Huobi’s New Token and How It’s Not an ICO

Huobi is a Chinese exchange that commanded a significant portion of the market in China when exchanges were thriving. The exchange recently announced that they would be deploying their token, conforming to the ERC-20 standard.

The team over at Huobi will be calling their new issuance, the Huobi token, this issuance will have a limited supply of five hundred million coins and will never be increased. They planned on allocating sixty percent of the total supply, (300 million HT’s) and distributing them over the course of fifteen days.

The company states that their token can be utilized in various ways, but initially it will be used as material to provide holders of the token with significant discounts on their trading fees. The tokens can be used in other ways, a few of them are, certified corporation deposits for statutory token trading, token transactions and more.

An interesting aspect of these tokens is that holders of the token will have some voting rights, getting to choose which tokens will be supported by the exchange.

Not an ICO

The exchange wants people to know that is not to be considered as an Initial Coin Offering. They are conducting this offering differently because of regulatory concerns in China and other areas that they might be based out of. This offering allows users to purchase their tokens only with through the purchase of what they are calling a ‘Point Card’ via the Huobi Pro platform. The point card is a card rolled out by the Huobi platform to serve as a prepaid card for service charges. One point on the card will be equal to one USDT; these Huobi tokens can be traded for USDT, Bitcoin, and Ethereum on the Huobi platform.

They will be taking a similar stance like other exchanges and will be utilizing their profits to re-purchase their issued tokens in the open market. They will also be using a portion of these re-purchased tokens to allocate their investor protection fund.

How was their non-ICO?

Huobi has already deployed the token to immense success. After officially releasing their global points – Huobi Tokens, they were able to see all deployed tokens quickly snapped up by the market. The team over at the organization stated that their point packages sold out within one minute. It seems like there is a real demand for Huobi in the marketplace.

Huobi History

As noted above, Huobi was able to be one of the largest exchanges at a time when exchanges were thriving in China. Huobi and others still operate in China, by placing their headquarters and registering in neighboring countries and Hong Kong. After the Chinese government clamped down on the cryptocurrency industry and left it somewhat in disarray, operators had to choose from several options.

The first option was to leave and go elsewhere, and many have done so. But Huobi and others chose to stay and continue operations in China in a limited manner. They’ve done so through the aspect of the OTC market, of which, there are players like OKEx and OTCBTC, who also participate and cater to the clients.

These companies are playing the role of a connector, they connect those who want to buy to those who want to sell, and they do this by making the site to where it’s like a simplified eBay. A buyer can choose the digital currency that they want and can then browse through the different offers that pop up on the screen.

Buyers then connect their financial accounts to make the purchase and then move the virtual coins to other exchanges.

The only issue is that this quite a hassle, users might have to take more steps to conduct a transaction. A barrier, due to the government regulations in this space is the fact supply is scarce, leading to an increase in prices. Users have to pay a premium to participate in the market, and the price differentials can vary in the thousands, thus providing a more inferior quality experience for these buyers.

Even in the OTC market, users are discouraged in being blatant about their purchases when dealing with banks and other financial institutions which handle money.

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BitLicense: The Hardest Maze to Get Through

Any cryptocurrency based company that has considered starting its operations in the financial hub of the U.S. would be familiar with BitLicense, a term now associated with long wait times and lengthy procedures.

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) launched the BitLicense program in November 2015, and so far it has only granted licenses or charters to a total of six institutions, with the most recent license going to BitFlyer in November 2017.

Other licensed companies include Coinbase, Ripple/XRP, and Circle State Financial; while charters were provided to Gemini Trust and itBit Trust.

Considering its New York, shouldn’t more licenses have been provided?

It’s not incorrect to think that New York has more cryptocurrency based businesses than ones which have been granted the license. Most notably, it had recently been reported that Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, also never applied for BitLicense, but it is still in operation and continues its day to day functions without any issues.

According to the NYDFS, any company that is applying for cryptocurrency based activity within the territory needs to apply for the BitLicense program, which leaves Binance and several other known organizations in not complying with that regulation.

However, NYDFS has not launched any crackdowns against such institutions, and experts suggest that it is to maintain market stability and how the program has been met with criticism through the industry due to various aspects.

Erik Vorhees, CEO of ShapeShift.io, a Switzerland-based business that decided not to do business in New York, had stated in the past that BitLicense program asks the applications to “extract personal, private information” which significantly compromises any potential platform that has its very core set in security (as cryptocurrencies require the utmost security functions).

CEO of GoCoin, Steve Beauregard, had also shared similar comments, stating that it’s “too overreaching and burdensome, especially for the smaller companies.”

It had been reported by Reuters in 2016 that the process requires $5,000 just for the application to be filed, which does not guarantee a license. It was further explained that an application could consist of more than 500 pages including sensitive information such as executives’ fingerprints. It was also mentioned that on top of all that, regulators also ask additional questions and inquire for more details about the organization.

The process has not changed since then, and that is what is causing all of these companies to either turn away from New York altogether or not to apply for BitLicense in the first place.

The effects

Both of these approaches to BitLicense affect the citizens of New York, who either miss out on new jobs and business due to not having modern ventures available within their reach, or can risk losing their investment and jeopardize their career by investing or working with a company that is not licensed under the jurisdiction only because the licensing process was too tiresome.

As it is now going to be three years since the early adaptation of BitLicense, and the cryptocurrency industry has grown to unprecedented levels, it is time for NYDFS to look into improving the procedure so it could process timely applications for more businesses.

If NYDFS decides to improve on BitLicence, then it should also not restrict that approach to new businesses interested to start their operations in New York, but should also offer the existing businesses to operate with full accordance to the improved regulatory law so the people associated with them could continue working without worrying about the uncertain position of their employers.

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As More and More Businesses Adopt Blockchain, Is It Time for the Platform to Evolve?

While opinions are divided on cryptocurrencies with their proponents and critics being equally passionate about both ends of the spectrum, there is one thing that they agree upon,  the usage of blockchain technology.

Even though the central concept of blockchain technology was introduced years before Bitcoin came into the picture in 2008, the cryptocurrency did present blockchain’s utility in a never seen before capacity. While most people were either in awe or dismissal of the concept of a digital currency, some of them saw the bigger picture not with cryptocurrencies in mind, but with the technology that the digital currency was created with.

One such name that comes to mind is IBM, which, after years of research and work on the blockchain front, now has a dedicated business division that focuses explicitly on deploying blockchain solutions for enterprises all over the world. Very recently, IBM partnered with Maersk to implement a worldwide blockchain network for shipping companies,  a system that could change shipping procedures as we now know it.

It has also worked with other corporations and non-profit organizations and has been making headlines over the past few years.

Other big names in the blockchain front include Oracle and Microsoft, which also provide blockchain as a service to global enterprises. However, the list does not end there, and the list of great minds working in the blockchain sector is only growing each day.

Due to the security, transparency, and ease-of-access that it provides over a network, blockchain technology, and its associated functions are now deemed by various parts of the technological industry as a world-changing phenomenon, just like the internet in the late 90s.

So businesses are adopting it… what’s next?

With the blockchain technology is now being welcomed by these corporations, it is a no-brainer that it will only make further progress as time passes by.

However, that poses another question on how businesses can further benefit from this technology and create an ecosystem that does not only allow them to interact with their customers with ease but also makes the lives of non-technological users easier as well.

With this thought, several concepts keep surfacing every day, with some of them being as sound and logical as to have the potential to get adopted soon, while some of them, only sound nice on paper but fall flat on execution.

However, innovation is one of the core aspects of the cryptocurrency and blockchain community, which is why considering these concepts and learning more about them is only beneficial in the long run.

The idea of tokens for each business

One such concept that has been making the rounds through the community is the adaptation of native tokens by established businesses – that are not just created by startups to run initial coin offerings (ICOs) but which could act as transaction ready digital currency within the company’s platform.

The rough concept for this idea states that any enterprise whether it offers cellphones, music, video content, or groceries, can have their native tokens which are able to be exchanged with fiat.

The idea presented with this also proposes that the digital currency provides privileges such as discounts or faster delivery times to these companies’ customers among several other possible benefits, and is created in such a manner that it can be traded for the same value in fiat in case the customer decides not to want to have the “tokens” with the same corporation anymore.

Pros: It could create a mutually beneficial and never-seen-before ecosystem for both businesses and customers.

Cons: It will pose restrictions with regulation and anti-money laundering with governments, which could be a hindrance in its execution.

Contribution through public blockchains

Most of the blockchain technologies being developed by the corporations are permissioned blockchains, which means that not everyone can access all data on the ledger or write to the ledger to create new blocks.

However, the concept related to this aspect suggests changing that.

The idea is to create “public blockchains,” which will provide these organizations with the ability to interact with their users in a never seen before capacity.

Pros: Everything will be available to users that can contribute to the platform with their ideas within the system’s functionalities. Platforms such as Buzzfeed might be very interested in this kind of a blockchain so that it could have more and more people contribute with content on the platform and also earn benefits as they participate.

Cons: While the concept of interaction could remind people of Twitter, a social media platform that now allows anyone to connect with people that they never imagined they could ever share their thoughts with; the idea of allowing the public to access data on a blockchain reminiscent of Bitcoin, which in its definition is “censor-proof”, seems far-fetched for most product-based businesses.

For instance, any company offering its products or financial information will not be comfortable to allow everyone access to everything that is available on its blockchain platform, including but not limited to financial data.

Intriguing ideas

These ideas are creative concepts which might have the potential for adaptability one day. However, since the blockchain technology is still evolving, it is too soon for concepts of such capacity to come to fruition.

That being said, the world of blockchain has opened doors to a new world of possibilities and we, for one, cannot wait to hear the next set of ideas that pick up traction within the community.

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Another ICO Gets in Trouble, This Time in Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts recently filed a complaint against the owner of Caviar, a Cayman Islands-based company, for selling “unregistered securities” through an initial coin offering (ICO).

Even though the website for Caviar had stated that its ICO was not open for U.S. residents, it was reported through the filed complaint that at least two U.S. residents were able to buy the native token through the ICO.

What does the complaint say

The complaint alleges that Kirill Bensonoff, a resident of Brookline, has been running an ICO for his company Caviar that is based in the Cayman Islands.

According to the filing, Caviar had explained to its potential stakeholders that the company would be generating its revenue through a hybrid model of investing in other digital currencies and providing loans backed by real estate.

The complaint also alleged that Caviar has no place of business in the Cayman Islands and its business operations are run through Bensonoff’s home in Brookline. It further argued that the company was set up in the Cayman Islands in an “attempt to avoid U.S. securities registration requirements.”

It was further alleged that Bensonoff and Caviar had been telling their potential investors that they will be receiving quarterly dividends of 75 percent of the company’s profit, generated from the pooled investment fund on cryptocurrency along with the company’s real estate debt program.

The complaint also alleged that through the ICO, which had been going on since December 1, Bensonoff and Caviar have been offering these tokens, investment opportunities and promises of significant rates of return “without registration or exemption from registration in the Commonwealth.”

Citing these significant reasons among several others, the complaint had been filed through the Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Galvin.

In a statement, Galvin explained that this instance would serve as a cautionary tale to other people who were trying to get creative with their offering. He further stated that his office would not let anyone take advantage of investors within the State of Massachusetts.

Galvin said:

“This serves as a warning to those who would try to use the recent bitcoin craze to circumvent securities laws in Massachusetts. My Securities Division will be monitoring these cases closely to ensure Massachusetts investors are not being taken advantage of by so-called ICO promoters trying to cash in on the latest get-rich-quick scam.”

Bensonoff denies the allegations

According to reports, Bensonoff denied the accusations by stating that his company ensures not to “implicate” any laws about securities. He further mentioned that he does not believe that the company had harmed anyone.

He also expressed that he is “disappointed” on the filing and stated that the Caviar team had been in dialogue with the Commonwealth about resolving concerns regarding investors from Massachusetts.

He stated:

“We expect to continue that dialogue and believe that we can meet the Secretary’s concerns regarding Massachusetts purchasers.”

On the other hand, Galvin stated that he is not looking into the legitimacy of the company’s operations for now, and his primary concern is that the company needs to be registered with the authorities due to the investment returns that it is offering.

He mentioned that if the company does have any issues in the future, then the investors will be left in the dark with nowhere to go, which is why it is essential for such investment-based companies to have themselves registered with local authorities properly.

Information from caviar.io

Caviar’s website, which is still functional with eight days remaining to its ICO’s completion, states almost all of what has been mentioned in the complaint.

For instance, an excerpt from the homepage is provided below.

“Caviar seeks to reduce investment volatility (“beta”) while capturing higher than average rates of return (“alpha”). Caviar will achieve these goals by combining investments in fast-appreciating crypto-assets with income-generating short-term loans, backed by real estate.”

It is also mentioned on the homepage that the “token holders receive 75% of quarterly profits via smart contract.”

The website also mentions an “Intelligent Predictive Model” to forecast cryptocurrency values in the future, which allegedly would help the company in deciding which cryptocurrencies to invest in. It is also stated that this particular model of the forecast is “backed by real data science.”

The website also states that it will provide its first quarter’s profit distribution by April 2018.

It remains to be seen how this case progresses forward. Until then, saying anything about the authenticity of the company’s operations would be premature.

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São Paulo Focuses on Infrastructure with Buildcoin

The government of São Paulo, Brazil, is joining hands with a U.S. firm for a cryptocurrency based initiative that aims to improve the State’s infrastructure.

The firm that will partner with São Paulo government is CG/LA Infrastructure, a Washington based company led by Norman Anderson, who formerly served President Donald Trump as an informal advisor.

The program will start with a project for public-private partnership (PPP) and will initially focus on improving the lighting infrastructure within the State.

Where does cryptocurrency come into this?

As part of the project, the engineers and other team members that are recruited for the program will be receiving part of their compensation in a new cryptocurrency called BuildCoin.

BuildCoin and its related platform will be created within the current year, from the country of Switzerland. It plans to do so with an investment offer of at least $55 million, and it will be targeting the construction industry as its primary audience and investment segment.

BuildCoin aims to be adopted as one of the primary methods of compensation in the construction industry. While it may certainly be difficult at first, the company plans to achieve this goal through long-term planning and offering more and more benefits with the native token as the platform continues to grow and obtain more users and attention from all over the world.

The company plans to have that done through expanding BuildCoin’s usage from a speculative cryptocurrency of a company to something that is accepted throughout various parts of the construction industry, regardless of where BuildCoin’s users are located.

BuildCoin plans for its partners to offer services and products such as training programs and building materials in exchange for using BuildCoin as an alternative to traditional currency.

However, the government of São Paulo explained that cryptocurrencies are volatile regarding investment, and any party that wants to join in the initiative should do so after an assessment of the risks involved.

That being said, Bruno Freitas, who belongs to the Innovation Unit of the Secretariat, stated that while there is no state spending on the project and it is being practiced as a standard procedure for PPPs, it would be correct to think that the cryptocurrency of BuildCoin will rise in value over time.

Freitas said:

“The more the crypto-coins are accepted and used, the more valued they become. We are encouraged by the possibility that this succeeds and hoping for it to work.”

More details about the program

It was reported that the partnered program of São Paulo government and CG/LA would be focusing on improving the lighting infrastructure of participating municipalities from the State.

According to the program, municipalities with a population of 100,000 or more will be able to apply to compete for the project. The selected applicants will be announced within 90 days of the program’s formal initiation, and the projects will be completed within 6-8 months.

The ICO for BuildCoin is currently live on its website.

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SEC Poses Concerns over Cryptocurrency-Based ETFs

Following the debut of two blockchain-based ETFs in the country, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posed more concerns about the future of ETFs that are related to the industry of cryptocurrencies.

The concerns were highlighted by Dalia Blass, Director of the Investment Division of the SEC, in a staff letter that discussed the issues at length after the regulatory authority received several filings related to cryptocurrency-based ETFs.

The letter was addressed to the Investment Company Institute (ICI) and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), associations which represent entities including but not limited to investment funding, exchange-traded funds, securities, banking, and asset management.

The SEC also stated that until the concerns have been clarified, it has asked the current applicants of such products to withdraw their requests.

What does the letter say?

The letter refers to the fact of  U.S. investment marketing being one of the most successful in the world and the attention that it gathers from both investors and commodity sponsors alike. It then points out how the same holds true for cryptocurrency-based products that are now turning towards the U.S. investment market for more exposure.

The letter explains that the SEC investment division is willing to discuss details on these proposed products with their investors, but also points out the “significant investor protection issues” needs to be looked into before such products are available to the public.

It identifies the advantages highlighted by the proponents of cryptocurrencies and related products, as well as the concerns from their critics. It also acknowledges that the “innovative” nature of cryptocurrencies and associated products makes them unlike any conventional product and the risks that this very evident fact proposes in the initiation and management of cryptocurrency related investment products.

The letter also presents a few questions related to five segments, these segments are summarized below.

1. Valuation

The letter explains that one of the most critical requirements of funding opportunities such as ETFs, is that they need to value the assets in question each day for their net asset value (NAV), which is essential for various reasons such as determining what participants will pay for these ETFs, and what returns they can receive when they are redeemed or sold.

However, the letter points out that the volatility which cryptocurrencies and related products hold regarding daily valuation makes it challenging to maintain this requirement on a regular basis. It then poses questions related to this difficulty and asks for suggestions on how they can be tackled.

2. Liquidity

Another critical point that is highlighted pertains to the ability of these cryptocurrency-based products to be turned into liquid assets.

The letter mentions that due to specific rules, such funds need to ensure that they have the assurance of sufficient liquidity.

The letter then presents various questions about these products’ ability to do so and asks for answers to ensure that these requirements are met.

3. Custody

The letter mentions the safeguards currently in place to make sure that registered funds have maintained custody of their holdings to ensure that the investors and related authorities have a place to turn towards in the future and to verify the holdings if there is a need to do so.

While the letter acknowledges that the existing Bitcoin futures are “cash settled,” it also points out that other funds would need to provide derivatives for physical settlement.

It then poses several questions about the management of this requirement about cryptocurrency, asking what measures could be taken to “validate existence, exclusive ownership and software functionality of private cryptocurrency keys” against these funds.

4. Arbitrage for ETFs

The letter explains that ETFs receive Commission orders to “operate in a specialized structure” which enables their day to day share exchange trading (at market-based prices) as well as creation unit transactions (which are NAV based).

The letter then poses questions on the matter of compliance with this requirement, asking that given the volatility and other restrictions raised above, a fundamental question hinges on, how will ETF’s ensure that these guidelines are met.

5. Potential manipulation and other risks

In this section, the letter discusses various points that relate to concerns raised about the fraud-related instances noticed in the cryptocurrency industry. It refers to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton’s recent statement, which mentioned that “cryptocurrency markets, as they are currently operating, feature substantially less investor protection than traditional securities markets, with correspondingly greater opportunities for fraud and manipulation.”

It presents questions on how investors could be protected against increased chances of fraud and manipulation and what measures could be taken to ensure the prevention of these situations.

Conclusion

The letter concludes by stating that until the questions posed regarding the above points have been answered, the SEC investment management division does not think that sponsors should initiate registering for cryptocurrency based products.

It further mentions that all current applications have been asked to withdraw.

“Until the questions identified above can be addressed satisfactorily, we do not believe that it is appropriate for fund sponsors to initiate registration of funds that intend to invest substantially in cryptocurrency and related products, and we have asked sponsors that have registration statements filed for such products to withdraw them.”

It seems that cryptocurrency ETFs and related investment products have a long way to go before the industry could see them making their debut. It remains to be seen how the associations will be answering to these concerns and how soon can the process be completed.

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Goldman Sachs Analysts Bolsters Market, Scathes Bitcoin

The financial institution Goldman Sachs has stated that the pioneer cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, looks like it is forming a more significant bubble than the bubble which took place over the course of the 90’s and culminated in the 2000 crash. The analysts from Goldman go further to state that the Bitcoin bubble may be more than the infamous tulip bubble as well.

Unsteady as she goes

Analysts from the Investment Strategy Group of Goldman Sachs published a report called Un(steady) as She Goes. This report or research letter, sent out to a specific clientele, made a couple of points in regards to the current market.

First, it described the year of 2017, discussing the growth and gains and how this is one of the most prolonged recovery periods in the post-WWII era, lasting nine years so far. They believe that there is a very low probability of an economic recession in the next two quarters and if the economy keeps running into the middle of 2019,  it might fall under the category of being the longest recovery period ever.

The growth is not limited primarily to the U.S, varying levels of growth are also appreciated by 172 of 192 in the IMF’s, World Economic Outlook. The IMF believes that there will be the fewest number of countries facing recession so far.

Another highlight was the U.S equities market stating that equities returned 21.8% last year while emerging markets provided 31.0%. The strategists aimed to prove that the US equities market is not in a bubble.

While proving that equities are not in a bubble, they sought to prove that the emerging market of cryptocurrencies was in a bubble

The Goldman Sachs Evaluation of the Cryptocurrency market

The analysts touch on the aspect of cryptocurrencies and crypto affiliated stocks experiencing manic prices and wild exuberance.  The researchers sought to cautioned investors that price movements in the prices of Ethereum and Bitcoin seemed to increase rapidly and discussed the effect of the mere mention of crypto integration in equities could cause a spike in stock prices.

An example of these crypto-affiliated companies would be Long Island Tea which transformed itself and said it would be now Long Blockchain, a move which allowed the company to see a significant increase in its share price.

Then another example could be restaurant chains like Hooters who’ve noted that they would also be having a blockchain integration and were able to enjoy an increase in the share price as well.

The investment banking firms team calls what’s happening in the market as manic and somewhat surprising. The team notes that the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has not yet met the goals that are mentioned in its whitepaper, to serve as a peer to peer electronic cash system.

Issuing a controversial statement:

“We think the concept of a digital currency that leverages blockchain technology is viable given the benefits it could provide: ease of execution globally, lower transaction costs, reduction of corruption since all transactions could be traced, safety of ownership, and so on. But bitcoin does not provide any of these key advantages.”

They go further to state how one transaction that occurs in the Bitcoin payments network can take more than nine days and that there are discrepancies in the value of the leading cryptocurrency from one exchange to the other. They dived a little bit into the aspects of fees that are present in the system, noting that they could be high.

They make final notes on the matter by stating that when the bubble does eventually burst, they are confident that it will not affect economies of the United States or those of other nations.

Counter-Argument

A counter-argument can be made by cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

At the present moment, they might say the Bitcoin network in itself is secure, as the payment network in itself has not been attacked, but more, the third party services like wallet providers and exchanges, who have faced hacks.

Furthermore, those in the crypto industry might state that processing times and the issues of fees might be prevalent at times and could be resolved via technologies such as the lightning network and aspects like side chains. Implementations that are in the works this year.

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An Amazon Customer a Ordered Bitmain Miner, but He Got the Boss Baby Instead

As the cryptocurrency market grows, people see themselves participating in one way or another. They can either choose to join as an investor, a miner, researcher, or a third party service provider that allows for the exchange or holding of funds.

Many others more are finding out about the aspects of mining and are expressing their interest by mining directly or minging through the cloud through services like Nicehash or others.

Those who choose to mine must usually get the parts and start a do it yourself project on putting this machine together or order their specific machine from marketplaces like Amazon.

The thing with Amazon is, sometimes, you might not get what you asked for, as one resident from Stoke in England found out.

The fiasco

The individual from the United Kingdom, Ichim Bogdan Cezar, got caught up the in the sector of cryptocurrencies and thought that he would go ahead and play the role of a miner.

As a miner, he knew that he needed to purchase specific material to be able to mine, open up blocks and generate Bitcoins and so he made a purchase on Amazon. He bought a Bitcoin miner, a Bitmain S9 for over $4,500, from the popular marketplace, Amazon.com, in November in 2017.

He thought he purchased a Bitcoin miner but what came back was a surprise, and not a good one.

Instead of the miner that he had purchased, he received something very different, a copy of the movie, The Boss Baby, a DreamWorks animated film catered toward children. That’s right, no mining hardware. Instead, he got an entertaining DVD.

The consumer, Cezar, was able to obtain a refund from the marketplace provider and conducted a follow-up process with the individual or organization that he purchased the supposed Bitcoin Miner from.

The thing is, he got the refund, but he only received it this year in January.

He commented to the local publication that he was quite peeved by these turn of events due to the time and money he allocated to the whole process, stating:

“Obviously it’s great that they will finally process a refund for me but it shouldn’t have taken that long, especially when there is such a big amount of money involved.”

The Culprit and similar stories

Meanwhile, the organization that sold him the DVD instead of the requested Bitcoin Miner, Minifigures Direct, has a slew of unfavorable reviews noting that they were caught up in the same situation.

A few of the customer complaints ring true to the Cezar’s story :

“My AntMiner S9 did not arrive and the seller failed to respond when contacted. Kudos to amazon however as a full refund was issued.”

“This seller is fraud. I have ordered the Antminer S9 but never arrived, but in the other hand my A-to-Z Guarantee claim was granted and a refund was issued”

“This Seller is fraudulent! Sent a sharpie Marker instead of a Bitmain Antminer. I’M MORE DISAPPOINTED WITH AMAZON THAT THEY SAID THEY WILL NOT HONOR THEIR A TO Z GUARANTEE DESPITE MY PURCHASE SATISFYING ALL THE CONDITIONS !!! WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTED BY AMAZON WHEN BUYING AND YET THEY WON’T STAND OVER THEIR OWN COMPANY POLICY. I WILL NEVER SHOP WITH AMAZON AGAIN. I WILL TAKE LEGAL ACTION.”

Lastly, one comment hits the nail on the head, highlighting the lack of returns one experienced by dealing with the business.

“Expected delivery of Antminer S9 which did not arrive. Not answering emails and now I’m not only £3100 pounds down, but also losing income which would have been generated by this machine. Can’t believe Amazon are associated by such a Fraudulent company.”

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