, but she had no choice but to keep standing: she needed to buy corn flour from a government store to prepare meals for next week. Her social security pension after decades of service, about ten dollars a month, wasn’t enough to consider shopping in the more efficient parallel market. — More
Nomics raises $3m in Series A round as demand for crypto data surges — More
Coinbase to list DAI, GNT, MKR, and ZIL — More
Hedera Hashgraph opens up mainnet testing to developers — More
Bloomberg report suggests Tether has the necessary fiat collateral — More
The Block wants to understand who our readers are. Please take a few minutes to respond to our short survey. Your participation will give us a better understanding of our readers and what interests them! Please note that the survey results will be anonymized and aggregated. Please take the survey here.