Asia's weekly TOP10 crypto news (July 17 to July 23)
Author：Crescent
Editor：Colin Wu
1. Hubei Police Cracks the First National “Virtual Currency Case” in China link
On July 18th, according to a publication by Ping An Hubei, the Shaoyang County People’s Court made a ruling on a massive cross-border gambling case involving a transaction volume of 400 billion CNY. In the judgment, a portion of the frozen virtual currency was legally confiscated, amounting to approximately 1 billion CNY. This case became the first in the country to involve the confiscation of “virtual currency.” The article mentioned that the special investigation team communicated with the virtual currency issuer to freeze the relevant accounts, preventing approximately 160 million US dollars (about 1 billion CNY) worth of virtual currency from flowing into the hands of the suspects. Additionally, three key suspects who had been hiding overseas were also apprehended.
2. “Taiwan’s Buffett” Zhou Ruiqing Orchestrates ATC Cryptocurrency Sale During Prison Term link
Self-proclaimed “Taiwanese Buffett” Zhou Ruiqing has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding 4.1 billion New Taiwan Dollars. While in Kaohsiung Second Prison, he met an inmate surnamed Liao and instructed him to establish “Weixin Company” to host seminars to attract public investment in virtual currencies. Liao was appointed to handle the company’s operations. They deceived people by claiming that the self-issued ATC coins would be listed on the ProEX virtual currency exchange in Singapore and manipulated the ATC coin prices by using Weixin Company to place sell orders, creating a false impression of a free market transaction. After an investigation by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, Zhou Ruiqing, Liao, and seven others have been charged with illegally raising over 40 million New Taiwan Dollars in more than a year.
3. Hong Kong’s weekly summary
3.1 Brokerage Users Complete First Virtual Asset Transaction Matched on HashKey PRO link
On July 21st, Hashkey Group’s COO, Livio Weng, announced that securities users completed the first virtual asset transaction on HashKey PRO through the Hong Kong Hua Fu Jian Ye Securities app. Longbridge Whale became the first BSS Vendor to provide a one-stop virtual asset trading system service for securities firms, and Hua Fu Jian Ye Securities became the first Hong Kong securities firm to launch virtual asset trading within the Whale ecosystem.
3.2 Two Global Banks in Hong Kong Continue to Refuse Account Opening for Cryptocurrency Exchanges link
On July 18th, The Wall Street Journal reported that at least two globally recognized banks operating in Hong Kong have declined to engage in activities related to cryptocurrency trading, and several other banks have also refused to open accounts for cryptocurrency-related businesses. The main concern cited by these banks is the risk of cryptocurrencies being used for money laundering, and the need for time to update their systems to comply with anti-money laundering processes. In response to these concerns, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has organized two meetings between cryptocurrency exchanges and banks. Banks attending these meetings include HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank of China, and Citibank, among others. The HKMA urged banks not to reject account openings based solely on the nature of the company’s business and to meet the legitimate needs of licensed companies operating in the virtual asset space.
3.3 Hong Kong Financial Secretary: Embracing Blockchain Technology’s Opportunities link
On July 18th, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, spoke to China Fund News and expressed Hong Kong’s determination to seize opportunities and leverage blockchain technology to promote the development of Web3.0 in the region. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is also in the process of formulating a regulatory framework for “stablecoins” and plans to conduct a second round of public consultation later this year. The aim is to implement regulatory arrangements in the fiscal year 2023/2024. Additionally, the HKMA will evaluate the experience of issuing tokenized green bonds and plan for future initiatives in this area.
4. Ravi Menon: Hong Kong and Singapore to Play Important Roles in Web3.0 Development link
On July 20th, Ravi Menon, the former Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the former Dean of the MAS Academy, stated in an interview with China Times that both Hong Kong and Singapore have relatively open and positive attitudes towards cryptocurrencies and Web3.0. While Singapore has had an early advantage in this field, Hong Kong has also been gradually changing its stance since last year and actively embracing virtual asset policies.
Menon believes that both cities can leverage their status as international financial centers and their strong information and digital technology infrastructure to provide favorable conditions for the innovative development of Web3.0. He emphasized that the ultimate goal of regulation is to foster development, and regulation should establish a foundation for development. When a good balance is struck between the two, they can complement each other and promote growth.
5. South Korea’s Weekly Summary
5.1 South Korean Cryptocurrency Lending Company Delio to Suspend Some Services link
On July 24th, South Korean crypto lending company Delio announced the suspension of certain services and the cessation of virtual asset interest payments to users. Delio stated that during a previous seizure and search, all assets owned by customers and the company, as well as other cold wallets and account books, were confiscated by the prosecutor’s office. Prior to this, on July 18th, the Southern Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office conducted a seizure and search operation on Delio.
5.2 South Korean Blockchain Week to be Held Across Seoul link
The Korea Blockchain Week (KBW), which will take place from September 4th to 10th, will be held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, as well as various locations across the city. The event is established and organized by Factblock, in collaboration with the South Korean crypto venture capital firm Hashed. Confirmed speakers for the event include Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, Mike Belshe, the CEO of BitGo, Emin Gün Sirer, the CEO of AVA Labs, and others.
5.3 South Korea’s Financial Services Commission Plans to Establish a Virtual Asset Bureau link
On July 18th, according to Newsway, the Financial Services Commission of South Korea is pushing forward a plan to establish a Virtual Assets Office (tentative name) under the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), based on the existing virtual asset inspection department. Currently, the Financial Services Commission is in the final stages of discussion with the Ministry of Administration and Security regarding the establishment of the new Virtual Assets Office. If approved by the government, the relevant department will be established through the issuance of a regulation amendment bill and other necessary procedures.
6. New Hana Bank and SCB TechX Successfully Complete Conceptual Testing of Hedera-based Stablecoin Remittance link
On July 18th, according to Hedera’s blog, a consortium consisting of Shinhan Bank from South Korea, SCB TechX from Thailand’s Commercial Bank, and a financial institution from Taiwan successfully completed a Proof of Concept (PoC) pilot for stablecoin remittances. This pilot, conducted on the Hedera network, achieved real-time settlement and real-time foreign exchange (FX) rate integration between Thai Baht (THB), New Taiwan Dollar (NTD), and South Korean Won (KRW).
7. Myanmar’s First Fully Cryptocurrency-Based Banking Institution Announces Trial Run on July 22 link
On July 20th, according to Cointelegraph’s report, Spring Development Bank, the first fully cryptocurrency-based banking institution in Myanmar, announced that it will commence trial operations on July 22nd. The bank is built on the Polygon blockchain and will issue various new stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies, including the Myanmar Kyat, Thai Baht, Singapore Dollar, and the US Dollar.
The establishment of Spring Development Bank is fully supported and resourced by the National Unity Government (NUG), which is the exiled administration of Myanmar. The bank aims to address the high cost of remittances to Myanmar, which currently stands at around 30% when done through traditional channels.
8. Kuwait Releases Cryptocurrency Ban link
On July 20th, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kuwait, a country in the Middle East, issued a notice regarding the regulation and issuance of virtual assets in the country. The notice imposes a complete ban on the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment or recognition as a decentralized currency within Kuwait. It also prohibits the use of cryptocurrencies as investment instruments and bans all cryptocurrency mining activities in the country.
9. Bappebti Identifies Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Clearing Houses, and Asset Custodians link
On July 21st, according to regulatory documents, the Indonesian Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) has designated certain entities to operate in the cryptocurrency space. On July 17th, PT Bursa Komoditi Nusantara was approved as a cryptocurrency futures exchange, and PT Kliring Berjangka Indonesia as the clearing institution for the physical cryptocurrency market. On July 20th, PT Tennet Depository Indonesia was approved as the asset storage manager for cryptocurrencies. Additionally, in June, Indonesia saw a significant increase of 1.418 million new cryptocurrency customers, totaling 17.54 million registered users. The total trading volume of physical cryptocurrencies also rose by 9.3%, reaching 897 billion Indonesian rupiahs (approximately 596,000 USD).
10. Cryptocurrency and the Global Fentanyl Trade link
On July 21st, according to the latest report from Elliptic, it has been revealed that 100 Chinese suppliers are willing to provide fentanyl precursors, pill presses, and molds to their researchers, and they accept payments in cryptocurrency. Approximately 20 of these suppliers are willing to provide actual fentanyl, and one of them has previously supplied fentanyl to the well-known sanctioned fentanyl dealer, Alex Peijnenburg. The wallets of these traders show that they have received over 32 million USD worth of cryptocurrency income, mainly in the form of Bitcoin and USDT from centralized exchanges (CEX). On-chain transactions indicate a significant involvement of these dealers in fentanyl trades on the dark web market.
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