Crypto Payments | FinTelegram News

Category: Crypto Payments

April 28, 2023

The Silent Acquisition Of FCA-Registered EMI Monetley By Mercuryo!

The acquisition of FCA-regulated e-money institution Monetley Ltd by Cyprus-registered MRCR Holdings Ltd in Cyprus has not been disclosed to the public. This MRCR Holdings is also the controlling entity behind the Russian-controlled crypto payment processor Mercuryo. The Russian national Grigory Vaysman acts as director of this Cypriot legal entity. Perhaps the FCA in the UK should listen to the concerns of their colleagues at the FIU in Estonia, which revoked the scheme's crypto license.

February 14, 2023

Russian Crypto Payment Processor Payeer Lost Estonian License And Switched To Lithuania!

FinTelegram has reported several times about crypto payment processor Payeer which is controlled by Russian nationals. We have already discovered Payeer as a payment processor in scams several times. The Estonian FIU announced that Payeer had lost its license. The Estonian FIU exposed deficiencies, and the license would have been invalidated. However, Payeer decided to renounce their license to avoid the revocation. Now, the scheme operates with a crypto license in Lithuania!

January 2, 2023

Be Very Cautious: The G999 Blockchain-Based Cash System Of Josip Heit!

In its whitepaper, G999 claims to be a blockchain-based system for fast payments with high transaction capacity. G999 is part of the group of the GSPartners Group of Josip Heit. It is operated by GSB Gold Standard Pay Ltd, registered as a financial services and crypto services provider in Kazakhstan. The G999 crypto storage services are provided by GSB Gold Standard Pay KB, Stockholm, Sweden. However, the very same website states that it does not offer financial services. Strange, indeed. Here is our first review:

November 8, 2022

Whistleblower Request: High-Risk Payment Prozessor Epoch And Cyprus Porn Clients!

In the last few weeks, as part of our Wirecard Legacy series, we have started research on high-risk processors for the porn sector. Wirecard was one of the payment processors for the porn empire of the MindGeek group, which operates the porn sites YouPorn and PornHub, among others. In addition, xHamsterLive and StripChat are also large porn sites operated by Technius Ltd, which is registered in Cyprus. Epoch is involved as a payment processor, among others. We would like to know more.

October 25, 2022

Interesting! Crypto Payment Processor CoinsPaid Announced Impressive Performance Numbers!

A few days ago, CoinsPaid, including CryptoProcessing, issued a press release claiming to be the largest crypto payment ecosystem. Allegedly, it has processed over €16 billion worth of crypto in total and continues growing by nearly €1 billion per month in the declining market. In Q3 2022, CoinsPaid allegedly processed 4.9 million transactions worth approximately €3 billion. We exposed CoinsPaid as a payment processor in broker scams and illegal gambling ventures. Impressive, isn't it?

October 24, 2022

Crypto Payment Processor Paybis With Impressive Growth!

The 2021 annual accounts of Paybis Ltd in Scotland look impressive. They show receivables of more than £5.7 million and cash of £605,017. This compares to current liabilities of around £1.5 million, leaving total net assets and shareholder funds of just under £4.8 million. Business at the crypto payment processor controlled by Latvian Innokenty Isers, which also operates in the U.S., appears to be going well. Here is an initial review.

October 9, 2022

MoonPay Goes Brazil And Signes Sponsorship Agreement Despite Depressive Crypto Environment!

Amid Crypto Winter, the crypto exchange MoonPay, with a reported valuation of $3.4 billion, announced a new sponsorship agreement with Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, one of Brazil’s largest soccer clubs. The Campeonato Serie A club has signed a wide-ranging agreement. The deal, brokered by Sportfive agency, aims to boost Flamengo’s revenues and fan engagement by leveraging NFTs and Web3 to support its ticketing, marketing, merchandise, and social and digital media.

October 7, 2022

The EU Crypto Ban On Russians And Some Of The Top Crypto Payment Processors Affected!

The EU has announced an adaptation of the existing sanctions package against Russia. Among other things, this provides for a complete ban on crypto services for Russian companies, citizens, or residents. This ban will probably be critical for licensed or unlicensed Estonian crypto payment processors. We have repeatedly pointed out that FIU-licensed Estonian and some Lithuanian crypto platforms apparently do a significant part of their business with Russian merchants and consumers.

Crypto Payments

October 3, 2022

Update On Russian High-Risk Crypto Payment Processor Itez!

Over the last years, FinTelegram has discovered the Russian-controlled high-risk payment processor Itez in several scams, such as FXOptex, Optimus Markets, and Spintop Capital. Itez is operated by FIU-licensed Estonian DataBridge OÜ and the UK-registered Hypergate Ltd. In both companies, Maria Neverdinova-Rostovtseva is installed as a director. The Itez scheme is connected to the Italian Allesandro Rocco Piedrodola and his group of companies. Similarweb says they mostly do business in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Crypto Payments

October 3, 2022

Introducing Registered Maltese Crypto Payment Processor Instacoins

Instacoins is a crypto payment platform registered by the Estonian FIU and the Bulgarian National Revenue Agency. According to the information on LinkedIn, the Instacoins Group is a Maltese project controlled by Instacoins Holding Ltd, despite its registration in Bulgaria and Estonia. We have discovered Instacoins as a payment processor at unauthorized Forex, CFD, and crypto brokers CryptoRocket, LonghornFX, and CedarFX, PayRate42 included it in its "Orange Compliance" list.

September 29, 2022

Crypto Payment Processor Koinal And Its Turkish Connections!

The two crypto payment processors, Koinal and Bitpace were operated by the then FCA-regulated SG Veteris Limited until 2020. This was controlled by FinTech entrepreneur Ozan Ozerk until 2018. Since then, Ozerk's partner, Ahmet Cemal Dedeoglu, has officially been the controlling person. Today, the two crypto payment processors are currently operated by SG Veteris Europe EOOD in Bulgaria and SG Veteris Lithuania UAB in Lithuania. Most of the business is apparently likely to be done in Turkey.

September 26, 2022

Crypto Payment Processor MoonPay Plans To Expand On the NFT Fast Track!

In recent months, the Crypto payment processor MoonPay and its CEO Ivan Soto-Wright have come to our attention as aggressive crypto payment players fully embracing NFTs. Not necessarily a wrong strategy. However, we found the company as a facilitator of several scams. This can happen as well. The CyberFinance rating agency PayRate42 has put MoonPay on the Orange compliance list. Most recently, MoonPay has made headlines as a partner of renowned companies such as Universal Studios in the NFT environment. Here is a short introduction.