Chinese Banks Embrace Crypto in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s ambitious goal to become a leading crypto hub has opened an opportunity for many state-affiliated banks in China. The Chinese banks, despite a blanket ban on crypto-related activities in mainland China, are showing interest in building partnerships and onboarding regulated crypto companies in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong arm of the major Chinese state-owned Bank of Communications is collaborating with several cryptocurrency businesses registered in the city. The bank is in talks to open accounts for regulated companies, according to a report published in The Wall Street Journal. This is a significant development in the world of crypto, where banks are traditionally hesitant to partner with companies in this industry.

In addition to the Bank of Communications, ZA Bank – Hong Kong’s largest virtual bank controlled by Chinese internet insurer ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance – will also act as the settlement bank for the crypto companies. These banks will together facilitate the depositing and withdrawal of fiat currencies, providing a vital service to crypto companies looking to operate in Hong Kong.

These banks’ involvement in the crypto industry is an excellent sign for Hong Kong, which has been trying to establish itself as a leading crypto hub for some time. At the start of the year, Hong Kong’s financial secretary, Paul Chan, clarified that the city is pushing to collaborate with more crypto firms in 2023. The government’s progressive crypto approach has attracted nearly 80 cryptocurrency firms interested in opening or expanding their business in the city.

The Chinese banks’ involvement in Hong Kong’s crypto industry is a surprise to many in the crypto ecosystem, considering China’s multiple crackdowns on crypto-related activities in mainland China. However, the Chinese banks’ move towards crypto in Hong Kong signals a new direction for the country’s approach to crypto.

As settlement banks, these Chinese banks will enable token deposits at authorized exchanges to be withdrawn in Hong Kong dollars, Chinese yuan, and U.S. dollars. This development will further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a leading crypto hub, attracting more companies and investors interested in crypto.

The Chinese banks’ interest in Hong Kong’s crypto industry is a positive development, demonstrating the potential for regulatory clarity in the region. Additionally, this move could encourage other banks in the region to follow suit, strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a leading financial hub in Asia.

In conclusion, the involvement of Chinese banks in Hong Kong’s crypto industry is a significant development, demonstrating the potential for collaboration between traditional financial institutions and the crypto industry. This move could help build greater confidence in the crypto industry and attract more companies and investors to Hong Kong. As the city continues to embrace crypto, we can expect to see more developments in this exciting and rapidly evolving industry.

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Terra’s Partnership with Washington Nationals Raises Eyebrows

Baseball fans attending the opening day of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. were greeted with an unexpected sight – the prominent display of Terra, the cryptocurrency ecosystem that collapsed in May 2022. A Twitter user who attended The Washington Nationals’ home opener against the Atlanta Braves on March 30 shared an image of Terra prominently displayed on a banner with the slogan, “a decentralized economy needs decentralized money.”

While some attendees were intrigued by the appearance of Terra, others were left questioning the wisdom of the partnership between Terra and the Washington Nationals. One Twitter user noted that the Terra Club, a VIP pre-game venue experience, was located behind home plate at Nationals Park, with “a big sign in left center” promoting Terra.

The partnership between Terra and the Washington Nationals had been in effect since February 2022, just months before Terra’s collapse. The Terra community had committed $38.2 million in TerraUSD (UST) over five years to secure the deal. Terra’s founder, Do Kwon, proposed the partnership through the community’s governance platform.

However, the timing of the collapse of Terra has left some investors in the cryptocurrency wondering if they will ever see a return on their investment. In May 2022, Terra’s price plummeted, wiping out billions of dollars in market value. The collapse was attributed to a combination of factors, including a lack of transparency, poor risk management, and overreliance on leverage.

Adding to the uncertainty surrounding Terra is the arrest of its founder, Do Kwon. Kwon is currently in police custody in Montenegro and is reportedly facing harsh conditions in the penal system. According to an unnamed criminal defense lawyer cited in a March 29 Protos report, the conditions at Montenegro’s jails and prisons “haven’t changed” from those described in a 2020 human rights report by the United States State Department. The report cited a 2015 case in which prison officers were convicted of torturing and “inflicting grievous bodily harm” on 11 inmates.

Despite the collapse of Terra and the arrest of its founder, the partnership with the Washington Nationals remains in effect. The prominent display of Terra at Nationals Park raises questions about the wisdom of partnering with a cryptocurrency ecosystem that has experienced such a dramatic collapse. It also highlights the potential risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies, which remain largely unregulated and subject to extreme volatility.

In conclusion, the appearance of Terra at Nationals Park during the Washington Nationals’ home opener on March 30 has drawn attention to the cryptocurrency ecosystem’s collapse and its partnership with the baseball team. While some attendees were intrigued by Terra’s message of “decentralized money,” others were left questioning the wisdom of partnering with a company that has experienced such a dramatic collapse. The arrest of Terra’s founder, Do Kwon, and the potential risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies underscore the need for caution when investing in these emerging technologies.

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Mercedes F1 Team Terminates FTX Partnership

Mercedes formula one (F1) team suspended its sponsorship deal with troubled crypto exchange FTX.  

Therefore, starting with the Brazilian Grand Prix, the team’s cars will not bear FTX logos. Mercedes stated:

“As a first step, we have suspended our partnership agreement with FTX. This means the company will no longer appear on our race car and other branded assets from this weekend. We will continue to monitor the situation closely as it evolves.”

This decision was reached based on the fast-changing situation, given that FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy based on a liquidity crisis at the exchange. Moreover, the exchange’s CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigned. 

The FTX saga unfolded several days ago after an 8 billion black hole emerged in its finances. Reportedly, this liquidity crisis surfaced after Sam Bankman-Fried transferred at least $4 billion to Alameda Research, FTX’s trading arm, with part of the funds being customer deposits. 

FTX’s downfall is also being linked to Bankman-Fried’s decision to save struggling crypto firms as the bear market continued to bite. 

Therefore, the bankruptcy route seemed inevitable, given that Binance halted its FTX acquisition plans, citing misappropriation of customer funds. 

The sponsorship deal between Mercedes F1 team and FTX was not all rosy, given that the latter called off this year’s Miami Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff acknowledged that cryptocurrencies could not be ignored because they were part of modern technology because 80% of racing teams in the 2022 F1 grid featured at least one crypto sponsor. 

“You can’t shut yourself down to modern technology. It is definitely an area that will grow. They have become a major player in the financial world and obviously seek exposure through Formula 1. We all benefit from it but also learn from it,” Wolff stated. 

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Lionel Messi Becomes Sorare’s Brand Ambassador and Investor

Lionel Messi, a football star who has bagged seven Ballon d’Or Awards, has joined hands with Sorare to be its brand ambassador and investor.

Sorare is an Ethereum-based fantasy soccer game platform that leverages non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Therefore, Messi will be instrumental in how fans connect with players and clubs.

Nicolas Julia, the co-founder and CEO of Sorare, pointed out:

“We believe Messi will help us set new standards in how we do this, and we look forward to sharing what new content and fan experiences we’ve been collaborating on soon.”

He added that the partnership was a “huge milestone” for the platform. 

Messi, who currently plays for the French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), said:

“Fans have always looked for ways to express their passion and get closer to the players and teams that they love and Sorare’s combination of a fantasy game with digital collectibles gives fans new ways to do that, wherever they are in the world.” 

Sorare users usually have the chance to create their preferred teams and trade NFT-based football player cards.

Comprising at least 2 million users spread across 185 countries, Sorare was previously valued at $4.3 billion. The Paris-based startup has also partnered with more than 300 sports teams and major leagues, such as Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga. 

Sorare has expanded its scope beyond football to include other sports like baseball and basketball.

For instance, the National Basketball Association (NBA) recently inked a deal with the platform to enhance the fan experience and render more interaction, Blockchain.News reported.

The NBA acknowledged that the fantasy basketball game would allow fans to develop a lineup of NFT-powered digital collectables based on their favourite teams and players.

Sorare seeks to boost digital assets and blockchain adoption in daily life by creating unique digital tokens on its fantasy platform. 

“There has been a lot of hype around different football projects using non-fungible technology up to now, but the ones that stick around will be those that offer real underlying utility and see non-fungible technology as the means to achieving their goals, not the ends,” Julia stated.

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Lionel Messi Becomes Sorare’s Brand Ambassador and Investor

Lionel Messi, a football star who has bagged seven Ballon d’Or Awards, has joined hands with Sorare to be its brand ambassador and investor.

Sorare is an Ethereum-based fantasy soccer game platform that leverages non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Therefore, Messi will be instrumental in how fans connect with players and clubs.

Nicolas Julia, the co-founder and CEO of Sorare, pointed out:

“We believe Messi will help us set new standards in how we do this, and we look forward to sharing what new content and fan experiences we’ve been collaborating on soon.”

He added that the partnership was a “huge milestone” for the platform. 

Messi, who currently plays for the French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), said:

“Fans have always looked for ways to express their passion and get closer to the players and teams that they love and Sorare’s combination of a fantasy game with digital collectibles gives fans new ways to do that, wherever they are in the world.” 

Sorare users usually have the chance to create their preferred teams and trade NFT-based football player cards.

Comprising at least 2 million users spread across 185 countries, Sorare was previously valued at $4.3 billion. The Paris-based startup has also partnered with more than 300 sports teams and major leagues, such as Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga. 

Sorare has expanded its scope beyond football to include other sports like baseball and basketball.

For instance, the National Basketball Association (NBA) recently inked a deal with the platform to enhance the fan experience and render more interaction, Blockchain.News reported.

The NBA acknowledged that the fantasy basketball game would allow fans to develop a lineup of NFT-powered digital collectables based on their favourite teams and players.

Sorare seeks to boost digital assets and blockchain adoption in daily life by creating unique digital tokens on its fantasy platform. 

“There has been a lot of hype around different football projects using non-fungible technology up to now, but the ones that stick around will be those that offer real underlying utility and see non-fungible technology as the means to achieving their goals, not the ends,” Julia stated.

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City of Busan Signs MoU with OKX’s Investment Arm to Spur Blockchain Growth

The City of Busan in South Korea has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with OKX Blockdream Ventures, the investment arm of crypto exchange OKX, to enhance its blockchain sector. 

Per the announcement:

“As part of the agreement, the City of Busan will encourage investors to increase their investments in the Busan blockchain sector. In addition, the City of Busan will supply the necessary resources to attract large amounts of foreign capital for blockchain sector development.”

Therefore, OKX Blockdream Ventures will propel Busan City’s blockchain industry by recruiting top local talent and attracting global ones. Furthermore, it will provide marketing and media solutions.

 

Based on OKX Blockdream Ventures’ objective of propelling cutting-edge blockchain innovations, it seeks to boost Busan’s local capabilities in this sector.

 

Dora Yue, the founder of OKX Blockdream Ventures, pointed out:

“Through our industry-leading position, we hope to invest in promising and innovative blockchain projects in South Korea and actively promote the developments of the local blockchain industry.”

Through the strategic partnership, Busan will also attain long-term structural value. Heong-Joon Park, Busan’s mayor, added:

“We welcome VCs onboard in Busan and are expecting much from our future collaboration. We appreciate you actively participating in building Busan’s blockchain ecosystem. Together, we will help to make Busan a blockchain-specialized city.”

Busan has been making collaborations with different crypto exchanges aimed at boosting the digital asset space in the city. 

 

For instance, it signed a business deal with  FTX to support the establishment of its own exchange called Busan Digital Asset Exchange in August, Blockchain.News reported

 

As a result, the City of Busan would become a cryptocurrency center that would attract global attention based on a booming digital asset ecosystem. Furthermore, blockchain-specific education would be promoted. 

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TradingView Pairs with OKX, Offering Over 260 Cryptos Trading

TradingView, a leading charting and trading platform, has partnered with crypto exchange OKX to bring more than 260 cryptocurrencies to its framework.

As the world’s most famous investing website, TradingView offers more than 100 more crypto derivatives and 640 more spot trading pairs to its 30 million users based on the OKX integration. 

Haider Rafique, the global chief marketing officer at OKX, welcomed the collaboration and stated:

“We are the first global crypto exchange of our size to integrate at this level with TradingView. Our primary focus is to bring better tooling and insights to crypto traders by allowing them to analyze market data, create custom charts, and use those signals to make more informed trades.”

The strategic collaboration will also play a pivotal role in enhancing social crypto trading by providing in-demand solutions like financial guidance and investment research.

Rafique added:

“With this partnership, TradingView customers can place trades via OKX without leaving the site, while OKX customers can make the most of TradingView charting within the OKX exchange. This enables faster decision making for traders and saves them having to click in and out of different views.”

Some of the cryptocurrencies added through the integration include Monero (XMR), Cosmos (ATOM), and Near (NEAR). Furthermore, futures and swaps will be available for coins like Litecoin (LTC), Solana (SOL), and Aave (AAVE). 

Therefore, OKX users will have the opportunity to execute trades directly through TradingView. 

By boosting business growth and development, exchanges are going a notch higher to make crypto trading seamless. 

Likewise, Singapore-based crypto exchange Bybit recently joined with Actant to provide innovative quoting, automation, trading, and risk tools, Blockchain.News reported. 

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OKX Sponsors $20m Training Kit for Soccer Team Manchester City

Crypto exchange OKX, formerly OKEx, announced on Sunday that it will invest more than $20 million to sponsor Manchester City’s training kit this season.

It became a partnership with Manchester City in March and will continue to expand its investment in it, becoming the club’s official training kit partner for the 2022-23 season.

The partnership also educates Manchester City players in crypto educational content produced by OKX.

Forbes estimates the club to be worth $4.25 billion, placing it sixth.

In February, intra-city contender Manchester United inked a multi-year deal with Tezos, a proof-of-stake (POS) blockchain provider, as the club’s training kit sponsor.

Manchester United has signed a training gear sponsorship deal with point-of-sale (POS) blockchain provider Tezos. The new collaboration comes after last season’s contract with AON expired;

While cryptocurrencies are going through a bitter winter, many crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, BlockFi, Crypto.com and Gemini have announced layoffs. However, OKX is still advancing the talent introduction plan. Plans to increase headcount by 30% to 5,000 employees.

Haider Rafique, Chief Marketing Officer of OKX, said:

“OKX’s investments in our partners and our team are market agnostic because our principals and beliefs haven’t changed. We are intentional about selecting partners who reflect this focus, which means we didn’t spend the bull run making sports deals at an unsustainable rate .”

OKX is sponsoring Daniel Ricciardo at a time when races of the Formula One World Championship events are set to take place.

McLaren Racing, a British motor racing team, has inked a multi-year deal with crypto exchange OKX, formerly OKEx, to be the primary partner of McLaren Shadow esports Team and McLaren Formula 1 (F1) Team from this year.

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Paxful Joins Hands with iProov, Providing Identity Verification

Paxful, a leading peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading platform, has selected iProov to provide service to verify user identity when onboarding and making transactions.

Based on Paxful’s objective of offering significant access to crypto, the partnership with iProov will be a stepping stone toward a more secure user experience. 

George Georgiades, Paxful’s chief compliance officer, pointed out:

“We need to ensure we provide the highest level of security and peace of mind to users. iProov’s technology allows us to safeguard against fraud and theft for our community while ensuring continued access and growth of the platform.”

As a reputable online facial biometric authentication company, iProov uses Liveness Assurance technology to authenticate that the online user is the right person and not an imposter. 

The partnership will enable Paxful users to carry out accurate face verifications when undertaking a transaction because a brief face authentication is required instead of a one-time passcode (OTP) or password. 

Andrew Bud, iProov’s CEO, stated:

“With the tremendous influx of new users into the crypto space comes an even greater invasion of fraudsters looking to empty or take over accounts or even hold them for ransom.” 

Furthermore, iProov will make new Paxful users’ onboarding seamless as more people continue eyeing the crypto space. Bud added:

“Paxful’s mission is a critical one that helps connect the underbanked and unbanked around the globe to financial opportunities and stability. We are delighted to support them in offering inclusive and secure remote verification measures to protect their users.”

To expand its mission of providing financial inclusion to the unbanked and underbanked, Paxful launched its first crypto debit card in 2020.  

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Interactive Brokers Taps OSL To Offer Digital Assets Services in Hong Kong

Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), an automated global electronic broker, announced on Thursday that it formed a collaboration with OSL Digital Securities to enable it to offer virtual asset dealing services in Hong Kong.

Once launched, Interactive Brokers will offer digital asset services directly to its professional investor trading clients in Hong Kong, powered by OSL- the world’s first Type 1 and 7 Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)-licensed digital asset brokerage and trading platform for professional investors.

David Friedland, Head of APAC at Interactive Brokers, talked about the development and said: “Investors worldwide are rallying to digital asset markets, and the collaboration with OSL comes at a key moment in the development of the regulated digital asset ecosystem in Hong Kong. As investors seek reliable counterparties with which to transact, we are excited to work with a company like OSL, that has the industry expertise to help us meet the growing needs of our client base in this region.”

Wayne Trench, OSL CEO, also commented: “OSL is a global leader in regulatory compliant digital asset trading and custody and we’re thrilled to work with Interactive Brokers. Hong Kong has one of the world’s highest concentrations of institutional and professional investors, as well as a clear regulatory regime around digital assets, making it the ideal location for this landmark arrangement as digital assets continue to be integrated into the global financial services ecosystem.”

Interest in Digital Assets Rising Fast

Tokens, cryptocurrencies, and digital assets have captured rising attention in Hong Kong. For instance, in December last year, PwC Hong Kong, an insurance giant, partnered with the Animoca Brands subsidiary in purchasing a virtual land in the Sandbox metaverse

Besides that, NFTs have significantly dominated discussions in the Hong Kong blockchain ecosystem – a bridge connecting blockchain startups and major financial institutions in Hong Kong.

Furthermore, there is a massive development in the Hong Kong regulatory landscape. In January, The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a joint circular, which for the first time allowed registered firms and licensed companies to offer digital asset investment services by partnering only with SFC-licensed virtual asset trading platforms.

The agreement between Interactive Brokers and OSL is the first collaboration between one of the largest SFC-regulated online brokers serving professional investors in Hong Kong and an SFC-licensed institutional digital asset brokerage and exchange.

The partnership proves that the joint HKMA-SFC circular is a crucial tool that is building a more competitive and robust digital asset market in Hong Kong. The circular is also likely to accelerate the development and acceptance of regulated digital assets in Asia and worldwide.

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