Tuesday News Roundup

Top News from Friday to Today
What to expect from the Chinese Blockchain Scene after Xi’s speech. http://bit.ly/2OjFVFc
Former Soviet Metal Construction Plant Is Now Mining Bitcoin https://bloom.bg/37IQYzI
The People’s Bank of China released the China Financial Stability Report, reporting that since 2018, 173 domestic virtual currency trading and token issuance financing platforms have all exited without bringing national risk (this is what the CPC ultimately cares about) Google Translate
Binance Research found that 92.1 percent of respondents held funds in exchanges; 32.9 percent in cold wallets; 18.4 percent in hot wallets; and 2.6 percent in custody services. http://bit.ly/2OMpws9
The Chinese government loves blockchain. But tokens? Not so much. http://bit.ly/2qNplEG
Bitmex Research on Benford’s Law & Cryptocurrency Trading Data, Highlighting Data from Exchanges.- http://bit.ly/34kfgxI
Investments
Blockchain quiz platform BetProtocol announced the completion of $3 million in financing, led by NGC Ventures. http://bit.ly/2Ok1FAU
NEM Ventures Invests in Crypto PoS Provider Cyclebit. http://bit.ly/33ligsa
Singapore-based BCB Blockchain announced that it has launched a $300,000 fund to support incubators and startup accelerators in the Philippines under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). http://bit.ly/37FNvSu
Coins News
ImToken has issued imBTC: A new kind of Bitcoin and within 4 weeks- is already up to ~133 tokenized BTC minted vs. 589 for WBTC, which has been out for a year. http://bit.ly/33nQ1t3
Binance adds fiat support to buy crypto using Indian Rupee. http://bit.ly/33iL5pf
Tezos has partnered with Singapore government-backed blockchain platform Tribe to jointly launch a training program for developers on the Tezos blockchain. http://bit.ly/2sgE5MU
Exchange News
The Beijing police cracked the fraud of the illegal digital currency exchange BISS and arrested 10 suspects. http://bit.ly/2Dex69l
Bitfinex Responds to Mercenary and Baseless Class Action Complaint in Washington State. http://bit.ly/33kzohZ
BitMEX Insurance Fund Soars to All-Time High. http://bit.ly/33svWSA
DEX week-over-week trade volume soars by 105%. http://bit.ly/34iisKd
? Business
Block Kong Breakfast: Phil Chen, HTC. http://bit.ly/34qy66c
Crypto exchange Binance has partnered with Band Protocol, a decentralized data oracle platform that’s backed by Sequoia India, to provide price data for 600+ pairings listed on the exchange. http://bit.ly/34l91JW
Matrixport, a cryptocurrency trading, custody and lending startup founded by Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu, has expanded into Europe with a new office in Zurich, Switzerland. http://bit.ly/2XYfmJb
Singapore-based blockchain firm BCB Blockchain has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with a branch of the Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to support the development of local smart cities. http://bit.ly/2qyU7RT
Multimedia University (MMU) has been given the approval by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to establish the first Industry Competency Centre on Big Data and Blockchain for Malaysia. http://bit.ly/2XOYnZr
?? Regulations
China has initiated a fresh crackdown on virtual currency initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency trading – the governments of top tier cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, issued risk alerts to the public, warning of “illegal fundraising”. http://bit.ly/2QSdPme
Chinese regulator State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has helped firms borrow over $8.2 billion via its blockchain cross-border financing system in 8 months. http://bit.ly/37vUvRL
Shenzhen law enforcement has already identified 39 enterprises suspected of conducting illegal crypto activities, while the list has not yet been made public, this has been aided by the Tencent monitoring too. http://bit.ly/37vUvRL
What China’s new crypto law in 2020 is all about. http://bit.ly/2De7HfU
The Bank of Korea said it has no plans to issue government-controlled digital currencies or central bank digital currency (CBDC). http://bit.ly/2OiMjwr
UAE central bank governor Mubarak Al Mansouri said the UAE-Saudi digital currency project will help reduce remittance costs and will also facilitate interbank transfers and mutual trade between the two countries. http://bit.ly/2pOPQJv
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the country’s financial regulator, plans to amend cryptocurrency rules to boost the growth of digital assets. Additionally, Thailand Introduces Blockchain-Based Tax Refunds for Oil Exporters. http://bit.ly/34vnpQ9