Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Investment Crypto Mining cryptocurrency exchange Cryptocurrency news

Thailand launches retail CBDC pilot with 2 banks and Singapore payment service

The Bank of Thailand will launch a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project in a regulatory sandbox this month. Three payment providers will take part, according to local media. The project will involve up to 10,000 users and run through August.

Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), Siam Commercial Bank and Singapore-based payments service provider 2C2P will partner with the Thai central bank on the project. Each of those organizations has made an app available to selected users that includes a wallet and a QR code scanner.

The Bank of Thailand announced it was developing a wholesale CBDC in 2018. It participated in the Bank for International Settlements’ mBridge cross-border payment project and Project Inthanon-Lion Rock project with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

In March, the country waived corporate income tax and value-added tax for companies that issue investment tokens. A government spokesman said Thailand could lose about $1 billion in revenue, but it expected investment tokens to generate $3.7 billion over the next two years.

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Investment cryptocurrency exchange Cryptocurrency news Investment News

Robinhood removes Solana, Polygon and Cardano, is reviewing crypto options from post-SEC lawsuits

Trading giant Robinhood is delisting a handful of prominent crypto assets in response to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suing Binance and Coinbase for allegedly violating securities laws.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Robinhood Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher told members of Congress that the company is pulling smart contract platforms Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA) and Polygon (MATIC) after SEC clamped down on the digital asset industry earlier this week.

Furthermore, Gallagher told the House Agriculture Committee that Robinhood will also review its crypto options in the future.

Gallagher, who is a former commissioner of the regulatory agency, says Robinhood is “actively reviewing” SEC complaints “to determine what action to take, if any.”

Earlier this week, the SEC filed lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, the world’s two largest cryptocurrency exchanges, for allegedly violating securities laws.

Robinhood, a popular asset trading platform that primarily trades equities, also offered 18 crypto assets to clients before announcing it will remove SOL, ADA and MATIC.

Per the report, SEC filings indicate that all three digital assets qualify as securities, and therefore offering them would qualify as selling unregistered securities.

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin ETF Bitcoin Investment Bitcoin Wallet Crypto Mining cryptocurrency exchange Cryptocurrency Investment Cryptocurrency news Investment News Paypal

Payments Giant PayPal Invests in New Crypto Wallet Software to Boost Web3 Adoption

Payments giant PayPal is investing millions in Magic, the San Francisco-based crypto wallet company, in its latest venture into the digital asset space.

According to Magic’s press release, the wallet-as-a-service (WaaS) provider has raised $52 million in a strategic funding round led by PayPal Ventures.

According to Alan Du, partner at PayPal Ventures,

“Mass adoption of Web3 is a hot topic, and Magic is facilitating it with a simple and secure solution. discover Web3. We are proud to invest in Magic and are confident that the company will help increase the number of use cases for Web3 among global brands.”

The funding round also included investments from Cherubic, Synchrony, KX, Northzone and Volt Capital, bringing the total amount raised by Magic to $80 million, according to the release.

Magic, a 2018 tech startup, provides a non-custodial crypto wallet infrastructure for companies that want to give their customers a simple and secure Web3 experience.

The company uses a unique Software Development Kit (SDK) which is implemented to allow customers to instantly create wallets using their existing email, social media accounts or SMS. To date, Magic has created more than 20 million unique wallets, according to the release.

Current Magic customers include several branded companies, including Mattel, Macy’s, Xsolla, and Immutable.

Magic co-founder Sean Li said the funding will allow the company to expand its presence in the European Union (EU) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

says Li,

“With this new funding, we are focused on expanding functionality and growing use cases to continue to deliver more value to our customers. We also look forward to achieving deeper integration in the EU and APAC.”

Paypal’s recent filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that the company held approximately $604 million in digital assets, including $291 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and $250 million in Ethereum (ETH), in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Last December, they also announced a partnership with cryptocurrency firm ConsenSys to integrate PayPal with MetaMask, one of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets in the world.

In April, PayPal-owned Venmo announced plans to allow its more than 70 million users to transfer cryptocurrency to other Venmo users, as well as move digital assets to wallets and external exchanges.

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Investment Crypto Mining cryptocurrency exchange Cryptocurrency Investment Cryptocurrency news Investment News

Bitcoin Price Rises Slowly After Bittrex News

Bitcoin price has stalled thanks to recent news about Bittrex, a popular digital exchange, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Bitcoin is slowing down a bit

Bitcoin has been on the rise since the beginning of the year. In 2022, the world’s number one cryptocurrency by market capitalization took one of the hardest hits it has ever taken and lost over 70% of its value after hitting a new all-time high of around $68,000 per unit the previous November. At the end of 2022, the coin dropped to the mid-range of $16,000.

Additionally, several other digital assets have decided to follow in BTC’s footsteps. This caused the entire space to crash and lose over $2 trillion in valuation in just 10-12 months.

However, this year has offered something of a turning point for bitcoin. The asset initially rose to $17,000 in the first few months, and from there it started to rise in price in the $20,000 range. It recently made headlines when it hit the $30,000 mark for the first time in about ten or 11 months (not since last June), leading many analysts to speculate that the bulls were back in town and bitcoin would reverse. forever in the coming months.

While lasting damage has yet to be done, the coin has seen its growth slow down a bit for the time being, thanks to the news surrounding Bittrex, which is the latest digital currency to fall victim to the SEC, as our latest article suggests. The agency says the exchange has broken financial and securities rules for years and has taken steps to avoid following the rules since it first came to fruition in 2014.

To be fair, it’s hard to know if these suggestions are real or not, as the SEC has been working to crack down on every cryptocurrency company out there as of late. Not long ago, for example, the agency sued Kraken and settled with the exchange that forced it to waive more than $30 million in fines. She also had to stop all her stake services.

Withdraw from all companies

The SEC didn’t stop there. He also recently posted a warning from Wells to Coinbase, stating that while the company has yet to be charged, it was being watched and could face charges in the near future. The funny thing is, Coinbase claims to have regularly met with SEC officials over the past nine years to ensure it has always remained in compliance.

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Investment cryptocurrency exchange Cryptocurrency Investment Cryptocurrency news Investment News

Huobi Prepares to Launch Business Service in Hong Kong

Huobi HK will play an important role in making Hong Kong the world center of Web 3.0.

In the future, users will be able to buy, sell and hold major cryptocurrencies such as BTC and ETH, as well as other major cryptocurrencies listed on the independent index through Huobi HK.

Huobi aims to provide a great shopping experience for Web 3.0 users in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has been gradually implementing crypto-friendly policies since last year and recently announced the introduction of “cryptocurrency regulations.”

second semester. from 2023.

As a cryptocurrency exchange with a decade-long history, Huobi is actively involved in developing and building Hong Kong’s Web 3.0 ecosystem.

It is worth noting that during this year’s Hong Kong Web 3.0 Carnival, Huobi became a major contributor to the first Hong Kong Web 3.0 Ecosystem Fund.

Furthermore, Huobi is actively preparing to apply for a cryptocurrency trading license in Hong Kong.

Huobi intends to open up the Hong Kong market in a regulated and compliant manner that will speed up the development of Hong Kong’s Web 3.0 ecosystem.