Cambridge Analytica, the firm that faced much criticism over its misuse of Facebook user data, had reportedly planned to organize its own initial coin offering before the news broke.
According to a Reuters report citing anonymous sources on Thursday, Cambridge Analytica was originally expecting to raise around $30 million via the launch of its own cryptocurrency and had reached out to a firm that advises on how to structure such schemes.
While it remains unclear at the moment whether the ICO will go ahead after the Facebook controversy, the company told Reuters that it currently has plans to develop a blockchain platform that would give users control of their own information.
Another article from the New York Times indicates that the firm's ICO plan started in mid-2017 with the aim of building a system that would secure users' personal data so it could be sold to advertisers.
"Who knows more about the usage of personal data than Cambridge Analytica?" Brittany Kaiser, a former employee of the firm, was quoted as saying.
"So why not build a platform that reconstructs the way that works?".
The reports come as the firm is under international scrutiny over the way it acquired data on possibly as many as 87 million Facebook users.
Cambridge Analytica was hired by President Donald Trump's campaign prior to the 2016 election and was also involved in the "Leave" campaign of the British Brexit referendum in 2016.
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.
CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
Cambridge Analytica Planned ICO Before Facebook Controversy: Reports
gepubliceerd op Apr 18, 2018
by Coindesk | gepubliceerd op Coinage
Coinage
Recent nieuws
Alles zien
Blockchain Bites: Bitcoin's Run, Uniswap's Hemorrhaging Value, Anchorage's Banking Bid
Bitcoin is nearing all-time highs in price and market cap last set three years ago.
Japan's megabanks to lead experiment with digital yen
We have, in order, Cheese Bank with a $3.3 million theft, Akropolis with its $2 million loss, Value DeFi with a whopping $6 million exploit and finally Origin Protocol's loss of $7 million.
Number of new Bitcoin addresses spikes amid growing FOMO
Japan's three largest banks, as part of a group of 30 private sector actors, are set to collaborate on an experiment with a digital yen.
Not just Wall Street: Quant trader explains why Bitcoin price is going up
Sam Trabucco, a quantitative trader at Alameda Research, believes four general factors are pushing up the price of Bitcoin.