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SK Telecom to Accelerate Popularization of Quantum Cryptography for IoT Security – IoT Business News (press release) (blog)

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Successfully develops quantum random number generator (QRNG) chip prototype that is smaller than the size of a fingernail. Expects the price of per QRNG chipset to be the worlds lowest level, which will propel the adoption of quantum cryptography in areas of IoT, AI and autonomous driving.

A QRNG generates true random numbers without any kind of pattern, meaning that it is ideal for use in cryptography. However, so far, the cost and size of QRNGs currently on market have prevented them from becoming widespread.

With the successful development of an ultra-small QRNG chip measuring 5mm by 5mm, SK Telecom expects that it will soon be able to embed QRNG to a wide variety of the Internet of Things (IoT) products, including autonomous vehicles, drones and smart devices, to dramatically enhance the level of security for IoT services. Although the price of each QRNG chip has not been set yet, the company said that it will be the lowest price ever for a QRNG.

Meanwhile, SK Telecom is also developing a QRNG in the form of USB and PCIe. While the QRNG chip has to be embedded from the beginning of the product development, QRNG in the form of USB or PCIe can be simply connected to any product already on market to provide genuine randomness.

Park Jin-hyo, Senior Vice President and Head of Network R&D Center of SK Telecom, said:

Understanding the importance of data and data security, SK Telecom has focused on developing quantum cryptography technologies to guarantee secure transmission of data in areas including artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and autonomous driving. We will continue to work with partners, both home and abroad, to accelerate the popularization of quantum cryptography and strengthen our presence in the global market.

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SK Telecom to Accelerate Popularization of Quantum Cryptography for IoT Security - IoT Business News (press release) (blog)

Allegro Software Expands FIPS 140-2 Support For IoT Applications Needing Validated Cryptography in Military … – Benzinga

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Today, Allegro Software announced it has earned FIPS 140-2 level 1 validation on four additional platforms with the Allegro Cryptography Engine, ACE from the U.S. government's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

BOXBOROUGH, MA (PRWEB) August 01, 2017

Allegro Software, a leading supplier of Internet component software for the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced it has earned FIPS 140-2 level 1 validation on four additional platforms with the Allegro Cryptography Engine (ACE) from the U.S. government's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This marks the culmination of Allegro's largest validation effort to date with the U.S. government. Specifically engineered for the rigors of resource constrained IoT computing environments, ACE enables manufacturers to leverage standards-based cryptography in IoT environments with ease. ACE is ideally suited for use in embedded systems and IoT applications in the military, energy, medical and communications industries.

ACE AND FIPS 140-2 VALIDATION

Since the passage of the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Federal agencies and contractors have a mandate to maintain greater control over data and information systems as a whole. U.S. Federal agencies that use cryptographic-based systems to protect sensitive information in military, medical, telecommunications, IoT applications and other IT-related products must use FIPS 140-2 validated modules to meet these security requirements. FIPS 140-2 validation is also required by national agencies in Canada and is recognized in Europe and Australia.

ACE is one of the smallest, fastest, and most comprehensive FIPS 140-2 validated software modules on the market for IoT applications. Specifically engineered for the critical cryptographic computing needs of IoT applications, ACE is easily used, highly portable, and uniquely configurable to operate in the toughest resource sensitive environments. With a rich software API, IoT developers can easily perform bulk encryption and decryption, message digests, digital signature creation and validation, along with key generation and exchange. ACE also includes a platform independent implementation of NSA defined Suite B cryptographic algorithms as well as other FIPS approved algorithms. The FIPS approved algorithms are listed on the NIST CAVP sites along with the final validation designation on the NIST CVMP site.

To further aid developers implementing IoT security, ACE is pre-integrated with the full suite of Allegro AE IoT connectivity and security toolkits including RomSTL (TLS 1.2), RomCert (SCEP and OCSP), RomSShell AE (SSH), RomPager AE (web server) and RomWebClient AE (web client).

IoT SECURITY AND HARDWARE CRYPTOGRAPHIC ACCELERATION

IoT applications are engineered from the ground up for resource sensitive execution environments. Typically, the primary driving factor in these applications aims to deliver the highest value IoT product at the lowest cost. Unfortunately, implementing cryptographic security protocols in any environment is resource intensive in CPU, RAM and ROM which IoT devices often find difficult to support. To help address these needs, silicon manufacturers augment their chipsets with specifically engineered cryptographic engines to off-load resource intensive cryptographic calculations. Two of Allegro's most recent FIPS 140-2 validated ACE modules have the flexibility to utilize on-board cryptographic acceleration when available. This greatly increases throughput while reducing the demand for CPU, RAM and ROM. These validations have been configured to support the on-board cryptographic acceleration from Intel (AES-NI) in addition to hardware based entropy to meet the latest NIST Implementation Guidance for FIPS modules.

"The need is critical for advanced security in IoT devices," says Bob Van Andel, President of Allegro. "With the culmination of Allegro's latest validations, IoT developers have access to the most essential component of seven key elements needed for proactive IoT security highly portable, reliable, FIPS 140-2 validated cryptography." ACE is delivered as an ANSI-C source code toolkit and is available now. To learn more about the "7 Key Elements for Proactive IoT Security" visit our website: https://www.allegrosoft.com/secure-iot. For additional information on Allegro Software and the full suite of Allegro AE IoT connectivity and security toolkits, visit our website: https://www.allegrosoft.com/iot-device-cybersecurity .

ABOUT ALLEGRO

Allegro Software Development Corporation is a premier provider of embedded Internet software components with an emphasis on industry-leading device management, embedded device security, UPnP-DLNA networking, and the Internet of Things. Since 1996, Allegro has been on the forefront of leading the evolution of secure device management solutions with its RomPager embedded web server and security toolkits. Also an active contributor to UPnP and DLNA initiatives, Allegro supplies a range of UPnP and DLNA toolkits that offer portability, easy integration, and full compliance with UPnP and DLNA specifications. Allegro is headquartered in Boxborough, MA.

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Allegro Software Expands FIPS 140-2 Support For IoT Applications Needing Validated Cryptography in Military ... - Benzinga

In Other API Economy News: Apple Brings Native Cryptography to the Web Browser and More – ProgrammableWeb

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We start your week off with a review of the stories we couldnt cover with a look at what what going on in the world of APIs. Leading off on the security front, Apple recently dedicated a blog post to their implementation of the WebCrypto APITrack this API in an effort to bring cryptography native to the web browser. The API is included in Webkit, the web browser engine that powers Safari, and is used for various information security tasks such as data confidentiality, data integrity, authentication and more. There are a number of third party JavaScript cryptography libraries available but Apples claim is that by being built on native APIs, that WebCrypto is more secure and outperforms the available libraries. The blog post goes over a number of tests to back up the assertion that WebCypto should be the standard that developers use for implementing secure interfaces on the Web.

Fresh off this months Net Neutrality Day of Action comes an interesting SDK that looks to do its part to preserve net neutrality. AnchorFree, a provider of a freemium based virtual private network (VPN) has announced an SDK that claims to protect apps so internet service providers cant throttle traffic. The FCC does not currently support net neutrality which is the principle that Internet service providers should enable equal access to content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites. The SDK lets companies send their traffic through AnchorFrees servers via their Hotspot Shield VPN product, thus blocking ISPs from tracking user data or censoring or throttling traffic.

Lastly, Atlassian announced the Commit API that lets developers integrate Bitbucket Cloud into external services and retrieve information that is normally accessible in the command line or commit. Features of the API include:

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In Other API Economy News: Apple Brings Native Cryptography to the Web Browser and More - ProgrammableWeb

Julian Assange Trolls Hillary Clinton With Twitter Trend

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Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange is making hey on Twitter with the hashtag #BetterNamesForHillarysBook, posting tweet after tweet of book title puns which make fun of the former Secretary of State and her forthcoming book.

Also Read: Hillary Clinton to Release Book About Her Election Loss: 'What Happened'

The hashtag started trending on Twitter after news broke Thursday that Clinton is releasing a new book in September titled, What Happened, which will detail what happened during the 2016 presidential that caused her to lose to Donald Trump.

In the past, for reasons I try to explain, Ive often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net, Clinton writes in the introduction, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. Now Im letting my guard down.

Also Read: That Time Trump Vowed to Be Better on LGBT Rights Than Hillary Clinton (1 Year Ago)

Assange has let his guard down, too, gleaning from events during the campaign to snidely point out reasons why she lost. The Girl With The Goldman Sachs Tattoo harkens to Clintons Wall Street ties. I Dont Recall evokes her Senate hearing concerning her emails oh, and theres this one: Emails, she-mails. Yeah, Assange isnt holding back.

Also Read: James Comey Already Has Potential Job Offer... at WikiLeaks

The snark doesnt stop there. See below for a roundup of Assanges #BetterNamesForHillarysBook posts.

Over the years, Republicans particularly Donald Trump supporters have done a 180 (or a full 360) in their remarks about WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. When he leaked on Hillary Clintons campaign in 2016, some Republicans said he was doing America a great service. But now the Trump administration is poised to attempt to convict Assange and WikiLeaks for their leaking activities. Here are fivetimes Trump and his supporters have flipped on the matter.

In 2010, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said this about Assange: He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands. His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban. Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders?

In 2016, though, Palin changed her tune. She posted an apology to Assange on Facebook. I apologize for condemning Assange when he published my infamous (and proven noncontroversial, relatively boring) emails years ago, she wrote.

Way back when, Fox News host Sean Hannity said what Assange was doing was waging his war on America and called for his arrest. He also said WikiLeaks stealing and publishing classified documents put lives at risk, as Media Matters reported.

When Assange started leaking emails from the Clinton campaign, though, Hannity became very friendly. He even brought the WikiLeaks founder onto his show for an interview, saying America owes you a debt of gratitude.

Back in 2010, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said Assange was a terrorist. Information warfare is warfare. Julian Assange is engaged in warfare. Information terrorism, which leads to people getting killed is terrorism. And Julian Assange is engaged in terrorism.

Once WikiLeaks turned its attention to Clinton, though, Huckabee was ready to discuss Hillary Clintons criminal enterprise, as he called it, on Hannity. He didnt, however, have anything to say about where the leaks came from or whether the leakers should be brought up on treason charges.

Trump had strong words for Wikileaks in 2010. As CNN reported, in an interview with radio host Brian Kilmeade, Trump said of Wikileaks, I think it's disgraceful, I think there should be like death penalty or something.

During the campaign, though, Trumps support for WikiLeaks was hard to miss. He tweeted over and over again about things WikiLeaks documents about the Clinton campaign, and said at one campaign rally in October, WikiLeaks has provided things that are unbelievable.

While Trump repeatedly tweeted about documents released by WikiLeaks aimed at damaging Clinton, he also tweeted it was the dishonest media that claimed he was in agreement with WikiLeaks.

Republicans were fans of WikiLeaks during the election, but now the U.S. is looking to charge members of the organization

Over the years, Republicans particularly Donald Trump supporters have done a 180 (or a full 360) in their remarks about WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. When he leaked on Hillary Clintons campaign in 2016, some Republicans said he was doing America a great service. But now the Trump administration is poised to attempt to convict Assange and WikiLeaks for their leaking activities. Here are fivetimes Trump and his supporters have flipped on the matter.

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Julian Assange Trolls Hillary Clinton With Twitter Trend

Risk: Julian Assange film by Laura Poitras blurs the line between … – The Conversation UK

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Laura Poitrass new documentary, Risk, has all the conspiracy and paranoia you could wish for much of it behind the camera as well as on screen. The latest film from this Oscar-winning filmmaker, billed as a personal and intimate character study of Julian Assange, is arguably more notable for the inside story of its making than it is for any unmasking of the founder of WikiLeaks.

Poitras first unveiled Risk at Cannes in 2016 and critics once again admired as they had with her Oscar-winning study of Edward Snowden, Citizenfour her repeated ability to use the camera as a guerrilla weapon in the war against secretive state culture.

Poitrass surveillance aesthetic is clearly marked in the movie. She lets images of rainy streets linger in the mind; a walk in the woods is suddenly filled with tension; Assange and his mother in a hotel room is littered with paranoid thriller references. All these images are accompanied by inter-titles: WikiLeaks release of classified documents, watchlists, Poitrass apartment being broken into and more that are both menacing in their suggestiveness and opaque at the same time.

But the real significance of Risk is not whats on screen. To the extent that we know Assange at all, revelations appear to be in short supply and little is new or shocking. What is revelatory is how this films exposure of surveillance culture is increasingly tangled up in the agendas of its filmmaker and subject with puzzles and perplexity that can risk clouding viewers judgement that threaten to obscure one of the most important issues of our time: state surveillance of the citizenry on a grand scale.

Two fundamental problems gnaw away at Poitrass expos. One is that the film she showed at the Cannes film festival in 2016 is not the Risk released in the US and UK this spring and summer. Among other things, Poitras recut the film inserting a voiceover that reportedly virtually rewrites her impressions of Assange and is far more critical than the original.

Poitras periodically filmed Assange between 2011 and 2013. She then diverted her attention towards Snowden and made Citizenfour, only returning to Assange in 2015 and finding his manner was new to me. Risk duly records her doubts about the relationship: Its a mystery why he trusts me because I dont think he likes me, she says at one point in the film and its true that Assange had been unhappy with the Cannes version of Risk, despite it being reputedly sympathetic towards him.

Poitras took the film away regardless and layered this new version with more self-absorbed meanderings from Assange and an enhanced focus on the accusations of sexual assault in Sweden that trailed him to London in 2010. A particularly excoriating scene with Helena Kennedy sees the high-profile barrister attempting to mould Assanges public language about the accusations while he keeps insisting it is all part of his accusers ongoing lesbian conspiracy. Whats their lesbian nightclub got to do with the price of fish? Kennedy asks him in arguably the films priceless moment.

The films second problem is that it inhabits the same territory as Alex Gibneys much-praised We Steal Secrets documentary from 2013. Given that so much in Assanges world is built upon shifting sands, its easy to forget Gibneys earlier movie which unlike Risk was dogged by the directors inability to pin Assange down to an interview. But the critical immediacy of We Steal Secrets is fleshed out by commentary from some of WikiLeaks key former personnel, including James Ball and Daniel Domscheit-Berg, who Poitras neglects in Risk.

Instead she relies on access to Assanges right-hand spokesperson Sarah Harrison and his lawyer Jennifer Robinson and, most controversially, WikiLeaks tech consultant Jacob Appelbaum. Controversial because Appelbaum is someone Poitras admitted to having had an intimate relationship with. Risks voiceover confesses that they were involved briefly in 2014 which resulted in some questioning Poitrass recollection of the time frame, let alone her objectivity.

Only adding to the subtextual complexities, Appelbaum was then the subject of sexual assault allegations himself in 2016, including by someone Poitras claimed was a friend and Risk feels obliged to dwell upon these contentions. As a result, Poitras loses much of the films main thrust when she indulges in the personal and starts citing Appelbaums questions to her about loyalty and betrayal loyalty to whom and for what, were never told.

If Risks web of entanglement seems suspicious, it results from such total immersion into Assanges world that the film stands accused of not knowing where Poitras impressions of the WikiLeaks organisation should stop and the verifiable details of their actions must take over. Has Poitras been duped into believing the myths surrounding Assange or is she complicit in reassembling those myths for the film? Here is someone who is no longer chronicler but an active participant in the surveillance war. In the last two films, I have become more of a protagonist, she claimed recently, adding that: It is very uncomfortable.

Risk is an intriguing yet frustrating documentary. Poitras tempts us with a gripping finale: Assanges part in Donald Trumps dramatic US presidential election win. But the conclusion seems more fascinated with Poitrass and Assanges falling out over the first version of Risk than it is in WikiLeaks part in Russian collusion with Trump. The films somewhat illusory climax therefore asks considerable questions of the intent of both filmmaker and film.

In this golden age of documentary, Steve Rose recently observed that: Filmmakers start to outnumber potential subjects and the investigative credentials of factual films are surely tested as a result. Poitras, Assange and Risk certainly testify to the age of alternative facts and fake news. But answers to the big questions about surveillance politics only get more difficult when the distinctions between message and messenger become this blurred.

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Risk: Julian Assange film by Laura Poitras blurs the line between ... - The Conversation UK

Bitcoin Slide Looks Limited Even After Cryptocurrency Splits – Bloomberg

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Bitcoin might be dividing into two separate blockchains, but its downward slide has so far been contained, signaling confidence the biggest cryptocurrency will come out of the split unscathed.

The debate over how to scale bitcoin came to a head Tuesday as some cryptocurrency miners started using software called Bitcoin Cash and splitting a new blockchain off the old one.Blockchain is the technology used for verifying and recording digital currency transactions.

Bitcoins price should reflect the split by discounting the new coin, according to Charles Hayter, who runs the cryptocurrency data platform CryptoCompare. He likened it to a stock trading ex dividend -- when the buyer isnt entitled to collect a dividend on the shares.

After four days of gains, bitcoin was down $157,or 5.4 percent, to $2,729 at 11:05 a.m. in New York. Earlier in the day, the cryptocurrency fell as much as 8.4 percent,its biggest decline since July 25. Bitcoin cash futures rose 19 percent to $331, according to CoinMarketCap.com.

The price of bitcoin has risen ahead of the split on the expectation that youll get that extra cash from bitcoin cash, so it should drop after the split, Hayter said. This has happened before in other blockchains. Its a trading event where theres number of hoops you have to jump though and people are trying to make a profit.

Bitcoin Cash started gaining traction in the past week, just as miners fended off another split by rallying behind the scaling mechanism known as SegWit2X. Bitcoin Cash wants to increase the block size -- the files in which transactions are recorded -- while SegWit2X would transfer some of the operating power outside of the main blockchain. In other words, Bitcoin Cash would be one lane with bigger cars, while SegWit2X would be two lanes with smaller cars.

The great majority of miners and developers support bitcoin, while ViaBTC, which has almost 6 percent of bitcoin processing power, is the mining pool backing bitcoin cash.

Read More: Bitcoin Moves a Step Closer to Acceptance

Theres a role for both of these coins, said Cathie Wood, the New York-based chief investment officer at ARK Investment Management, which oversees the first exchange-traded fund with indirect exposure to bitcoin. One is much more natural for store of value and the other one for a means of exchange.

Some are less bullish. Ryan Taylor, chief executive officer of Dash Core, the sixth-biggest cryptocurrency, sees little chance that bitcoin cash will succeed in the long term.

First, Bitcoin Cash has not solved scaling. It has merely kicked the can down the road with slightly larger blocks, but still lacks a credible technology to scale to massively larger numbers of users,he said in an email. Second, bitcoin will retain the network of integrated services that make the bitcoin network useful to businesses and consumers.

Bitcoin holders are set to receive the same amount of bitcoin cash as they have in bitcoin if the exchanges and wallets they use support the new coin. Exchanges including Kraken and ViaBTC have said theyll support both, while others like Coinbase and Poloniex have said they wont, citing uncertainty that bitcoin cash will have lasting market value.

Kraken said that its working on crediting accounts with bitcoin cash, and that its sites login function is down due to heavy traffic. While some miners are already using the Bitcoin Cash program, the real differentiation of the two blockchains will emerge when they mine more than 1 megabyte in one block, Hayter said. Bitcoins block limit is 1MB while Bitcoin Cashs is 8MB.

Video: Prospects of Bitcoin Splitting Into Two

Im not as concerned about this except for the administrative nightmare that some people are going to have to go through or have gone through already pulling out of the various exchanges that werent going to support it, ARK Investments Wood said.

Bruce Fenton,founder of Atlantic Financial Inc. and a board member at the Bitcoin Foundation, said both currencies should trade heavily Tuesday.

There are some very large holders who own bitcoin, who dont like bitcoin and do like bitcoin cash, he said. But you also have a lot of people who cant stand bitcoin cash, and as soon as they have the ability to get those coins theyre going to sell them on the market.

It could be a crazy day, he said.

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Bitcoin Slide Looks Limited Even After Cryptocurrency Splits - Bloomberg

Bitcoin ATMs invade Philly, taking cryptocurrency to the masses – Philly.com

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Theres no shortage of bitcoin in Philadelphia.

In Northern Liberties, the red-hot digital currencycan be bought ata shipping services storefront. In West Philadelphia, customers can fill their virtual wallets after toppingoff theirtanks at a Citgo gas station. And in Cheltenham Township, a bitcoin ATM will convert your cash to cryptocurrency at a Dollar Plus variety store, conveniently sandwiched between an Aldi supermarket and a pawn shop.

About two dozen machines or shops in the region will take regular cash and credit private bitcoin accounts, according to the website CoinATMRadar.com, which locates and maps bitcoin ATMs.Those accounts can then be used to pay for goods online without a credit card, remit payments quickly to family overseas, or cover bets placed on online gambling sites.

Sam Wood

A bitcoin ATM at the Dollar Plus variety store on Ogontz Avenue in Cheltenham Township.

They can also be used to buyillicit drugs over the Internet, according to federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations.

And the number of those bitcoin outlets appears to be growing. That should come as no surprise becausethe value of bitcoin has skyrocketed. In January 2015, the value of a single coin was about $220. In mid-May it spiked to more than$3,000. On Monday evening, one bitcoinwas trading comfortably at about $2,860.

Hedge funds have swept in to gamble on the digital currency. Celebrities and athletes, from Bollywood movie stars to boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., have promoted cryptocurrency, pumping up popular interest across the globe.

Theres a lot of excitement about it, said Kevin Werbach, a Wharton School professor whostudies bitcoin and its underlying technology, called blockchain. Its a commodity, and demand is exceeding supply.

The magnitude of the rise this year has been a speculative bubble which will in time deflate, Werbach said. but how fast and how far we dont know.

The worlds dominant digital currency (there are more than 700), bitcoin operates independently of any government or bank. Transactions are recorded and verified on the blockchain database that is instantly shared on a worldwide network of computers. Industry analysts say that the technology underlyingthose transactions makes bitcoin more secure than using a credit card.

At Liberty Parcel, on the 800 block of North Second Street, a bitcoin ATM has been sittinginside the shops entrance for more than a year, where it simply occupies space. Its like a gumball machine in front of a pizza shop, said a clerk who did not want to be identified by name.

An average machine might exchange between $25,000 and $30,000 a month, said Neil Conner, a spokesman for Lamassu, a New Hampshire-based producerof bitcoin machines. Typically, stores where they are placed collect about $100 a month in rent.

Legitimate businesses accept bitcoin, most famously Microsoft (though only for games, movies, and apps in the Windows and Xbox stores) along with merchants on Etsy (an online marketplace for crafts) and Overstock.com. Some political action committees will accept donations in bitcoin.

Most bitcoin is traded on exchanges such as Coinbase and Poloniex, online operations thatmatch buyers and sellers. The exchanges, which typically charge a 2 percent fee, arestrictly regulated by federal and state agencies and follow the same rules as banks. Their clients include high-end investors, financial institutions, and speculators and have caught the attention of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, which last week announced it wants to regulate some transactions.

Bitcoin ATMs generally serve a less sophisticated clientele, according to industry experts. The machines charge steep fees up to 12 percent and rarely require more than a cellphone number to establish an identity. Bitcoin ATM companies have moved aggressively into areas that are underserved by banks.

Because they require so little identification, the ATMs frequently are used to buy bitcoin for nefarious reasons, according to federal agents. Most notoriously, bitcoin is the currency of choiceon the dark web, where its used to buy illicit narcotics. Its also used to extract payments from ransomware victims.

Because this is a private, decentralized currency, bitcoin itself has no way of telling if youre buying a bag of potato chips with it or a kilo of drugs, said Werbach, the Wharton professor.

Lamassus Conner said the bitcoin ATM machines allow new customers an easy way to experience the digital currency.

If youre looking to get your feet wet in cryptocurrency, bitcoin ATMsare the easiest on-ramp, Conner said. Whether its $5 or $100, its the least confusing way ofgetting involved.

Case to proceed against Montco man accused in $50M bitcoin heist Jul 27 - 8:07 PM

Feds: Jobless Montco man is no bit player in $50M bitcoin theft Jul 26 - 3:40 PM

Bucks burglary probe leads to a Montco hacker and possible $40M bitcoin theft Jul 24 - 8:32 AM

Published: August 1, 2017 3:01 AM EDT | Updated: August 1, 2017 5:31 AM EDT

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Bitcoin ATMs invade Philly, taking cryptocurrency to the masses - Philly.com

Is A Cryptocurrency Like A Stock? The SEC Weighs In – Seeking Alpha

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When it comes to regulation, what exactly is a cryptocurrency? Is it a currency? Is it a piece of software? Is it more like an equity? And if it is an equity, does that mean it should be regulated like any other security?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently weighed in. How regulators like the SEC define and treat cryptocurrencies is important because it affects both the value of cryptocurrencies, and how likely it is that blockchain technology will thrive in a particular jurisdiction. For example, if a countrys regulatory body decides that cryptocurrencies should be banned, then this will drag down prices (depending on the size of the country) and blockchain technology companies will avoid setting up shop or investing there they wont feel welcome.

The SEC has been notably quiet on the subject of cryptocurrencies. Other regulatory bodies and governments, primarily in Asia, have been extremely proactive in outlining how they will treat and regulate bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as an asset class. In May, I told you that the SEC would eventually step into this market, "especially as the financial stakes increase". Now, it looks like the SEC is on the ball.

Earlier this week, the SEC issued the results of an investigative report into the details surrounding a cryptocurrency initial coin offering ("ICO") called the DAO in the first half of 2016. An ICO is when a new cryptocurrency token is offered for sale to the public, similar to an initial public offering ("IPO") in the stock market.

The DAO intended to be a fully decentralized cryptocurrency venture capital fund. It would raise money (in the form of a cryptocurrency called ether), issuing DAO tokens in return. It would then allocate those raised ether funds to various business ventures by way of voting amongst the DAO token holders.

The DAO raised US$150 million worth of ether from some 11,000 investors. But then disaster struck. Despite assertions that the DAOs code had been analyzed by one of the worlds leading security audit companies and that no stone was left unturned during those five whole days of security analysis, DAO was hacked. US$50 million of ether was stolen.

The SECs investigative report wasnt about trying to identify the culprit behind the attack. Instead, it was focused on whether or not DAO tokens constituted a security (that is, a stock) and should therefore be regulated under existing securities laws.

The straightforward answer is maybe. The fact is, every cryptocurrency token has its own attributes. As the SEC report put it;

U.S. federal securities law may apply to various activities, including distributed ledger technology, depending on the particular facts and circumstances, without regard to the form of the organization or technology used to effectuate a particular [cryptocurrency] offer or sale.

In other words, it just depends. But on what?

To answer that, we turn to the Howey Test, which was created by the Supreme Court as a means of determining whether certain transactions qualify as investment contracts.

[The test refers to a precedent from a case the SEC levied against Florida companies W. J. Howey Co. and Howey-in-the-Hills Service, Inc. that sought to determine whether or not a particular land-related deal constituted an investment contract under the Securities Act of 1933.]

If certain transactions meet the criteria, then they are deemed securities and subject to a raft of regulatory requirements. Without going through all the checks, Ill just include some of the pertinent ones that the SEC included in its report.

So, investing money (cryptocurrencies included) in a token with an expectation of profit (dividend or simple value increase) derived from the managerial efforts of other people points to a cryptocurrency being a security, and that its required to be regulated as such.

The report was a warning. The SEC stated that charges would not be brought against anybody involved with the DAO. But that the report serves to caution the industry and market participants.

Given that there are no charges to be brought against the DAO, its likely that existing cryptocurrencies are safe from securities regulation for now, although that wont be the case for long. The primary focus of the SEC will be newcomers to the market, with the starting point being the Howey Test criteria, some of which are listed above.

There has been little to no impact on the broader cryptocurrency market from this report from the SEC. As someone whos personally been involved in the cryptocurrency token distribution process, the Howey Test is already a key component of any legal diligence on a cryptocurrency.

However, some cryptocurrencies are flying a little too close to the sun, especially those that specify dividend-style payouts for token holders. The SEC is very clear that just because something is virtual, it doesnt exempt it from being a security. And when cryptocurrencies inevitably start falling under SEC jurisdiction, investors (particularly U.S. investors) will need to ensure that whatever they are buying is compliant with U.S. securities laws.

So you shouldnt invest in cyrptocurrencies on the assumption that they arent (or wont ever) be deemed securities. And when you evaluate different blockchain companies that issue their own cryptocurrencies, check the characteristics against those Howey Test criteria. SEC regulation was always expected to occur sooner or later, and this SEC report didnt contain anything out of the ordinary it really just reiterated the criteria with which cyrptocurrencies will be measured with when it comes to regulation.

But I suspect we will start to see more global cryptocurrency offerings that specifically prohibit U.S. investors because nobody likes having to deal with U.S. regulations if they can avoid it. Still, I dont envision this having any big impacts on general cryptocurrency prices in the immediate future.

Disclosure: I am/we are long BITCOIN.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Is A Cryptocurrency Like A Stock? The SEC Weighs In - Seeking Alpha

investFeed switch to cryptocurrency token sale brings mainstream demographics on board – Crypto Insider (press release) (blog)

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Crypto Insider (press release) (blog)
investFeed switch to cryptocurrency token sale brings mainstream demographics on board
Crypto Insider (press release) (blog)
investFeed is a New York based community powered social trading network making the switch from US equities to cryptocurrency. Marketing itself as the world's first social investment network for the cryptocurrency community, investFeed aims to ...

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Fox News contributor alleges White House signed off on story linking Seth Rich to WikiLeaks and Russia – Washington Examiner

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A new lawsuit from a Fox News contributor alleges the upper echelons of the White House, including President Trump, had a hand in overseeing the now-retracted Fox News report about the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich.

The lawsuit, filed by Fox News contributor and private investigator Rod Wheeler, alleges the Fox News reporter who wrote the article about Rich's death fabricated quotes from Wheeler, and states that a wealthy GOP donor, Ed Butowsky, and Fox News used the article to deflect attention away from the investigation into Trump campaign associates and ties to Russian officials.

NPR first reported on the details of the lawsuit Tuesday morning.

After Rich's death in July 2016, Butowsky offered to hire Wheeler on behalf of the Rich family to investigate the young DNC staffer's death.

On May 16, nearly one year later, Fox News broke a story alleging that leaks of thousands of DNC emails came from within the party, rather than hackers linked to the Russian government. The article also suggested Democrats may have been tied to Rich's death, and said there was a cover up to impede the investigation into his murder.

The article from Fox News reporter Malia Zimmerman relied primarily on Wheeler, who was investigating Rich's death.

But the article from Zimmerman was quickly criticized by law enforcement, the Democratic Party, Rich's family, and fellow Fox News reporters.

Fox News retracted the report a week later.

Now, Wheeler is arguing the article was orchestrated by Butowsky, the GOP donor, and alleges in his lawsuit the report sought to "help put to bed speculation that President Trump colluded with Russia in an attempt to influence the outcome of the Presidential election," according to the complaint filed by Wheeler.

The first page of the lawsuit includes a text from Butowsky to Wheeler sent May 14 stating Trump read the Fox News article and wanted it published as soon as possible.

"Not to add any more pressure but the president just read the article," the text reads. "He wants the article out immediately. It's now all up to you. But don't feel the pressure."

Butowsky also allegedly left Wheeler a voicemail, reiterating that the White House was aware of the article.

"A couple minutes ago I got a note that we have the full, uh, attention of the White House on this," Butowsky said, according to the lawsuit. "And tomorrow, let's close this deal, whatever we've got to do. But you can feel free to say that the White House is onto this now."

The article published eventually included two quotes from Wheeler, in which he says there was "some degree of email exchange between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks," and states that "someone within the DC government, Democratic National Committee or Clinton team is blocking the murder investigation from going forward."

Wheeler argues both of those quotes were fabricated and attributed to him because "that is the way the president wanted the article," according to his lawsuit.

"Zimmerman, Butowsky and Fox had created fake news to advance President Trump's agenda," the lawsuit states.

In addition to running the article by Trump, Wheeler, and Butowsky also met with then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer to discuss the information they were uncovering.

Wheeler's lawsuit alleges that the two men provided Spicer with a copy of Wheeler's investigative notes, and Spicer asked to be notified of any developments in the case.

Spicer told NPR he met with Butowsky and Wheeler as a favor to the GOP donor and was not aware of any involvement from the president. Butowsky told NPR he was joking about Trump looking over drafts.

"Rod Wheeler unfortunately was used as a pawn by Ed Butowsky, Fox News and the Trump administration to try and steer away the attention that was being given about the Russian hacking of the FNC emails," Douglas Wigdor, Wheeler's lawyer, told NPR.

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Fox News contributor alleges White House signed off on story linking Seth Rich to WikiLeaks and Russia - Washington Examiner


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