This is the 9th post for the weekly series on the state of securities with a focus on fintech, Bitcoin, blockchains & distributed ledgers.
Here are some of the key developments, stories & updates from the digital securities industry over the past week.
"Microsoft Teams up With Enjin to Offer Crypto Collectible Rewards"
Microsoft has launched a new incentive program in a partnership with Enjin (blockchain gaming project) to earn a "badger." They are called "Azure Heroes" which has to do with their blockchain project Azure. Participants will receive badges for performing positive actions in the form of non-fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Once they receive these rewards they will be able to scan a QR code, which will then prompt them to download the Enjin wallet. Here's the Yahoo Finance article which goes into depth on this development by Microsoft.
"SEC Appoints New Cyber Unit Chief to Police ICOs and other Blockchain Violations"
Kristina Littman has been appointed by the SEC as their new chief of their cyber unit which, "targets 'violations' involving initial coin offerings (ICOs) and distributed ledger or blockchain technology." This illustrates the continued awareness the SEC is providing to the industry, Chairman Jay Clayton calls it a "continually evolving area." Kristina Littman succeeds Robert Cohen, who previously worked on cases such as the Kik ICO case. Yahoo Finance article on this recent appointment by the SEC of their new Cyber Unit Chief.
"Sanctions Weren't Discussed at North Korea Crypto Conference, Attendee Says"
Virgil Griffith was arrested by the FBI on Thanksgiving Day and has been charged under the "International Emergency Economics Powers Act for allegedly providing technological training that would make it easier for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to evade U.S. economic sanctions." He is being accused of showing the North Koreans the benefits of blockchain technology to evade sanctions, but according to someone else who attended the event, Fabio Pietrosanti stated that nothing of the sort happened and it was actually a very boring conference, covering "Google-level knowledge." Brian Klein of Baker Marquart is representing Griffith and he had a message to relay from Virgil, "Virgil looks forward to his day in court, when the full story can come out." CoinDesk article on this development regarding Virgil Griffith and his recent arrest after his return from North Korea.
That's all for this week, check back in next week to learn all about what's happening in the rapidly evolving digital securities industry! Feel free to leave any comments below & if you're interested in following this weekly roundup be sure to click on "Notify me of new posts by email" underneath the comments box below to receive an alert for each new post.
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