Asia's weekly TOP 10 crypto news (Dec 5 to Dec 11)

Author：Lily

Editor：Colin Wu

1. Binance in talks to acquire Indonesian crypto exchange link

Crypto major Binance is in negotiations to acquire the Indonesian crypto exchange Tokocrypto. Binance had itself invested in Tokocrypto in 2020, entering the Indonesian market, aided by the fact that Tokocrypto has obtained a license from the local regulator.

2. HongKong’s weekly summary

2.1 Hong Kong virtual asset service provider licensing system to take effect in June next year link

On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, the Legislative Council passed the third reading of the amendments to the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regime, which will establish a licensing system for virtual asset service providers, effective on June 1 next year.

2.2 Pando Finance launches blockchain-themed ETF on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange link

Hong Kong-based asset manager Pando Finance has launched a blockchain-themed ETF on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to enable retail investors to participate in the sector. The ETF invests at least 70% of its net assets in shares of blockchain-related companies, such as crypto miners and decentralized databases, and also includes Coinbase and MicroStrategy.

2.3 “Blockchain & Web3 Global Elite Course” launched for the first time at the HKU link

The School of Economics and Management of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has launched the first ever “Blockchain & Web3 Global Elite Course” and will be sharing the course on December 14. Associate Dean of School of Economics and Management, The University of Hong Kong, Chen Lin, will teach the course on “Smart Contract Application and DeFi Development”. This follows the launch of the first blockchain master’s degree at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

3. Mainland China’s weekly summary

3.1 Hangzhou Internet Court says digital collections should be protected by China’s laws link

Hangzhou Internet Court said that NFT digital collections have the property right object characteristics of value, scarcity, disposability and tradability, and also have the unique attributes of network virtual property such as network virtualness and technology, and belong to network virtual property, which should be protected by China’s laws. The business activities of selling digital goods through Internet information shall be regulated by the Electronic Commerce Law.

3.2 More than 30 digital collection platforms have taken the initiative to issue refund announcements in November link

The preliminary statistics of the Huaxia Times reporter found that, just this past November, more than 30 digital collection platforms have taken the initiative to issue refund announcements. Only three have made full refunds, and the rest usually range between 5%-50%. However, some local cultural exchanges and digital exchanges are currently trying to issue digital products to try to promote the development of the secondary market.

3.3 Inner Mongolia Police crack 12 billion yuan digital currency money laundering case link

The Korqin Branch of Tongliao Public Security Bureau of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region spent 3 months to break up a money laundering gang using virtual currency, arresting 63 suspects, which laundered up to 12 billion RMB, seized about 130 million RMB of illegal proceeds, and persuaded the main suspect who absconded to Bangkok, Thailand to return.

4. The content of Hoo’s official website changed to the identity information of Hoo’s actual controller, Tonghua Xu link

The content of Hoo’s official website changed to the identity information of Hoo’s actual controller, Tonghua Xu, and said, “Currently all permissions for Hoo’s wallet and website programs are controlled by Mr Xu, so please contact the official email if you have any questions.” The company has been delaying the withdrawal of assets from users since June, and kept exploding with disputes with employees. Hoo also proposed a debt-to-currency conversion program in August.

The content of the website was changed on November 18, and some community users believe that the content was a way for Hoo founder Ruixi Wang to dump others. Ruixi Wang’s personal Twitter feed has not been updated since the announcement of the debt-to-currency conversion program, and he has deleted some of his previous tweets about the company’s system being deleted by employees.

5. Tether launches offshore Chinese Yuan (CNH₮) on Tron link

Tether Operations Limited (Tether) announced the addition of its offshore Chinese Yuan (CNH₮) to the Tron blockchain. At launch, Bitfinex will be the first exchange to enable its users to deposit and withdraw CNH₮ using the Tron blockchain transport layer from the platform. Created in 2019, CNH₮ is pegged to offshore Chinese yuan (CNH). Initially available only on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token, its launch on TRON will make it the second blockchain on which CNH₮ can be obtained, traded, and held. CNH₮ is one of four stablecoins that Tether supports including stablecoins pegged to the U.S. Dollar (USD₮), Euro (EUR₮), and Peso (MXN₮).

6. Huobi will list CNHT (Tether CNH) soon link

Huobi released an announcement that is scheduled to list CNHT (Tether CNH) in the near future. The CNHT spot trading (CNHT/USDD) will begin first. Then, CNHT/USDT trading pair will launch when the trading volume of CNHT/USDD meets the standards.

7. Chinese-language community-based NFTs have performed well recently link

The Weirdo Ghost Gang, Theirsverse Official and other Chinese-language community-based NFTs have performed well recently, with the former seeing a 2025% increase in trading volume and a 110% increase in floor price over the past 7 days, and the latter seeing a more than 25% increase in floor price. The address (0xbe2550ca3700ead456c37e48e4113c33884f0db4) bought 70 WeirdoGhostGang NFT, a total of 97 in the last 7 days; address: 0xc2e54921b60378f9946ba7bcfba66279865d5a7b bought 25 in the last 24 hours.

8. SEBA Bank partners with HashKey for institutional crypto adoption link

In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, crypto-focused company SEBA Bank said that it formed a partnership with the financial services firm HashKey Group to accelerate the institutional adoption of digital assets in Hong Kong and Switzerland. HashKey Group recently received licenses from the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong to operate within the country. Meanwhile, SEBA Bank was the first to be granted a digital asset custody license in Switzerland, allowing it to facilitate institutional custody services, back in 2021.

9. South Korea’s weekly summary

9.1 Bank of Korea releases Significant Issues Related to Crypto Asset Regulation and Legislative Direction link

The Bank of Korea released the Significant Issues Related to Crypto Asset Regulation and Legislative Direction on December 5, which defines crypto assets as “tokens representing electronic value or rights stored and transferred based on distributed ledger technology or similar technology. The report also argues for stricter standards for stablecoins, such as issuer restrictions, minimum capital requirements, and eligible reserve assets.

9.2 WEMIX to be removed from Korea’s 5 exchanges, down 78.4% in 24 hours link

A South Korean court has denied a temporary injunction filed by Wemix PTE, a subsidiary of Wemade, against “Upbit and other crypto exchanges for delisting WEMIX”. This comes after five major Korean exchanges, including Upbit and Bithumb, announced that they would delist WEMIX because it had submitted more offerings than planned. WEMIX has now fallen to $0.133, a 24-hour drop of 78.4%.

9.3 USDN flagged as “investment warning” by the Korea Crypto Asset Exchange Federation link

Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, announced that USDN, the algorithmic stablecoin of the Waves ecosystem, has been flagged as an “investment warning” by DAXA, the Korea Association of Crypto Asset Exchanges, one of the country’s top 5 exchanges. USDN has not resumed anchoring since November 8 according to Coingecko data.

10. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group plans to issue Soulbound tokens link

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Corporation (SMBC), the third largest financial institution in Japan, plans to issue Soulbound tokens (SBTs) on a trial basis, powered by HashPort, until the end of March 2023. The two companies signed a partnership agreement in July this year to work together on Web3 and NFT-related businesses.