Coin News

• A big deal, involving a supposed $375-million cryptocurrency token offering, is not going as planned, people familiar with the situation tell Business Insider.
• A foreign group is trying to buy the famed Plaza Hotel from the Sahara Group.

A reported deal to buy New York's Plaza Hotel is not going as planned, people familiar with the situation tell Business Insider.

CNBC reported in March that Chimera, a foreign entity, was considering running a $375 million-plus ICO, a cryptocurrency twist on the initial public offering process, to help purchase the famed Plaza from the Sahara Group, a firm based in India.

It is a project that "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary alluded to during an appearance on CNBC.

"There's a big deal coming in New York in the next three weeks," O'Leary said, referring to a "very prestigious hotel."

"It's a $400 million coin issuance for a real asset you've heard of," he added.

Still, it's unclear if the ICO will ever happen.

Sources told Business Insider that the deal would first involve a private transaction in which Chimera would raise more than $675 million to purchase the Plaza. A public token offering to pay off the debt from the original transaction was considered as a next step. The sources doubt whether either will come to fruition.

The deal is not progressing, according to multiple people, and it is failing to attract enough investors. The people, who were potential investors, have walked away from the deal.

Multiple sources told Business Insider that O'Leary is not directly involved in the deal, at the moment.

The Plaza has been up for sale since 2017, according to The Wall Street Journal. The property, which can be valued above $500 million, has attracted dozens of potential buyers, The Journal reported.

Once declaring it "the ultimate trophy in the world," President Donald Trump bought the NYC landmark in 1988, declared bankruptcy on the property in 1992, and sold it in 1995.

After it changed hands a few more times, Sahara bought a controlling stake in the Plaza for $570 million in 2012.

Business Insider reached out to O'Leary and Chimera lead investor Shahal Khan and will update this post if they respond. The Sahara Group didn't respond to a request for comment.

SEE ALSO: Bitcoin holds steady above $7,000 as 2 Wall Street legends reportedly eye the crypto market

DON'T MISS: Why the Plaza Hotel is so legendary

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Wall Street is divided over whether stocks can storm back from their latest meltdown

• Bitcoin was trading in the green, above $7,000 a coin, during Sunday's trade.
• This comes after it was reported that two traditional Wall Street firms are entering the market for cryptocurrencies.

Major cryptocurrencies were trading in the green Sunday morning following reports that two traditional Wall Street firms are eyeing the market for digital currencies.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was trading up 2.1% at $7,047 a coin, according to Markets Insider data.

It's been a rough start to the year for bitcoin, which saw its price soar by more than 1,300% in 2017, but has not fared as well in 2018.

Reports of a crackdown on cryptocurrency advertisements by tech giants such as Google and Facebook as well as regulatory uncertainty in Asia and the US have weighed on the coin for much of March and April. The coin is down 50% since the beginning of the year.

But investors appeared to be more bullish during Sunday's trade following reports that two Wall Street icons were looking to get into the market for cryptos.

More notably, the investment fund founded by billionaire George Soros is preparing to dive into cryptocurrency trading, even though Soros himself previously described them as a "bubble."

Adam Fisher, who oversees global macroeconomic investing for Soros Fund Management, has gained internal approval to invest in and trade cryptocurrencies, according to a Bloomberg News report.

Also, Venrock — a venture capital firm founded by descendants of famed capitalist John D. Rockefeller — announced it was partnering with a cryptocurrency investment firm based in Brooklyn. Fortune first reported on the partnership.

Anthony Pompliano, whose crypto-focused VC firm Full Tilt was recently acquired by a traditional hedge fund Morgan Creek, told Business Insider these reports are "encouraging" for the nascent bitcoin market.

"It is encouraging to see institutions with the historical track record of Soros and Rockefeller beginning to gain exposure to blockchain and cryptocurrencies," he said.

"I anticipate more and more institutional capital will begin to pour in, hopefully leading to a more mature and sophisticated market."

SEE ALSO: A $250 million money manager wants to unleash Chinese crypto companies onto US investors

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A $700 billion investor explains why traders should brush off an ominous market signal that's flashing

Top-ranked business schools have hopped on the bitcoin bandwagon by expanding their course offerings on cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The move to offer more crypto-related MBA classes was fueled by growing demand from students, as well as from corporate recruiters, especially those in venture capital. Kevin Werbach, a professor at the Wharton School of the University

The post Top Business Schools Add Bitcoin Classes, Expand Cryptocurrency MBA Course Offerings appeared first on CCN

Ripple has been on a tear this year, but it's popularity is bringing back old debates around what its distributed ledger tech is all about.

As a new tax year starts, everyone from savers, graduates, landlords to married couples will be affected

Another tax year has started and the ripples will be seen across pay cheques in the coming weeks.

Last Friday marked the first day of the new financial year and with it came changes that will affect income taxpayers, savers, married couples, recent graduates and buy-to-let landlords, among others.

Bitcoin holders who are panicking about its wild recent price swings should wake up and smell the blockchain. Crypto is here to stay, says Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency entrepreneur Dave Chapman. Chapman said bitcoin’s erratic price jumps and the angst surrounding escalating regulatory scrutiny is just par for the course whenever something new comes to market.

The post Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur to Frantic Investors: Chill Out, Bitcoin Is Here to Stay appeared first on CCN

Make sure you check out last weeks post here, now let’s go over what happened in crypto this week.  Price Watch: Bitcoin is up 3%  this week gaining back some of the 20% it lost last week. The price was largely sideways this week retesting $7,000 and $7,350 before coming back down to $6,980 and failing to hold

The post Central Bank Cryptos, Vitalik Trolls and Hard Forks: This week in Crypto appeared first on CCN