China
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...
Hundreds of NFTs listed on OpenSea from Shanghai residents during COVID lockdown
The city of Shanghai has been in a month-long mandated quarantine, which confines its 25 million residents to their homes. Initially, the latest COVID-19 outbreak began in March of this year and developed into the worst infection zone since the beginning of the pandemic. As the virus infected hundreds of thousands of people, the extremely restrictive lockdown prevented residents from leaving their homes for weeks on end. In addition to the spike in infections, the lockdown prevented people from obtaining food and medical treatment, and introduced other austerities. This led to frustrated citizens taking to the internet for solidarity and venting. However, government authorities have been reportedly censoring videos that surfaced on the internet showing scenes of confinement within Sh...
The Ledger: Tencent Music Highlights Risks of Doing Business in China
Doing business in China got tougher in 2021 after government agencies handed down new rules and levied fines against some well-known companies. For evidence this has made investing in Chinese companies more complicated, look no further than Tencent Music Entertainment’s annual report released Tuesday. All publicly traded companies’ financial statements include risk factors mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission to help investors understand companies’ unique challenges and possible negative outcomes if things go south. TME’s previous annual reports have listed numerous risk factors, ranging from licensing third-party content to its corporate structure. It’s a long list that just got longer. The new risk factors in TME’s 2022 annual report are further evidence of the challenges f...
2 key metrics point toward further downside for the entire crypto market
The total crypto market capitalization has been holding a slightly ascending trend for the past 3 months and the $1.75 trillion support was most recently tested on April 27 as Bitcoin (BTC) bounced at $38,000 and Ether (ETH) at $2,800 on April 27. Total crypto market cap, USD billion. Source: TradingView The crypto market’s aggregate capitalization showed a 3.5% decrease in the last 7 days and notable losers were a 18.8% loss from XRP, a 10.2% loss from Cardano (ADA), and 9.7% drop in Polkadot (DOT) price. Analyzing a broader range of altcoins provides a more balanced picture, that includes 25% gains from some gaming and Metaverse projects in the same time period. Weekly winners and losers among the top 80 coins. Source: Nomics Apecoin (APE) rallied 44% due to the upcoming Otherside metave...
Residents of 3 Chinese cities paying taxes and charges with digital yuan
Residents in three major Chinese cities have begun paying tax, stamp duty and social security premiums using the country’s central bank digital currency — the digital yuan (e-CNY). According to a domestic news report, a number of government agencies in the Zhejiang province — located just south of Shanghai — are currently running real world trials programs that involve citizens using the digital yuan to pay taxes. The Zhejiang Taxation Bureau is working with the country’s central bank — the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) — to explore a variety of taxation payment methods using the digital yuan. The PBoC and affiliated local government agencies are reportedly looking to the next major test for the digital yuan, the Asian Games which will take place in Hangzhou in September. Local autho...
Chinese court rules marketplace guilty of minting NFTs from stolen artwork
A court in the Chinese city of Hangzhou ruled a one-of-a-kind judgment against a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace for allowing a user to create (or mint) NFTs of stolen artwork. As reported by South China Morning Post, the court verdict toward the NFT marketplace was made after Shenzhen-based company Qice filed a lawsuit against NFTCN’s parent company, BigVerse. The lawsuit claimed that an NFTCN user stole a copyrighted artwork of Ma Qianli, a Chinese artist specializing in drawing and printing. The user of the NFT platform allegedly poached one of Ma’s creations of a cartoon picture. Based on the evidence collected, the court found the NFTCN platform guilty of not checking for forgery or intellectual property (IP) theft prior to allowing users to mint NFTs. As a result, NFTCN was charg...
China-based regulatory and trade associations target NFTs in latest risk notice
The China Banking Association, the China Internet Finance Association and the Securities Association of China issued a joint statement warning the public about the “hidden risks” of investing in nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. In a Wednesday notice, the three associations launched initiatives aimed at encouraging innovation in the crypto and blockchain space focused on NFTs as well as “resolutely curb[ing] the tendency of NFT financialization and securitization” to reduce the risks around illicit activities. The China Banking Association said member institutions should not consider NFTs assets like securities, precious metals, and other financial products. In addition, cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT) should not be used for the pricing and settlement of ...
Facebook whistleblower warns Metaverse will repeat ‘all the harms’
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has taken aim at Meta in a new interview, suggesting that its version of the Metaverse will simply repeat all of its past mistakes. In an interview with Politico, Haugen said: “They’ve made very grandiose promises about how there’s safety-by-design in the Metaverse. But if they don’t commit to transparency and access and other accountability measures, I can imagine just seeing a repeat of all the harms you currently see on Facebook.” In 2021 Haugen leaked thousands of internal documents from Facebook to the Securities and Exchange Commission and The Wall Street Journal. Her experience working for the company has left her with concerns about privacy issues and about letting the corporation amass data about every aspect of u...
Is China’s apprehension to ban NFTs a hopeful sign for investors?
It’s no secret that China has a clear disdain for all things crypto, as was highlighted last year when the country decided to ban its digital asset industry in its entirety. That said, one niche related to the crypto industry that has continued to thrive in the region despite the ban is its nonfungible token (NFT) market. However, with certain negative developments coming to the forefront recently, this may not be the case much longer. In this regard, many local social media platforms and internet firms have continued to update their policies so as to restrict and, in some cases, remove NFT platforms altogether from their networks, claiming a lack of regulatory clarity but, more importantly, fearing a government clampdown on their day-to-day operations. For example, WeChat, a Chinese insta...
Russia is looking towards Bitcoin as a payment form for energy exports
Energy official Pavel Zavalny says Russia has lost all interest in the Euro and dollar On Wednesday, President Putin demanded that all unfriendlies must pay for Russian energy exports in the ruble Recent reports suggest that Moscow is exploring ways to save its economy and get it back on track amidst heavy sanctions from the west. The country is now leveraging one of its most valuable exports – gas. Russia already made it a requirement that all non-friendly nations seeking to buy gas from it must pay in the Russian ruble, while friendlies like China and Turkey can pay in their fiat currencies or the ruble. Bitcoin as an option for the ‘allies’ According to a top government official, the nation is open to accepting Bitcoin as payment for oil and gas exports. Chairman of the Stat...
Sony Music Opens Singapore Office, Shifting Asia Hub From Hong Kong
Sony Music Group is moving its Southeast Asia headquarters to Singapore, joining a host of other music and tech companies that have shifted regional business hubs away from Hong Kong amid street protests and crackdowns by the Chinese government. The new Singapore office will house SMG companies Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music Publishing and artists and label services company The Orchard, the company said in a press release Tuesday (March 22). It will also serve as the new base for Sony Interactive Entertainment, creators of PlayStation. A host of pan-regional specialists focused on Singapore and the wider region will work out of the new headquarters, including in marketing, data analytics, human resources, finance, digital innovation, business development, A&R, and publicity. Esta...
