Day: June 25, 2024

Investments Are Not All Sunshine and Rainbows_part 1

Once upon a time, there was a startup founder, let’s call him Ben. After seven grueling years of “blood, sweat, and instant noodles” (though that’s often an exaggeration, let’s believe it for the sake of the story), he finally built his “house of friendship.” With a substantial round of funding from a top venture capital firm, things were looking up. By 2011, Ben and his team were on the brink of selling their business for a cool $88 million. The deal was almost sealed, and Ben was on the verge of becoming a wealthy man. The venture capital fund that backed him stood to double its investment. But then, disaster struck. The investor, who had the power to veto such deals, pulled the plug at the last moment. “They told me to wait for a better offer,” Ben wrote in his blog. Of course, they thought billion-dollar deals were just around the corner! The better offer never came. Not after a year, not after two. The company lost its momentum – naturally, it was no longer a startup. The co-founders got burnt out and left. And when Ben finally wanted to cash in his late-night instant noodle sacrifices, he had to settle for an amount that was a mere fraction of that once-promising offer. This story is just one of many we never hear about. submitted by /u/FXgram_ [link] [comments]

The European Council has unveiled a 14th package of sanctions, targeting crypto providers established outside of Europe that support Russia’s defence-industrial base.

European leaders have adopted another package of sanctions designed to target “high-value sectors of the Russian economy, like energy, finance and trade, and make it ever more difficult to circumvent EU sanctions.” In a Jun. 24 press release, the European Council revealed that the latest package includes restrictive measures on an “additional 116 individuals” as well as entities “responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” Reuters notes in a report that following the latest action, the sanctions list now includes more than 2,200 entities. Among multiple restrictive measures developed to “crack down on [sanctions] circumvention,” the European Council also introduced a ban on transactions targeting crypto providers “established outside of the EU, when these entities facilitate transactions that support Russia’s defence-industrial base through the export, supply, sale, transfer or transport towards Russia of dual-use goods and technology, sensitive items, battlefield goods, firearms and ammunition.” The specifics of how European countries plan to monitor the industry for potential sanctions violations remain unclear, with some industry experts suggesting it will require extensive due diligence efforts. This development comes a few months after the European Council and Parliament agreed on stricter regulations for crypto firms to enhance anti-money laundering (AML) measures in the sector. Starting from January, crypto firms must scrutinize their customers more closely, particularly for transactions of €1,000 or more. The aim is to ensure cryptocurrencies aren’t used for illegal activities or for sanctions evasion. submitted by /u/Lor1al [link] [comments]