Bitget withdraws from Hong Kong crypto market

Remixpoint, Inc., an energy management solutions provider that trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO:3825), has announced the raising of $215 million to finance its Bitcoin treasury while the company’s CEO has become the first public company executive in Japan to receive his entire salary in Bitcoin.Photo by Michael Förtsch on Unsplash3,000 BTC targetIn a statement published to X on July 9, the company outlined that it had raised ¥31.5 billion ($215 million). The proceeds will be entirely allocated to Bitcoin acquisition. The company is targeting the accumulation of 3,000 BTC.  As of June 16, the company held 1,051 BTC, valued at around $114 million. At today’s pricing, the funds raised would allow Remixpoint to buy a further 1,977 BTC. However, the firm warned that actual acquisition volume may vary depending upon Bitcoin pricing over a certain period of time, combined with the firm’s share price. Providing its justification for the funds raised, Remixpoint said that the decision reflected its “conviction in Bitcoin’s future,” a view that the company has formed following extensive internal discussion. Remixpoint initiated this treasury strategy in September 2024, compelled to do so due to concerns about the Japanese yen, with a desire to hedge against its depreciation. In addition to Bitcoin, the company has also bought altcoins such as Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE). Japanese firms buying BitcoinRemixpoint is one of a growing number of Japanese firms to establish crypto-based treasuries. Japanese fashion retailer ANAP Holdings held 200 BTC as of July 8, with plans to acquire over 1,000 BTC by August. Publicly listed marketing business Agile Media Network stated in April that the company would make an initial purchase of ¥10 million worth of Bitcoin on a trial basis in an effort to determine if it's worthwhile to invest in the asset on a broader basis. Earlier this year, Japanese gaming firm Gumi announced plans to build up a Bitcoin treasury worth in the region of ¥1 billion. In recent months, SBC Medical Group, nickel processing firm S Science and textile manufacturer Kitabo have either added Bitcoin to their balance sheets or announced plans to do so. Japan’s standout Bitcoin treasury company is Metaplanet, a former hotel operator. Earlier this week, it emerged that the company aspires to build up a 210,000 BTC treasury. Furthermore, it plans to use its Bitcoin holding to buy cash-producing businesses, with a digital bank being one of its potential acquisition targets. On July 8, Remixpoint announced that it had taken the decision to pay the entire salary of its recently-appointed CEO, Takashi Tashiro, in Bitcoin. Tashiro will become the first Japanese CEO of a publicly-listed company to receive his salary in Bitcoin. Remixpoint said that it had taken this decision as part of a shareholder-perspective management outlook. In a tongue-in-cheek comment on X, market analyst Caleb Franzen said that "Now that the Remixpoint CEO is taking their salary in Bitcoin, I think Satya Nadella [CEO of Microsoft] will do the same any day now!" The emergence of crypto treasury firms has faced criticism. However, Elliot Chun, a partner at Architect Partners, asserted back in March that by 2030, a quarter of S&P 500 firms will have invested in Bitcoin.

Standard Chartered Muscling Into Asian Crypto SpaceUK banking giant Standard Chartered is making a concerted foray into the Asian crypto sector through its Singapore-based subsidiary, Standard Chartered Ventures.Photo by Kirill Petropavlov on UnsplashTargeting institutional businessThat’s according to a report by Nikkei Asia on Tuesday. It’s believed that the company is positioning itself as a trusted choice for institutional cryptocurrency clients amid the backdrop of digital token price volatility and recent upheavals in the industry. The move will pit the British bank directly against global crypto exchange Binance in key Asian markets, specifically Singapore and Japan.Rene Michau, the Global Head of Digital Assets at Standard Chartered, emphasized what he considers to be the bank’s unique advantage in the digital asset space, stating:“As regulated banks, we have a fairly deep infrastructure around risk, conduct compliance, and the activities that go along with crypto assets.”This solid infrastructure includes established risk frameworks, governance structures, and compliance tools that Standard Chartered is keen to bring into the cryptocurrency sphere, thus making it an attractive option for its clients.Zodia Custody and Zodia MarketsStandard Chartered’s substantial involvement in the cryptocurrency market is channeled through its majority ownership of Zodia Custody, responsible for safeguarding digital assets, and Zodia Markets, a crypto exchange tailored for institutional clients.Both entities have been making significant progress in bringing their offerings to market in recent months. Zodia Custody recently launched its services in Singapore, offering a secure solution for financial institutions to manage their crypto holdings. Last month it launched a crypto staking product targeted at institutional clients.In the same month, Zodia Markets achieved in-principle approval to trade as a broker-dealer in the United Arab Emirates. Zodia Custody has also been successful in the UAE, launching its crypto custodian service in Dubai in May.Japan and SingaporeThis concerted effort by Standard Chartered follows a broader trend where traditional financial institutions, such as DBS Group Holdings in Singapore, are entering the cryptocurrency market, capitalizing on the challenges faced by younger crypto players in proving their credibility.Binance rebranded its Binance Custody unit as Ceffu and expanded its offerings for corporate customers in Singapore. While Binance asserts the independence of Ceffu, the exact nature of their capital relationship remains undisclosed.A parallel competition is unfolding in Japan, where Binance Japan has entered the market and Standard Chartered’s Zodia Custody has formed a joint venture with SBI Digital Asset Holdings, targeting institutional clients.While Standard Chartered has achieved a lot through its crypto-focused subsidiaries in a short space of time, there’s always room for improvement. In June, Hong Kong’s banking regulator singled out Standard Chartered alongside HSBC, appealing to both banking groups to make greater efforts to bank crypto clients within the Chinese autonomous territory, as it looks to compete with Singapore in becoming a regional crypto hub.The cryptocurrency sector has witnessed increased scrutiny as virtual currencies like Bitcoin and Ether have gained popularity. The rise of digital token exchanges, each vying for custody of assets belonging to investors who have embraced cryptocurrencies, has sparked concerns about corporate governance and security.Giants in traditional finance, like Standard Chartered, are stepping in to offer institutional investors a safer path to engage with virtual assets while leveraging the trust associated with established brands.

South Korea-based document management software firm Polaris Office announced the 10th anniversary of its office software (SW) cloud service launch, according to local media News1. Reaching this milestone has coincided with the rising price of its native token, POLA. At the time of writing, POLA is trading at KRW 48.89 ($0.04), up 13.99% from the previous week.  The 10th anniversary of its service launch appears to be a direct cause behind this recent rise in POLA prices, despite the recent downturn in the crypto market. The company said that it recently held an AI (artificial intelligence) talk concert to celebrate its 10-year milestone.Photo by Andrew Neel on UnsplashPOLA as rewards for sharing knowledge Launched in 2020, POLA tokens are distributed as a reward within its platform, Polaris Share Service, which the company describes as "the distributed trading system of incentive knowledge." Here, users can earn POLA by creating content and sharing knowledge on the platform. Cloud-based document management softwarePolaris Office offers a cloud-based service that allows real-time document editing on various operating systems (OS) including mobile, web office, Windows and Mac. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has experienced significant growth in its sales, recording an all-time high annual sales last year. This growth is attributed to the increased adoption of hybrid work environments.  By consolidated standards, Polaris Office recorded KRW 107.9 billion in sales, KRW 6.2 billion in operating profit and KRW 24.4 billion in net profit, marking YoY increase of 346.1%, 277.1% and 91.2%, respectively.  Joining government-led document AI projectMeanwhile, Polaris Office has been designated as a participatory company in the "SW Computing Industry Source Technology Development Project" led by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea, as reported by crypto media CoinNess on April 15. In this project, Polaris Office is expected to contribute to advancing the document AI technology.