https://blog.coinburp.com/how-a-legal-firm-and-crypto-exchange-partnership-benefits-investors

Law and Crypto partnership

CoinBurp and award-winning litigation lawyer firm (Selachii) partner up to provide an outstanding level of service to current and future investors. We just recently launched our unique cryptocurrency trading platform on the 7th of May 2019 and have seen a rapid level of uptake with new users. Through extensive research, we have identified the market as that which focuses entirely on experienced and knowledgeable traders and filled this gap with a mission to eradicate this common misconception.

Selachii, a fintech, bitcoin & commercial litigation law firm have vast experience coupled with a state-of-the-art case management system to aid clients in dispute resolution, fraud, arbitration and more. Past case studies demonstrate the high success rate of Selachii, proving their worth to be part of the Legal 500 in the United Kingdom and shortlisted for the Modern Law Awards 2017/18.
Responsibilities for protecting customer data

On the 25th of May 2018, we saw the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) take effect following a number of cases whereby high and low-level companies were abusing the privacy of user data they had collected. This data was either being stolen, sold or publically available which highlighted the lack of privacy of our general data which could be used against us for purposes such as criminal activity and unauthorised advertising spam.

On a daily basis, hundreds of millions of people entrust websites and companies with highly confidential and private information. CoinBurp and Selachii are great examples of companies who place trust within our customers but putting customer data protecting at the forefront of our values.

We have undergone and will continue to undergo, strenuous testing on throughout our site to decrease any potential external threats. With security at the core of everything we do, our mission is to provide a trusted and secure site for all visitors and investors. We have implemented a variety of security measures to ensure the confidentiality of personal data and protect personal data from loss, theft, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration or destruction.

Selachii, again a company that deals with confidential client data are committed to ensuring that all information is secure. Selachii stipulates that no data will be held for any longer than is reasonable. No details are transferred or sold to third parties for direct marketing, without clear consent. They are another great example that keeps data internally and highlights the importance of data protection.

We both hold valuable client information and emphasise the value of keeping it private, as we are both service-based companies where customers come first, they and their details are treated as such.
How account verification controls prevent crypto or fiat commingling with potential crypto or fiat gained through illicit means

One of our many unique features is the concise and efficient verification process. We have partnered up with expert service providers within the cryptocurrency space such as Jumio. Jumio enhances compliance and reduces fraud through airtight KYC (Know Your Customer) & AML (Anti Money Laundering) compliance protocols. The reason for such stringent, yet efficient verification is to onboard an investor and ensures that that person is the one to be able to trade, transfer and move funds.

Our reasoning with these implementations is to prevent and control any commingling between the 2 parties. This term is defined as the movement of funds by a company which belongs to a client, and as a result, breaching trust. By installing strict and quality verification process’, the depositor of funds will be the only person able to move, trade and withdraw.

Our partnership with Selachii adds benefit in a way that aids in the prevention of such misconduct. If such instances were to occur by an individual or third party without our knowledge, having been backed by a top fintech law firm will be able to provide a solution and future prevention.

“As a cryptocurrency company operating in a notoriously difficult space, instilling confidence into our customers was of the utmost importance. To us, this meant going above and beyond what is legally required by a responsible cryptocurrency business. ” - Peter Wood, CEO & Co-Founder of CoinBurp

Selachii’s exposure to legal cases in the crypto space have helped shape CoinBurp Selachii are experts in bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and fully understand all of the means used by fraudsters, and use this knowledge to assist clients in reclaiming any loss as a result of bitcoin fraud.

Previous cases Selachii have worked on include:

    Obtaining an injunction against two rogue exchanges.
    Assisting with ICO’s.
    Advising generally in relation to regulation and legislation.
    Providing escrow services to a major margin trading fund with crypto assets in excess of £250M GBP.
    Assisted with the launch of a new crypto token with a presentation on stage at their UK launch which was streamed live to Malaysia and Vietnam.
    Assisting with terms and conditions and other policies etc for major exchanges.
    Advised major exchanges in relation to US tax reporting requirements.

“Crypto will continue to integrate into everyday transactions and society. Governments worldwide will realise they cannot stop ban crypto but will instead regulate it and ensure they can identify users in order to be able to tax where applicable” - Richard Howlett, Solicitor and Managing Director of Selachii.

This experience in dealing with cryptocurrency-related issues has brought new ideas forward on how to create a platform that reduces the risk of fraud and puts security at the core. Our platform has been built on the foundation of legal, security and industry knowledge to provide retail investors with the cryptocurrency trading platform they need.

have a look at https://www.coinburp.com/

https://www.selachii.com/Blog/Being-europe-s-number-one-cryptocurrency-firm-demands-experience-not-size.html

As a result of the stratospheric rise in its popularity, law firms and other professional advisers have been quick to position themselves as cryptocurrency experts, promoting teams who – seemingly overnight – have acquired all of the requisite experience.

Predictably the charge is being led by the big boys.  Many very familiar ‘City’ names now top the search engine rankings thanks to the considerable resource they can patch into their marketing efforts.

The only thing is on closer examination the CVs they’re promoting are arguably a little generic.  We know there’s always (a perceived) security in size and “nobody gets fired for buying IBM” etc. but our argument is when it comes to such a volatile and fast moving sector, specialist knowledge and experience has to trump where a law firm sits in the current industry rankings.

Richard Howlett, one of Selachii founding partners, has been advising clients on legal matters involving bitcoin and a range of other cryptocurrencies since 2013.

Since then Richard has built up a global practice many much larger firms can only covet.  Over the last 6 years his clients have enabled us to build up a breadth and depth of experience no other law firm in Europe can match.  That experience includes helping clients with High Security Cryptocurrency Cold Storage, OTC Escrow, KYC & Due Diligence Advice, Bitcoin Exchange advice, Smart Contracts and Blockchain, Company formation and compliance and the launch of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) as well as the more general banking and corporate/commercial legal advice and expert witness opinion our clients need.

However, it is on the contentious side where we have really cemented our position as the number one law firm in Europe for bitcoin, ICO and cryptocurrency litigation.

Since our ground-breaking work in the Class Action against Mt Gox we have worked tirelessly to successfully settle disputes involving cryptocurrency in our clients’ favour.  While all of these disputes are vastly different the cases we have resolved have included scam exchanges and trading, fraudulent ICOs, wallet theft and ransomware attacks.  The majority of cases have involved an international dynamic which has provided us with the very specific know-how required to run a multi-jurisdictional case.

The high profile nature of the cryptocurrency matters we’ve worked on has led to Richard establishing himself as a regular fixture in the media.  The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph and The FT have all asked for Richard’s opinion and that in turn has led to appearances on BBC TV and radio.

And Selachii is involved in much more than just the legal aspects of cryptocurrency.  As well as providing both Multi-Signature Keyholder and Trusted Third Party Custodian services for our investor clients not to mention we became the very first law firm in Europe to accept bitcoin as a form of payment, an option that surely no firm purporting to be cryptocurrency specialists can fail to offer?

So what are we saying?  Simply that if you need any advice on legal matters involving bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency, don’t be drawn to a law firm because they say they can do what we do.  Talk to us first.  While we will never be able to match the City firms in size, we know that at the same time they’ll never be able to match our comprehensive real life legal experience.   

If you have any legal questions regarding cryptocurrency please call us today on 020 7792 5649 or email us at info@selachii.com.

We will help.

Whist receiving the monetary value of the btc lost at the time of the Mt Gox collapse will disappoint many creditors, it will of course be a relief that they should now receive the full value of their original loss as opposed to what could have been virtually nothing when Mt Gox initially collapsed and brought the btc price tumbling.  The somewhat ironic outcome of this matter (when there is an eventual pay out) is that Mark Karpeles may end up a very rich man and the excess value after creditors and legal fees are paid may go to him.

This is however the opportunity for all creditors to get on board and claim what is theirs.  Please do not miss out as this will be the final opportunity to claim what is yours.

Victims of the failed bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox can now make an online claim for compensation thanks to the civil rehabilitation process sanctioned in June.

https://www.selachii.com/Blog/Mt-gox-s-creditors-can-finally-claim-online-for-the-bitcoin-they-re-owed.html

It’s Time To Break The 5 Most Common Myths About Smart Contracts

https://www.selachii.co.uk/Blog/It-s-time-to-break-the-5-most-common-myths-about-smart-contracts.html

Have you tried to speak with Lloyds and explain?

In last week’s blog we looked at what an ICO (Initial Coin Offering) is and explored some of the risks associated with investing in a new venture via an ICO.   This week we wanted to balance that viewpoint by looking at some of more positive aspects of the ICO we have experienced from working alongside clients directly involved with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency and digital currency transactions.

One of the questions we are often asked by client interested in taking part in a potential ICO is whether there are any examples of successful ICOs.  The simple answer is yes, there definitely are.

https://www.selachii.co.uk/Blog/How-much-opportunity-do-icos-offer-and-how-do-i-tell-a-genuine-ico-from-a-scam.html

Satoshi's novel idea has expanded into a multi billion dollar industry and has the potential to revolutionise the payments system worldwide.  Crypto currency is not exclusive to BTC and I am sure Satoshi was aware of this when his concept was born.

With any industry, there are people seeking to make money fast.  On the flip side, there are people/businesses looking to use the tools available to them at any precise given point in time to assist with their business growth and success.

An ICO, whilst not ideal for every business, certainly does have merits for a business that can embrace the technology and offer investors something different to just the usual 'promise' signed on a piece of paper or shares in a company that may of may not succeed.

For an ICO to succeed, firstly the business must have a purpose for raising funds.  It is pointless having an ICO for the sake of it.  Secondly, the right team must be behind the ICO, from the developers/coders/lawyers/accountants, they all have a part to play in a successful ICO.  A successful ICO will raise capital for the business and will earn money for the investors. 

You may have noticed increasing coverage of Initial Coin Offerings (ICO ) in the press recently.  You may not, however, be totally clear what an ICO is.

The easiest way to explain it is that it’s a type of crowdfunding that has grown out of the current growth in popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

https://www.selachii.co.uk/Blog/What-is-an-ico-and-should-i-get-involved.html

Bitfinex are based in Hong Kong.  Liquidation of a company in HK is set out in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordnance.

Generally, if the company is unable to pay a debt of $10,000 or above.

The stolen/hacked btc is alleged to be worth in the region of $78M USD. If Bitfinex can show that they have enough by way of reserves to cover this amount, they would avoid Liquidation.  If they have insurance against theft (and assuming the insurance covers hacking) then they would avoid Liquidation.

Ultimately, a creditor will have to make an application to the court, after following the correct procedures for Liquidation.  In HK, I do not believe class actions are allowed by the Court.  There has been much debate in HK about class actions and maybe this event will lead the judiciary to accepting a class action system.  For now, that is not an option.

I hope this is not another Mt Gox situation, I truly hope that Bitfinex are somehow covered here but due to the large amounts taken, it is inevitable I believe that many BTC customers of Bitfinex will lose out. 

I hope people will now agree that digital currency exchanges have to be regulated properly in order for trust to grow in the industry.  If proper procedures were in place at Bitfinex, this simply would not have been possible.  Why they had such a huge amount of BTC in hot wallets and not cold storage is no doubt a question that will be asked a million times.

Thanks for the example.  If you were to use a smart contract, then Bob would have not have the option not to pay.  A smart contract would be set up so that when the bet was placed, funds would be placed in escrow meaning that the winner of the bet would be paid automatically depending on the weather the next day (as you can appreciate, such a bet would not be ideal for a smart contract because there needs to be an automatic trigger for the contract to execute).

Giving another example - a good use for a smart contract would be between a consumer, a supplier and a delivery company.

The consumer places an order and has funds in escrow.
The supplier sends to the delivery company for delivery
The delivery company delivers and obtains an electronic signature

The signature is the trigger event - it would trigger the payment to the supplier.

I hope this helps.  The thing is, smart contracts, the blockchain, the whole technology is still emerging and being discussed.  There is no real right and wrong use for a smart contract at all.  It is just thinking out how it would work.

Using the example you gave, it would work if there were some kind of electronic sensor/weather station that can trigger the payment to either Alice or Bob depending on the weather at a certain place at a certain time.

It depends wholly on how you want a smart contract to work for your business.  Can you give an example?  Generally, although labelled 'smart contracts', they would not ideally be a contract upon which you would rely if you were to issue court proceedings for breach (for example, terms and conditions).  Any smart contract is agreed, binding and entered into before placing on the blockchain so if you were to be placing your agreed contracts online, the only real benefit would be that the contract is recorded and placed there so it is always available and cannot be lost.