Every week we seem to read another new story about yet another cryptocurrency exchange hack or scam in which users’ funds are stolen. But this week, a South Korean exchange has flipped the narrative on its head.
In what is being called a “computer error,” CoinZest done^ goofed and gave away around $5.4 million worth of cryptocurrency to some of its customers, Cryptonews reports .
The blunder came as part of an airdrop of We Game Tokens (WGT), but instead the exchange credited accounts with Bitcoin and Ethereum, amongst other cryptocurrencies.
But don’t worry, not all is lost. CoinZest was able to restore its servers to a backup prior to the airdrop and recover some of the funds. Funny how exchanges can’t do that when their users lose money…
According to reports , $2.6 million worth of cryptocurrency is still yet to be accounted for. There’s a possibility the exchange will never get this back.
If users have already withdrawn the funds and moved them to alternative wallets, there’s little that CoinZest can do.
Coinbase launches cryptocurrency debit card in the UK
Long-serving exchange Coinbase has announced the launch of a cryptocurrency debit card for its UK customers.
The company says it’s also looking to launch its debit card in other markets over the coming months, but did not to provide a specific timeline.
“The UK is a great first market for the Coinbase card with its thriving fintech ecosystem and consumer willingness to try new ideas. The Coinbase Card will initially be available in the UK with a view to going live, in the coming months, across all European markets in which Coinbase operates,” Zeeshan Feroz, Coinbase UK CEO, told Hard Fork.
Unlike other existing cards, which require customers to pre-load a specified amount of cryptocurrency, Coinbase Card will be linked to customers‘ accounts on the exchange.
As you may expect, Coinbase will be responsible for converting its customers’ cryptocurrency into fiat.
“The process is that crypto, equivalent to the amount spent, is liquidated immediately into fiat ensuring the correct value is captured at the time of the transaction. Funds are debited immediately from customer’s account,” Feroz added.
Users will be able to spend up to £10,000 a day and withdraw a maximum of £500 in cash per day.
Transactions will be subject to a 2.49 percent (1.49 percent cryptocurrency conversion fee + 1 percent transaction fee), but there will not be any cost incurred by domestic ATM withdrawals of up to £200 per month. Users will have to pay 1 percent of the withdrawal amount thereafter. Using the card abroad, will be also subject to international fees.
Alongside the card, Coinbase is also launching an app to give customers the option to select which cryptocurrency wallet they want to use to fund their spending.
Recent criticism
The announcement is likely to go down well with cryptocurrency enthusiasts, who will see this as yet another opportunity to spend their coins, both in-store and online.
It’s also and a seemingly sensible move by Coinbase, which could be looking to appease customers, especially after members of the cryptocurrency community lobbied to boycott it using the #DeleteCoinbase hashtag in February.
The boycott took place after Coinbase proudly announced the acquisition of Neutrino, an Italian startup set up by some of the former leaders of Hacking Team, a group known for selling intrusion and surveillance capabilities to oppressive regimes.
Indeed, it’s fair to say Coinbase has weathered its fair share of criticism in recent months, but all in all, it’d be interesting to see how much uptake this new product – which seeks to simplify real-world cryptocurrency purchases – has among Coinbase’s UK customers.
Did you know? Hard Fork has its own stage at TNW2019 , our tech conference in Amsterdam. Check it out .
South Korean regulator warns of serious fallout if ICO ban lifts
South Korean lawmakers will decide the future of domestic initial coin offerings (ICOs) in November, but that hasn’t stopped its top financial regulator from lashing out at the cryptocurrency market one last time.
Financial Services Commission (FSC) chairman Choi Jong-ku has continued to back his governments ban on public ICOs, enacted last September, saying it is just not worth the risk, Yonhap News reports .
“Although many people call for the government to allow initial coin offerings, there are still uncertainties related to such a move as well as the possibility of serious fallouts,” Choi declared at a recent parliamentary audit meeting.
Choi then clarified he was happy to promote the blockchain industry, but will continue to uphold its strict rules for cryptocurrency exchanges and the tokens they trade.
Fate of South Korean ICOs still unclear
Although South Korea’s government has indeed banned ICOs, some are tentatively operating within the boundaries of existing laws, under close watch of the FSC.
In fact, the head of its Ministry of State Affairs confirmed the FSC has been fielding an ICO survey for the past month, working closely with cryptocurrency token projects who have already launched ICOs, and will continue to do so until the end of October.
The FSC’s survey is really a status report on the ICO market, and it is expected regulators will decide the fate of ICOs in South Korea based on the results of the investigation.
The negative feelings towards cryptocurrency may be understandable. After all, South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges repeatedly show up in the news, either for losing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of customer funds, or for being investigated for fraud .
Despite this, South Korea really does believe in blockchain. Its government recently announced it would be throwing $9 million at 12 local blockchain startups in a bid to foster growth. Let’s hope none of them have their own tokens.
Craving more blockchain? Join us at Hard Fork Decentralized, our three-day event in London. We’ll discuss the industry’s future together. You can now register on our website !
