Top News from Tuesday to Today

According to a new document acquired by Global Coin Research, over 420 international crypto and non-crypto companies, including Coinbase, Gemini, Binance and Bitgo are competing to acquire the Payments Services License, recently introduced by Singapore’s Monetary Authority. http://bit.ly/2IK3G5W

Xi Jinping wants to harness blockchain for social control, but  Chinese citizens strike back by using blockchain to fight censorship with a recent interview with a doctor on the coronavirus pandemic is being shared via blockchain. http://bit.ly/2Q4wxG7

At least two major cryptocurrency exchanges – BitMEX and Gemini – briefly went out of service earlier today as volatility surges. Bitmex claims its a a hardware issue with our cloud service provider. http://bit.ly/2QeTRkt

India Lifts Crypto Ban, South Korea Imposes New Rules And The US Remains Stagnant. http://bit.ly/2TITmBe

Crypto Trends in Singapore: Given the ongoing Coronavirus taking place in China and in the surrounding region, GCR gives you an update on the state of Singapore crypto and blockchain applications. http://bit.ly/2Wae3YG

2020 Shanghai Blockchain International Week is planned to be held in Hongkou, Shanghai from September 11th to 16th. http://bit.ly/2vlF4gM

  Exchange and Markets News

Huobi is launching a new app to rival Coinbase and Robinhood, focusing on Southeast Asian markets, underserved by Huobi’s western counterparts. http://bit.ly/3cPuJKO

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb announced it has partnered with crypto forensics firm Chainanylsis following the passing of new Korean crypto regulations. http://bit.ly/2W9jruQ

Investments

Singapore-based crypto derivatives exchange Phemex has raised $3.5 million on a $50mn valuation in Series A funding, led by NGC Ventures. The exchange looks to expand into Russia, South Korea and Japan. http://bit.ly/2UdM08b

⛏️Mining

A sharp drop in the hash rate output of Bitmain Antminer E3 mining rigs on the Ethereum Classic network highlights that the hardware is approaching obsolescence in early April. http://bit.ly/2TZXtYz

Coins

Aave, one of the biggest lending protocols in the Open Finance ecosystem has added support for the USDT stablecoin. http://bit.ly/2TYQ9N4

OKCoin continues to expand its fiat-to-crypto onramps by adding support of the Singapore dollar (SGD). http://bit.ly/3aHGuBc

CTO of Tether says:  “Tether ’s US dollar reserves are basically cash and safer fixed-income investments like treasury bonds. Therefore, based on our $ 4.8 billion in reserves, an annual return of 3% -3.5% will yield an annual income of nearly 150 million US dollars.” Google Translate

Chinese analysis firms comment that Bitcoin price plunge is not attributed to PlusToken: “The moved bitcoins is still in the mixing process at present, and has not yet flowed into the market…on the contrary, the pace of mixing has slowed as a result of the recent plunge.” http://bit.ly/2xzn6rR

🧳 Business

Alibaba has registered a blockchain-based system patent in Brazil under the category of “insurance,” “financial business” and “monetary business”. http://bit.ly/2wOFI6I

Over 20 banks in Chongqing, China, have used a trade finance platform powered by blockchain to process over $56 million in foreign trade transactions. It has completed a total $460 million in export trade financing after a year-long pilot program. http://bit.ly/2vR5eIx

Securitize Using Digital Securities to Help Japan’s Real Estate, developing a blockchain-based solution to address the large number of vacant homes in the Japanese countryside. http://bit.ly/39HAd8C

⚖️Regulations

Tokyo police arrested two men in connection to the Coincheck hack on March 11. The men are accused of purchasing stolen NEM (XEM) through a dark web market, in violation of a law designed to tackle organized crime. http://bit.ly/2w5Etjo

Opinion: India Unbanning Crypto is the Most Bullish Factor in 2020. http://bit.ly/2wNDxAm

Japan’s financial regulator announced the launch of its global Blockchain Governance Initiative Network (BGIN), a third initiative of its kind. The BGIN intends to foster the “sustainable development of the blockchain community.” http://bit.ly/2TP1vo1

Beijing to Test Blockchain Platform for Fighting Fraudulent Invoices http://bit.ly/39GumA7