Cryptocurrency exchange that went dark with $16M in user funds only has $45k, report-Computerfanfield

A Canadian cryptocurrency exchange that was shut down earlier this month for allegedly misappropriating CAD$16 million ($12.1 million) in user funds only has $45,000 in “hard assets,” reports Global News .

As previously reported by Hard Fork , the B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) shut down Einstein Exchange after looking into several complaints from customers unable to access their cash and cryptocurrency assets.

Grant Thornton Limited was appointed to seize the exchange ’s assets and return the allegedly missing funds to users . These included cryptocurrency , such as Bitcoin , the BCSC case documents said.

But, a British Columbia Supreme Court filing published yesterday reportedly says Grant Thorton has discovered that the business only has approximately $15,000 in cryptocurrency and $30,000 in cash .

The cryptocurrency exchange was incorporated by director Michael Ongun Gokturk in December 2017, during Bitcoin ‘s famous bull run.

In May this year, the BCSC launched an investigation into customer complaints.

Grant Thornton has reportedly issued notices to several banks across Canada and the US , where Gokturk and the exchange may have held investments or deposits, and seized shares in private companies .

Gokturk did not respond to Global News’ request for comment , nor has he replied to the allegations made in the BCSC case filings.

But, the Einstein Group has reportedly told Grant Thornton that it believes it owes clients between US$8 and $10 million.

This deficit, the company says, stems from credit card and bank draft frauds. “The majority of this loss is made up of cryptocurrency assets,” it adds.

Einstein Exchange is believed to have served 200,000 users from all over the globe . Grant Thornton has so far heard from 200-300 people said to be affected by the exchange ’s collapse.

Disney+ hits 50 million subscribers in just 5 months, giving traders hope

The Walt Disney Company has managed to amass 50 million paid subscribers to its Netflix-style streaming platform in five months.

The entertainment powerhouse hits that milestone after launching Disney+ in just over a dozen countries, eight of which are in Western Europe.

“We’re truly humbled that Disney+ is resonating with millions around the globe, and believe this bodes well for our continued expansion throughout Western Europe and into Japan and all of Latin America later this year,” said Disney exec Kevin Mayer in a press release .

Disney recently made the service available in India, but in conjunction with the already-existing Hotstar package — which boasts 8 million of its own subscribers. Naturally, Disney considers them Disney+ subscribers as well.

Disney Plus offers much of the company’s deep back-catalogue, including content from legendary studios like Marvel, Pixar, and National Geographic. Subscribers pay $6.99 per month, or $69.99 annually.

The service’s biggest competitor, Netflix, had over 167 million subscribers as of January 2020, with 60 million in the US alone.

Industry analysts had reportedly not expected Disney+ to reach 50 million subscribers until 2022, but coronavirus lockdown measures have obviously played a role in smashing those expectations.

Disney still needs more than Disney+

It’s still unclear exactly to what extent the coronavirus pandemic has affected Disney‘s bottom line, but it is prepping to furlough staff and cut executive salaries .

All of its theme parks are also closed, and Disney has practically ceased all production of movies and television content, as has Netflix. The New York Times noted that analysts expect it to lose up to $1.8 billion annually moving forward.

Much of this has been reflected in Disney’s share price, which had fallen more than 30% since market turmoils began in late February.

But Disney+’s 50-million milestone has given investors some hope — $DIS is up more than 6% in Thursday’s pre-market trade , after generally trading sideways for the past fortnight.

Satoshi Nakaboto: ‘Binance CEO says Bitcoin halving will raise its price’

Our robot colleague Satoshi Nakaboto writes about Bitcoin every fucking day.

Welcome to another edition of Bitcoin Today, where I, Satoshi Nakaboto, tell you what’s been going on with Bitcoin in the past 24 hours. As Rousseau used to say: Live, laugh, love!

Bitcoin price

We closed the day, February 20 2020, at a price of $9,608. That’s a minor 0.21 percent decline in 24 hours, or -$20.85. It was the lowest closing price in fifteen days.

We’re still 52 percent below Bitcoin‘s all-time high of $20,089 (December 17 2017).

Bitcoin market cap

Bitcoin’s market cap ended the day at $175,147,142,158. It now commands 64 percent of the total crypto market.

Bitcoin volume

Yesterday’s volume of $44,925,260,237 was the lowest in three days, 141 percent above last year’s average, and 8 percent below last year’s high. That means that yesterday, the Bitcoin network shifted the equivalent of 855 tons of gold.

Bitcoin transactions

A total of 316,500 transactions were conducted yesterday, which is 2 percent below last year’s average and 30 percent below last year’s high.

Bitcoin transaction fee

Yesterday’s average transaction fee concerned $0.39. That’s $3.32 below last year’s high of $3.71.

Bitcoin distribution by address

As of now, there are 13,768 Bitcoin millionaires, or addresses containing more than $1 million worth of Bitcoin.

Furthermore, the top 10 Bitcoin addresses house 5.8 percent of the total supply, the top 100 14.9 percent, and the top 1000 34.7 percent.

Company with a market cap closest to Bitcoin

With a market capitalization of $175 Billion, China Mobile has a market capitalization most similar to that of Bitcoin at the moment.

Bitcoin’s path towards $1 million

On November 29 2017 notorious Bitcoin evangelist John McAfee predicted that Bitcoin would reach a price of $1 million by the end of 2020.

He even promised to eat his own dick if it doesn’t. Unfortunately for him it’s 95.6 percent behind being on track. Bitcoin‘s price should have been $218,444 by now, according to dickline.info.

Bitcoin on Twitter

Yesterday 26,789 fresh tweets about Bitcoin were sent out into the world. That’s 45.7 percent above last year’s average. The maximum amount of tweets per day last year about Bitcoin was 75,543.