BITCOIN

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged Mirror Trading International (MTI) and its operator with a $1.7 billion fraud involving bitcoin. This action is the regulator’s largest fraud scheme case involving the cryptocurrency. CFTC Takes Action Against MTI The CFTC announced Thursday that it has charged a “South African pool operator and CEO with $1.7 billion fraud involving bitcoin.” The regulator added: This action is CFTC’s largest fraud scheme case involving bitcoin. The derivatives watchdog has filed a civil enforcement action, charging Cornelius Johannes Steynberg and Mirror Trading International Proprietary Ltd. (MTI) with “fraud and registration violations.” From approximately May 18, 2018, through March 20 last year, “Steynberg, individually and as the controlling person of MTI, engaged in an international fraudulent multilevel marketing scheme … to solicit bitcoin from members of the public for participation in a commodity pool operated by MTI,”

Coincoinx, a cryptocurrency exchange, will reportedly launch a service that will allow users to skip trading crypto for fiat to make payments in Venezuela. The service, which is called Coinpago, will allow users to make payments in every store and retailer in the country that accepts Pagomovil, a banking service that allows seamless fiat transfers between banks in the country. Coincoinx to Ease Crypto Payments in Venezuela While cryptocurrency is slowly going mainstream, becoming more popular in many locations around the world, there are still many retailers and service providers that are not accepting cryptocurrency as a means of payment. However, services that combine traditional bank-based payments and crypto are growing, and bringing functionality to crypto users. Coincoinx, a cryptocurrency exchange in Venezuela, has announced the launch of a service that will combine crypto and fiat for traditional payments. The service, called Coinpago, aims to allow customers of the exchang