Another week, another crypto! As usual, it’s been an exciting past few days for the crypto space with Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin slating Bitcoin SV claiming that it is a ‘scam’ as well as the SEC filing a lawsuit to the messaging app Kik over a new ICO, and we’re going to look at how one hacker started running bitcoin on a Nintendo Switch.

Is BSV a Scam?

This week, the co-founder of Ethereum sat down with the YouTuber Hardcore Crypto to discuss all things crypto-related, but an interesting topic came up in regards to Bitcoin SV.

Buterin didn’t leave much out when he started digging into the nChain scientist Craig Wright’s crypto project. The Ethereum co-founder gave his thoughts on decentralised exchanges and the concerning centralised accumulation of power by Binance.

Speaking to Hardcore Crypto, Buterin said:

“Obviously BSV is a complete scam, but the delisting from Binance – that was interesting. There’s arguments in favour of it, but then there’s also an argument that this is a centralized exchange that’s wielding a lot of power.”

Although Binance also has a rough history. Rumours surfaced in the past about the exchange demanding big fees from projects to gain a listing.

Speaking on this, Buterin said:

“They’ve asked for big listing fees. They influence which coins win and lose by deciding which trading pairs they have – so it’s weird to criticize that one decision (the delisting) without looking at all their others.”

Buterin has spoken on Bitcoin SV in this way before.

Last year, Buterin took to Twitter to say that Wright’s project is actually a threat to his own, saying:

“BSV is a threat to ETH and he knows it. ETH will be nothing but a novelty sidechain of BitCoin run by a handful of autistic NEETs for nostalgic purposes to play with their antique ‘smart contracts’ and ‘chain links’ like so many neckbeards with N64 emulators.”

SEC Sues Kik

Earlier this week, it came to light that the US Securities and Exchange Commission had filed a lawsuit against the messaging app Kik over a $100 million securities offering.

The SEC has claimed that Kik had pushed the token sale as a speculative investment an had begun to ‘pivot’ the cryptocurrency as a pretext to “salvage its ailing business.”

The app has now set up a $5 million fundraiser in aid of support for its legal fight against the commission with the representatives from the app issuing a report.

The token, called Kin, had internally been characterised by Kik executives as a vehicle for speculative gains, at least that’s according to the SEC.

Kiks General Counsel Eileen Lyon said in a press release that the Commission’s complaint was all based on ‘flawed legal theory’.

Lyon says:

“The complaint assumes, incorrectly, that any discussion of a potential increase in value of an asset is the same as offering or promising profits solely from the efforts of another; that having aligned incentives is the same as creating a ‘common enterprise’; and that any contributions by a seller or promoter are necessarily the ‘essential’ managerial or entrepreneurial efforts required to create an investment contract. These legal assumptions stretch the Howey test well beyond its definition, and we do not believe they will withstand judicial scrutiny.”

A few attorney’s from the US have had their input on the whole situation including a principal at Smolinski Rosario Law, Nelson Rosario who said:

“Obviously this is a very sophisticated kind of token offering, done by a company that was already established [and not a token startup] but [the] kind of evidence that the SEC brought to bear is very much the same that it’s brought against [other ICOs].”

It will be interesting to see how this suit plays out in the coming weeks/months.

Playing Bitcoin on Nintendo

To finish off, let’s take a look at some lighter news from the space this week.

Bitcoin is constantly splitting opinions throughout the world. Whether you love it or hate it, you can’t deny that it is an asset outside of the governments reach. But some people prefer to tinker with the technology in Bitcoin, rather than dwelling on the political and economic impact it has.

One hacker has done just that and has somehow integrated Bitcoin core onto the Nintendo Switch console.

Take a look at the screenshot the hacker posted on Twitter this week.

I guess this shows the fun side that Bitcoin has, rather than the often dreary one we are constantly hearing about.