Savedroid, an ICO focusing on cryptocurrency investing, possibly pulled off the best PR stunt in the history of cryptocurrencies.
On April 18, the Savedroid updated its website with a satirical meme and confirmed its disappearance on . “Over and Out’” were the last words by the founder of Savedroid, Dr. Yassin Hankir, before the apparent exit-scam.
Media outlets widely reported the $4,345,948 theft, with Dr. Hankir hell-bent on making sure people believe that the company – which ironically works towards preventing ICO scams – was officially shut down.
Site Re-emerges Online
However on April 19, the was up online, welcoming site visitors with an “And It’s Not Gone” pop-up and a message that says “Savedroid was here, is here, and will be here. And Savedroid is all in for establishing high-quality ICO standards.”
Hankir follows the pop-up message with a video, beginning with an apology to investors before going on to explain the elaborate stunt – which even saw Savedroid Telegram admins leave the official group.
He goes on to explain the move, calling it a “very important, very serious message”:
“If we look at this [crypto] market…we see that there is so much scam happening – scam from the beginning to the very end of an ICO, exit scams all over the place, and I believe what we’ve seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Dr. Hankir talks about how the importance of as an “ innovative and effective” vehicle for startups to raise funds, yet several companies are “endangering” the sector.
Stressing on the need of proper regulation, which lessens the chances of any future scams, Dr. Hankir says:
“We need to establish high-quality ICO standards in order to have a good future for the ICO market to be a relevant financing tool for innovative, successful and trustworthy startups in the future.”
As per the company’s , Savedroid partners with regulatory bodies and technical experts to scrutinize data of upcoming ICOs. The company aims to create an ICO checklist, that “sustains regulation,” is “practical and viable,” and can be implemented.
Questions Raised on ICOBench Ratings
Soon after the news, has rightly dropped Savedroid rating to a measly 2.4 at the time of writing. As per reports, the company was rated at 4.1 before the apparent scam.
Yet, a question has gripped everyone with curiosity. How did Savedroid possibly hoax ICOBench – and the public – at large?
There are two possible explanations:
ICOBench was aware of the ‘scam,’
ICOBench was not aware, and ‘experts’ are incentivized to award companies a high rating.
If Savedroid managed to partner with ICOBench users as well as ‘experts,’ the company ought to come out with a serious note that explains the move and spreads awareness about scams. Furthermore, the ICOBench can make its screening process completely transparent, making sure no unverified companies in the sector deceive innocent investors.
However, at the time of writing, neither ICOBench or any of its ‘experts’ have commented on the Savedroid’s move.
Community Unimpressed, Move Enrages Investors
The ‘awareness’ that Hankir tried to drive was – put in simple words – despicable.
The staged exit scam was uncalled for and not justified in any manner, as the investor’s real money was at stake.
To prove how serious the staged-scam got, several people on twitter tried to track Hankir’s location down – using just the picture as reference. The endeavor was successful, as Twitter users identified the to be Hamrawein Port, Egypt.
Pretending to steal money is a terrible joke, especially when there are millions at stake and strangers in question. Perhaps Dr. Hankir’s intentions meant no harm, but this goes to show the immature nature of the Savedroid founder.
From what BTCManager observes, mainstream media outlets got another reason to bash cryptocurrencies. In short, Dr. Hankir’s move harmed an entire industry.
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LocalBitcoins, a popular peer-to-peer trading platform, is now complying with AML (Anti-money Laundering) and KYC (Know Your Customer) procedures, according to a post from April 17.
The new developments were brought to the public’s attention when a new emerged on Reddit. The original Reddit post featured a screenshot of Reddit user, YellowCuda’s experience of using LocalBitcoins.
Source:
The Finland-based cryptocurrency exchange is one of latest platforms now requiring AML/KYC procedures from their users as authorities crack down on regulatory compliance issues. There has been no official announcement from LocalBitcoins. So far it’s unclear if AML/KYC procedures will be rolled out to all users or only users that have traded a “significant [volume] in the past 12 months.”
Users Scramble to Find Alternative Methods to Trade Anonymously
Since most major cryptocurrency exchanges now require KYC, the ground appears to be shrinking for those who wish to trade anonymously. Users in the comment section of the Reddit thread are scrambling to find alternative options to LocalBitcoins. Although Reddit user brokenmusic mentioned “ and ” still allow anonymous trading, it was also mentioned that both alternatives have some difficulties and inconvenience. Nevertheless, while both “have significantly less volume… that seems about to change.”
LocalBitcoins is one of the earliest peer-to-peer trading platforms, initially established in 2012. Bitsquare, which rebranded to Bisq in March 2017, held a last month to improve growth of the platform while Hodl Hodl is relatively newer, launching its testnet in April 2017. A comparison of Hodl Hodl and LocalBitcoins is shown below:
— Beautyon (@Beautyon_)
Although the cryptocurrency exchange has overcome certain obstacles, like ’s website block, their decision to undergo AML/KYC compliance may result in the large loss of many users, especially since the company’s unique value is the ability to trade anonymously. According to , ID is required even just to post an advertisement.
Reddit audiences appear extremely unhappy and concerned with the new situation. Reddit user Tasmanoide even commented, “RIP localBitcoins. Hi, another centralized exchange,” while user Bagtenfold mentioned that, “doesn’t [LocalBitcoin’s decision] kill the whole purpose of a censorship resistant currency?”
Many Welcome the New Compliance Procedures as it Prevents Criminal Activity
In contrast to the Reddit thread, many cryptocurrency enthusiasts see better as a healthy change. There are valid benefits for businesses and customers. According Attorney Derron D. Woodfork’s “[businesses] must protect yourself from unwittingly facilitating money laundering, terrorism, and corrupt acts.” Without KYC compliance, exchanges or financial platforms may need to if there is ever a suspicion of funds coming from illegal sources. It can also protect customers from unknowingly trading with criminals.
The LocalBitcoins platform has facilitated criminal activity in the past. to the Department of Justice, on May 25, 2017, a father a son syndicate pleaded guilty to money laundering on the platform. The court records indicated Michael Lord used the profile Internet151 to perform over 3,000 transactions related to money laundering and the distribution of narcotics.
“Cybercrime is an emerging area of criminal activity, and we want the criminals who hide behind logon names and internet aliases to know that IRS Special Agents will follow the money in whatever form, whether it be digital or paper currency,” said Jerome McDuffie, an IRS official.
LocalBitcoins’ recent decision to implement KYC/AML procedures may relieve pressure from the authorities. However, the sentiment toward the company has dropped since the announcement.
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BitBounce, a blockchain-based email spam solution, is launching a new cryptocurrency exchange platform called CredoEx for token holders to exchange their Credo. CredoEx will begin with Credo to Ether pairing but additional cryptocurrencies and national currencies will be added in the future based on demand, the company said. The San Francisco-based startup raised more than […]
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