Following an already rough month for bitcoin, three U.S. virtual currency operators have been charged with fraud by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC alleges that CabbageTech, Entrepreneurs Headquarters Ltd., and one unnamed bitcoin operator have engaged in fraud, misappropriation of funds, and misrepresentation, causing significant financial harm to investors.
The complaint goes on to allege that Patrick K. McDonnell and his company, CabbageTech, doing business as Coin Drop Markets, made false promises to investors. The CFTC alleges that Coin Drop Markets promised bitcoin trading advice to investors as well as bitcoin purchasing and trading on investors’ behalf. The complaint goes on to allege that Coin Drop Markets never delivered on those promises, and investors never saw their money again after handing it over to Coin Drop Markets.
“The Defendants here preyed on customers interested in Bitcoin and Litecoin, promising them the opportunity to get the inside scoop on the next new thing and to benefit from the trading acumen of a supposed expert,” a statement from the CFTC reads. “In reality, as alleged, customers only bought into the Defendants’ fraudulent scheme.”
The second complaint, filed against Dillon Michael Dean and his company, Entrepreneurs Headquarters Ltd., alleges a more complicated Ponzi-type scheme using cryptocurrencies. The CFTC alleges that Entrepreneurs Headquarters Ltd. solicited bitcoin from investors with promises that their investments would be pooled and traded. Instead, the complaint alleges that the company took more than $1.1 million in bitcoin from over 600 investors and promised high rates of return which the company never delivered on. Instead, the company allegedly used investors money to pay other investors, like a high-tech Ponzi scheme.
“Potential pool participants were solicited to invest with Defendants by false claims of trading expertise and promises of high rates of return. The Complaint further alleges that, rather than convert customers’ Bitcoin to fiat currency to invest in binary options contracts, as promised, Defendants misappropriated their customers’ funds, including by using the funds to pay other customers, in the manner of a Ponzi scheme,” a statement from the CFTC reads.
These are the first such actions the CFTC has filed since it initially authorized bitcoin futures trading on December 18, 2017.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.