The Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform ezBtc and its founder, David Smillie, have been found guilty of defrauding customers by misappropriating approximately 13 million Canadian dollars ($9.5 million) of their cryptocurrency investments, using the funds for personal gambling activities.
A panel established by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), a provincial regulator in Canada, concluded that ezBtc had misused customer funds “for their own purposes.” The platform, which ceased operations permanently around September 2019 and was dissolved in 2022, had claimed that all user crypto investments were securely stored in cold storage.
During its operation between 2016 and 2019, ezBtc collected over 2,300 Bitcoin (BTC) and more than 600 Ether (ETH) from investors. However, the BCSC panel revealed that Smillie diverted a significant portion of these funds for personal use and gambling.
“We find that in aggregate, 935.46 Bitcoin and 159 Ether were transferred by ezBtc to Smillie’s exchange accounts and/or to CloudBet and FortuneJack,” the panel reported. “The transfers to the two gambling websites were sometimes direct from ezBtc, and sometimes indirect from ezBtc to Smillie’s exchange accounts and then to the gambling websites.”
The panel highlighted that the “deceit” orchestrated by Smillie and ezBtc resulted in actual losses, as customers were unable to withdraw their assets.
Sanctions against Smillie are expected to be imposed by September 24, with potential penalties ranging from monetary fines to bans on market participation.
Despite the gravity of the charges, neither Smillie nor ezBtc representatives attended the hearing in person, although Smillie was represented by a lawyer.
In the broader context, cryptocurrency adoption in Canada has remained sluggish, with only 3% of the population using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for daily transactions. Canadians have shown a strong preference for traditional payment methods like cash and cards, and among alternative payment methods, e-transfer remains the most popular. The slow adoption of cryptocurrency in Canada is largely attributed to a general reluctance to move away from cash-based transactions.
Pepe the Wizard could turn early investors into multi-millionaires, like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) did.
Pepe the Wizard (PEPEWIZZ), a new Solana memecoin that was launched recently, is poised to explode over 19,000% in price in the coming days.
This is because PEPEWIZZ is set to soon be listed on numerous crypto exchanges, according to reports.
This will give the Solana memecoin exposure to millions of additional investors, who will pour funds into the coin and drive its price up.
Currently, Pepe the Wizard can only be purchased via Solana decentralized exchanges, like Jup.ag and Raydium.io, and early investors stand to make huge returns in the coming days.
Early investors in SHIB and DOGE made astronomical returns, and Pepe the Wizard could become the next viral memecoin.
Pepe the Wizard launched with over $7,000 of liquidity, giving it a unique advantage over the majority of other new memecoins, and early investors could make huge gains.
To buy Pepe the Wizard on Raydium.io or Jup.ag ahead of the CEX listings, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and swap Solana for Pepe the Wizard by entering its contract address – 4C7pyWYBnP2q53NL2mfAiLU1SRRn9k7gYbCGq94yxvxj – in the receiving field.
If you don’t have one of these wallets already, you can create a new wallet in a few minutes and transfer some Solana to it (which will then be used to buy the memecoin), from an exchange like Coinbase, Binance and many others.
Early investors could make returns similar to those who invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) before these memecoins went viral and exploded in price.
If this happens, a new wave of memecoin millionaires could be created in a matter of weeks – or potentially even sooner.
The Solana memecoin craze continues amid larger memecoins, like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and DogWifHat (WIF) trading sideways in recent weeks and losing momentum.
This is why many SHIB, DOGE and WIF investors are instead investing in new Solana memecoins, like PEPEWIZZ.
Such memecoins have no utility and no inherent value, but investors looking for high gains have been investing in them due to their potential to rapidly rise in price.
Trump Loves Elon could turn early investors into multi-millionaires, like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) did.
Trump Loves Elon (TRUMPELO), a new Solana memecoin that was launched recently, is poised to explode over 17,000% in price in the coming days.
This is because TRUMPELO is set to soon be listed on numerous crypto exchanges, according to reports.
This will give the Solana memecoin exposure to millions of additional investors, who will pour funds into the coin and drive its price up.
Currently, Trump Loves Elon can only be purchased via Solana decentralized exchanges, like Jup.ag and Raydium.io, and early investors stand to make huge returns in the coming days.
Early investors in SHIB and DOGE made astronomical returns, and Trump Loves Elon could become the next viral memecoin.
Trump Loves Elon launched with over $6,000 of liquidity, giving it a unique advantage over the majority of other new memecoins, and early investors could make huge gains.
To buy Trump Loves Elon on Raydium.io or Jup.ag ahead of the CEX listings, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and swap Solana for Trump Loves Elon by entering its contract address – 9fb2rMzmVvBCT8fCN2HzQWhwFKv5xabhFsfyGGJB7W5Z – in the receiving field.
If you don’t have one of these wallets already, you can create a new wallet in a few minutes and transfer some Solana to it (which will then be used to buy the memecoin), from an exchange like Coinbase, Binance and many others.
In fact, early investors could make returns similar to those who invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) before these memecoins went viral and exploded in price.
If this happens, a new wave of memecoin millionaires could be created in a matter of weeks – or potentially even sooner.
The Solana memecoin craze continues amid larger memecoins, like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and DogWifHat (WIF) trading sideways in recent weeks and losing momentum.
This is why many SHIB, DOGE and WIF investors are instead investing in new Solana memecoins, like TRUMPELO.
Such memecoins have no utility and no inherent value, but investors looking for high gains have been investing in them due to their potential to rapidly rise in price.
Pepe the Wizard could turn early investors into multi-millionaires, like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) did.
Pepe the Wizard (PEPEWIZZ), a new Solana memecoin that was launched recently, is poised to explode over 19,000% in price in the coming days.
This is because PEPEWIZZ is set to soon be listed on numerous crypto exchanges, according to reports.
This will give the Solana memecoin exposure to millions of additional investors, who will pour funds into the coin and drive its price up.
Currently, Pepe the Wizard can only be purchased via Solana decentralized exchanges, like Jup.ag and Raydium.io, and early investors stand to make huge returns in the coming days.
Early investors in SHIB and DOGE made astronomical returns, and Pepe the Wizard could become the next viral memecoin.
Pepe the Wizard launched with over $7,000 of liquidity, giving it a unique advantage over the majority of other new memecoins, and early investors could make huge gains.
To buy Pepe the Wizard on Raydium.io or Jup.ag ahead of the CEX listings, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and swap Solana for Pepe the Wizard by entering its contract address – 4C7pyWYBnP2q53NL2mfAiLU1SRRn9k7gYbCGq94yxvxj – in the receiving field.
If you don’t have one of these wallets already, you can create a new wallet in a few minutes and transfer some Solana to it (which will then be used to buy the memecoin), from an exchange like Coinbase, Binance and many others.
Early investors could make returns similar to those who invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) before these memecoins went viral and exploded in price.
If this happens, a new wave of memecoin millionaires could be created in a matter of weeks – or potentially even sooner.
The Solana memecoin craze continues amid larger memecoins, like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and DogWifHat (WIF) trading sideways in recent weeks and losing momentum.
This is why many SHIB, DOGE and WIF investors are instead investing in new Solana memecoins, like PEPEWIZZ.
Such memecoins have no utility and no inherent value, but investors looking for high gains have been investing in them due to their potential to rapidly rise in price.
Trump Loves Elon could turn early investors into multi-millionaires, like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) did.
Trump Loves Elon (TRUMPELO), a new Solana memecoin that was launched recently, is poised to explode over 17,000% in price in the coming days.
This is because TRUMPELO is set to soon be listed on numerous crypto exchanges, according to reports.
This will give the Solana memecoin exposure to millions of additional investors, who will pour funds into the coin and drive its price up.
Currently, Trump Loves Elon can only be purchased via Solana decentralized exchanges, like Jup.ag and Raydium.io, and early investors stand to make huge returns in the coming days.
Early investors in SHIB and DOGE made astronomical returns, and Trump Loves Elon could become the next viral memecoin.
Trump Loves Elon launched with over $6,000 of liquidity, giving it a unique advantage over the majority of other new memecoins, and early investors could make huge gains.
To buy Trump Loves Elon on Raydium.io or Jup.ag ahead of the CEX listings, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and swap Solana for Trump Loves Elon by entering its contract address – 9fb2rMzmVvBCT8fCN2HzQWhwFKv5xabhFsfyGGJB7W5Z – in the receiving field.
If you don’t have one of these wallets already, you can create a new wallet in a few minutes and transfer some Solana to it (which will then be used to buy the memecoin), from an exchange like Coinbase, Binance and many others.
In fact, early investors could make returns similar to those who invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) before these memecoins went viral and exploded in price.
If this happens, a new wave of memecoin millionaires could be created in a matter of weeks – or potentially even sooner.
The Solana memecoin craze continues amid larger memecoins, like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and DogWifHat (WIF) trading sideways in recent weeks and losing momentum.
This is why many SHIB, DOGE and WIF investors are instead investing in new Solana memecoins, like TRUMPELO.
Such memecoins have no utility and no inherent value, but investors looking for high gains have been investing in them due to their potential to rapidly rise in price.
Bitcoin (BTC) remained largely unaffected by global macroeconomic events on August 13, as its price continued to hover below the $60,000 mark.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView highlighted a tepid response from BTC/USD during the Wall Street open, which contrasted sharply with the more positive performance in stock markets.
Japan led the bullish sentiment of the day, with the Nikkei 225 fully recovering its earlier record losses for the month, closing at 36,232 points, up 3.45%. U.S. equities also had a strong start, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index rising by 0.8% and 1.4%, respectively, within the first hour of trading.
This robust performance was supported by the July Producer Price Index (PPI) report, which came in below expectations—a factor that fueled speculation about potential interest rate cuts and increased capital flow into risk assets.
According to the latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, markets are now favoring a 0.5% rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its upcoming September meeting, compared to a previous expectation of a 0.25% cut.
Commenting on Bitcoin’s muted reaction to these developments, popular trader Daan Crypto Trades noted how macroeconomic data releases often lead to short-term “fakeout” moves. “This was just PPI so the move wasn’t large,” he explained in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “We tend to see similar things on CPI which often causes much larger (and slightly slower) whipsaw moves.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming Consumer Price Index (CPI) report due on August 14, Daan Crypto Trades added, “PPI not a bad start. Coming in slightly below which I think is good. Gives the Fed room to start cutting (this would not be great if we’d get hot inflation reads), but also not going into the negative where we’d have to start getting afraid for deflation yet.”
Pepe the Wizard could turn early investors into multi-millionaires, like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) did.
Pepe the Wizard (PEPEWIZZ), a new Solana memecoin that was launched recently, is poised to explode over 19,000% in price in the coming days.
This is because PEPEWIZZ is set to soon be listed on numerous crypto exchanges, according to reports.
This will give the Solana memecoin exposure to millions of additional investors, who will pour funds into the coin and drive its price up.
Currently, Pepe the Wizard can only be purchased via Solana decentralized exchanges, like Jup.ag and Raydium.io, and early investors stand to make huge returns in the coming days.
Early investors in SHIB and DOGE made astronomical returns, and Pepe the Wizard could become the next viral memecoin.
Pepe the Wizard launched with over $7,000 of liquidity, giving it a unique advantage over the majority of other new memecoins, and early investors could make huge gains.
To buy Pepe the Wizard on Raydium.io or Jup.ag ahead of the CEX listings, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and swap Solana for Pepe the Wizard by entering its contract address – 4C7pyWYBnP2q53NL2mfAiLU1SRRn9k7gYbCGq94yxvxj – in the receiving field.
If you don’t have one of these wallets already, you can create a new wallet in a few minutes and transfer some Solana to it (which will then be used to buy the memecoin), from an exchange like Coinbase, Binance and many others.
Early investors could make returns similar to those who invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) before these memecoins went viral and exploded in price.
If this happens, a new wave of memecoin millionaires could be created in a matter of weeks – or potentially even sooner.
The Solana memecoin craze continues amid larger memecoins, like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and DogWifHat (WIF) trading sideways in recent weeks and losing momentum.
This is why many SHIB, DOGE and WIF investors are instead investing in new Solana memecoins, like PEPEWIZZ.
Such memecoins have no utility and no inherent value, but investors looking for high gains have been investing in them due to their potential to rapidly rise in price.
Coinbase, a leading centralized cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its expansion into Hawaii, enabling residents to buy, sell, and manage their digital assets through the platform.
This development follows significant regulatory changes made by Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Division of Financial Institutions (DFI). In a press release shared with Cointelegraph, Coinbase highlighted the collaborative efforts with local authorities to enter the Hawaii market.
“We’ve worked diligently with local authorities to ensure we can enter the Hawaii market and welcome their innovative, responsible approach, which aligns with our goal of providing a safe and compliant environment for all,” the company stated.
Implications for Hawaii residents
The press release indicates that Hawaiian residents now have access to Coinbase’s platform and can use its app to engage with “hundreds of cryptocurrencies.” Additionally, Hawaii customers can utilize a range of crypto services, including staking, where they can earn up to 12% APY in staking rewards on popular assets. The press release also noted that residents can now transfer their assets internationally, addressing a long-standing interest in cryptocurrency within the state.
Hawaii regulatory changes
Historically, Hawaii had stringent regulations that made it challenging for crypto businesses to operate. The state’s requirement for crypto exchanges to maintain cash reserves equal to the value of digital assets held by customers created significant barriers. However, the DFI has relaxed these restrictions as part of the Hawaii Digital Currency Innovation Lab pilot program, which was established to eliminate the reserve requirement and foster innovation in the crypto space.
Coinbase vs. SEC pushback
In related news, Coinbase is currently in a legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On August 5, the SEC filed a motion to deny Coinbase’s request to reveal certain documents, including internal and external emails related to the application of securities laws to digital assets. Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, argued on X (formerly Twitter) that these documents are crucial to exposing the SEC’s “inconsistent views of digital assets and its own regulatory reach.”
Trump Loves Elon could turn early investors into multi-millionaires, like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) did.
Trump Loves Elon (TRUMPELO), a new Solana memecoin that was launched recently, is poised to explode over 17,000% in price in the coming days.
This is because TRUMPELO is set to soon be listed on numerous crypto exchanges, according to reports.
This will give the Solana memecoin exposure to millions of additional investors, who will pour funds into the coin and drive its price up.
Currently, Trump Loves Elon can only be purchased via Solana decentralized exchanges, like Jup.ag and Raydium.io, and early investors stand to make huge returns in the coming days.
Early investors in SHIB and DOGE made astronomical returns, and Trump Loves Elon could become the next viral memecoin.
Trump Loves Elon launched with over $6,000 of liquidity, giving it a unique advantage over the majority of other new memecoins, and early investors could make huge gains.
To buy Trump Loves Elon on Raydium.io or Jup.ag ahead of the CEX listings, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and swap Solana for Trump Loves Elon by entering its contract address – 9fb2rMzmVvBCT8fCN2HzQWhwFKv5xabhFsfyGGJB7W5Z – in the receiving field.
If you don’t have one of these wallets already, you can create a new wallet in a few minutes and transfer some Solana to it (which will then be used to buy the memecoin), from an exchange like Coinbase, Binance and many others.
In fact, early investors could make returns similar to those who invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) before these memecoins went viral and exploded in price.
If this happens, a new wave of memecoin millionaires could be created in a matter of weeks – or potentially even sooner.
The Solana memecoin craze continues amid larger memecoins, like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and DogWifHat (WIF) trading sideways in recent weeks and losing momentum.
This is why many SHIB, DOGE and WIF investors are instead investing in new Solana memecoins, like TRUMPELO.
Such memecoins have no utility and no inherent value, but investors looking for high gains have been investing in them due to their potential to rapidly rise in price.
Singapore, Singapore, August 14th, 2024, Chainwire
The decentralized derivatives trading platform, ELFi Protocol, officially launched today on the Arbitrum network.
ELFi is a decentralized derivatives trading platform dedicated to creating a unique and forward-looking trading experience that rivals centralized exchanges (CEX). ELFi is the first to implement a Portfolio Margin and vAMM hybrid model on-chain. Additionally, the platform has designed an innovative zero-risk stable coin liquidity pool and a mature risk management system for contracts of various risk levels. The platform strives to better meet market and user needs in areas such as risk isolation, asset pricing, and support for LSD assets.
Innovative Features Introduced by ELFi:
- Portfolio Margin Mode: This feature allows users to use various cryptocurrencies as margin assets, enabling more flexible risk hedging within their multi-asset portfolios. It improves capital efficiency, reduces trading costs, and enhances the implementation of trading strategies.
- Zero-Risk Stablecoin Liquidity Pool: This on-chain yield product offers returns compared to DeFi industry rates. Users can deposit stable coins such as USDC or USDT to enjoy potential returns without the risk of capital loss due to market volatility.
- High-Yield Coin-Margined Liquidity Pool: This feature offers potential high-yield products pegged to coin prices for on-chain asset holders, including liquidity pools for major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH.
- Support for LSD Re-Staking: The upcoming LSD re-staking feature will allow synthetic assets like stETH to be re-staked, providing additional yield opportunities.
In May of this year, ELFi Protocol announced its funding, successfully completing two strategic funding rounds totaling $5 million. The latest round was led by IDG Capital and KuCoin Ventures.
Mainnet Launch Limited-Time Event
To celebrate the launch, ELFi is hosting an event with an initial prize pool of $5,000. For every $10 million in trading volume, the platform will add an additional $1,000 to the prize pool, with a maximum prize pool of $100,000. Users holding ELFi’s beta test NFTs can earn accelerated rewards, and each valid user referral will also result in accelerated rewards, with the maximum acceleration being 5x.
Users who interact with ELFi by staking or trading will be eligible to share the prize pool. The prize pool will be divided based on each user’s share of the total interaction volume at the end of the event. The final prize pool amount will be announced at the end of the event.
NFT Double Rewards for Beta Users
Users who obtained the official ELFi NFTs during the beta test can receive an additional 1-2x reward during the event
About ELFi Protocol
ELFi is a decentralized derivatives trading platform that focuses on delivering top-notch trading functionalities. It’s the pioneer in supporting Portfolio Margin within the P2Pool model, and boasts a sophisticated risk management system for listing contracts of various risk levels. Additionally, ELFi introduces innovative liquidity pool designs, offering industry-first zero-risk stablecoin liquidity pools and LSD re-collateralized liquidity pools. It strives to better meet market and user demands through features like risk isolation, asset pricing, and LST asset support..
- Twitter: https://x.com/ELFi_xyz
- Discord: https://discord.com/invite/PzDTteSZDt
Contact
Vicky
ELFi Protocol
business2@elfi.xyz