The power struggle between Bitmain co-founders Micree Zhan and Jihan Wu appears to be at an end. In a tweet on January 26, Wu announced his decision to step down from the company. The now former CEO and Chairman of Bitmain sent out an encrypted farewell message to his followers, announcing that the long-standing disagreement between ousted co-founder Zhan and himself had been settled in an “amicable” and “constructive” manner. “I have resigned from the CEO and Chairman of Bitmain as of today,” said Wu, after working at the firm for almost eight years. As part of the agreement, Zhan …

Despite rapid advancement of a digital yuan, China's progress in internationalizing its currency has stalled out in recent months. Per data from SWIFT's RMB Tracker released on Jan. 20, the Chinese yuan (CNY), also known as the Renminbi (RMB) had gained only .02% in international usage between December 2018 and last month. Meanwhile, it had fallen from 1.26% to 1.16% between November and December of 2020. While not a catastrophe, it's nowhere near the numbers that China has become used to since making the internationalization of the RMB a priority in 2009. An August report on the project from the …

Robbers posing as cryptocurrency buyers have stolen about 3.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($450,000) from a woman in Hong Kong. According to a report by the South China Morning Post on Tuesday, the Hong Kong police are currently conducting a manhunt for the gang. A spokesperson for the police revealed that the group operated by having one member complete multiple transactions with the victim, presumably to win the target’s trust. Indeed, an investigation into the matter showed three previous deals ranging between $77,000 and $90,000. On the day of the robbery, the other members of the gang rushed to the …

Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s largest asset managers, has poured more capital into a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency operator — offering yet another bullish indicator for the evolution of digital-asset markets worldwide. An exchange filing obtained by Singapore-based Business Times shows that Fidelity acquired a 6.29% stake in BC Technology Group after investing $6.71 million in the company. Business Times indicated that Fidelity had increased its exposure to the company, though didn’t specify the initial investment amount. The investment was announced shortly after BC Technology Group disclosed that it had reached an agreement to raise HK$697 million ($89.9 million) in …

The Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong is appealing to regulators to consider the impact of incoming laws on the city’s digital innovation agenda. In November, Hong Kong’s government announced plans to ban retail cryptocurrency trading as part of a broader money laundering crackdown. According to the South China Morning Post on Dec. 24, the proposed crypto regulations could also extend to Bitcoin automated teller machines. In a consultation paper published in November, the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau revealed that it also had plans to regulate Bitcoin ATMs. Data from CoinAtmRadar shows Hong Kong is home to 62 Bitcoin ATMs. …

OSL, a major digital asset platform in Asia and a unit of Fidelity-backed BC group, has been officially licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. According to a Dec. 15 announcement, the new license allows OSL Digital Securities to operate regulated brokerage and automated trading services for digital assets. The news comes shortly after the SFC agreed in principle to issue OSL a license in August 2020. According to the announcement, OSL has successfully undergone the SFC’s strict vetting requirements. At launch, OSL Digital Securities’ digital asset trading platform will support major digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) …

China’s central bank and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, or HKMA, are in the preliminary stages of piloting the digital yuan for cross-border payments — underscoring another key development in the rollout of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. In a media release that appeared on the HKMA website on Friday, chief executive Eddie Yue provided an update on the ongoing work surrounding cross-border payments. He indicated that HKMA is in dialogue with the People’s Bank of China, or PBoC, to begin pilot testing the e-CNY. Yue said: “The HKMA and the Digital Currency Institute of People’s Bank of …

Proposed regulations targeting Hong Kong’s blockchain industry could have far-reaching consequences for the crypto derivatives market, according to new research from Messari.io. In a report published on Wednesday, researcher Mira Christanto said the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, which happens to be the dominant market for crypto futures trading, could be clamping down on unregulated exchanges as part of a broader push for more governance. The researcher cited a recent proposal from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, or SFC, that would require all crypto businesses to fall under anti-money laundering rules. This is a significant departure from …

China Construction Bank has partnered with a Labuan-based fintech to issue the first-ever blockchain-based digital security issued by a Chinese financial institution. One of the “Big Four” banks in the People’s Republic of China, CCB is ranked the second-largest bank worldwide by total assets as of fall 2020. The megabank’s plan with the new blockchain-based debt issuance is to raise up to $3 billion in total, starting with a tranche of $58 million, from individuals and institutions. The digital bonds will be issued through an offshore branch of CCB in Labuan, Malaysia, at a minimum of as little as $100 …

Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX, donated $5.2 million to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. As the Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 28, Biden’s presidential campaign received a total of $79.5 million from the top 100 donors describing themselves as CEOs. Bankman-Fried is reportedly the second-largest “CEO-contributor” to the campaign after Michael Bloomberg, a co-founder of the eponymous financial and media company, who donated $56 million. The major contributions by CEOs to both Biden and current president Donald Trump are still only a drop in the bucket. Both campaigns together with their outside backers raised …

DBS, Singapore’s largest retail and commercial bank, seems to be entering the cryptocurrency space with three new offerings. According to information seen by Cointelegraph, DBS is launching cryptocurrency trading and custody as well as a platform for conducting security token offerings. A description of the offering and its components appeared briefly on DBS' website before being removed minutes later. DBS’ upcoming crypto service — the DBS Digital Exchange — will support five major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Supported fiat currencies include the United States dollar, the Singapore dollar, the Hong …

Blockchain firm ConsenSys announced Sep. 25 that it had been awarded the contract for a cross-border payment project between Thailand and Hong Kong. The company will lead the second implementation phase of Project Ithanon-Lionrock. The project is a joint initiative to create a cross-border central bank digital currency, or CBDC, payment network between banks in the two countries. Initiated in May 2019 by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, or HKMA, and the Bank of Thailand, or BOT, the project announced the results of its initial research phase back in January. This found that there was significant potential to use DLT …