Argo Blockchain, a publicly traded blockchain technology company focused on cryptocurrency mining, is looking at a potential secondary listing on the Nasdaq exchange. On Tuesday, the company announced that it is now exploring the possibility of a secondary listing on the Nasdaq as part of its operational and strategic update for June 2021. Argo Blockchain said that the firm has not yet reached a decision on the timing of the secondary listing, noting that “There is no guarantee that the listing will be finalized,” and, “Any proposed listing is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no …

China’s regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies continues to alienate major miners. Dubai-based investment company IBC Group reportedly plans to end Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) mining operations in China following ban announcements from the different provinces across the country. The group has major mining operations in China and plans to distribute its operations to the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the United States, Kazakhstan, Iceland and various South American countries, according to sources. IBC Group recently relocated its headquarters to Toronto, Canada. Commenting on the crackdown on crypto with a focus on mining activities, IBC Group chairman and iMining CEO Khurram Shroff …

Japan will have more clarity on the design of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) no earlier than late 2022, according to a ruling party official. Hideki Murai, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan’s panel on digital currencies, said that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is still working on sorting out the key functions of the digital yen, such as defining what entities would serve as intermediaries between the central bank and its deposit holders. “By around the end of next year, we’ll have a clearer view of what Japan's CBDC would look like,” Murai said in …

Huobi Global, currently the world's second-largest crypto exchange by daily traded volume, has introduced a 24-hour token withdrawal delay for all over-the-counter (OTC) trades. The decision strikes a blow to all Huobi users, some of whom will moreover be prevented from withdrawing their tokens for as long as 36 hours if the exchange's assessment system judges them to be at particularly high risk. Huobi has said the move forms part of its attempt to “gradually introduce a number of risk control strategies encompassing a larger section of users." It adds that it expects the delay to "effectively avoid user losses …

This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry’s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations. Flags and celebrations were the order of the day as the Chinese Communist Party celebrated its 100th birthday on July 1. Many had pinpointed this event as part of the motivation behind the recent crypto crackdowns, as prominent holidays prompt leaders to clean up their jurisdictions so that societal issues don’t distract from the celebrations. A strong and uniform financial system is certainly one of the areas that …

As Kazakhstan becomes increasingly popular for cryptocurrency mining, the country’s president has signed a new law introducing an extra levy for crypto miners. President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently signed last a new law that imposes an additional tax fee for energy utilized by crypto miners operating in the country. The new fees will take effect starting in January 2022. According to local news agency Kursiv, the new law introduces an additional fee of 1 Kazakhstan tenge ($0.00233) per kilowatt-hour used by cryptocurrency miners. The additional tax levy is part of a series of legislative amendments to …

Reports alleged that cryptocurrency miners in China’s Yunnan province may be out of commission for a day if not longer due to the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary celebration this week. According to Kevin Zhang, the vice president of mining infrastructure company Foundry Services, all major Bitcoin (BTC) mining farms in Yunnan have been shut down as of today. Zhang said he personally knew of at least two crypto mining sites in the southwestern region that had received orders to cut power. The shutdowns are purportedly due to the impending Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, celebrations, which occur every year …

China continues expanding the scope of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) by debuting digital yuan payments for transport services. According to an official Wednesday announcement, the Beijing subway has launched a pilot program enabling passengers to access 24 subway lines and four suburban railway stations using the digital yuan, also known as e-CNY. The new service is only available for customers witb a bank account at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a major bank involved in China’s CBDC tests. “You need to download a mobile app that is linked with your bank account to access the service,” …

Bitcoin’s reliance on large-scale mining infrastructure and geographic concentration has been thrown into sharp relief by China’s recent mining crackdown. In May, China announced that it would be getting tough on crypto mining and trading as a response to financial risks. The nation’s crackdown on crypto is not new, rather it's a reiteration of previous standings on the risks of digital currency to economic stability, in response to recent price fluctuations. For the first time, cryptocurrency miners are being targeted to enforce the existing guidelines. Mining hardware still presents a potential risk, even if mining moves to other locations. This …

Small-scale hydroelectric plants in China are reportedly looking for new customers as crypto miners go abroad amid a nationwide crackdown on mining activity. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), advertisements for small-scale hydro plants with 50-megawatt capacity have surged on Chinese secondhand e-commerce platforms such as Xianyu. According to the SCMP, some sellers claimed that their listings were unrelated to the cryptocurrency mining industry, while others said that their bids came as a result of the recent crackdown on crypto mining. One seller reportedly said that small dams rely on crypto miners for a customer base because they …

Crypto exchange platform Huobi has updated its user agreement document, banning crypto derivatives trading for customers in China. According to the updated user agreement section of the Huobi Global website, the ban on crypto derivatives trading covers users in jurisdictions such as China, Taiwan, Israel and Iraq. Other banned countries include the United Kingdom — restricted to retail customers — as well as Bolivia, Bangladesh and Ecuador, to mention a few. The crypto derivatives trading ban is also in addition to longstanding prohibitions of the use of its platform in places such as Hong Kong, Japan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, …

BTCChina, the operator of China’s oldest Bitcoin (BTC) exchange, is no longer in the crypto business, according to some reports. The company sold its stake in the Singapore-registered Bitcoin exchange ZG.com to an unidentified foundation in Dubai, Chinese news agency The 21st Century Business Herald recently reported. According to the report, ZG.com is a completely independent crypto exchange business with registrations in the United States, Singapore, Estonia, Seychelles and other countries. BTCChina reportedly invested in ZG.com in January 2019. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, BTCChina said that it was exiting the Bitcoin business “in response …