China

Major stablecoin issuer Tether has reiterated that the company plans to completely rid itself of commercial paper backing for its U.S.-dollar stablecoin USDT. In a blog post on Wednesday, Tether said it “holds no Chinese commercial paper as of today,” while its total commercial paper exposure has been cut to $3.7 billion from $30 billion one year ago. By late August 2022, Tether said it plans to decrease commercial paper exposure to as low as $200 million, targeting zero commercial paper holdings by the end of October, the statement reads. “Tether continues to ensure that it has a diversified portfolio with limits to exposure on individual issuers or assets. Its reduction in commercial paper is a commitment to its community,” the firm said. The post came in response to the ongoing FUD around Tether, with some reports alleging that Tether’s commercial paper portfolio is 85% backed by Chinese or Asian commercial papers. Tether previously denied the reports in mid-June, stating that such ..

The chair of the European Banking Authority, or EBA, a European Union agency that regulates banking activities, has reportedly expressed concern that a dearth of talent experienced in the crypto space could hurt its ability to oversee the market. According to a Wednesday report from the Financial Times, EBA chair José Manuel Campa said that hiring and retaining staff knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies was a “major concern,” given the growing demand for experts in the public and private sectors. Campa suggested that many industry experts could be more drawn to positions paying wages higher than those at the EBA, which were comparable to government jobs in the European Commission. In addition, the chairperson reportedly hinted the EBA may be unprepared for exercising its authority over token offerings and other digital asset products, with many regulators often unable to keep up with a “very dynamic” crypto space. “I don’t know exactly what I would be confronted with in two years,” sai..

On Wednesday, nonfungible token (NFT) domains platform Unstoppable Domains announced that it closed a $65 million Series A funding round at a valuation of $1 billion. Notable investors in the deal include Pantera Capital, Mayfield, Gaingels, Alchemy Ventures, Redbeard Ventures, Spartan Group, OKG Investments, Polygon, CoinDCX, CoinGecko, We3 syndicate, Rainfall Capital, Broadhaven, EI Ventures, Hardyaka, Sound Media Ventures, Boost VC and Draper Associates. Unstoppable said it will use the fresh capital to fuel product innovation and grow partnerships in the Web3 space. Unstoppable Domains offers NFT domains, which are suites of smart contracts live on a public blockchain that give users control of their stored data. NFT domains enable users to send or receive crypto and interact with decentralized applications in lieu of their wallet addresses. A one-time, upfront fee is needed to unlock one's domain for life, with no further renewal payments required. Since its inception in 201..

China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) should not be as anonymous as cash, the head of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) digital currency institute declared. Digital yuan project lead Mu Changchun spoke of China’s CBDC project at the 5th Digital China Construction Summit on Monday, local financial publication Sina Finance reported. Since debuting the digital yuan in 2020, the Chinese central bank has never targeted complete anonymity for the project, Mu said at the event. Instead, PBoC has been working to enable only limited anonymity in compliance with global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, the official stated. The Chinese authorities should be able to access CBDC data on people suspected of crimes, Mu noted. According to the official, partial anonymity is an important feature of the digital yuan project though, as it guarantees transaction privacy and personal information protection. However, a completely anonymous CBDC would interfere with the prevention of crimes li..

Understanding the project's vision, tokenomics, white paper, use cases, roadmap, etc., is essential prior to making an informed investment decision.

Philippines’ think tank Infrawatch PH continues efforts to ban Binance in the country by asking more regulators to investigate the cryptocurrency exchange over alleged illegal operations. Infrawatch PH on Monday filed a twelve-page complaint calling on the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to crack down on Binance’s activities in the Philippines. According to the think tank, Binance has been operating in the Philippines for several years without approval by appropriate authorities. Terry Ridon, the convenor for Infrawatch PH, claimed that Binance has no office in Manila and only uses “third-party companies that employ Filipinos for its technical and customer support services.” He also referred to former finance secretary Carlos Dominguez who publicly declared last month that Binance had no records with either the SEC or the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). “The SEC has served the public well by banning unscrupulous online lending services. It should similarly do t..

The new body will bring together the financial regulators and creative industries to formulate the policies in the Metaverse.

Law enforcement and regulatory agencies investigating cryptocurrency-related incidents need better data, training and private partnerships, according to an industry survey conducted by Chainalysis.

Cold feet reigns across crypto markets once again as Bitcoin bulls lose steam and Ethereum drops 15% in two days.

The Asia Pacific region is seeing a major business shift with increasing numbers of new technology startups appearing, even as venture capital investment is decreasing compared to last year. A report from Big Four accountant KPMG and international banking company HSBC based on a survey of 6,472 Asian Pacific startups found that over a quarter of them are blockchain related. Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, led the way among sectors where Asian Pacific “emerging giants” were active, followed directly by decentralized finance, also known as DeFi. Electric vehicle charging infrastructure, quantum computing and robotic processing automation rounded out the top five sectors. Blockchain real estate and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) ranked 14th and 15th, respectively, on the same list. Despite their strong collective presence, blockchain-related companies were most common in the lower ranks. Among the top 100 emerging giants, only five were blockchain-related, and only one, Hong..