P2P LocalBitcoins trading platform which is the most popular bitcoin trading platforms has started to restrict services for their Iranian users. As reported in the altcoin news, creating ads for selling and buying old ads regarding the platform are restricted to Iranian traders. In the near future, there could be a possibility of closing down the accounts of the users and their Bitcoins on the platform’s wallet. All of the big centralized exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase have previously restricted the users from Iran and some of them even seized their cryptocurrencies. Also, they prevented account setup in the ID phase so many people started using the P2P localbitcoins trading platform for localized trading. The trading platform does not require any credit card or online payments which is much easier for the unbanked Iranian users. But, since the week started, the policy of the platform changed and threw shade on the Iranian users altogether. LocalBitcoins confirmed that will no longer provide services for the users in the country. The restrictions increase the risks of insecure transactions since there is no escrow service. The exchanges that want a bigger market and follow the government’s regulations will continuously block Iranian users. This approach is contrary to what Bitcoin is for according to the community as reported in the best cryptocurrency news sites. Previously, LocalBitcoins, an international peer-to-peer crypto exchange, announced today that the platform will be put under supervision by the Finnish Financial Authority. LocalBitcoins is based in Helsinki, Finland and the platform has stated previously that the parliament of Finland gave approval for the new legislation meant for legalizing crypto assets. The regulator gave a green light on the new Act on Virtual Currency Service Providers which is expected to come into force from November this year. The new AML measures could improve the general opinion of the exchange and will also protect other users. It is also important that with the new regulation it is expected to increase the crypto adoption. LocalBitcoins is further making sure that the security level on the platform is updated and increased in order to be compliant with the regulatory framework. The exchange also initiated a registration process so the users can have the ability to verify their identity while signing up to the platform. Each user will have a different type of account depending on the verification process and the type of trading the users will prefer.

Fake Trezor crypto wallet was found on the Google Play Store in an attempt to raise the bitcoin prices according to the latest cryptocurrency news that we have on our website today. The ESET antivirus researches reported earlier today that the fake trezor crypto wallet was created in order to cash in or raise the BTC prices. The malicious app imitated in total the hardware wallet Trezor and according to the investigation, the software that was used had connections to another fake app with a strong potential to scam users who are not so educated about crypto and steal their money. While the app’s page on the Google Play Store looks legit, the researches pointed out that the software of the fake app has no branding for the popular crypto wallet at all but only a generic login screen that is waiting to steal your credentials. According to the ESET antivirus researchers, about 1,000 users downloaded the fake app and some of the other dodgy apps in the past. It app claimed it was able to help the users create wallets in order to store their cryptocurrencies safe. The software was actually designed to trick the users into transferring coins to multiple addresses that were owned by the attackers. The researchers warned:

 “If bitcoin continues its growth trend, we can expect more cryptocurrency scam apps to emerge in the official Android app store and elsewhere.”

As mentioned on other altcoin news, the users of the apps are urged to only trust a legitimate app with the company’s official website links and branding. They should also check for a regular update on their devices and ask around before entering sensitive information into any blank space. Also, they are urged not to complete online forms that come from apps that have a dubious background. The company behind the crypto wallet told the researchers that the fake app was not a threat to their users but they also made clear that the addresses that some of the users provided could be collected through the software and used for phishing attacks in the future. Google Play removed the app instantly from the marketplace. Last year, Trezor issued multiple warnings to users after scammers tried to make a counterfeit version of the wallet.

Binance CEO CZ or Changpeng Zhao aims for a ‘’reasonable compensation’’ from the venture capital giant Sequoia Capital. He stated that the company hurt his reputation and we find out in the altcoin news below why. The Sequoia Capital China which is the subsidiary of Sequoia Capital allegedly prevented Zhao from raising money at favorable valuations. At the first hearing which will take place on June 25, the court will look into CZ’s demand and will determine whether he ‘’has sustained any and what damages.’’ The VC giant reportedly prevented the Binance CEO to raise capital from other inventors until March 1. Back in 2018 in December, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre dismissed the SQ claims that the Binance CEO CZ breached an exclusivity agreement when he was negotiating with Binance’s Series A equity financing. Zhao stated:

"I won, but the case was very damaging. First, Sequoia took out an injunction against me which prevented me from raising finance for Binance at the end of 2017 which was a critical time in the market and when there was huge interest in Binance from other VCs and investors."

Zhao stated previously that he was unable to publicly defend himself because of the confidentiality of the arbitration. Also, Sequoia paid about $2.4 million in legal fees for their part and lost the case. Zhao on the other hand as the best cryptocurrency news report had to pay up to 779,043 for more than a year to cover his legal expenses. He stated:

"For most entrepreneurs, they will not be able to: front USD 779,000 to fight a lawsuit; secure additional funding for their startup given a pending lawsuit, even one that’s clearly without proper base and where the claimant will surely lose.’’

Zhao concluded that there is a weakness in the legal system and unprofessional behavior by the VC giant. He noted that such companies should help entrepreneurs and startups. Luckily, there are many entrepreneurs today that offer better options such as blockchain based fundraising as he pointed out. Sequoia did not comment but as we know the company sued Zhao’s company over a funding deal. The court filings show that there was a negotiation on investment between CZ and Sequoia since August 2017 which should have given the VC giant 11$ stake of the company. Zhao denied these allegations at that time.

Binance suffered damaging lag that targeted the trade settlement and balance syncing to what the CEO noted that the issue is being fixed. In today’s altcoin news we read more on what exactly happened with the exchange. The users of the platform had difficulties this morning with trade settlement and many of them stuck in trades that they couldn’t cancel so eventually their lost money. The reports show that CEO Changpeng Zhao confirmed the issues himself on Twitter. Some of the users claim that they were unable to cancel a BNB trade and this is what most of them stated when they saw that the balances were not updated. This means that trades could not be made further. The company explained that the API users or the bots and trading software are not affected by the bug. Regular users who enter the platform manually were affected for a few hours. The incident just confirmed the fickle nature of the crypto markets where a small software bug can cost people thousands of dollars. On one hand, traders should not place their orders that they are now willing to execute. On the other hand, the software should work perfectly as intended and there should not be a cancel button that the users can click if he/she is not expected to utilize it. A few hours after the problems were visible, CZ posted on Twitter again to say that the things are clearing out and the platform should work smoothly in a bit. However, when Binance suffered damaging lag, some of the transactions are still backlogged. The funds that were lost today as reported in the latest cryptocurrency news are only a small fraction of the funds that Binance lost a couple of weeks ago. The security breach left binance with about 7,000 bitcoins less for which the platform was forced to top up the bill. Changpeng Zhao caused a stir after the breach when he considered a reorganization of the bitcoin blockchain in order to stop the thieves from stealing the bitcoin funds. Eventually, he apologized for what he said and noted that the exchange should instead use a cartel of bitcoin services to ‘’freeze’’ the funds. No matter what, Binance is still among the top crypto exchanges and its long-term dominance on the market is visible despite the recent hiccups.