Asia's weekly TOP10 crypto news (Dec 11 to Dec 17)

Dec 17, 2023

Author：0xMingyue

Editor：Colin Wu

1. Hong Kong’s Weekly Summary

1.1 Hong Kong Government Enlists Five Banks to Explore a Series of Digital Green Bond Issuances link

The Hong Kong government has engaged five banks to explore a series of digital green bond issuances. The five banks include HSBC Holdings Limited, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited, and UBS Group. These banks have formed working groups to explore the possibility of issuing multiple series of fixed-rate digital native green bonds. The digital native notes will be recorded on a distributed ledger technology platform. The bonds may be denominated in US dollars, euros, offshore renminbi, and Hong Kong dollars, with maturities of up to two years.

1.2 Hong Kong High Court Rules to Prohibit Huobi, Acquired by Justin Sun, from Using ‘火幣’ or ‘火币’ link

On December 8, Justice Hon Mimmie Chan of the Hong Kong High Court ruled in favor of a restraining order sought by X-spot, owned by Li Lin. The order prohibits Huobi Global Limited, acquired by Justin Sun, from using the names “火幣” or “火币” or any similar names or symbols that may cause confusion. The defendant is also required to bear all the plaintiff’s legal costs.

2. South Korea’s Weekly Summary

2.1 South Korean Financial Regulatory Authority Issues Legislative Notice on Formulating Regulations for the ‘Virtual Asset User Protection Act’ link

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea has issued a notice regarding the legislation of the “Regulations for the Implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act” and the “Regulations for the Regulation of the Virtual Asset Industry.” This includes: expanding the scope of entities not covered by the “Virtual Asset User Protection Act,” such as deposit tokens linked to CBDC and NFTs; clarifying the operation and structure of user deposit management institutions; mandating that 80% of users’ virtual assets be stored in cold wallets; establishing standards for mutual aid or reserve funds to address liabilities arising from hacking, computer malfunctions, and other incidents; defining the timing of potential leaks of undisclosed important information and insider trading based on the characteristics of the virtual asset market; generally prohibiting arbitrary freezing of users’ virtual asset deposits and withdrawals, with specific conditions allowing for exceptions; imposing the obligation on virtual asset exchanges to monitor abnormal trading activities and establishing a fine procedure for unfair trading practices. The enactment of these regulations and regulatory provisions is expected to be announced for public legislation from December 11, 2023, to January 22, 2024, and will come into effect on July 19, 2024, following the review by the National Tax Service and other procedures.

2.2 South Korean Investor Group Accuses Bithumb of Unfair Sales Practices link

A South Korean investor group has filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission, accusing the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb of engaging in unfair sales practices by significantly reducing transaction fees (its sole source of revenue), thereby excluding competitors from the market. However, there have been several precedents of South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges attempting to lower transaction fees. The largest cryptocurrency exchange in Korea, Upbit, reduced its Korean won market transaction fees from the original 0.139% to the industry’s lowest level of 0.05% and has maintained this for six years.

3. Russia Plans to Export Cryptocurrency Mining Products, Similar to Natural Gas Model link

The Russian Ministry of Finance has recently proposed a new initiative, planning to export cryptocurrencies produced through crypto mining activities, similar to natural gas exports. This announcement was made by Ivan Chebeskov, Deputy Minister of Finance, during the “Future of Cryptocurrency and Digital Finance” roundtable discussion. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia share a common stance on recognizing cryptocurrency mining as an industry and exploring the possibility of using cryptocurrencies for settlements in foreign economic activities. A regulatory bill on cryptocurrency mining could come into effect in 2024.

4. Yao Qian Publishes Article in ‘China Finance’ Magazine Discussing the Use of Blockchain Technology for On-Chain Custody and Confirmation of Data link

China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Technology Supervision Bureau Director Yao Qian discussed the development and compliance of large-scale models’ ecosystems, including ChatGPT, in an article published in “China Finance” magazine. He mentioned the potential use of blockchain technology, based on consortium chains or managed public chains, to enhance source data governance mechanisms, enabling on-chain custody, confirmation, transaction, circulation, and rights distribution of data.

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5. Zhu Su, Founder of Three Arrows Capital, Faces Inquiry in Singapore Court link

Three Arrows Capital founder Zhu Su was released this month based on good behavior standards. He was initially arrested on September 29 and sentenced to four months in prison. Zhu Su appeared in the High Court on Wednesday, dressed in a fitted suit with short hair. The two-day court hearing this week required Zhu Su to respond to the liquidators’ lawyers. The lawyers sought details on how the fund went bankrupt and the disposition of assets.

6. Newhuo Tech Issues Profit Warning, Expects Annual Net Loss of Not Less Than HKD 280 Million link

Hong Kong-listed company Newhuo Corporation Limited issued a profit warning, stating that based on the preliminary review of its unaudited comprehensive management accounts for the year ending September 30, 2023, it is expected to incur a net loss of not less than approximately HKD 280 million. This represents an increase in net loss compared to the same period last year, which was approximately HKD 200 million. The increased net loss is primarily attributed to the inability to withdraw cryptocurrency assets from the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, resulting in impairment loss provisions of approximately HKD 86 million. Additionally, there are expenses related to employee severance pay and one-time corporate personnel restructuring costs associated with cost management plans, totaling approximately HKD 15 million.

7. Huobi HTX Announces Upcoming Airdrop Activity link

Huobi HTX has announced that it will launch an airdrop campaign based on a snapshot of Rocket Values on December 31. Users with Rocket Values greater than 0 will be eligible for token airdrops, and the airdrop rewards will be unlocked over 12 months. The specific airdrop ratio and project details will be announced before the airdrop. Currently, there are two speculations about the specific airdrop tokens: one is the issuance of a new HTX to replace HT, and the other is the issuance of a memecoin.

8. Casio Releases Virtual G-SHOCK NFT on Ethereum link

Japanese watch brand Casio has announced the release of virtual G-SHOCK NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, with a total of 2000 pieces, each priced at 0.1 ETH. NFT holders will receive behind-the-scenes experiences from Casio, including visits to the G-Shock laboratory and discussions with designers. In September, Casio collaborated with Polygon Labs to launch virtual G-SHOCK watches on the Polygon blockchain.

9. Montenegro Court Extends Detention of Do Kwon until February 15 link

A spokesperson for the Montenegro High Court, Marija Rakovic, stated that, at the request of the United States and South Korea, the Montenegro High Court has extended the detention of Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs. Marija Rakovic mentioned that the Podgorica court ruled to extend the detention period, originally set to expire on Friday, by two months until February 15.

10. Binance’s He Yi and CEO Richard’s AMA Highlights: Responses to Listing Principles, Ordinals, SEC Lawsuit, and More link

He Yi: Ordinals’ opposition to venture capital is good, but whether the next step can reach the level of the Bitcoin ecosystem is still under observation. Currently, the user experience of the Binance wallet is not good, and it cannot effectively support users in various activities to earn rewards and interact with ordinals. This will be addressed in the future. Binance CEO Richard has expressed confidence in the SEC case and is confident in maintaining Binance’s position. He Yi mentioned that the criminal prosecution (settlement) by the Department of Justice is the most important, and the SEC’s lawsuit may not be as important as the settlement with the Department of Justice. He Yi expressed confidence that there will be another market peak next year or the year after.

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