Category: BUSINESS

Hackers breach National Bank systems making off with Ksh 29m

Dianne Jacobs

Hackers have breached the National Bank of Kenya systems making away with Ksh 29 million. Confirming the incident through a statement on their twitter handle, @National_Bank,  National Bank confirmed the incident stating that indeed there was an attempt fraud in normal course of business on 17th January but the bank’s monitoring and security resources frustrated the attempt “The amount of attempted fraud is about Ksh 29 million and we are confident we will recover most of that money,” read the statement. The bank also confirmed that security are in pursuit…

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Bitcoin and Ethereum hit by massive decline, Other cryptocurrencies dropped even worse

Most major digital currencies sold off sharply on Tuesday, but the declines in bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin prices weren’t as bad as much of the rest of the market.  Bitcoin was down 17 percent at that time, ethereum was down 19 percent and litecoin was down 19 percent, according to the same site. The declines followed speculation in the market about what regulators in Asia may be planning for digital tokens. On Monday, a report from Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, said Beijing plans to block domestic access to Chinese and…

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Uber used undercover agents, court letter says

Dianne Jacobs

It is critical evidence in Uber’s legal battle with Waymo, the self-driving car company that accuses the ride-sharing firm of stealing its technology. The letter, sent by lawyers representing a former Uber employee, sparked an internal investigation when it was sent to Uber in May, but has not been made public until now. In a statement, Uber said: “While we haven’t substantiated all the claims in this letter – and, importantly, any related to Waymo – our new leadership has made clear that going forward we will compete honestly and…

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Apple ‘to buy Shazam for $400m

Dianne Jacobs

Apple is close to buying the music recognition app Shazam for about $400m (£300m), media reports say. Shazam, a UK company founded in 1999, allows people to use their smartphone or computer to identify and buy music through a snippet of sound. Shazam, which says it has more than 100 million monthly users, makes most of its revenue from commissions paid on referrals to Apple’s iTunes Store. Neither Apple nor Shazam have commented on the reports on the TechCrunch site. If the deal is confirmed, the music identifying App will…

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DotConnectAfrica founder, Sophia Bekele, wins monumental court case against National Bank of Ethiopia

Photo: DCA Founder and CEO Sophia Bekele speaking during the African Women’s Forum Special Program, Crans Montana Forum, #CMF17 Barcelona (Spain). Sophia Bekele, an Ethiopian native with American nationality has won a milestone legal battle against Ethiopia’s Central Bank – that is the National Bank of Ethiopia – whose decision led her to lose shares she inherited from her late father, the Founder of both United Bank and United Insurance,  at an undervalued rate at both institutions. Ms. Bekele, a global entrepreneur and the CEO of DotConnectAfrica (DCA) Group – one…

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SEC’s new cyber unit takes its first action to halt an initial coin offering ‘scam by PlexCorp

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Canadian crypto company PlexCorp with violating securities laws by selling up to $15 million in an initial coin offering (ICO). ICOs have seen explosive growth over the past year as fledgling companies have used them to raise more than $3 billion in capital through various cryptocurrencies. However, experts have warned they can present several dangers to unsuspecting investors hoping to get into a hot new market as regulations are pretty loose. Called PlexCoins, PlexCorp allegedly used this cryptocurrency to scam would-be investors hoping…

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Bitcoin Bubble Burst will warn you if the bitcoin dream is about to crash down

Dianne Jacobs

Whether you’re a bitcoin believer or a vulture waiting to have your bubble predictions proved right, you’re probably keeping one nervous eye on the charts in anticipation of the crash everyone seems to expect any second now. Bitcoin Bubble Burst, presented today at the Disrupt Berlin hackathon, lets you you focus on other things, while it watches for major price changes and news events that could affect prices and alerts you in real time. Although there are plenty of apps and services that warn you when bitcoin trading volume or…

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Bitcoin loses over a fifth of its value in less than 24 hours

Bitcoin slid to as low as about Sh900,000 ($9,000) in volatile trade on Thursday, having lost more than a fifth of its value since hitting an all-time high of $11,395 on Wednesday. The cryptocurrency fell as much as eight per cent on Thursday on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange to hit about Sh900,000 ($9,000) exactly, marking a fall of well over $2,000 in under 24 hours. It then edged back up to trade at around Sh940,000 ($9,400) in the hour that followed, still down roughly 4 percent on the day. One…

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The Age of Cash is Almost Over

Dianne Jacobs

A world without paper payments is rapidly approaching, the co-founder of the Sohn Conference Foundation said Thursday. Evan Sohn said that paying for things with traditional bank notes is increasingly dwindling as the appetite for contactless payments and digital currencies grows. “How far are we from a restaurant that says we only take online payment? If you eat here, you have to download this application and we only take electronic payment, no cash here, no check,” Sohn, who works in the payments industry, said on the sidelines of the Sohn…

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Coinbase ordered to give the IRS data on users trading more than $20,000

Dianne Jacobs

Most digital currencies exist in a sort of twilight state just beyond the grasp of federal regulators, but the U.S. tax authority is starting to get savvy to this whole bitcoin thing. On Wednesday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Coinbase must supply the IRS with identifying information on users who had more than $20,000 in annual transactions on its platform between 2013 and 2015. After noticing that the number of tax returns claiming gains from virtual currency didn’t line up with the emerging popularity of digital currencies like…

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