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Bitcoin slipped below $18,000 again Thursday as ether’s volatility in 2020 shows a different dynamic.

Jose Angel Aman was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison on Wednesday or his involvement in a Ponzi scheme-turned-crypto scam.

Aman and his partners allegedly promised investors that they would purchase rough-colored diamonds that could then be sold at a profit — assuring, in that sense, that their professed $25 million diamond stash was a high-return, no-risk venture. A release from the Department of Justice outlined the scheme and the details of Aman’s sentencing.

The investor’s funds were not used for their intended purposes and Aman lied about the high-value diamond inventory, prosecutors said. To hide the scam, Aman allegedly paid interest to existing investors with money from new victims.

The cryptocurrency element of the case came in the form of Argyle Coin LLC, a supposed cryptocurrency business backed by diamonds. Prosecutors alleged in court that Argyle Coin was intended to prop up the Ponzi scheme and to prevent its eventual collapse.

Aman mostly used the Argyle investor funds to support interest payments from earlier investors and to support his opulent lifestyle rather than developing a promised cryptocurrency token. Aman and his partners collected over $25 million from hundreds of investors, according to the DOJ report.

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The World Economic Forum wants to create guidelines for data storage and distribution, in hopes of making it easier for researchers and governments to make informed decisions.

The SEC commissioner explains why the SEC’s approach has been “too slow and too ambiguous” and why she’s optimistic for 2021.

Massachusetts Mutual has made a $100 million investment in bitcoin and a $5 million equity stake in New York Digital Investments Group.

A Massachusetts-based insurance firm has bought $100 million worth of bitcoin for its general insurance account, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

MassMutual, which is not publicly traded, oversees insurance accounts topping $235 billion. It made the purchase through New York-based NYDIG, which offers cryptocurrency custody and trading services. The insurance firm also acquired a $5 million stake in NYDIG, according to the WSJ. 

According to the Journal report, the investment will provide MassMutual with “measured yet meaningful exposure to a growing economic aspect of our increasingly digital world.”

“MassMutual has been a phenomenal company to work with across Stone Ridge’s broad investment platform,” said Ross Stevens, founder and executive chairman of NYDIG and CEO of parent company Stone Ridge. “Given their track record of innovation, there is nothing surprising to me about MassMutual leading their industry yet again by both seeing, and acting on, the long-term value of the Bitcoin monetary risk premium for their policyowners.”

Founded in 1851, MassMutual is an American mutual life insurance firm with 5 million clients.

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Crypto security startup Curv is rolling out a new decentralized finance (DeFi) solution that it says will make it easier for institutions to access DeFi apps.

Curv DeFi will build on the startup’s integration with the Compound protocol earlier this year as well as its recent partnership with ConsenSys. According to a Thursday announcement, Curv DeFi will use the interoperability and user interface of ConsenSys-owned MetaMask to provide its clients with “a unique offering that combines ease-of-use with the enterprise-controls and enforcement mechanisms institutions require to build out their DeFi strategies.”

Still, it is not clear exactly how many firms are lined up to use the solution. In a statement to The Block, Curv said it has “a handful of existing clients.” It declined to share the names of those clients.

“As there is no reliable and secure institutional solution for DeFi, we’ve seen organizations revert to retail-level MetaMask,” a company spokesperson told The Block. “The new joint offering will enable institutions to combine the ease of use and application-readiness of MetaMask together with an enterprise-grade security infrastructure Curv offers.”

When asked to elaborate on how it would do this, a representative of Curv responded: “Our partnership with MetaMask means that users will be able to keep the same workflow they are accustomed to, while gaining all the security benefits that institutions require. We’ve just bridged the technology gap, and paving the way for greater institutional adoption of DeFi.”

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Enforcement Director Stephanie Avakian led SEC investigations during the heart of its ICO crackdown.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Division director Stephanie Avakian will leave her post at the end of the year, according to an announcement from the agency.

Avakian led the creation of the SEC’s Cyber Unit, which specifically addressed blockchain technology and digital asset violations.

Avakian’s legacy within the crypto space is the Cyber Unit’s enforcement of unregistered initial coin offerings (ICO), including the appointment of a cyber unit chief to police ICO’s and blockchain violations. Key cases included the SEC’s ongoing battle with Telegram and Block.one’s ICO. 

Deputy Director Marc P. Berger will fill the vacancy left by Avakian as Acting Director. He was called up from his role as leader of the New York office to co-direct the division with Aiken in August of this year. 

Avakian’s departure follows her former co-director’s exit, Stephen Peikin, who left the agency in August.

Peikin spearheaded ICO enforcement actions and co-founded the Cyber Unit with Avakian. It also comes after Chairman Jay Clayton announced his intention to step down at the end of the year, months ahead of his scheduled departure. 

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The token was listed on social money platform Fyooz, where buyers, most likely fans of the rapper, bought $YACHTY for $15 each.