Bitcoin Daily: SEC Alleges John McAfee Fraudulently Promoted ICOs; Bank of Canada: CBDC Would Present Security Risks; Fraudsters Capitalize On Crypto’s Finality

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged John McAfee for allegedly touting investments in initial coin offerings (ICOs) to Twitter followers without saying that he received payment for doing so, according to a press release.

The computer coder and businessperson’s bodyguard, Jimmy Watson Jr., was also charged for his alleged involvement in the purported scheme, the release stated.

“Potential investors in digital asset securities are entitled to know if promoters were compensated by the issuers of those securities,” Kristina Littman, Cyber Unit chief, said in the release.

McAfee allegedly marketed different ICOs on Twitter, purportedly posing as independent and neutral even though he received payment of over $23 million in digital assets for the marketing.

In other news, the Bank of Canada said an anonymous token-based central bank digital currency (CBDC) would present some specific risks, according to a staff analytical note.

The bank noted that the risks come from the method in which balances are collected and kept, how CBDC is harnessed for transactions and how different offerings like exchanges, digital wallets and banks compete to bring in users.

The bank said it could change liability rules, design a CBDC to restrict balances or transfers and direct the security procedures selected by aggregation suppliers.

“Designing a CBDC that is universally accessible but that can be stored only at approved intermediaries is a technological challenge that should be investigated,” the bank concluded.

And, an executive with a consumer protection firm said scammers are taking advantage of the finality of digital currency transactions, which is not instant, Cointelegraph reported.

MyChargeBack Vice President of Global Operations Michael Cohen indicated that credit card chargebacks are a potential option 18 months following the transaction date in some instances.

And, in regard to digital currency, consumers might only be able to recoup money in the event of unauthorized transactions.