Bitcoin Daily: Telegram Accused Of Making Post-ICO Sales; NBA All-Star Player To Debut Digital Token

JPMorgan Chase said the launch of CME Group options is building and there is the anticipation of institutional interest in Bitcoin-related contracts.

Bakkt, a consortium that includes Intercontinental Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange parent, started giving options last month, according to strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.

“There has been a steep increase in the activity of the underlying CME futures contract” over the past few days, Panigirtzoglou wrote, noting that open interest has increased 69 percent from year-end and that the number of large open-interest holders has grown. “This unusually strong activity over the past few days likely reflects the high anticipation among market participants of the option contract.”

Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie is planning to roll out his token-based investment vehicle after almost three months of setbacks that include a threat from the NBA to ban him from the league during negotiations.

The third year of his Nets contract is a player option for just over $12.3 million. His original tokenization plan called for the possibility of significant dividends for investors if he elected to opt-out of the final year of his deal in 2021 and come to terms on a more lucrative contract with Brooklyn or another team.

Telegram got at least two invoices for commissions from selling the company’s tokens in the summer of 2018, months after the company’s initial coin offering (ICO), according to newly released documents.

The filings against Telegram by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the evidence of post-ICO sales “undercuts the company’s argument that the offering was exempt from registration requirements.”

European firms handling cryptocurrency will soon face a strict regulatory regime. The Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive or AMLD5 is set.

“This will result in some closures and there are some early indications of that already, and in consolidation, where the industry starts to see M&A to scale up and meet increased costs,” said Siân Jones, director, xReg Consulting.

The regime gives greater power and reach to financial intelligence units and law enforcement.