China
Chinese mining giant Canaan doubles profits despite the blanket crypto ban
Major Chinese cryptocurrency miner manufacturer Canaan appears to have no issues with the local ban on crypto, as the company’s overall performance has continued to grow in 2022. Canaan officially announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2022 on Thursday, reporting a 117% increase in gross profit from the same period of 2021. According to the firm, the Q2 profits amounted to 930 million renminbi (RMB), or nearly $139 million. The company’s Q2 net income was 608 million RMB, or $91 million, or a 149% increase from 425 million RMB in the same period last year. Canaan noted that foreign currency translation adjustment in Q2 was an income compared to previous losses due to the U.S. dollar appreciation against RMB during Q2. Despite posting significant profits, Canaan has ...
Bank of China unveils new e-CNY smart contract test program for school education
According to local news outlet Sohu.com, on Tuesday, the state-owned Bank of China announced a new program to bridge primary school education with smart contracts. In a combined partnership with local education and financial authorities, parents residing in the city of Chengdu, located in China’s Sichuan province, will be able to enroll their children in after-school or extracurricular lessons using the digital yuan central bank digital currency, or e-CNY. Under the pilot test, parents start by paying a deposit to a private educational entity for a series of lessons. Afterward, a smart contract binds each lesson on a pro-rata basis to the deposit. This way, should their children miss a lesson, the e-CNY payment is automatically credited back to their account via smart contract. ...
Bank of China unveils new e-CNY smart contract test program for school education
According to local news outlet Sohu.com, on Tuesday, the state-owned Bank of China announced a new program to bridge primary school education with smart contracts. In a combined partnership with local education and financial authorities, parents residing in the city of Chengdu, located in China’s Sichuan province, will be able to enroll their children in after-school or extracurricular lessons using the digital yuan central bank digital currency, or e-CNY. Under the pilot test, parents start by paying a deposit to a private educational entity for a series of lessons. Afterward, a smart contract binds each lesson on a pro-rata basis to the deposit. This way, should their children miss a lesson, the e-CNY payment is automatically credited back to their account via smart contract. ...
Built to fall? As the CBDC sun rises, stablecoins may catch a shadow
There’s a ferment brewing with regard to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and most people really don’t know what to expect. Varied effects seem to be bubbling up in different parts of the world. Consider this: China’s e-CNY, or digital yuan, has already been used by 200 million-plus of its citizens, and a full rollout could happen as early as February — but will a digital yuan gain traction internationally? Europe’s central bank has been exploring a digital euro for several years, and the European Union could introduce a digital euro bill in 2023. But will it come with limitations, such as a ceiling on digital euros that can be held by a single party? A United States digital dollar could be the most awaited government digital currency given that the dollar is the world’s rese...
Crypto markets bounced and sentiment improved, but retail has yet to FOMO
An ascending triangle formation has driven the total crypto market capitalization toward the $1.2 trillion level. The issue with this seven-week-long setup is the diminishing volatility, which could last until late August. From there, the pattern can break either way, but Tether and futures markets data show bulls lacking enough conviction to catalyze an upside break. Total crypto market cap, USD billion. Source: TradingView Investors cautiously await further macroeconomic data on the state of the economy as the United States Federal Reserve (FED) raises interest rates and places its asset purchase program on hold. On Aug. 12, the United Kingdom posted a gross domestic product (GDP) contraction of 0.1% year-over-year. Meanwhile, inflation in the U.K. reached 9.4% in July, the highest figur...
Billboard Expands in Asia With Launch of Billboard China
Billboard is expanding its global footprint in Asia. On Monday (Aug. 8), Billboard announced the launch of Billboard China along with plans for its rollout. “We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Billboard brand in China,” Billboard President Mike Van said in a press release announcing the news. “We look forward to providing a platform for Chinese musicians to share their art and unique sound amongst a global audience. Today marks the beginning of another exciting chapter in Billboard’s evolution and we are eager to witness the proliferation of new artists shaping pop culture.” Billboard China adds to the list of the publication’s international editions and music content in Asia, following Billboard Japan and Billboard Korea. Per the press release, Billboard will work closely with ...
Roger Waters Calls Biden a “War Criminal,” Defends Russia and China in CNN Interview
Amidst his ongoing “This Is Not a Drill Tour,” Roger Waters sat down with CNN’s Michael Smerconish to discuss the overly political themes and messages presented at his concert. Smerconish began the interview by asking Waters why he labeled President Joe Biden a “war criminal.” “Well, he’s fueling the war in the Ukraine,” the former Pink Floyd member responded. “That is a huge crime. Why won’t the United States of America encourage [Volodymyr] Zelensky to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war?” When Smerconish pointed out that Waters was “blaming the party who got invaded,” Waters countered by criticizing NATO for forcing Russia’s hand. “Well, any war, when did it start? What you need to do is look at the history, and you can say, ‘Well, it started on this day.’ Yo...
Over a quarter of Asian Pacific ‘emerging giant’ startups tied to blockchain: Report
The Asia Pacific region is seeing a major business shift with increasing numbers of new technology startups appearing, even as venture capital investment is decreasing compared to last year. A report from Big Four accountant KPMG and international banking company HSBC based on a survey of 6,472 Asian Pacific startups found that over a quarter of them are blockchain related. Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, led the way among sectors where Asian Pacific “emerging giants” were active, followed directly by decentralized finance, also known as DeFi. Electric vehicle charging infrastructure, quantum computing and robotic processing automation rounded out the top five sectors. Blockchain real estate and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) ranked 14th and 15th, respectively, on the sam...
Pro Bitcoin traders are uncomfortable with bullish positions
The previous $19,000 Bitcoin (BTC) support level becomes more distant after the 22.5% gain in nine days. However, little optimism has been instilled as the impact of the Three Arrows Capital (3AC), Voyager, Babel Finance and Celsius crises remain uncertain. Moreover, the contagion has claimed yet another victim after Thai crypto exchange Zipmex halted withdrawals on July 20. Bitcoin/USD 1-day price. Source: TradingView Bulls’ hopes depend on the $23,000 support strengthening as time goes by, but derivatives metrics show professional traders are still highly skeptical of continuous recovery. Macroeconomic headwinds favor scarce assets Some analysts attribute the crypto market strength to China’s lower-than-expected gross domestic product data, causing investors to expect further expan...
More than 2.6 million users signed up for the City of Shenzhen’s digital yuan airdrop
According to data obtained from local news outlet Sohu.com, the Shenzhen Chamber of Commerce has recorded over 2.6 million signups for its latest digital yuan, or e-CNY, airdrop. Two months prior, the City of Shenzhen announced that it would be airdropping 30 million of the e-CNY central bank digital currency, or CBDC, to local residents to stimulate consumer spending as a recovery measure to the country’s strict coronavirus lockdown. Users who received the airdrops through a randomized lottery selection could then spend the e-CNY vouchers at various participating merchants’ terminals on Meituan, one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms. The event, which ran from May 30 to June 19, attracted more than 67,000 merchants. Similarly, on Wednesday, the City of Fuzhou ...
Tencent shuts down NFT platform as gov policy makes it impossible to thrive
China’s internet giant Tencent has reportedly shut down one of the two nonfungible token (NFT) platforms owing to declining sales aided by the regressive monetary policies of the Chinese government. Tencent shut down one of its NFT platforms on July 1 while the other one is struggling to remain afloat. A report from a local daily indicates that the wind-down process for the same began in May. The tech giant transferred key executives responsible for managing the NFT platform in the last week of May and completely removed the digital collectible section from its Tencent News app by July’s first week. The primary reason for the slow down in sales and ultimate closure of Tencent’s digital collectible platform is being blamed on flawed government policy that prohibits buyers from selling...
China’s central bank to expand deployment of e-CNY
According to China’s state institution Xinhua News Agency, Lan Zou, head of monetary policy at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), announced that the country would be expanding the number of digital yuan (e-CNY) test sites in the country from 11 to 23. They are spread out across 15 out of 31 of China’s provinces and autonomous regions. The PBoC is China’s central bank and is responsible for the development of the e-CNY central bank digital currency, or CBDC. During Wednesday’s press conference, Zou praised the success of the recent e-CNY rollout, stating: “e-CNY trials during the first half of 2022, such as acting as a means of payment during the Beijing Olympics, were spectacularly successful. The e-CNY has demonstrated to be an invaluable tool in ...
