As the US debates legislation to normalize crypto, China isn’t sitting still. Today, Hong Kong granted its first stablecoin licenses, with HSBC and Standard Chartered JV grabbing the coveted permission. Hong Kong has granted stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC Holdings and Anchorpoint Financial, which is a joint venture between Standard Chartered, HKT, and Animoca Brands. This is a meaningful signal that Hong Kong, despite China’s on-again off-again relationship to crypto, seeks to become a regulated hub for stablecoins. These formal licenses set guidelines for reserve requirements, audits and other regulations aimed at consumer protection, bringing the wild west of crypto into something looking more like traditional banking. As more and…
-
-
Feds just seized part of Bitfinex’s ‘missing’ $850 million, arrest made
An HSBC account referenced in a federal indictment directly connects Bitfinex to bank fraud case
Part of Bitfinex’s “missing” $850 million is now in the hands of the U.S. Department of Justice. Meanwhile, a controversial businessman was arrested for falsely setting up accounts that let exchanges—including Bitfinex, based on claims in the indictment—skirt bank rules and the law.
-
Central banks across Southeast Asia are embracing blockchain
Serving the unbanked and leapfrogging inefficient interbank and international settlement systems are a major focus
Financial authorities across Southeast Asia are embracing blockchain technology and digital currencies as a way of helping the poor get better access to banking services that can help lift them out of poverty, as well as speeding and improving interbank payments and cross-border settlements.
-
"I want to be buried in Hudson County so that I can remain active in politics," remarked late NJ governor Brendan Byrne (via Shutterstock).Blockchain technology to tackle another American election
After a successful test in West Virginia, blockchain-based voting moves to Denver, and beyond politics to shareholder meetings
Eighteen years after the Florida hanging chads debacle cast the legitimacy of an American president into doubt, the voting technology introduced to fix those problems remains so vulnerable to hacking that the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in September urged a return to paper ballots and an end to Internet voting. That’s a problem blockchain developers think they can fix.
