China’s Bitmain Makes Plans to Unveil World’s First 1XJ/T Bitcoin Miner

CMB International Securities, the brokerage and investment banking arm of China Merchants Bank (CMB), has acquired a virtual asset trading license and rolled out related trading services in Hong Kong.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashFirst Chinese bank-affiliated brokerage to add crypto servicesThe development is significant as it marks the entry of the first brokerage firm directly affiliated with a Chinese bank into the digital assets arena. It takes on further significance due to the importance of its parent company within financial services in Asia.Recent reports suggest that China Merchants Bank has assets under management (AUM) of RMB 15 trillion, equating to around $2.1 trillion. Headquartered in Shenzhen, the bank is China’s seventh largest in terms of AUM. Compared globally, an S&P Global Market Intelligence report published in 2024 positioned the bank in 25th place by measure of AUM. CMB International Securities disclosed that it started offering such services on Aug. 18 via a post on the Chinese social media platform WeChat. It explained that the launch followed the company’s acquisition of an upgrade to its existing trading license from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on July 11, authorizing the brokerage to offer virtual asset trading. 24/7 digital asset tradingThe company outlined that it has added virtual asset trading via its mobile application, offering qualified investors 24/7 digital asset trading. Following the launch, eligible investors can now trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and the USDT stablecoin. These professional or eligible investors must open a CMB International Securities cash account before they can commence trading digital assets on the CMB platform. Given the ongoing ban on crypto trading activity within mainland China, CMB International has to ensure that its product offering doesn’t reach mainland residents. At the time of the company being awarded its virtual assets trading license last month, Hong Kong Web3 Association Co-Chair Joshua Chu spoke to that requirement. He stated:“By securing this licence, CMBI gains regulated access to Hong Kong’s dynamic crypto market, yet it must operate within strict boundaries that prevent direct mainland participation, reflecting the delicate balance of innovation and legal constraint.” ‘One country, two systems’“One country, two systems” is a constitutional principle of the People’s Republic of China that enabled the reunification of Hong Kong with China back in 1997. Many believe that while Beijing continues to impose a ban on crypto and hasn’t been vocal in its support of Hong Kong’s embrace of the crypto sector, there is an implied support nonetheless of Hong Kong’s development as a crypto hub.Hong Kong’s separate system allows China to let it develop as a proving ground for virtual assets. That tacit support has encouraged companies like Beijing-headquartered Tiger Brokers to pursue virtual asset trading licensing within the Chinese autonomous territory. Similarly, Victory Securities, a Hong Kong firm with a significant presence within the mainland Chinese market, has also pursued digital asset-related licensing in Hong Kong. This isn’t CMB International’s only crypto-related venture. Earlier this month, the company partnered with Singaporean digital asset exchange DigiFT in launching the Hong Kong-Singapore Mutual Recognition Fund. The development marked the first money market fund to be hosted on the Solana blockchain. 

Colt Technology Partners With Singapore’s AsiaNextColt Technology Services, an established player in the digital infrastructure sector, has unveiled a strategic partnership with AsiaNext, an emerging name in the crypto exchange domain.News of the collaboration emerged on Thursday, with the partnership designed to harness the strengths of Colt’s secure and high-performance digital infrastructure solutions to foster high-frequency trading of various digital securities and crypto derivatives on the AsiaNext platform.AsiaNext is a joint venture between Japan’s SBI Digital Asset Holdings and Swiss digital infrastructure firm, SIX Group. The entities behind the venture identified similarities in the regulatory approach taken in Switzerland and Singapore, and for that reason, AsiaNext was developed to grow the business in the city-state.Photo by Julien de Salaberry on UnsplashAccessing Multicast Market DataThe partnership will see AsiaNext leverage Colt’s Multicast Market Data in the Cloud. This service facilitates seamless connectivity between buyers and sellers, bridging the divide between mainstream finance and the secure realm of digital assets trading. The move takes on greater significance against the backdrop of Asia’s rapid ascent in digital asset trading and its central role in shaping global cryptocurrency regulations.AsiaNext has been targeting institutional investors and aims to offer a comprehensive suite of services encompassing listing, trading, and post-trade functions for digital assets. The exchange is attempting to provide institutional investors with a secure platform for trading digital assets, bolstering the crypto derivatives market in the region.Alongside Colt’s Multicast Market Data product, AsiaNext will also benefit from access to Colt’s PrizmNet, which enables low latencies for global delivery of data, software, content, and financial services.Commenting on the deal, Russell Toop, Colt’s Team Lead, Capital Markets Asia, remarked: “Our partnership with AsiaNext demonstrates our firm commitment to capital markets in Asia and across the world, and we’re excited to be part of its journey at the earliest stages as it sets out to bring digital assets to the mainstream.”Yuen Keng Yin, Chief Technology Officer of AsiaNext, echoed the sentiment by highlighting the transformative potential of Colt’s solutions for institutional investors, stating:“Their solutions support our investors in securing their position in this rapidly-growing market, so they can optimize their digital assets trading strategies and open up exciting new opportunities for their clients.”Working towards a full CMS licenseAsiaNext has been making progress within the Singaporean market. In June, the local regulator and central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), granted the institutional grade exchange regulatory approval in principle.That Capital Markets Services (CMS) license is now on the cusp of full license approval from MAS. Furthermore, the firm is also working towards obtaining a Recognised Market Operator license.These regulatory milestones all feed into AsiaNext’s overall goal, which is to offer a service which can bridge the gap between traditional finance and the digital assets space. In building out that offering, Marek Socha, Head of Corporate Development at SIX Group, said in an interview last year that important partnerships would be established by AsiaNext. No doubt accessing Colt’s service offering with this latest partnership is another step for the firm in reaching its objective.

NEOPIN and Finschia Foundation to jointly launch Finschia’s first decentralized exchangeCentralized decentralized finance (CeDeFi) protocol NEOPIN and blockchain developer Finschia Foundation have teamed up to launch Finschia Network Swap (FNSwap) — the first automated market maker (AMM) decentralized exchange on Finschia’s public blockchain — in the first quarter of next year, according to an announcement on Finschia’s official website last Friday (KST).Photo by Chris Liverani on UnsplashRevolutionizing DeFiNEOPIN has taken over the development of FNSwap, which will employ a pricing algorithm as an AMM decentralized exchange to set the prices of assets, thus increasing liquidity in liquidity pools. The platform will support crypto deposits, including those made in FNSA and NPT — Finschia and NEOPIN’s respective governance tokens — along with other stablecoins. The list of supported cryptocurrencies will be expanded later on as the mainnet grows, Finschia said.“As Finschia’s first decentralized exchange, Finschia Network Swap is expected to make it more convenient for many users to use crypto services,” said Kim Yong-gi, CEO of NEOPIN. “We plan to actively expand the number of cryptocurrencies supported on the platform in line with the expansion of the Finschia ecosystem.”Ecosystem expansionFNSwap will also be centered around its community of users, providing lucrative DeFi products and incentives like token swapping, staking and rewards, thus establishing a secure and convenient blockchain ecosystem.The two firms committed to exploring other endeavors as well, such as discovering promising Web3 projects through events like hackathons; facilitating interaction between their respective partner firms; and conducting joint promotional campaigns to expand the Finschia ecosystem.“We are pleased to work with NEOPIN to launch the first decentralized exchange of the Finschia ecosystem,” said Ko Young-soo, Chairman of the Finschia Foundation. “We will consistently provide the technical support that NEOPIN needs to successfully launch the Finschia Network Swap.”