China
10 most visited countries in the world
We profile some usual suspects plus one or two surprises in the top 10 most visited countries in the world Have you dreamed of a romantic kiss atop the Eiffel Tower? Perhaps you’ve thrown a wish into the Trevi Fountain or stopped and stared at the Sistine Chapel. If so, you’re certainly not alone. According to the last available pre-pandemic figures, France and Italy are two of the most visited countries in the world. Together with the rest of the top 10, they make up a whopping 41% of global tourist arrivals (i.e. overnight visitors). Here’s the complete list of the most visited countries in the world. 10 most visited countries in the world The below figures come from the 2020 edition of the UNWTO’s International Tourism Highlights report. 1. France &nbs...
Bitcoin’s short-term price prospects slightly improved, but most traders are far from optimistic
A mild sense of hope emerged among Bitcoin (BTC) investors after the June 18 drop to $17,600 becomes more distant and an early ascending pattern points toward $21,000 in the short-term. Bitcoin 12-hour USD price at FTX. Source: TradingView Recent negative remarks from lawmakers continued to curb investor optimism. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Swiss National Bank (SNB) deputy head Thomas Muser said that the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem would cease to exist if current financial regulations are implemented in the crypto industry. An article published in The People’s Daily on June 26 mentioned the Terra (LUNA), now renamed Terra Classic (LUNC), network’s collapse and local blockchain expert Yifan He referring to crypto as a Ponzi scheme. When asked by Cointelegraph...
Chinese court invalidates 2019 car sale made using now worthless crypto token
Last week, a WeChat post published by the Shanghai Fengxian Court began circulating in crypto circles with regards to its recent ruling on a car sale in May 2019 made using digital currency. At the time, the buyer, identified only as Mr. Huang, signed a sales contract to purchase a 2019 Audi AL6 for CNY 409,800 ($59.477) in exchange for the consideration of 1,281 Unihash (UNIH) tokens with an undisclosed car dealership in Shanghai. Per the original contract, the seller was to deliver the car to Huang within three months’ time. According to the Shanghai Fengxian Court, Mr. Huang paid 1,281 UNIH on the date of the contract signing but did not receive the car within the specified duration nor afterwards. As a result, Mr. Huang took the seller to court, demanding the delivery of the vehi...
The total crypto market cap drops under $1.2T, but data show traders are less inclined to sell
An improving Tether discount in Asian markets and positive futures premiums for BTC and ETH suggest a slight recovery is in the making. The total crypto market capitalization has been trading in a descending channel for the past 29 days and currently displays support at the $1.17 trillion level. In the past 7 days, Bitcoin (BTC) presented a modest 2% drop and Ether (ETH) faced a 5% correction. Total crypto market cap, USD billion. Source: TradingView The June 10 consumer price index (CPI) report showed an 8.6% year-on-year increase and crypto and stock markets immediately felt the impact, but it’s not certain whether the figure will convince the U.S. Federal Reserve to hesitate in future interest rate hikes. Mid-cap altcoins dropped further, sentiment is still bearish The generalized beari...
Bitcoin price action decouples from stock markets, but not in a good way
This week the stock markets began to flash a little green and Bitcoin (BTC) is decoupling from traditional markets but not in a good way. The cryptocurrency is down 3% while the Nasdaq Composite tech-heavy stock market index is up 3.1%. May 27 data from the United States Commerce Department shows that the personal savings rate fell to 4.4% in April to reach the lowest level since 2008 and crypto traders are worried that worsening global macroeconomic conditions could add to investors’ aversion to risky assets. For example, Invesco QQQ Trust, a $160 billion tech company-based U.S. exchange-traded fund, is down 23% year-to-date. Meanwhile the iShares MSCI China ETF, a $6.1 billion tracker of the Chinese shares, has declined 20% in 2022. To get a clearer picture of how crypto traders are posi...
Live Nation Electronic Asia’s Label & Management Group Partners With Astralwerks, Capitol Records
Live Nation Electronic Asia (LNEA), Live Nation’s Asian electronic dance music division, has entered into a multi-year global licensing and distribution agreement for its recently launched Fabled Records label. The partnership with leading dance label Astralwerks and Capitol Records China is focused on supporting emerging Chinese electronic music and artists. Per the terms of this partnership, Astralwerks and Capitol Records China will work together on the global release and distribution of Fabled Records artists and projects, with such projects receiving access to Universal Music Group’s international divisions, with global marketing support in China helmed by Capitol Records China and Astralwerks in the rest of the world. UMG launched Astralwerks Asia in 2019 and Capitol Records China ea...
Bitcoin’s current setup creates an interesting risk-reward situation for bulls
The Bitcoin (BTC) chart has formed a symmetrical triangle, which currently holds a tight range from $28,900 to $30,900. This pattern has been holding for nearly two weeks and could potentially extend for another two weeks before price makes a more decisive movement. Bitcoin/USD 12-hour price at Kraken. Source: TradingView For those unfamiliar with technical analysis, a symmetrical triangle can be either bullish or bearish. In that sense, the price converges in a series of lower peaks and higher lows. The decisive moment is the support or resistance breakthrough when the market finally decides on a new trend. Thus, the price could break out in either direction. According to Bitcoin derivatives data, investors are pricing higher odds of a downturn, but recent improvements in global economic ...
Weekly Report: China back atop mining charts as Russia mulls crypto legalisation
Despite China’s ban on crypto mining, it remains among the leaders in hash rate Portugal is issuing regulations to establish capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies Japanese bank Nomura is launching a crypto subsidiary later this year Russia’s trade minister insists crypto legalisation is not a matter of if but when Shopify merchants can now integrate Crypto.com Pay for payments on their storefronts Report: China lags only the US in Bitcoin mining despite ban mid-last year Crypto mining, particularly Bitcoin, has and will foreseeably continue being an environmental concern given that it uses a proof of work consensus model, which by design is energy-intensive. Last year, China banned all cryptocurrency mining in the country over the massive power...
China returns as 2nd top Bitcoin mining hub despite the crypto ban
The Chinese government has not managed to take down cryptocurrency operations as part of its crypto ban last year as China has re-emerged as one of the world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) mining hubs, according to a new report. China became the second-largest Bitcoin hash rate provider as of January 2022, months after the local government banned all crypto operations in the country, according to the latest update from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) shared with Cointelegraph on May 17. Bitcoin miners in China accounted for 21.1% of the total global BTC mining hash rate distribution as of early 2022, following only the United States, which produced 37.8% of the total hash rate as of January, according to the data. China was once the world’s largest Bitcoin m...
Tencent Music Revenues Fall 15%, Subscriptions Grow Amid Regulatory ‘Headwinds’
The effects of government intervention on Tencent Music Entertainment, the leading music streaming platform in China, were visible in the first quarter as the company’s revenues dropped 15.1% to RMB 6.64 billion ($1.05 billion) from the prior-year period. Shenzhen-based TME operates QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing. In a statement, executive chairman Cussion Pang attributed the decline to “headwinds in an evolving market landscape,” a reference to the difficulties created by increased Chinese regulations and increased competition from Cloud Village, the music streaming platform spun off by Netease in Dec. 2021, and Quishiu Yinyue, a new music service by Douyin, the Chinese version of short-form video platform TikTok. The quarterly report’s bright spot was music subscripti...
Shanghai court affirms that Bitcoin is virtual property, subject to property rights
The Shanghai High People’s Court has issued a document in which it states that Bitcoin is subject to property rights laws and regulations. That finding was made in relation to a lawsuit filed in a district court in October 2020 involving the recovery of a loan of 1 Bitcoin (BTC). The lower court recognized Bitcoin as having value, scarcity and disposability, and therefore being subject to property rights and meeting the definition of virtual property. According to the Sina website, the Shanghai Baoshan District People’s Court ruled in favor of plaintiff Cheng Mou, ordering defendant Shi Moumou to return the Bitcoin. When the defendant failed to do so, the case was returned to the court, which held a mediation in May 2021. Since the defendant no longer had possession of the Bitcoin, t...
Deribit and OKX attract significant traffic from China despite a blanket ban: Report
Data from website traffic metric provider Similarweb shows that Deribit and OKX continue to attract significant traffic sources from China despite a blanket ban on crypto transactions and foreign exchanges last year. China has banned the use of cryptocurrencies more than a dozen times in the last decade. However, the one imposed in September last year was considered the harshest one. Several crypto exchanges including Huobi and Binance had shut doors for the Chinese traders in fear of regulatory action. The strict regulatory reforms ensured that Chinese traders mainly shifted their focus to decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and protocols. Chinese crypto traders have always found a way to bypass strict crypto regulatory measures imposed by the government. While many believed the blanket ban on...
