In the latest altcoin news, we are focusing on blockchain technology and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange which seems interested in it. According to the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Zimbabwe exchange, Justin Bgoni, ZSE is interested in adopting blockchain technology but only if regulatory certainty can be achieved. As a new report by the local news daily outlet The Chronicle shows in the latest cryptocurrency news, Bgoni is in favor of blockchain technology. However, he will wait to apply the technology at Zimbabwe Stock Exchange until the regulatory certainty issues have been resolved.

“Then there is the money side to blockchain technology. This is a bit difficult, in terms of regulation, we are not yet clear on this and we do not want to do something where regulation is not clear as an exchange. But the technology side is very good," the chief executive of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange said.

Right now, the regulatory certainty in the crypto space is pursued in several jurisdictions. As per the newly reintroduced Token Taxonomy Act (TTA) in the United States, regulatory certainty for crypto needs to be carried out by introducing uniform definitions and reclassifying it. In a related interview, the Central Dipository and Settlement corporation (CDSC) Kenya CEO Mrs. Rose Mlambo spoke confidently about blockchain which is somehow linked to ZSE and its interest. She said:

“Blockchain is the next big step in technology on our capital markets as Africa. It is good and enhances the security of your investment, every time you do a transaction it is recorded everywhere and cannot be altered at any stage. This is what investors want to boost their confidence,” she said.

As many best cryptocurrency news sites report, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange is considering blockchain-based services and products in real estate investment trust securities, mineral commodities exchange and exchange-traded funds. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is known economically for the collapse of its national fiat currency back in 2015. Ever since then, the country has been in the focus of many blockchain-based currency proposals and activity. One paper has argued that the country is an ideal environment for Bitcoin firms and many blockchain projects. In 2017, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) - which is the country's central bank - touched the topic of crypto regulation and officially announced that Bitcoin is illegal in the country. That said, the RBZ Director and Registrar Norman Mataruka commented that the bank had begun investigating the risks of cryptocurrency and that it would need to create a new regulatory framework for digital assets before they could legalize cryptocurrencies.

Crypto project OneCoin was caught up in rumors that it represents a ‘’hybrid Ponzi-pyramid scheme’’ and therefore a scam according to the reports reaching our altcoin news today. As the reports noted, OneCoin purportedly a Ponzi scheme project which managed to raise millions of dollars from worldwide investors. The investors were reportedly promised big returns and minimal risks. As the investigation showed later by the United States, the project’s founders generated about 3.535 billion euros in revenue. Early in April, a church in the nation of Samoa was in the middle of scrutiny after some of the ministers invited the founders of the crypto project OneCoin to speak at a conference. Samoa’s central bank later banned any crypto activities and activities involving the scheme but the representatives approached the Samoa Worship Centre successfully and launched their investment products. Per the latest cryptocurrency news reports, the Samoa central bank investigated the company behind the crypto project. OneCoin sent a letter to a Samoa Observer where the claims of being a scam were denied. The company also denied laundering funds through New Zealand and denied the allegations that the organization is a Ponzi scheme. The company also explained that it is a ‘’centralized, closed source cryptocurrency. The closed system has strict AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and CFT (Combating the Financing of Terrorism) policies as well as KYC (know-your-customer) implementation.’’ The crypto project OneCoin argued that the criteria that exclude the company from being a Ponzi scheme are that:

 “By accepting the contract, the user becomes an independent, self-employed business owner. Let it be clear that neither OneCoin nor OneLife companies have organization, representation or employees in Samoa and New Zealand. No one has the authority to act or make statements on the company’s behalf in Samoa and New Zealand.”

As it was previously reported in May this year, the former investor in the OneCoin company Christine Grablis is now suing the company for Fraud. Christine made clear that she will be seeking damages and will pursue a class action suit. She also aims to represent all of the investors that were reportedly defrauded by the crypto project-OneCoin.

Sberbank bank, Russia’s largest financial institution requested a single client to provide information on their income made by cryptocurrency. According to the reports that reached our latest cryptocurrency news, we read more in the text below. According to the Forbes Reports, the co-founder of the tokenbox.io crypto trading platform Vladimir Smerkis, the unnamed client received a letter from the Sperbank bank requiring information on the crypto revenue. The letter based its request on the Federal Law no.115 ‘’on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.’’ The client had informed the bank previously about the income from exchange cryptocurrencies. However, the bank wanted to find out more. Sberbank requested to know the user’s crypto wallet address and what mining equipment was the client using, including the model and the parameters of the mining farm. The bank also requested other documents including a confirmation of the ownership or lease of the mining equipment. Other documents that were required by the client were the premises housing of the farm. According to the reports, the bank confirmed the information. Smerkis pointed out:

 “We are very much perturbed by how the Sberbank bank can appeal to terms that do not yet exist in Russian law.”

The CEO of the decentralized exchange Tokenomica Artem Tolkachev also responded to this request saying that Sberbank ‘’operate within their regulatory framework for handling cash. So it is a way of legally introducing cryptocurrency revenues into circulation.’’ The Prime Minister of the country Dmitry Medvedev pointed out in the coming altcoin news that the crypto regulation is not a priority for the country anymore since cryptocurrencies are losing popularity. Medvedev previously urged the government to legislate at least some basic crypto terms. The hype around bitcoin has since dropped but the markets are still expected to rally as the prime minister concluded. The crypto bill ‘’on digital Financial Assets’’ was passed by the lower house of the Russian parliament back in 2018 but it was sent back to first reading state instantly due to a lack of key terms such as crypto mining. Since then, the Russian Duma hasn’t initiated another reading for the crypto bill and subsequently, it always gets delayed.

Poloniex crypto exchange announced the delisting of nine crypto tokens for traders in the United States. The decision comes after the incoming reports on regulation against unregistered security tokens which we are reading more about in our latest cryptocurrency news. According to a Medium post from May 16, Poloniex crypto exchange announced that they will stop offering nine crypto tokens to their U.S customers. The announcement explains further that there was increase uncertainty whether the regulators in the country will qualify such tokens as securities. The options remain split whether the regulations should be applied to all crypto tokens. An excerpt from the announcement reads:

‘’On Wednesday, May 29th, at 16:00 UTC, the markets for ARDR, BCN, DCR, GAME, GAS, LSK, NXT, OMNI, and REP will be disabled for Poloniex customers in the US. All assets remain available for trading to customers outside the US.’’

Traders in the United States that are affected by the decision will be able to withdraw their funds from the exchange as long as the platform continues to list the same on the platform. Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle expressed deep frustration at the decision calling it a ‘’restrictive’’ US crypto regulation. Circle acquired Poloniex back in 2018. However, a group of US Congressmen showed their support for Allaire and are now trying to pass the Token Taxonomy Act which will exempt crypto tokens from the definition of securities. The US SEC, on the other hand, has maintained that most ICOs are securities. The regulator has initiated a crackdown on unlicensed crypto security offerings with multiple arrests. This decision could also affect other exchange platforms as mentioned in the altcoin news that already has increased adopted horizontal strategy. Critics say that the real growth in the market will hinge for a more vertical approach that will prioritize the quality of the tokens that are offered. This situation could lead to the extinction of many crypto tokens as predicted by Bitwise’s Matt Hougan and Digital Currency Group’s Barry Silbert. In the same time, Bitcoin is winning the hearts of traders and institutions. Since the start of the year, many major players such as Microsoft, TD Ameritrade and Fidelity Investments have shown affection for the number one cryptocurrency.