The third week of May has been exciting for the blockchain and cryptocurrency world. Perhaps the biggest news is that Blockport announced its security token offering (STO) failed to reach its goals and it will essentially shut down operations. The cryptocurrency exchange startup said its STO did not hit the soft cap of 1 million euros, and the firm will refund its STO investors. Blockport also said it will drastically scale down the business and lay off most of its staff. The firm added users can still withdraw funds from the platform while operations wind down. Finally, Blockport said it is seeking partners for a potential future reboot. The price of BPT tokens collapsed 87% over the week.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
The New York Supreme Court ordered Bitfinex and Tether to submit documents and freeze transfers among the entities. Judge Joel Cohen issued an opinion on Thursday that requires the cryptocurrency exchange and stablecoin firm cease lending to each other. Cohen's ruling also says the firms must turn over to New York documents relating to a loan and line of credit. The court's injunction lasts for 90 days, and the New York Attorney General can ask the court for an extension afterward. Bitfinex praised the court's decision and said it will continue defending itself from the state's attorney general.
Brave is seeking to raise a Series A funding round of between $30 and $50 million, according to insider sources. Founded in 2016 and having previously raised $35 million in a few minutes in 2017, the privacy browser startup is looking for a new valuation of about $133 million. The browser firm recently debuted Brave Ads, a program that pays BAT tokens to users who choose to view ads in the Brave browser. The potential funding round will be equity investment, unlike its 2017 initial coin offering (ICO), which was funded with BAT tokens. Brave declined to comment on the news.
Crypto prices fell dramatically in the middle of the week before rebounding during the weekend to end at nearly $248 billion. For the majors, Stellar (XLM), Binance Coin (BNB), and Ethereum (ETH) led the price rise, while Litecoin (LTC) and Tether (USDT) posted the smallest gains. In the top 100, the biggest losers are ABBC Coin (ABBC), down 12%, Factom (FCT), down 6%, and Mixin (XIN), down 6%. The biggest gainers are NEM (XEM), up a whopping 63%, Verge (XVG), up 59%, and LATOKEN (LA), up 58%. Traders will keep watching if Bitcoin (BTC) can keep the crucial $8,000 support level.
The author owns a small amount of BTC and LTC.