Blockchain Report — 8/14/2018
By: Christopher Durr
Tags: ICO, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, News

Summary: More Than $100 Million In Cryptocurrency Has Been Stolen By Exit Scammers; Turkish Residents Turn Towards Cryptocurrency As A Result Of Economic War; Facebook Could Be Developing A Blockchain Payments Platform

More Than $100 Million In Cryptocurrency Has Been Stolen By Exit Scammers

According to The Next Web, almost $100 million in cryptocurrency has been stolen by exit scammers. ICO scams over the past two years have totaled at least $96.8 million in value, according to information compiled by blockchain intelligence firm Diar.

Furthermore, the Chinese company Shenzhen Puyin Blockchain Group is responsible for a staggering $60 million of all thefts. The company raised money for three different projects: ACChain, Puyin, and BioLifeChain. All of these projects were exit scams.

In general, there are several red flags for ICOs that would indicate a high probability of an ICO exit scamming. Diar reported that 19% of all ICOs showed many of these red flags.

Turkish Residents Turn Towards Cryptocurrency As A Result Of Economic War

According to Yahoo Finance, Turkey has had a 30% plunge in the value of the country’s currency, the Lira. This was a result of U.S. President Donald Trump approving a 20% tariff increase on the country’s aluminum exports and a 50% tariff increase on steel.

This has forced Turkey residents to turn to cryptocurrencies as a form of economic relief. Turkey’s cryptocurrency exchanges have began to experience a spike in trading volume, which is expected to continue as Turkey residents lose confidence in the Lira.

Turkish residents are following the footsteps of other countries that have done similar actions in the past. For example, Venezuelans and Iranians turned to cryptocurrency as a response to economic sanctions from the United States.

Facebook Could Be Developing A Blockchain Payments Platform

According to Blockonomi, Facebook’s lead blockchain player David Marcus left the board at Coinbase. David Marcus has been on Coinbase’s board since last December, and has left to avoid a conflict of interest.

Facebook has not been completely transparent about what they intend to do within the blockchain space, but the move by David Marcus indicates that Facebook could be attempting to enter the online blockchain payments space. Marcus has a history with the online payments industry. Before working at Facebook, he worked with PayPal.

Marcus told Business Insider:

“Because of the new group I’m setting up at Facebook around blockchain, I’ve decided it was appropriate for me to resign from the Coinbase board.”

Marcus’s conflict of interest could be that he is working on a new blockchain/cryptocurrency project at Facebook that competes with Coinbase.

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