Former Goldman Sachs executive Marco Lim has reportedly been appointed as a managing partner at Hong Kong-based blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund MaiCapital, Finance Magnates reported on Feb. 25. Prior to joining MaiCapital, Lim also served at Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and Forex Capital Markets, specializing in foreign exchange sales, according to Lim’s LinkedIn profile. At MaiCapital, Lim is expected to bring his expertise in sales and marketing to further develop the company. Benedict Ho, a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at MaiCapital, told Finance Magnates that “Marco will focus primarily on marketing and establishing strategic partnerships for MaiCapital and its …

Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has added four new crypto derivative pairs to its platform, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Feb. 19. OKEx, the third-largest crypto exchange by trade volume, has announced the listing of Bitcoin SV (BSV), QTUM, DASH and NEO against Bitcoin (BTC) or Tether (USDT) on margin with a 3x leverage option. Last month, OKEx added seven new crypto derivative pairs to its platform, including Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), EOS (EOS), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Ripple (XRP), as Cointelegraph reported on Jan. 3. As Cointelegraph wrote on Dec. …

Bitcoin (BTC) mining giant Bitmain could have made losses of around $500 million in Q3 last year, industry magazine CoinDesk reported on Feb. 19, citing a company document. Bitmain, which is currently attempting to launch an initial public offering (IPO) under the auspices of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), submitted a report into its earnings in line with listing requirements. According to the publication, that report indicated that for 2018 as a whole, excluding Q4, revenue was $3 billion and profits $500 million. This contrasts with previous figures for the first half of the year, for which profit was …

South Korea's major virtual currency exchange Bithumb has officially launched an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk under the Ortus brand, according to a press release published on Feb. 7. Hong Kong-based entity Bithumb Global Limited owns the rights to the Ortus brand, which specializes in services for institutional investors. After completing Know-Your-Customer and Anti-Money Laundering inspections, institutional investors will be able to utilize Ortus services, including monitored funds transfers and access to an OTC trading desk. OTC trading is an option for institutional investors looking to perform large-volume trades, as it allows them to conduct direct trades between each other as …

New data shows that United States traders are the most active across major crypto exchanges, according to a Feb. 4 tweet from data analytics firm DataLight. The U.S. has the highest distribution of traders — 60 percent — on major crypto exchange and wallet Coinbase, while on Binance, Bittrex and Poloniex, U.S. traders make up 24, 27 and 28 percent of total crypto traders respectively. Geographical Distribution of Crypto Traders. Source: DataLight American traders are less represented on Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Bitfinex, at 10 percent of traders on the exchange, while German traders make up 13 percent. Earlier this …

Big Four audit and consulting firm Deloitte has successfully completed a joint pilot for digitizing the supply chain on multiple blockchain networks, according to an official press release published on Feb. 1. Within the new project, Deloitte has collaborated with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed blockchain firm Kerry Logistics and CargoSmart, a Hong Kong-based company specializing in supply chain management. Completed in late 2018, the platform’s Proof-of-Concept (PoC) is reportedly interoperable across different blockchains and cloud networks commonly used in global trading and finance, the press release says. By joining data on multiple distributed ledger technology (DLT) chains, the platform …

Hong Kong-based money transfer platform Bitspark has launched what is reportedly the first stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar (HKD), local tech and finance news outlet Fintech Hong Kong reports Jan. 29. Bitspark, which has positioned itself as a platform where stablecoins form the medium of value transfer, launched the Sparkdex.HKD stablecoin as a feature on its SparkDEX decentralized exchange. “Until now, US Dollar stablecoins have dominated the market but there are other national currencies in the world, like the Hong Kong Dollar,” the publication quotes CEO George Harrap as saying. Bitspark, he added, “anticipate[s] that this will lead …

Star Xu, founder of exchange services provider OKCoin and the world’s second-largest crypto exchange OKEx, has bought a controlling share in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed firm for around $60 million. The deal was disclosed by the acquired firm, LEAP Holdings Group, on Jan. 23. Following the deal’s completion on Jan. 14., OKCoin’s parent firm OKC Holdings Corp. became the controlling shareholder in LEAP Holdings — a Caymans Island-incorporated construction engineering firm, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). Having purchased roughly 3.2 billion shares at HK$0.15 (~$0.02) apiece — at a total cost of HK$483,890,536 (~$61.6 …

The head of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) has addressed queries about initial public offering (IPO) listings amid confusion over Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain’s application. English-language newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported the comments on Jan. 24. Speaking at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, HKEX CEO Charles Li Xiaojia said that it was important IPO candidates were consistent about their business offerings. “If a company made billions of US dollars through Business A, but suddenly said it will do Business B without showing any performance, or said Business B is better, then I don’t …

Major global Bitcoin (BTC) wallet Xapo will relocate key business operations from Hong Kong to Switzerland, according to Swiss news agency Swissinfo on Jan. 21. Speaking at the World Web Forum in Zurich, the wallet’s president Ted Rogers revealed that the main purpose of the move was the search for a better crypto regulatory environment. According to Xapo’s president, Hong Kong used to be thought of as “the holy grail of crypto regulations,” but that in fact the jurisdiction has “become more opaque.” Rogers argued that he always considered Switzerland “the right place” for blockchain and crypto-related projects to flourish, …

Hong Kong-based computer hardware manufacturer Sapphire has announced a new graphics card for mining the recently-launched GRIN Coin, according to an official press release published on Jan. 22. The SAPPHIRE RX 570 16GB HDMI Blockchain Graphics Card is one of the first of a “new family” that will support mining of the new GRIN Coin. GRIN, which was released earlier this month, is a privacy-oriented token that is touted as a fully decentralized and democratized digital asset. The token is based on mimblewimble technology, which in theory grants users in the network with solid anonymity, by encrypting the value of …

LSEG Technology, the technology solutions provider for the London Stock Exchange Group, has announced that its matching engine will be used to power a new Hong Kong-based digital assets exchange. The news was announced in an LSEG Technology press release Jan. 22. The forthcoming digital assets exchange — dubbed AAX — comes from blockchain and crypto-focused fintech firm ATOM Group. The platform will reportedly become the first digital assets exchange to use LSEG Technology’s so-dubbed “Millennium Exchange,” which is a low latency and scalable matching engine already reportedly in use at traditional exchanges such as LSE, Borsa Italiana, the Oslo …