China Bans Initial Coin Offerings, Warning of Financial Scams. The initial coin offering party is over in China. A committee led by the Peoples Bank of China, the nations central bank, has imposed an immediate ban on new cryptocurrency crowdfunding efforts and warned many ICOs are scams, Tech. Crunch reported. According to financial news site Caixin, the committee warned ICOs could be used for pyramid schemes and other scams, and severely disrupt the social and economic order. The committee also provided a list of 6. ICO platforms that local financial regulatory bodies will need to thoroughly inspect and report on, Caixin wrote. It added at least two major Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges have recently stopped their ICO operations, while a conference on blockchain technology was also canceled. ICOs are a form of investment funding wherein startups offer new types of cryptocurrency in exchange for cash or preexisting cryptocoins like Bitcoin or Ethereum. They are currently unregulated in most of the world Investopedia defines them as intended to bypass the rigorous and regulated capital raising process required by venture capitalists or banks. A recent boom in ICOs has seen them surpass early stage venture capital funding in the amount of money raised in the US, CNBC wrote in August, raising worries of a looming bubble as the price of leading cryptocoins like Bitcoin has skyrocketed. Though the US Securities and Exchange Commission has determined ICOs must be held in accordance with federal securities law, warning of pump and dump schemes, a total crackdown has yet to occur stateside. Chinas crypto market is huge many tech savvy residents have bought in as a way to get ahead and avoid taxes. State agency Xinhua recently estimated the Chinese market had raised 3. The Tomatometer rating based on the published opinions of hundreds of film and television critics is a trusted measurement of movie and TV. United by dire circumstances, four unlikely allies from a Philadelphia prep school the hacker, the slacker, the athlete, and the perfect student band together to. The Pokmon anime debuted in Japan back in 1997, following the adventures of tenyearold Ash, Pikachu, and their friends. That was nearly twenty years ago. Ash. The initial coin offering party is over in China. A committee led by the Peoples Bank of China, the nations central bank, has imposed an immediate ban on new. Coin Heist Full Movie' title='Coin Heist Full Movie' />Tech. Crunch addedsurely spooking authorities in a country where economic growth is a priority, but one that is closely overseen by regulators. Earlier this year, Chinese regulators lifted a three month ban on cryptocoin withdrawals after major exchanges upgraded security, the Wall Street Journal reported. The ban was originally implemented because authorities believed the technology could be used for money laundering or to bet on a collapse of the yuan. Tech. This 5. 90,0. Phone Robbery Sounds Like the Craziest Heist Movie. A year long manhunt ended last weekend, when police arrested a gang of five Romanian stunt thieves near a large collection of Van Gogh paintings in the Netherlands. In their hideout, the cops found 5. Luke Plunkett. Luke Plunkett is a Contributing Editor based in Canberra, Australia. He has written a book on cosplay, designed a game about airplanes, and also runs. Longrepressed feelings of bitterness and betrayal explode when three innercity losers plot the robbery of a valuable coin in a seedy secondhand junk shop. Get up to the minute entertainment news, celebrity interviews, celeb videos, photos, movies, TV, music news and pop culture on ABCNews. Phones that the suspects allegedly lifted off the back of a truckwhile it was barreling down a highway. Dutch press are calling the highway maneuver the Romanian method. Apparently, the thieves drive a modified van right up to the bumper of a cargo truck, and then, two of them climb out the vans sun roof and down onto the hood. Next, the most insane of the two cracks the lock on the back of the truck, while the other hood bound thief holds his legs. Once the trucks doors are open, they climb in and transfer the expensive cargo back to the van. According to police, this single Romanian gang has been responsible for 1. The Romanian method itself dates back even further than that. A video released by the Romanian police in 2. May of that year. Watch About Cherry Online Facebook. Filmed by a police helicopter in complete darkness, the video clearly shows two thieves emerging from the sunroof and climbing up to the hood as their vehicle tailgates a cargo truck. For some reason, after peeking in the truck, they abort the robbery. Its unclear if the recently arrested Romanian gang used an identical technique, but they had certainly perfected their strategy. Meanwhile, the Van Gogh connection is tenuous. Police found the suspected thieves holed up in the tiny village of Otterlo near a national park in the central area of the Netherlands. The main point of interest in Otterlo is the Krller Mller Museum, which happens to contain one of the worlds largest collection of Van Gogh paintings, second only to the Van Gogh Museum. Were the thieves planning to hit a shipment of expensive paintings next, pulling off an art heist of historic proportions We dont know, but it sure would make a great movie.