Friday News Roundup
Top News from Friday to Today
GCR Workshop #10 takeaways: The ascent of Korean exchanges and why price arbitrage in Korea still persist in where Dai traded up to $4 most recently. The reason seems to stem from the loos fiat to crypto onboarding rules in Korea. http://bit.ly/2KQSKVX
Major Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck is considering launching an initial exchange offering (IEO) platform for raising funds through utility tokens. http://bit.ly/2TY74Pl
Chinese article: Chinese Crypto Retail Already Moved on to Speculate Sneakers While the Westerners Hyped Exchange Tokens. http://bit.ly/2KWfWAI GCR is also seeing that there are increasingly less retailers coming into speculating cryptocurrencies.
Facebook’s WhatsApp is in talks with multiple Indonesian digital payment firms to offer their mobile transaction services, in a bid to tap the nation’s fast growing e-commerce sector. https://reut.rs/2Zlo7Qv
Chinese Economist: The central bank’s digital currency is very different from Bitcoin. The ledger is centralized and the ledger must adopt the real name verification. GCR learned that current reception amongst the Chinese for the Central Bank Digital Currency has been very controversial. Google translate
Experts say Hamas is now using bitcoin for cross-border fundraising at an unprecedented rate. Still, even the largest estimates of terror financing in the region are apparently dwarfed by civilian bitcoin usage in the Gaza Strip. http://bit.ly/2ZpOSTO
Investments
South Korean blockchain startup Blockco has secured 9 billion Korean won ($7.5 million) in a recent Series B+ funding round participated by major local banks.http://bit.ly/30AzEZL
Japanese internet giant Recruit Holdings makes strategic investment in Blockstack. http://bit.ly/2Nqluqc
Korean Blockchain payments firm Terra secures strategic investment from HashKey Capital.http://bit.ly/2ZglX4L
₿ Coins and Mining
Tether is set to launch a yuan-backed stablecoin in China sometime “in the near future.” http://bit.ly/30pupvz
Japan’s largest gift card platform Amaten will issue tokenized gift cards in partnership with blockchain network provider Aelf. http://bit.ly/2zhnZ64
Bitcoin hash rate‘not affected’ despite prolonged rainstorm in China’s Sichuan province that has caused land- and mudslides, forcing some local hydropower plants and bitcoin miners to halt operations.http://bit.ly/2zi6xhv
Exchange News
DDEX CEO on How Lending Pool Interest Rates actually work. http://bit.ly/2Zifu9r
The Taiwan-based subsidiary of hacked crypto exchange Bitpoint Japan will file a $9.4 million damages suit as it claims to have been overbilled by the parent exchange.http://bit.ly/2TUuvsQ
Taipei-based exchange MaiCoin is hoping to be unveiled as a new Libra association member by the year’s end. From GCR sources, we are hearing that Libra is not considering any Asian members into the association at this point. http://bit.ly/30vFo6W
Blockchain data analytics firm Elementus said earlier this week that an “unusually high” percentage i.e. almost 50% of all PlusToken withdrawals were sent to Huobi, indicating a “strong bias” toward the Chinese cryptocurrency exchange. http://bit.ly/2HksnW6
Gemini is going to Australia– Australian users can now trade in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Zcash on the exchange. http://bit.ly/2ZsniFo
Korea’s exchange Coinone has released an application that can simplify the authentication procedure needed for cryptocurrency transactions.http://bit.ly/2L2w1Fk
🧳 Business
Bitmain buying 600K more crypto mining chips that could bring $1.2 billion in profit. http://bit.ly/30sO3qt
Ex-Morgan Stanley Asia Derivatives Head Joins Amber Group as head of Americas. https://bloom.bg/2ZmiZvA
Hanwha, a large Korean conglomerate, joins Kakao’s Blockchain Klaytn Association as a validator. http://bit.ly/2ZlWJ4V
Hong Kong Protest Leader Hopes to Incite Run on Chinese Banks.http://bit.ly/30pOdiu
Cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer and technology services company Tpoint Japan announced a new partnership that allows local customers to exchange loyalty program points for Bitcoin (BTC) and earn rewards for paying in crypto. http://bit.ly/2U5jTYl
⚖ Regulations
The Rwandan central bank is looking into ways it could potentially issue its own digital currency to make the processing of transactions more efficient and to boost economic growth. http://bit.ly/2ZnVqlQ
A senior official from the Bank of Japan said he was positive about Bitcoin and blockchain, saying, “The reason we are friendly to cryptocurrency is because there is no concern about capital outflow.” http://bit.ly/2ZnqUJ0
A few weeks ago, a Hong Kong-based hedge fund manager was in Tokyo when he was approached online by a Chinese woman using a function on her phone that identified fellow Chinese in the vicinity. She was looking to sell BTC she bought in China for Yen.https://s.nikkei.com/2ZlIGw3
The Korean Ministry of Science and Technology Information and Communication has delayed deliberation on ‘Regulatory Sandbox No. 1’ for seven months. http://bit.ly/2ZjKw0B
U.S. Treasury targets alleged Chinese drug lords who used Bitcoin to launder cash. http://bit.ly/2ZoLrwG
Saudi Arabia’s Finance Ministry has warned against crypto tricksters using the kingdom’s official emblem to promote tokens that purport to be tied to government projects.http://bit.ly/2MyJUhM
