Chinese regulators, including the Securities Association of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), held a meeting in Beijing to promote blockchain technology in the securities industry and discuss regulations. In the symposium organized by China Securities Industry Alliance Chain and Off-Site Alliance Chain, the deputy director-general of the Science and Technology Regulatory Bureau of CSRC, Jiang Dongxing, spoke about the consensus of Chinese businesses to digitally transform the securities and futures industry. Citing the 14th Five-Year Plan, which details China’s intent to use blockchain technology, Dongxing mentioned that blockchain technology can build a trust mechanism in the network …

Red Date Technology, one of the four founding members of the Chinese Government-backed Blockchain Service Network (BSN), has announced Korean firm MetaverseSociety as the first BSN portal operator located outside of mainland China. Twitter account “BSNbase” broke the news on Sept. 1, announcing that MetaverseSociety expects to launch its BSN portal during November of this year. According to the tweet, the Korean portal will allow local developers to “build and operate blockchain applications quickly and effectively” on top of the BSN once live. Thrilled to introduce MetaverseSociety @MarX_Metaverse, the exclusive BSN portal operator in Korea. The portal will launch in …

The United States-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Genesis Digital Assets continues to grow its cryptocurrency mining power with a fresh deal with Chinese crypto mining giant Canaan. Genesis announced on Tuesday that it has secured a purchase order for 20,000 Bitcoin miners from Canaan. In conjunction with the new purchase, Canaan has also granted Genesis an opportunity to buy up to 180,000 additional BTC mining machines. Genesis co-founder and executive chairman Abdumalik Mirakhmedov noted that the new batch of Bitcoin miners will help the firm to further expand its mining operations in North America and the Nordics. He added that …

Government-backed Chinese banks have reportedly started exploring new use cases for the digital yuan by allowing citizens to use it to buy insurance products and investment funds online. The South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday that leading Chinese banks such as Bank of Communications (Bocom) and China Construction Bank (CCB) are working with fund managers and insurers to enable e-yuan payments for sectors beyond the retail landscape. The report states that CCB has collaborated with an investment funds platform, Shanghai Tiantian Fund Distribution, for allowing citizens to make online fund investments with the digital yuan. JD.com, a China-based e-commerce …

Very few events can shake the cryptocurrency markets in a sustainable manner that really sends Bitcoin and altcoin prices into a sharp directional move. One example is when Xi Jinping, China's President, called for a country-wide development of blockchain technology in October 2019. The unexpected news caused a 42% pump in Bitcoin (BTC), but the movement completely faded away as investors realized China was not altering its negative stance on cryptocurrencies. As a result, only a handful of tokens focused on China's FinTech industry, blockchain tracing, and industry automation saw their prices consolidate at higher levels. Some 'crypto news' and …

United Kingdom-based multinational banking firm Standard Chartered has launched a blockchain-powered trade finance platform through a joint venture with Chinese supply chain finance technology provider Linklogis. Dubbed Olea, the platform will aim to meet the needs of institutional investors that are “seeking opportunities in an alternative asset class with businesses requiring supply chain financing,” according to a report from The Korea Herald published on Monday. The joint venture operating the platform will be headquartered in Singapore, where Ng from Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures will lead as its CEO. Letitia Chau, vice chairman and chief risk officer of Linklogis, will serve …

China has reportedly doubled down on its crypto crackdown with a public reminder stating that Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital currencies “are not legal tender and have no actual value.” In a local media briefing, Yin Youping, the deputy director of the Financial Consumer Rights Protection Bureau of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), said the central bank will maintain a “high-pressure situation” and continue to crack down on digital currency-related transactions. At the briefing session, which was coincidently held during China’s “Financial Knowledge Popularization Month,” Youping stated that digital currency-related transactions are pure investment hype. Youping said that the …

The hashrate for the Bitcoin network has made a remarkable recovery since it crashed following China’s crypto mining clampdown earlier this year. The Bitcoin hashrate has now topped 150 Exahashes, or one quintillion hashes, per second according to data from analytics provider CryptoQuant. On Aug. 24, the metrics provider reported a hashrate of 152 EH/s which has tripled since it bottomed out this year on June 28 at 52 EH/s. The recovery of the BTC hashrate means that the network is much more secure and harder to attack. The average Bitcoin hashrate — the amount of computing power in the …

Regulators from Yingjiang County in Yunnan, China have issued strict warnings to hydroelectric plants against supplying power to enterprises involved in Bitcoin (BTC) mining. A recent report claimed that the Office of the People’s Government of Yingjiang County issued notice to hydropower plants to strengthen oversight on Bitcoin mining operations. According to the announcement, the power plants have been given until Tuesday, Aug. 24, to delist mining companies from their grid’s “illegal” supply. After the given deadline, the county reportedly plans to “forcibly dismantle” the power supply to Bitcoin mining establishments within its jurisdiction. Additionally, the notice requires hydropower stations …

Xiaomi India, the subcontinent’s branch of the major mobile phone manufacturer, is interested in the cryptocurrency industry but needs regulatory clarity from the government. The firm’s managing director, Manu Jain, said in an interview with The Economic Times, “We will want to wait for all the regulatory things. Of course, crypto is an area, which is extremely interesting, and is the biggest buzzword and is doing exceptionally well. But, we would want to understand more on the regulation side.” Jain’s latest remarks come after the company’s financial service business returned to growth in 2021, seeing a 35% year-on-year surge in …

Yet another blow has been dealt to China’s cryptocurrency community, with news of a new high court ruling in the Shandong province that has drawn out the consequences of crypto’s lack of legal status in the country. As the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, the case in question was an appeal against a ruling this January by an intermediate court in the city of Jinan. The plaintiff in the case had lost 70,000 yuan (roughly $10,750) by investing in unnamed crypto tokens back in 2017, which friends of his had reportedly endorsed. Following the People’s Bank of China’s doubling …

In a business school lecture hall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a senior executive for Safaricom gave a prediction of decentralized finance and the future of commerce to a room of keen but confused MBA students. “You will be able to buy your first home on WhatsApp! Smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain will take care of everything and you won’t need a broker,” he said with conviction, pointing to a slide. “How will the house’s title change hands? What about the funds? Can the blockchain do escrow? What role for lawyers? How could we possibly buy something …