A former governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has indicated that Beijing may delegate the issuance of digital currency to commercial entities, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper reported on July 11. Zhou Xiaochuan, who stood down as head of the central bank in 2018 after 15 years, revealed the country may adopt a new approach for its sovereign digital currency scheme — taking inspiration from Hong Kong’s monetary system and Facebook’s Libra project. In Hong Kong, three banks issue their own banknotes and collateralize them by holding U.S. dollars in reserve, while the territory’s monetary …

Vanuatu, a Pacific Island country, has extradited six Chinese citizens to the mainland, according to a report by Odaily Planet Daily on July 10. The suspects were reportedly arrested in the course of an ongoing investigation of the PlusToken cryptocurrency platform which, according to the Yancheng Public Security Bureau, is a pyramid scheme. As per the report, the Yancheng police in China have confirmed that they cooperated with local Vanuatu police to extradite six suspects associated with the PlusToken fund. The individuals were reportedly arrested by Vanuatu authorities at Chinese police’s request, and later released to China following negotiations. The …

The Tron office in Beijing has been surrounded by police as a crowd gathered to protest against a Chinese ponzi scheme that went under a Tron-like name, Twitter personality Crypto Authority reports on July 8. Videos with crowds surrounded by police officers in the Tron’s office have spread over Twitter, with people apparently coming to express outrage at a local crypto scam that reportedly led to $30 million worth of losses and one suicide. As can be seen on the videos, people are apparently considering Tron to be the fraudulent entity, with the crowd reportedly yelling "Tron is a scam.” …

China’s first blockchain-enabled notary has opened offices in Beijing, local media People reported on April 19. Per the report, the service opened last Friday at the Beijing CITIC Notary Office. The head of the office reportedly stated that the development marks the beginning of the blockchain notary service era. During the launch event, the director of the Beijing CITIC Notary Office Wang Mingliang noted that he believes that blockchain-based notarization has both the value of notarization and legal significance of blockchain certification. Hu Jiyu, a professor at the School of Business of China University of Political Science and Law, is …

A major Chinese research university has launched a blockchain research scholarship with the support of Ripple, according to a press release published on Jan. 18. In collaboration with blockchain payments firm Ripple, the Institute for Fintech Research at Beijing’s Tsinghua University (THUIFR) has announced the Blockchain Technology Research Scholarship Program (BRSP). The program reportedly intends to bring together the best graduate students in China in 2019 to study global blockchain regulations and industry development. Participants in the new educational program will reportedly have access to advanced knowledge in the blockchain space, as well be able to take part in corporate …

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the country’s central bank, highlighted the illegality of Security Token Offerings (STOs) in the country, English-language local news outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports Dec. 9. A deputy governor of China’s central bank, Pan Gongsheng, reportedly told a summit in Beijing “that ‘illegal’ financing activities through STOs and ICOs [Initial Coin Offerings] were still rampant in the mainland despite a nationwide clean-up of the cryptocurrency market last year.” Gongsheng also said that if the government had not stepped in, the chaotic crypto market could have hurt the overall financial stability in China. The …