Asia's weekly TOP10 crypto news (Oct 9 to Oct 15)

Oct 15, 2023

Author：0xMingyue

Editor：Colin Wu

1. Israel’s War Spurs Crypto Companies like Fireblocks and MarketAcross to Launch Aid Funds link

On October 10th, Israel’s crypto and web3 community announced the establishment of the “Crypto Aid Israel” relief fund to raise funds for Israeli citizens who have been displaced and require humanitarian aid due to the conflict with Hamas. This organization will host a multisignature wallet jointly controlled by multiple parties to collect donations denominated in various cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, USDT, and USDC. As of now, the alliance’s members include Fireblocks, MarketAcross, Collider Ventures, CryptoJungle, and the Israel Blockchain Association, with crypto custody platform Fireblocks responsible for managing these assets.

2. Hamas-Related Wallets Once Received Around $41 Million in Cryptocurrency link

On October 11th, according to The Wall Street Journal, the Israeli government’s seizure orders and blockchain analysis reports indicate that Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah received significant funds through cryptocurrencies in the year leading up to the conflict. Analysis by the crypto research firm Elliptic reveals that between August 2021 and June of this year, cryptocurrency wallets associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad received as much as $93 million in cryptocurrencies. A BitOK research report indicates that wallets associated with Hamas received approximately $41 million during the same period.

3. Singapore Suffers Nationwide Bank Outage link

On October 14th, Singapore’s DBS Bank, Citibank, and other banks experienced a widespread outage in Singapore, with some customers unable to access online banking services or use ATMs and other payment services. DBS Bank stated that the service disruption was due to issues with their data center. Some users on social media reported problems when using Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, as well as Citibank’s services. Data center provider Equinix confirmed that technical issues on their end affected the operations of some customers, including DBS Bank, and they are currently investigating the matter.

4. South Korea’s Weekly Summary

4.1 Korean Cryptocurrency Exchanges Reveal Their Reserve Preparedness Against Hacks and Technical Failures link

On October 11th, according to News1, South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have publicly disclosed their reserve funds to prepare for potential hacker attacks and technical failures. Upbit has set aside a total of 20 billion Korean won (approximately 14.92 million US dollars) in reserves. Bithumb, in cooperation with NH Nonghyup Bank, has accumulated 10 billion Korean won (approximately 7.46 million US dollars) in reserves. Coinone, in collaboration with Kakao Bank, has raised 7.3 billion Korean won (approximately 5.44 million US dollars). Korbit and Gopax have each accumulated the minimum required amount of 3 billion Korean won (approximately 2.24 million US dollars) as reserves. According to a report published by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), 18 exchanges were in a “completely capital deficit” state in the first half of this year.

4.2 Korea’s Financial Services Commission Reports a 46% YoY Increase in the Country’s Crypto Market Value in the First Half of This Year link

On October 9th, according to the Chosun Ilbo, a report from the Financial Services Commission in South Korea indicated that the market capitalization of virtual assets in South Korea reached 28.4 trillion Korean won (approximately 21.1 billion US dollars) in the first half of this year, an increase of 46% compared to the previous year. During the same period, the global market capitalization of virtual assets increased by 53%. However, the average daily trading volume on 26 exchanges decreased by 1.3% to 29 trillion Korean won. As of the end of June, the number of individual and corporate cryptocurrency investors decreased by 210,000 to 6.06 million. Among individual investors, those over 30 years old accounted for the largest proportion, with over 67% of users holding virtual assets worth less than 500,000 Korean won. In the first half of the year, a total of 169 cryptocurrencies were listed, but 115 of them temporarily suspended trading due to project risks and investor protection concerns.

4.3 South Korean Ministerial Candidate’s Company WikiTree Accused of Holding a Massive Amount of Steemit Tokens Valued at Up to 260 Million Korean Won link

On October 10th, according to South Korean media Nate, it has been confirmed that Kim Haeng, the nominee for the Minister of Gender Equality and Family in South Korea, owned a significant amount of tokens from the blockchain-based social media service “Steemit,” worth up to 260 million Korean won (approximately 190,000 US dollars). Wikitree, a company founded by Kim Haeng, posted 746 articles on the Steemit blog platform between February 2018 and March 2019 to earn Steemit tokens based on the number of clicks. Many of these articles used headlines that sparked “disgust for women.

5. Hong Kong’s weekly summary

5.1 Hong Kong Police Warn of Scammers Impersonating Binance in Phishing Texts link

On October 9th, according to Ming Pao, the Hong Kong police have warned about fraudsters impersonating Binance and sending phishing text messages. When users click on these messages, fraudsters can steal their Binance accounts and transfer the assets. The police reported that in the past two weeks, they have received 11 cases of virtual assets within Binance accounts being stolen, involving HKD 3.5 million. Today, CZ posted a reminder to users to be cautious about phone and text message scams impersonating exchange staff.

5.2 Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Prepares for a Public Consultation on Stablecoin Regulation link

On October 9th, Christopher Hui Ching-yu, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury in Hong Kong, mentioned that if some overseas trading platforms have no connection to Hong Kong, the local regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies may not be able to provide assistance. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is currently preparing for a public consultation on stablecoin regulation. NFTs, if they are purely digital collectibles, are not regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission. However, if they constitute “collective investments” or have the characteristics of “securities,” they would require approval from the Commission before being offered to the market.

6. The Mainland of China’s Weekly Summary

6.1 Xuhui Court’s Precedent States the Court Recognizes Bitcoin Entrusted Wealth Management Agreements as Valid link

On October 11th, according to lawyer Liu Yang, a dispute involving a Bitcoin trust management case was heard in the Xuhui District People’s Court in Shanghai. The plaintiff entrusted the defendant for financial management, with the defendant promising capital preservation and interest payments but later failing to meet those obligations. The mediation agreement stipulated that the defendant would repay the funds in installments in U.S. dollars, with the provision that any delay in payment for a single installment would trigger the enforcement of the entire amount. This indicates that the court recognized the validity of the Bitcoin trust management agreement and confirmed that civil disputes with virtual digital currencies as the subject could be settled in fiat currency terms.

6.2 Nanchang High-tech Court: Virtual Currency Loan Disputes Are Not Within the Scope of Civil Litigation Acceptance link

On October 10th, the Nanchang Gaoxin Court announced a case in which the plaintiff, Xiao Ming (pseudonym), claimed that in April 2021, the defendant, Xiao Gang (pseudonym), borrowed money from him, citing trading in USDT, and promised to repay the plaintiff’s loan within six months. Subsequently, Xiao Ming converted over 550,000 RMB into more than 80,000 USDT to lend to Xiao Gang. However, after the agreed-upon time had passed, Xiao Gang did not repay the loan as promised, prompting Xiao Ming to file a lawsuit. The court, after reviewing the case, determined that the USDT involved in this case could not be proven by the plaintiff, Xiao Ming, to be a legally issued currency, and therefore did not have legal tender status. Consequently, the lawsuit was not within the jurisdiction of the people’s court to hear civil cases.

6.3 China Daily’s Metaverse Business Product Research and Development Project Is Open for Bidding link

On October 8th, according to the China Government Procurement Network, a public tender is underway for the Research and Construction Project of China Daily’s Metaverse Business. The budget for the project is 2.813 million RMB, and the project services include the construction of a platform for the issuance of intermediate numbers, the development and promotion of NFT digital collections both domestically and abroad, the development and promotion of AR/VR works, and the creative construction and promotion of metaverse spaces. The bidding deadline is October 17, 2023, at 13:30.

7. Zhu Su’s Arrest at Changi Airport Is Related to Teneo, a Liquidation Company from Three Arrows Capital link

On October 11th, it was reported that Zhu Su, the founder of Three Arrows Capital, who was arrested at Singapore’s Changi Airport, was reported to the police by the consulting firm Teneo, which is handling the liquidation of Three Arrows Capital. The liquidators had been monitoring Zhu’s movements in Singapore and were aware of a gathering he was hosting in a luxury bungalow on Yarwood Avenue. On September 29th, the liquidators observed a car leaving the bungalow for Singapore’s Changi Airport and reported to the police that Zhu might be in the vehicle. Zhu, who had received a travel restriction order, was placed on a no-fly list and detained by immigration authorities while heading to the departure checkpoint. The liquidators will seek permission to visit Zhu at Changi Prison to obtain information about Three Arrows Capital’s related assets. If Zhu refuses to meet, the liquidators may take further measures to compel compliance. The liquidators are in contact with law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate the whereabouts of the other co-founder.

8. Terraform Labs Requests Citadel Securities to Provide Specific Data under a Third-Party Subpoena, Claiming Potential Links to UST Decoupling link

On October 13th, Terraform Labs filed a motion to compel Citadel Securities to provide certain data pursuant to a third-party subpoena, claiming potential links to the UST’s dislocation. The motion states that the company issued subpoenas for trading data related to the May 2022 dislocation to Citadel Securities and Citadel Enterprise Americas, noting that Citadel’s entity, Ken Griffin, intended to short UST during or around the May 2022 dislocation period.

9. Caroline Ellison: Alameda Once Bribed Chinese Officials with 100 Million USD to Unlock Funds Frozen in Chinese Exchanges link

On October 12th, citing Caroline Ellison’s testimony, in 2021, Alameda Research’s trading accounts were frozen on the original Huobi and OKX exchanges. They attempted to unfreeze the accounts by hiring lawyers, using various trading strategies, and bribing Chinese government officials. In November 2021, Alameda Research paid approximately $100 million to Chinese government officials to have the accounts unfrozen. This payment was divided into multiple parts and sent to various cryptocurrency wallet addresses. According to Caroline Ellison, she understands that the account was to some extent linked to Chinese government officials and was likely used for bribery.

10. The New York Times: US Authorities Monitor Cryptocurrency Miners with China Ties for National Security Reasons link

On October 14th, according to The New York Times, U.S. government officials are monitoring certain cryptocurrency mining operations with connections to China. Many data centers in the United States can be traced back to the Chinese government, raising concerns about businesses near military bases and other national security-related areas. One of the locations authorities are monitoring is a mining operation in Wyoming, which is close to a Microsoft data center that supports some Pentagon operations. Microsoft stated, “We do not have direct evidence indicating that this entity has malicious activity. However, given the computational capabilities of an industrial-scale cryptocurrency mining operation and the presence of an unknown number of Chinese nationals in close proximity to Microsoft data center and one of the three major U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile bases, we believe there is a significant threat vector.” The company Bit Origin stated that they chose this location due to an agreement with the local utility provider and not because of proximity to Microsoft’s facilities.

Wu Blockchain

Discussion about this post