Hong Kong Tightens Laws 🇭🇰, Blockchain Cap Raises $580M 💰, Unity Apologizes 🙇🏻
Daily Crypto, Blockchain & Web3 Update 2023-09-19
CRYPTOCURRENCY
Hong Kong to tighten crypto regulation in wake of JPEX fraud case (2 min read)
Hong Kong regulators are increasing their control over the cryptocurrency industry. They have arrested six people accused of fraud related to an unlicensed crypto exchange called JPEX.
Last week, the SFC informed us that it had received 1,400 fraud complaints about JPEX, including issues with withdrawal freezes and decreasing wallet balances.
FTX founder’s parents sued, accused of stealing millions from crypto exchange (3 min read)
Debtors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX have launched legal action against the parents of FTX founder Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, alleging that they misappropriated millions of dollars through their involvement in the exchange’s business.
Blockchain Capital closes funds totaling $580M for investments in crypto gaming, DeFi (3 min read)
Venture capital group Blockchain Capital announced the closing of two new funds, totaling $580 million, for investment in infrastructure, gaming, DeFi, and consumer and social technologies.
The funds include $380 million for early stage investments and a $200 million "opportunity fund."
Thailand to start taxing overseas income next year, including from crypto (2 min read)
Any person who resides in Thailand for up to 180 days, would be subject to personal income tax on foreign assets, including crypto.
QUICK LINKS
Unity Apologizes For ‘Confusion And Angst’ Caused By New Runtime Fee (4 minute read)
Unity announced a Runtime Fee on September 12 that will charge developers for each game installation past a certain threshold. This was not received well by the developer community, which was quick to point out all the problems that the fee might cause.
Unity apologized on September 17 and promised changes to the policy with an update soon. It is rumored that Unity plans to limit fees to 4% of a game's revenue for customers making over $1 million. The new approach will reportedly also not retroactively count installations.
OPNX’s $30M Hodlnaut bid rejected as FLEX token plummets 90%: Report (2 min read)
The interim judicial managers of the collapsed cryptocurrency lender Hodlnaut have reportedly rejected the latest buyout deal amid the settlement token plummeting 90%.
The interim judicial managers of Hodlnaut argued that the $30 million offer of FLEX tokens is “illiquid” and has “speculative value.”
Bitcoin Adoption Fund launched by Japan’s $500B Nomura bank (2 min read)
Japan’s largest investment bank, Nomura’s digital asset subsidiary Laser Digital Asset Management, has launched a Bitcoin Adoption Fund for institutional investors.
The Bitcoin Adoption Fund will have long-only exposure to Bitcoin and be available to institutional investors.
Bitbuy enters strategic partnership with Canadian crypto ATM firm Localcoin (3 min read)
Canadian fintech corporation WonderFi, a firm backed by billionaire Kevin O’Leary, recently announced a strategic partnership between Bitbuy and cryptocurrency ATM provider Localcoin ATM.
Canto, Astar blockchains plan expansion to Ethereum ecosystem as layer 2s (5 min read)
Cosmos-native layer-1 blockchain Canto has become the latest chain to migrate to Ethereum as a layer 2 zero-knowledge rollup after another layer-1 blockchain, Astar, announced similar plans to expand beyond the Polkadot ecosystem to Ethereum.
Tether authorizes $1B USDT to ‘replenish’ Tron network (3 min read)
Monitoring services have noticed a $1 billion authorization for Tether in Tether's Treasury. This authorization will provide short-term liquidity for the Tron network.
Decentralized sensors to combat noise pollution hit the blockchain (4 min read)
The Silencio network has over 35,000 smartphones working as noise sensors via the Peaq Network blockchain ecosystem in an effort to combat the issue of global noise pollution.
A network of 35,000 smartphone sound sensors was deployed on the Peaq Network ecosystem to collect hyper-local noise pollution data for well-being.
German crypto regulator calls for global rules to also govern niche finance centers (2 min read)
While the European Union has made significant progress toward regulating crypto by approving its comprehensive framework, Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), the need for global regulation still remains, according to a top executive of the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).
UK House of Lords passes bill to seize stolen crypto (2 min read)
The UK House of Lords is reviewing a bill that would give authorities more power to combat illicit cryptocurrency usage.
The House of Lords made some amendments to clarify the bill's focus on money gained from fraud or other financial crimes.